After Wars
By Amanda Allen
Begin transmission
Beep-Beep-Beep BOOM. Alex smiled to herself as she let her arm fall to her side, along with the detonator. This was the fifteenth ex-Oz base she had destroyed this week. She was happy that the war was over, that everything was going to go back to normal. That her family and friends would finally go back to being safe as they were five years ago. "Hey Alex, you make sure no one was in there when you blew it up?" Alex grinned and looked up to see Julia. The other girl's light brown hair blew in the breeze and she smiled brightly. "Would it be so bad if I didn't?" She grimaced and stood up. It was time to put her strong points to use. She, if anyone, had to put on a strong face for Julia. Be her strong self. Julia had lost a lot in the war, and no one wanted to see her being weak. Least of all Alex. "I think God might forgive you if you ask him." Julia's smile faded and she sighed softly. "Hey, I'll take you home. Your dad needs to talk to all of us about something. I think it's about..." "Shut up, Julia. You talk too much." Alex said playfully. She smiled and pulled on a length of Julia's long hair. "Let's go home. You still have to do your paper." "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're worse than Heero, Relena, Zero and Tarmine. Why can't everyone just lay off my back?" They started walking back to the private road where Julia's blue sports car was parked. "Because we want you to do your best. There's only a month of school left, and you're falling behind." Alex opened her door and got in. Julia got in on the driver's side and started the car as Alex buckled her seatbelt. "Put yours on." Alex said as Julia backed out and drove down the road. "Why?" "We might get in a crash, knowing how you drive." The darker-haired girl nudged the lighter in the ribs, making her squeal in laughter. "I've been through worse." Alex looked over at Julia and saw the serious look on her face as she drove to the main street, screeching to turn a corner and get on her way down a deep hill. Her eyes wandered from Julia to the people on the sidewalks. After the war, there'd been many people going homeless because most colonies had been destroyed. She looked at the old and young walking along, sad and dirty, starving and dying. Alex cringed and looked back to Julia. "Why are you so sad, Jules?" "I have a reason to be sad. I live alone, I hardly see you guys, the one thing I was so focused on has been gone a year and I still feel the aftershocks. And look around you, Alex. Look at everything. It all went to hell after the war. This is what comes after wars." Julia had enjoyed the war, everyone knew that. When she had fought she'd always had this certain gleam to her eyes, a light to her mood. And the thing about living alone. She knew what that was about. A couple of months ago she'd asked Zero to move in with her, but he'd told her that it was too soon. They'd been together two years, which should have been long enough. And another part about it was that Julia's parents had both been killed when she was young. "Her mother during child-birth, her father by 'Lady Une'" during a summit meeting when she was six. She had no true family to rely on. Unless the few ex-pilots counted as something. "Jules, if you want to talk-" "What's to talk about?" She slammed on the brakes as a little kid ran in front of her car. Her whole body was almost ready to crash into the window as the air bag popped out. Alex looked over in shock as Julia screamed a curse and jammed the air-bag back in. "STUPID KIDS DON'T RUN IN FRONT OF MOVING VEHICLES!!!" She yelled out the window. "Julia, I'll drive, if you don't mind." She pushed the door open and shoved Julia out then got over in the other seat as Julia walked over to the other side, sitting down. Alex reached over her and grabbed the seatbelt, buckling it for the enraged girl. She herself did her belt and they were on their way. The blue car entered the driveway to the big house Alex and her parents lived in. The giant, four-story mansion was in the center of a huge rose garden, at the end of a long driveway. It was edged with a forest and a lake, and then lined with a high-security line of fences and guard-towers that only stood a few feet up. But it was enough. "Is Zero gonna be here?" Alex asked as she parked the car. The two girls got out and started walking toward the house, the large doors opening by the butler. "Yes." Julia took the lead and they walked to the main hall, going into a big conference room. Inside were two other ex-pilots and Heero and Relena Yuy. Quatre R. Winner and Sally Po were sitting in seat kitty-corner eachother, and Lucrezia (Noin) and Milliardo Peacecraft were sitting in seats right next to Relena and Heero. Julia took a seat at the other end of the table from Zero. Alex sat opposite, then watched Zero get up and walk over to sit by Julia. She got up and walked to the side Zero was at, and sat down alone. Alex heard Zero mutter something under his breath and smiled to herself. She'd never liked Zero because he bothered her. When he hurt Julia it made her angrier. He was too sure of himself, too arrogant. Like he was at school. It bothered her even more that Julia had had to get rid of her reputation by defending Tarmine before he liked anything more than her body. He and Tarmine had thought her an air-headed-Barbie-doll-preppy-mall- rat-egotistical-snob before she almost killed two people for beating Tarmine. "The reason I've asked everyone here," Heero started. "Is because the Preventers have spotted military activity in the XGPZ-zero-one-one-two- three-nine area. It looks like either left-over Oz or Barton Foundation military, and you guys know how to handle it." "A year after the war is over there's still people wanting to fight? Gee, let's think, that's gonna be hard to get rid of a small, little army of misfit soldiers who want to start something. Heero, next time you have some 'big, important news,' don't bother calling me." Julia stood up and walked out of the room, absolutely surprising everyone there. Heero sighed. He'd taken Julia in after her parents were killed, and he'd raised her to fight. Seeing her like this made him doubt what he learned as a pilot. "Zero, could you go check on her?" "Don't send him, it's mostly his fault." Alex said with a bark. "My fault? What did I do?!" "Zero never did anything to her, you're just blaming him because you hate him." "You get out of this, Tarmine! You have no right to butt-into other people's business." "You get off her back!" "MAKE ME!" "ALRIGHT!" "SHUT UP!" Heero said, slamming his fist onto the table. Trowa, Quatre and him ran around the table to keep the three ex-pilots from killing eachother, holding them back with difficulty. "Everyone, calm down!" Relena said loudly. She watched the fighting and sighed. Sally grinned and rolled her eyes; it was so nice to see everyone together like this.
Julia looked down at her reflection in the water. Her face was stressed, and the make-up she wore lightly hid it. Before she put on her make-up in the mornings, she would see the big black bags under her eyes from restless nights and dragging days. Her hair was perfect, though, braided back with only a few loose strands. She'd had to beat off guys when she got back to school after the war. They hadn't changed as much as she had. And Zero just acted like the war hadn't happened, but he did treat her with a little more respect after it. The only thing she could really see through the make-up, the only thing that had changed permanently was a scar that ran from her hairline to the opposite side of the face, ending at the lower-cheek. That was the only place she worked hard on in the mornings. She didn't like it to show too much. It was also why she didn't have any mirrors in her house except for the small one in her bathroom. Even then, it wasn't a big one. It was a hand-mirror that only showed parts of her face at a time, so she didn't have to see the scar as part of her. Though she knew it was. She kept it as a reminder of... things. "Hey kid." Julia looked up to see Zechs Peacecraft walk up. She sighed and turned around to see him better, grimacing at the smoke he puffed out of his mouth. She watched him take another long drag, then took the cigarette and flicked it into the lake. "You shouldn't smoke, it's not good for you." Julia took in his picture. The soft, long, platinum blonde hair that his father used to have had been passed down. He looked identical to the younger Milliardo Peacecraft. He and Zero looked a little alike, though when she let her mind flow it was Zero who was so much more beautiful. Even if he was almost as big a jerk as Zechs could be. "Yeah, but the part of flying and battling in a Gundam didn't do too much for any of us either." He looked at her face, right past the make-up. "You shouldn't stress about nothing, it's not good for you." "Shut up, Zechs. I'm tired of it all." She put her back against a large weeping willow, sliding down to sit of the soft grass. Her knees came up to her chest and she hugged them to her, sighing softly. Zechs sat by the girl. He'd always had an attraction to her, but he knew she didn't like him like that. There was something about him that had always scared her away from him. He only wished he'd known what. "All of what?" "Everything! I hate it how I'm supposed to be the one everyone can look to for help. I hate it how everyone expects me to be happy-go-lucky Julia. I hate it how Zero thinks he's everything to me. How he's being such a big, stupid jerk right now. I hate it how everyone thinks I'm always supposed to be the strong one and make jokes about everything! I hate it all. I'm a normal human being, and I've lost everything, and they expect to look to me for blue skies and sunny days. And then they expect me to keep up my grades, social skills, job, reputation and perky attitude when I can't rely on anyone else for help. I'm only seventeen and I'm in charge of Trades Peace through the world and space, then be a Preventer and drop everything to go out and help Heero Yuy with every little thing. I don't even know what the words vacation or break means anymore." She started to cry, "I hate it." Zechs realized just how stressed she was. This was the real Julia coming out. She'd been scared more than physically during the last few years. Hesitantly he wrapped his arms around Julia and pulled her onto his lap. He rocked her and whispered, "It's ok" for a while. After a half an hour she stopped crying and just sat there, sniffling between broken sobs. "Julia, have you told anyone else what you told me?" "No. They wouldn't understand. Zero would think it's his fault and start a routine of asking me what he did wrong." "But it is partly his fault." "I know, I just... jeez." She buried her head into his neck and tried to control her sobs. For some reason, she didn't feel weird with him like this. It bothered her more that it didn't bother her, because it should have. The two of them sat under the tree talking for an hour, until Julia finally climbed out of his lap and just sat beside him. "I think Zero's afraid of losing you, Jules." Zechs said softly as the sun started to sink into the lake. He felt Julia's weight shift and looked over at her. She was staring into the water with a sad, serious look on her face. "Why would I let him go if I need him so bad?" She whispered to herself more than him. Zero, as much as she hated to confess it, was right about him being her everything. Through the war, he'd been the reason she'd not just let herself go. "You're letting yourself deteriorate. You need to have the good attitude, because happiness makes people feel better. You've even said it yourself. The reason we all look to you for blue skies is because you were always the sure one, always the one buried in faith with God. The one that always told us He was up there helping us, and you were always so happy. As soon as you started to become sad, I think we all kinda lost faith in some things. To Zero, it's his faith that you two will stay together." "Then it's my fault." "It's partially all of our faults. I know we've run you to your edge. I also know you and Zero need to spend time together. Alex's personality of no emotions is rubbing off on you. Keep your faith in us. Keep your faith in God. He'll make everything all right. You of all people need to remember that." Zechs stood up and smiled down at her. "I'll talk to you later, but for now I have to go in and see if anyone was killed during the meeting." Julia nodded and watched the last bit of sun slip behind clouds and sink into the water. She leaned against the tree and watched the water for a while. "Julia?" The silence she'd drowned in was broken by Zero's voice. Julia realized then that she'd dozed off, just long enough for the clouds to pass and the stars to come out. She'd been so far out that Zero's footsteps hadn't made a sound. "Julia...." He sat beside her, his soft blonde hair falling over his shoulders to brush her own. "Hey, you in there?" "Unfortunately." She said in a soft voice. Why was he out here? What did he want to talk about? Did Zechs say anything? It was a little awkward having him sit beside her after she'd run out of the room. It had mostly been because of him that she ran out. "I'm not going to ask you what I did, because I know. And I'm sorry. It's just scary how you've been acting like this, I didn't think you had the ability to be depressed." "I'm sorry if my robotic appearance of being Miss Perfect has faltered. I'm only human." "And I've been pushing that fact aside." He put a gentle finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at it. "You've quit a lot of things lately, Julia. That includes going to church. I thought maybe you'd quit on me." Julia stared up into Zero's beautiful blue/green eyes. He really was scared, Zechs had been right. "Zero, I wouldn't give up on you. And no matter what anyone thinks, I haven't given up on God. I still listen to my worship CD's, and I still praise Him, and pray, and so much other stuff. I just don't have time to go to church. I miss that." Zero smiled sadly. Julia had been very Christian, even when fighting. She had said she was a soldier in God's army, helping the weak become strong. She had changed a lot of people's minds while fighting, too. She'd been so into her faith that half of one squadron of Oz soldiers had stopped fighting once. God had done a lot for Julia, and she was forgetting that because she didn't have a few key things she needed. If she didn't think she had a family, though, she was wrong. God was her Father, and the ex- pilots and their parents were a family to her. "I miss my dad, Zero. I miss fighting, because I felt like I belonged somewhere. I miss just hanging out with everyone. I miss you. I wanted you to come live with me because I'm lonely. You're always out with your other friends, and then you're busy when I'm not. At least if we lived together I'd see more of you." She looked away from him and back to the lake, closing her eyes when his arms wrapped around her. "You were really serious about it, then." He gently kissed her temple and Julia tried to keep back her tears. Why was he doing this to her? He knew she had no power in his arms, when he used that certain tone of voice. "Please, Zero." She whimpered softly. Zero looked down at Julia in his arms. "What's so wrong, my fawn?" Julia took in a deep breath and told him what she'd told Zechs. After she got it all out Zero sat there. An awkward silence filled the air and Julia fidgeted lightly. Zero ran his hand down to the tie in her braid, taking it out and letting Julia's long hair feather out around her. "Jules, I'm sorry. If you had told me this earlier, I wouldn't have hurt you like this." "So it's all my fault?" Zero sighed softly. He would have come right out and said yes, they both knew it. But he didn't say anything at all. "Listen, Zero, you don't have to worry about my leaving you. If we were to break up, it wouldn't be because of me. I'm never going to give up on you, or God. Least of all God. He gave me you when I needed you most. You've just been... like the Zero we all knew before we went to the base. As soon as we'd gotten there, you'd changed into someone I fell in love with. And I still love you. And I'll always love you." "I'll always love you too, Julia. And I am sorry."
Zechs watched the two from where he stood on the balcony. He watched as they talked for a few minutes, then as Zero's lips tenderly met Julia's. He sighed softly and watched as the two teenagers slowly took off each other's clothes and Zero laid Julia down on them. Finally turning away as they joined hips he was surprised to see Tarmine standing beside him. She was staring out at the two also, with a soft, sad smile on her face. "She doesn't know how lucky she is to have him. She's all he ever talks about, all he ever worries about." The violet-headed girl said. Zechs looked back to the slowly moving silhouette. It was beautiful that two people could be so close together like they were at that moment. He'd always viewed sex as sharing not only bodies, but souls as well. He knew, how Julia held her poise, that she'd only been with Zero, and no one else. He also knew, though, that Tarmine and Zero had shared eachother once, that their friendship had gone too far one night. That had led to Tarmine becoming pregnant and giving birth to Zero's daughter. He remembered the first few days at the base. How that was one of the main things that had happened, Zero found out he was a father. Zechs didn't know all the details, but it seemed that Tarmine had gone away for the months she was pregnant. "You know, you can tell he loves her. Even after he found out about Marine he stayed with Julia. He's never tried to hurt her; sometimes he just does things without thinking. It's not his fault, though. He doesn't know when he hurts her, because she never says anything. And he's just so naive about things. But she never says anything." "You're blaming her?" Zechs asked with a sneer. "She's been run to the wall by the both of you, Tarmine. After everything we've all put her through, she's going to be quiet about her pain. You of all people should know about that. You've always kept your pain hidden." Tarmine looked over at Zechs. "You like her, don't you?" "Everyone likes Julia. It doesn't matter, though, Tarmine. I wouldn't want her to leave him if it meant she'd be sad." "What if he went for another girl? And she were to want to break up with him, then?" She was prying. Getting on his nerves. The next few hours may be just a waste of his time. "You and I both know that wouldn't happen. Look at them, out there, they're in love and there's nothing we can do to break that. As much as I know we'd both benefit from it, they wouldn't." If they were miserable, then we wouldn't even benefit from it. The gentle outcry of climax drifted on the wind to where the two stood. They both looked over to watch the tender touches and soft kisses that followed. No one but Tarmine and Zechs would be able to see them. No one would be able to see the peaceful motions of two lovers but them. Even as the shadows seperated to only connect again, Zechs knew that this was something he'd only see a single time. He knew that the feeling he was having at that moment would only be felt once, because the aura of Zero and Julia would fall away with the new war that was beginning. That he and the girl next to him were in on. "Don't go for something you can't have, Tarmine. It'll turn out badly for you." Zechs turned away from the scene of love, from the angry face of Tarmine. He walked inside the big house and then to his room. Taking off his shirt and pants he climbed into the large bed that seemed a little too cold tonight. Sleep seemed too far off, so he went over what he'd heard earlier from his father and mother. "They're setting up new bases. They've taken over space and started to fix colonies. The soldiers call themselves 'Plague.'" Zechs's father looked at his mother. His blue eyes becoming sad. "They will start another war, then, Lucrezia?" "That's their plan. We don't have enough resources left to fight off as big an army as they have. We've run out of options, the only thing left is for the kids to go out and fight again. We can't do it; I know Heero can't do it. We've all had our share of medical problems, those of us that fought before. And the only ones we have that can fight in a Gundam besides the kids are Trowa, Quatre, Heero and you. Trowa won't, because of Tarmine. Quatre won't, because he's gone back to pacifism, Heero can't because of his arthritis. And I'm not too sure you want to go out and fight, either." "So you'll send us because we're still strong?" Zechs asked coming out of the shadows. His mother winced and looked away, then back. Her eyes held a type of pain he'd seen may times before. "We have to." "Haven't we suffered enough? Look at what it did to some of us, mother. Look at Trowa's kid; look at Julia for God's Sake. Especially Julia. She's been going down since we stopped fighting, she can't get back into a Gundam to have it taken from her again. Armageddon isn't even able to fight. We all know that. And she won't fight in anything else." "What about Alex?" "Alex is holding it together for Julia. You can't push us out there again." Milliardo stood up and walked over to his son. He stared into the identical blue eyes of the kid he once was. He recognized the same determination he once had, the same need to fight. And the same feeling that he couldn't possibly fight anymore. "It's been almost twenty years since I last fought in a war, Zechs. I know it's hard to go back, because I never did. I don't want you to grow up like me, but this is the only way we can save Earth and Space. One lost person is better than millions." "Then you tell them that. You try and tell Heero that we have to go out again, tell Relena her little girl has to go and fight again. Tell Qautre his son has to go and fight, has to leave the pacifism that he'd wanted since he was a pilot. You try and tell Trowa he could lose Tarmine, like he lost Juliann. You try and tell Julia she's gonna have a life again, to have it ripped away like it was last time. That she could lose even more than she's already lost. I want to see you tell them all that they might go through losing what they hold most prized. Try and tell Zero he could lose Julia again."
Zero gently wrapped his arms around Julia's waist. He pulled up his long trench coat to cover their cooling bodies. In the dark, Julia's skin looked perfect, but Zero knew differently. He could remember her pain; remember the one battle he'd lost her for a while. He remembered seeing her ripped body, watching the doctors take shards of glass and metal from her lifeless form on the operating table. Remembered watching them sew her body back together, stitch-by-stitch. Then he'd watched her lay there, broken and gone. He'd heard them say she'd needed a blood transfusion, since she'd lost a lot of it. Zero was the only one able to donate, because they shared the same blood type, and no one else had her type but him. He remembered watching his lifeblood flow into Julia, watching her color come back to her cheeks. He'd held her hand while he did it, and as she regained consciousness, how she squeezed his hand and started to cry. Things seemed to have gone blurry, and they both of them fell asleep again. Zero had woken up to feel Julia's hand gently stroking his cheek. He stared into her face, past the stitches and bruises, to the beautiful, gentle emotions she gave to him. Her lips, though sore and bruised, gently smiled as he had just stared. "Zero, I'm sorry. I guess I just lost my mind for a while. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you and Alex." "You and Tarmine don't get along too well, do you?" "Not really. I wish we did, though. Whatever I did... I didn't mean to." "Jules..." "Yeah?" "I-ARGH! Heero!?" "Julia, Zero, get in the house. There's going to be an attack on the house." He looked at them again. "Get dressed please. Jeez, not even Relena and I..." "AH! W. T. M. I! Way too much information!" Julia yelped and covered her ears. Heero nodded, grinned, and turned around as Zero threw on his pants and grabbed his shirt, then gave Julia his coat and grabbed her clothes too. He got up and helped up Julia, then they all ran back to the house. Milliardo, Zechs, Noin, Quatre, Trowa, Sally and Relena were all running around in a mad fit, along with a few other Preventers. "Everyone's running around like they're chickens that got their heads cut-off. It can't be that bad!" Julia shouted from somewhere behind Zero. He turned around and saw her working at a computer, her fingers frantically working at the keyboards. She slammed her fist on the board and shouted a curse. He walked over and looked at the screen, a gasp escaping his lips and his eyes widening in surprise. "It's like, ten teams. There's gotta be two-hundred men coming to this one house," He whispered. "Just about." Sally said from over his shoulder "Why so many?" Julia asked still typing and pulling up more windows. "Because they think we're hiding Gundams. Why else would there be so many?" Alex asked from the computer next to Julia and Zero. Sally's hand came in-between the two teenagers and she typed in a few things, then a screen popped up with more information. Her eyes widened and then narrowed, this was amazing, even to her. "They don't need that many weapons. What does she want to gain from this?!" Zero heard Julia's voice as he typed frantically, "Who?" A window popped up with the time remaining until the fleet would reach the small base. "Ok, ten minutes. Everyone get down into the fall-out shelter." Sally purposefully ignored Julia's question. Zero heard it in her voice.
Tarmine raced around helping her father and Qautre. They were taking most of the files and junk down into the shelter. Her father ran behind a corner for a moment then raced back and the automatic blackout counter started. "Time is set for: nine minutes and thirty seconds." Said the emotionless female voice of the computer. A clock on the wall lit-up with red numbers giving the minutes, seconds and milliseconds. Tarmine ran to a computer and shoved in three diskettes in each of the seven slots. This would trace all of their on-line files and then destroy what was on the databases of the computers. She looked up to see Julia and Zero practically fall down the stairs holding suitcases of clothes and bags of food, tossing them down then run up the stairs again. Her eyes narrowed as she realized Julia was wearing Zero's trench coat, and probably nothing else under it. She glanced over at the bags they'd dropped off and saw the clothes Julia had been wearing earlier on the ground. "Slut." "What'd you say, Tarmine?" her father asked from behind her. "Nothing dad." She said loudly. It's not fair. Tarmine thought. He loves her more than me, and I'm the one who has his daughter. That should have been enough for him. But no, he picks a girl with prettier eyes and longer hair over me. Figures. She doesn't deserve to have my mother's name as her own. "Tarmine, the only reason my son loves Julia like that is because they didn't grow up being 'cousins'. And she gave him something you forgot to give him. A few things, actually." Tarmine looked over at Qautre and glared. It was true her and Zero grew up in the same home, and they used to call eachother 'cuz' or 'cousin'. The cousin thing had changed though, when Zero found out about his daughter. But what did.... "How did you know what I was thinking?" "The look on your face. Remember; I raised you for most of your life, I know you like I know my favorite book." He grinned and pressed the delete button on the computer screen. "Files deleted." Came the electronic voice most of the automatic things in the base had. "Also," he started, helping take the disks from the drives. "I heard you call her that name. So did your father. Don't try and lie, Tarmine, it doesn't work when you're right next to people." "Whatever." They all looked up as the whole household ran down the stairs with more bags and boxes of things. Zechs's voice came out over the stomping of feet. Tarmine had to smile. "It didn't come by any of you to just pack all of this and keep it down here so it wouldn't take us as long, did it?" "Not really." came Relena's voice. "There's my mother for you." Alex said in a bland voice. "You're related to her." This from everyone else. "You married her, dad." No more arguing came for a few minutes until they were all standing there. Then Relena looked as though she had a sudden important epiphany. "Hey! I resent that!" The people around her smiled then walked to different parts of the main room of the shelter. There were about fifteen doors in the shelter, the one they all came in from, and different escape routes. The fourteen that were for running out of branched off into some elaborate labyrinth that extended out for miles and went down seven floors. There were sliding and trapdoors that led to oubliettes that had no light and mercy only knew what they held. There were electronic tigers and wolves also stalking around in the halls. Every once a month they'd be programmed with different sensory devices and up-graded in who was and wasn't enemy. They looked like real animals, and were nice weapons. There were halls that were set with traps that could easily kill or mortally wound also. The animals weren't the only things that an enemy had to keep an eye out for. There were also halls that led off into the walls of the house and base the shelter sat under. Only the people in the Preventers knew how to get out of the labyrinth. Very useful for when they'd be raided. There was also one other hallway that was put in a far wall in back of the computers. There was a sliding wall that came down once every door was shut in the living quarters, for just such an emergency as having the raiders find the shelter outside of it. It had half the number of rooms of the people that slept in them. Two people per room, sometimes more, sometimes less. Again, there were three doors in each room besides the ones that let you in and out of the room. They also branch off into the labyrinth, and the same things applied in there. And if you were just unlucky enough to get to the very bottom of the labyrinth, there'd be a very nice surprise there waiting for you. There had been a thoroughly planned out pit of ever burning fire-tile that had been installed before the first floors of the labyrinth were finished being planned. It was like a floor of molten lava that stayed in one spot and kept burning. But it was a tile Julia and Alex had accidentally created using hot plates and glass. Tarmine had to give credit where it was due. Julia, Alex and Heero had both made awesome plans when Heero had decided to have this house and base built. It was the ultimate weaponry shelter. "It will be total black out in ten..." All of the people in their shelter went into their rooms, Tarmine watched Zero walk into the room he shared with his father, Julia go into the one her and Alex shared. Everyone carried bags and suitcases, Julia carried her one extra set of clothes and still wore Zero's coat. She watched and noticed as the two of them exchanged glances, then the door shut and Tarmine sighed, turning around to face her father. The light was on, and it shone bright enough not to leave any shadows on the ground. Their doors were all shut tight enough that no light would show through anywhere out-side. The electronic voice droned on. "Five...four...three...." The first shock waves of the enemy hit. "Two... one.... Black out initialized."
Begin transmission
Beep-Beep-Beep BOOM. Alex smiled to herself as she let her arm fall to her side, along with the detonator. This was the fifteenth ex-Oz base she had destroyed this week. She was happy that the war was over, that everything was going to go back to normal. That her family and friends would finally go back to being safe as they were five years ago. "Hey Alex, you make sure no one was in there when you blew it up?" Alex grinned and looked up to see Julia. The other girl's light brown hair blew in the breeze and she smiled brightly. "Would it be so bad if I didn't?" She grimaced and stood up. It was time to put her strong points to use. She, if anyone, had to put on a strong face for Julia. Be her strong self. Julia had lost a lot in the war, and no one wanted to see her being weak. Least of all Alex. "I think God might forgive you if you ask him." Julia's smile faded and she sighed softly. "Hey, I'll take you home. Your dad needs to talk to all of us about something. I think it's about..." "Shut up, Julia. You talk too much." Alex said playfully. She smiled and pulled on a length of Julia's long hair. "Let's go home. You still have to do your paper." "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're worse than Heero, Relena, Zero and Tarmine. Why can't everyone just lay off my back?" They started walking back to the private road where Julia's blue sports car was parked. "Because we want you to do your best. There's only a month of school left, and you're falling behind." Alex opened her door and got in. Julia got in on the driver's side and started the car as Alex buckled her seatbelt. "Put yours on." Alex said as Julia backed out and drove down the road. "Why?" "We might get in a crash, knowing how you drive." The darker-haired girl nudged the lighter in the ribs, making her squeal in laughter. "I've been through worse." Alex looked over at Julia and saw the serious look on her face as she drove to the main street, screeching to turn a corner and get on her way down a deep hill. Her eyes wandered from Julia to the people on the sidewalks. After the war, there'd been many people going homeless because most colonies had been destroyed. She looked at the old and young walking along, sad and dirty, starving and dying. Alex cringed and looked back to Julia. "Why are you so sad, Jules?" "I have a reason to be sad. I live alone, I hardly see you guys, the one thing I was so focused on has been gone a year and I still feel the aftershocks. And look around you, Alex. Look at everything. It all went to hell after the war. This is what comes after wars." Julia had enjoyed the war, everyone knew that. When she had fought she'd always had this certain gleam to her eyes, a light to her mood. And the thing about living alone. She knew what that was about. A couple of months ago she'd asked Zero to move in with her, but he'd told her that it was too soon. They'd been together two years, which should have been long enough. And another part about it was that Julia's parents had both been killed when she was young. "Her mother during child-birth, her father by 'Lady Une'" during a summit meeting when she was six. She had no true family to rely on. Unless the few ex-pilots counted as something. "Jules, if you want to talk-" "What's to talk about?" She slammed on the brakes as a little kid ran in front of her car. Her whole body was almost ready to crash into the window as the air bag popped out. Alex looked over in shock as Julia screamed a curse and jammed the air-bag back in. "STUPID KIDS DON'T RUN IN FRONT OF MOVING VEHICLES!!!" She yelled out the window. "Julia, I'll drive, if you don't mind." She pushed the door open and shoved Julia out then got over in the other seat as Julia walked over to the other side, sitting down. Alex reached over her and grabbed the seatbelt, buckling it for the enraged girl. She herself did her belt and they were on their way. The blue car entered the driveway to the big house Alex and her parents lived in. The giant, four-story mansion was in the center of a huge rose garden, at the end of a long driveway. It was edged with a forest and a lake, and then lined with a high-security line of fences and guard-towers that only stood a few feet up. But it was enough. "Is Zero gonna be here?" Alex asked as she parked the car. The two girls got out and started walking toward the house, the large doors opening by the butler. "Yes." Julia took the lead and they walked to the main hall, going into a big conference room. Inside were two other ex-pilots and Heero and Relena Yuy. Quatre R. Winner and Sally Po were sitting in seat kitty-corner eachother, and Lucrezia (Noin) and Milliardo Peacecraft were sitting in seats right next to Relena and Heero. Julia took a seat at the other end of the table from Zero. Alex sat opposite, then watched Zero get up and walk over to sit by Julia. She got up and walked to the side Zero was at, and sat down alone. Alex heard Zero mutter something under his breath and smiled to herself. She'd never liked Zero because he bothered her. When he hurt Julia it made her angrier. He was too sure of himself, too arrogant. Like he was at school. It bothered her even more that Julia had had to get rid of her reputation by defending Tarmine before he liked anything more than her body. He and Tarmine had thought her an air-headed-Barbie-doll-preppy-mall- rat-egotistical-snob before she almost killed two people for beating Tarmine. "The reason I've asked everyone here," Heero started. "Is because the Preventers have spotted military activity in the XGPZ-zero-one-one-two- three-nine area. It looks like either left-over Oz or Barton Foundation military, and you guys know how to handle it." "A year after the war is over there's still people wanting to fight? Gee, let's think, that's gonna be hard to get rid of a small, little army of misfit soldiers who want to start something. Heero, next time you have some 'big, important news,' don't bother calling me." Julia stood up and walked out of the room, absolutely surprising everyone there. Heero sighed. He'd taken Julia in after her parents were killed, and he'd raised her to fight. Seeing her like this made him doubt what he learned as a pilot. "Zero, could you go check on her?" "Don't send him, it's mostly his fault." Alex said with a bark. "My fault? What did I do?!" "Zero never did anything to her, you're just blaming him because you hate him." "You get out of this, Tarmine! You have no right to butt-into other people's business." "You get off her back!" "MAKE ME!" "ALRIGHT!" "SHUT UP!" Heero said, slamming his fist onto the table. Trowa, Quatre and him ran around the table to keep the three ex-pilots from killing eachother, holding them back with difficulty. "Everyone, calm down!" Relena said loudly. She watched the fighting and sighed. Sally grinned and rolled her eyes; it was so nice to see everyone together like this.
Julia looked down at her reflection in the water. Her face was stressed, and the make-up she wore lightly hid it. Before she put on her make-up in the mornings, she would see the big black bags under her eyes from restless nights and dragging days. Her hair was perfect, though, braided back with only a few loose strands. She'd had to beat off guys when she got back to school after the war. They hadn't changed as much as she had. And Zero just acted like the war hadn't happened, but he did treat her with a little more respect after it. The only thing she could really see through the make-up, the only thing that had changed permanently was a scar that ran from her hairline to the opposite side of the face, ending at the lower-cheek. That was the only place she worked hard on in the mornings. She didn't like it to show too much. It was also why she didn't have any mirrors in her house except for the small one in her bathroom. Even then, it wasn't a big one. It was a hand-mirror that only showed parts of her face at a time, so she didn't have to see the scar as part of her. Though she knew it was. She kept it as a reminder of... things. "Hey kid." Julia looked up to see Zechs Peacecraft walk up. She sighed and turned around to see him better, grimacing at the smoke he puffed out of his mouth. She watched him take another long drag, then took the cigarette and flicked it into the lake. "You shouldn't smoke, it's not good for you." Julia took in his picture. The soft, long, platinum blonde hair that his father used to have had been passed down. He looked identical to the younger Milliardo Peacecraft. He and Zero looked a little alike, though when she let her mind flow it was Zero who was so much more beautiful. Even if he was almost as big a jerk as Zechs could be. "Yeah, but the part of flying and battling in a Gundam didn't do too much for any of us either." He looked at her face, right past the make-up. "You shouldn't stress about nothing, it's not good for you." "Shut up, Zechs. I'm tired of it all." She put her back against a large weeping willow, sliding down to sit of the soft grass. Her knees came up to her chest and she hugged them to her, sighing softly. Zechs sat by the girl. He'd always had an attraction to her, but he knew she didn't like him like that. There was something about him that had always scared her away from him. He only wished he'd known what. "All of what?" "Everything! I hate it how I'm supposed to be the one everyone can look to for help. I hate it how everyone expects me to be happy-go-lucky Julia. I hate it how Zero thinks he's everything to me. How he's being such a big, stupid jerk right now. I hate it how everyone thinks I'm always supposed to be the strong one and make jokes about everything! I hate it all. I'm a normal human being, and I've lost everything, and they expect to look to me for blue skies and sunny days. And then they expect me to keep up my grades, social skills, job, reputation and perky attitude when I can't rely on anyone else for help. I'm only seventeen and I'm in charge of Trades Peace through the world and space, then be a Preventer and drop everything to go out and help Heero Yuy with every little thing. I don't even know what the words vacation or break means anymore." She started to cry, "I hate it." Zechs realized just how stressed she was. This was the real Julia coming out. She'd been scared more than physically during the last few years. Hesitantly he wrapped his arms around Julia and pulled her onto his lap. He rocked her and whispered, "It's ok" for a while. After a half an hour she stopped crying and just sat there, sniffling between broken sobs. "Julia, have you told anyone else what you told me?" "No. They wouldn't understand. Zero would think it's his fault and start a routine of asking me what he did wrong." "But it is partly his fault." "I know, I just... jeez." She buried her head into his neck and tried to control her sobs. For some reason, she didn't feel weird with him like this. It bothered her more that it didn't bother her, because it should have. The two of them sat under the tree talking for an hour, until Julia finally climbed out of his lap and just sat beside him. "I think Zero's afraid of losing you, Jules." Zechs said softly as the sun started to sink into the lake. He felt Julia's weight shift and looked over at her. She was staring into the water with a sad, serious look on her face. "Why would I let him go if I need him so bad?" She whispered to herself more than him. Zero, as much as she hated to confess it, was right about him being her everything. Through the war, he'd been the reason she'd not just let herself go. "You're letting yourself deteriorate. You need to have the good attitude, because happiness makes people feel better. You've even said it yourself. The reason we all look to you for blue skies is because you were always the sure one, always the one buried in faith with God. The one that always told us He was up there helping us, and you were always so happy. As soon as you started to become sad, I think we all kinda lost faith in some things. To Zero, it's his faith that you two will stay together." "Then it's my fault." "It's partially all of our faults. I know we've run you to your edge. I also know you and Zero need to spend time together. Alex's personality of no emotions is rubbing off on you. Keep your faith in us. Keep your faith in God. He'll make everything all right. You of all people need to remember that." Zechs stood up and smiled down at her. "I'll talk to you later, but for now I have to go in and see if anyone was killed during the meeting." Julia nodded and watched the last bit of sun slip behind clouds and sink into the water. She leaned against the tree and watched the water for a while. "Julia?" The silence she'd drowned in was broken by Zero's voice. Julia realized then that she'd dozed off, just long enough for the clouds to pass and the stars to come out. She'd been so far out that Zero's footsteps hadn't made a sound. "Julia...." He sat beside her, his soft blonde hair falling over his shoulders to brush her own. "Hey, you in there?" "Unfortunately." She said in a soft voice. Why was he out here? What did he want to talk about? Did Zechs say anything? It was a little awkward having him sit beside her after she'd run out of the room. It had mostly been because of him that she ran out. "I'm not going to ask you what I did, because I know. And I'm sorry. It's just scary how you've been acting like this, I didn't think you had the ability to be depressed." "I'm sorry if my robotic appearance of being Miss Perfect has faltered. I'm only human." "And I've been pushing that fact aside." He put a gentle finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at it. "You've quit a lot of things lately, Julia. That includes going to church. I thought maybe you'd quit on me." Julia stared up into Zero's beautiful blue/green eyes. He really was scared, Zechs had been right. "Zero, I wouldn't give up on you. And no matter what anyone thinks, I haven't given up on God. I still listen to my worship CD's, and I still praise Him, and pray, and so much other stuff. I just don't have time to go to church. I miss that." Zero smiled sadly. Julia had been very Christian, even when fighting. She had said she was a soldier in God's army, helping the weak become strong. She had changed a lot of people's minds while fighting, too. She'd been so into her faith that half of one squadron of Oz soldiers had stopped fighting once. God had done a lot for Julia, and she was forgetting that because she didn't have a few key things she needed. If she didn't think she had a family, though, she was wrong. God was her Father, and the ex- pilots and their parents were a family to her. "I miss my dad, Zero. I miss fighting, because I felt like I belonged somewhere. I miss just hanging out with everyone. I miss you. I wanted you to come live with me because I'm lonely. You're always out with your other friends, and then you're busy when I'm not. At least if we lived together I'd see more of you." She looked away from him and back to the lake, closing her eyes when his arms wrapped around her. "You were really serious about it, then." He gently kissed her temple and Julia tried to keep back her tears. Why was he doing this to her? He knew she had no power in his arms, when he used that certain tone of voice. "Please, Zero." She whimpered softly. Zero looked down at Julia in his arms. "What's so wrong, my fawn?" Julia took in a deep breath and told him what she'd told Zechs. After she got it all out Zero sat there. An awkward silence filled the air and Julia fidgeted lightly. Zero ran his hand down to the tie in her braid, taking it out and letting Julia's long hair feather out around her. "Jules, I'm sorry. If you had told me this earlier, I wouldn't have hurt you like this." "So it's all my fault?" Zero sighed softly. He would have come right out and said yes, they both knew it. But he didn't say anything at all. "Listen, Zero, you don't have to worry about my leaving you. If we were to break up, it wouldn't be because of me. I'm never going to give up on you, or God. Least of all God. He gave me you when I needed you most. You've just been... like the Zero we all knew before we went to the base. As soon as we'd gotten there, you'd changed into someone I fell in love with. And I still love you. And I'll always love you." "I'll always love you too, Julia. And I am sorry."
Zechs watched the two from where he stood on the balcony. He watched as they talked for a few minutes, then as Zero's lips tenderly met Julia's. He sighed softly and watched as the two teenagers slowly took off each other's clothes and Zero laid Julia down on them. Finally turning away as they joined hips he was surprised to see Tarmine standing beside him. She was staring out at the two also, with a soft, sad smile on her face. "She doesn't know how lucky she is to have him. She's all he ever talks about, all he ever worries about." The violet-headed girl said. Zechs looked back to the slowly moving silhouette. It was beautiful that two people could be so close together like they were at that moment. He'd always viewed sex as sharing not only bodies, but souls as well. He knew, how Julia held her poise, that she'd only been with Zero, and no one else. He also knew, though, that Tarmine and Zero had shared eachother once, that their friendship had gone too far one night. That had led to Tarmine becoming pregnant and giving birth to Zero's daughter. He remembered the first few days at the base. How that was one of the main things that had happened, Zero found out he was a father. Zechs didn't know all the details, but it seemed that Tarmine had gone away for the months she was pregnant. "You know, you can tell he loves her. Even after he found out about Marine he stayed with Julia. He's never tried to hurt her; sometimes he just does things without thinking. It's not his fault, though. He doesn't know when he hurts her, because she never says anything. And he's just so naive about things. But she never says anything." "You're blaming her?" Zechs asked with a sneer. "She's been run to the wall by the both of you, Tarmine. After everything we've all put her through, she's going to be quiet about her pain. You of all people should know about that. You've always kept your pain hidden." Tarmine looked over at Zechs. "You like her, don't you?" "Everyone likes Julia. It doesn't matter, though, Tarmine. I wouldn't want her to leave him if it meant she'd be sad." "What if he went for another girl? And she were to want to break up with him, then?" She was prying. Getting on his nerves. The next few hours may be just a waste of his time. "You and I both know that wouldn't happen. Look at them, out there, they're in love and there's nothing we can do to break that. As much as I know we'd both benefit from it, they wouldn't." If they were miserable, then we wouldn't even benefit from it. The gentle outcry of climax drifted on the wind to where the two stood. They both looked over to watch the tender touches and soft kisses that followed. No one but Tarmine and Zechs would be able to see them. No one would be able to see the peaceful motions of two lovers but them. Even as the shadows seperated to only connect again, Zechs knew that this was something he'd only see a single time. He knew that the feeling he was having at that moment would only be felt once, because the aura of Zero and Julia would fall away with the new war that was beginning. That he and the girl next to him were in on. "Don't go for something you can't have, Tarmine. It'll turn out badly for you." Zechs turned away from the scene of love, from the angry face of Tarmine. He walked inside the big house and then to his room. Taking off his shirt and pants he climbed into the large bed that seemed a little too cold tonight. Sleep seemed too far off, so he went over what he'd heard earlier from his father and mother. "They're setting up new bases. They've taken over space and started to fix colonies. The soldiers call themselves 'Plague.'" Zechs's father looked at his mother. His blue eyes becoming sad. "They will start another war, then, Lucrezia?" "That's their plan. We don't have enough resources left to fight off as big an army as they have. We've run out of options, the only thing left is for the kids to go out and fight again. We can't do it; I know Heero can't do it. We've all had our share of medical problems, those of us that fought before. And the only ones we have that can fight in a Gundam besides the kids are Trowa, Quatre, Heero and you. Trowa won't, because of Tarmine. Quatre won't, because he's gone back to pacifism, Heero can't because of his arthritis. And I'm not too sure you want to go out and fight, either." "So you'll send us because we're still strong?" Zechs asked coming out of the shadows. His mother winced and looked away, then back. Her eyes held a type of pain he'd seen may times before. "We have to." "Haven't we suffered enough? Look at what it did to some of us, mother. Look at Trowa's kid; look at Julia for God's Sake. Especially Julia. She's been going down since we stopped fighting, she can't get back into a Gundam to have it taken from her again. Armageddon isn't even able to fight. We all know that. And she won't fight in anything else." "What about Alex?" "Alex is holding it together for Julia. You can't push us out there again." Milliardo stood up and walked over to his son. He stared into the identical blue eyes of the kid he once was. He recognized the same determination he once had, the same need to fight. And the same feeling that he couldn't possibly fight anymore. "It's been almost twenty years since I last fought in a war, Zechs. I know it's hard to go back, because I never did. I don't want you to grow up like me, but this is the only way we can save Earth and Space. One lost person is better than millions." "Then you tell them that. You try and tell Heero that we have to go out again, tell Relena her little girl has to go and fight again. Tell Qautre his son has to go and fight, has to leave the pacifism that he'd wanted since he was a pilot. You try and tell Trowa he could lose Tarmine, like he lost Juliann. You try and tell Julia she's gonna have a life again, to have it ripped away like it was last time. That she could lose even more than she's already lost. I want to see you tell them all that they might go through losing what they hold most prized. Try and tell Zero he could lose Julia again."
Zero gently wrapped his arms around Julia's waist. He pulled up his long trench coat to cover their cooling bodies. In the dark, Julia's skin looked perfect, but Zero knew differently. He could remember her pain; remember the one battle he'd lost her for a while. He remembered seeing her ripped body, watching the doctors take shards of glass and metal from her lifeless form on the operating table. Remembered watching them sew her body back together, stitch-by-stitch. Then he'd watched her lay there, broken and gone. He'd heard them say she'd needed a blood transfusion, since she'd lost a lot of it. Zero was the only one able to donate, because they shared the same blood type, and no one else had her type but him. He remembered watching his lifeblood flow into Julia, watching her color come back to her cheeks. He'd held her hand while he did it, and as she regained consciousness, how she squeezed his hand and started to cry. Things seemed to have gone blurry, and they both of them fell asleep again. Zero had woken up to feel Julia's hand gently stroking his cheek. He stared into her face, past the stitches and bruises, to the beautiful, gentle emotions she gave to him. Her lips, though sore and bruised, gently smiled as he had just stared. "Zero, I'm sorry. I guess I just lost my mind for a while. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you and Alex." "You and Tarmine don't get along too well, do you?" "Not really. I wish we did, though. Whatever I did... I didn't mean to." "Jules..." "Yeah?" "I-ARGH! Heero!?" "Julia, Zero, get in the house. There's going to be an attack on the house." He looked at them again. "Get dressed please. Jeez, not even Relena and I..." "AH! W. T. M. I! Way too much information!" Julia yelped and covered her ears. Heero nodded, grinned, and turned around as Zero threw on his pants and grabbed his shirt, then gave Julia his coat and grabbed her clothes too. He got up and helped up Julia, then they all ran back to the house. Milliardo, Zechs, Noin, Quatre, Trowa, Sally and Relena were all running around in a mad fit, along with a few other Preventers. "Everyone's running around like they're chickens that got their heads cut-off. It can't be that bad!" Julia shouted from somewhere behind Zero. He turned around and saw her working at a computer, her fingers frantically working at the keyboards. She slammed her fist on the board and shouted a curse. He walked over and looked at the screen, a gasp escaping his lips and his eyes widening in surprise. "It's like, ten teams. There's gotta be two-hundred men coming to this one house," He whispered. "Just about." Sally said from over his shoulder "Why so many?" Julia asked still typing and pulling up more windows. "Because they think we're hiding Gundams. Why else would there be so many?" Alex asked from the computer next to Julia and Zero. Sally's hand came in-between the two teenagers and she typed in a few things, then a screen popped up with more information. Her eyes widened and then narrowed, this was amazing, even to her. "They don't need that many weapons. What does she want to gain from this?!" Zero heard Julia's voice as he typed frantically, "Who?" A window popped up with the time remaining until the fleet would reach the small base. "Ok, ten minutes. Everyone get down into the fall-out shelter." Sally purposefully ignored Julia's question. Zero heard it in her voice.
Tarmine raced around helping her father and Qautre. They were taking most of the files and junk down into the shelter. Her father ran behind a corner for a moment then raced back and the automatic blackout counter started. "Time is set for: nine minutes and thirty seconds." Said the emotionless female voice of the computer. A clock on the wall lit-up with red numbers giving the minutes, seconds and milliseconds. Tarmine ran to a computer and shoved in three diskettes in each of the seven slots. This would trace all of their on-line files and then destroy what was on the databases of the computers. She looked up to see Julia and Zero practically fall down the stairs holding suitcases of clothes and bags of food, tossing them down then run up the stairs again. Her eyes narrowed as she realized Julia was wearing Zero's trench coat, and probably nothing else under it. She glanced over at the bags they'd dropped off and saw the clothes Julia had been wearing earlier on the ground. "Slut." "What'd you say, Tarmine?" her father asked from behind her. "Nothing dad." She said loudly. It's not fair. Tarmine thought. He loves her more than me, and I'm the one who has his daughter. That should have been enough for him. But no, he picks a girl with prettier eyes and longer hair over me. Figures. She doesn't deserve to have my mother's name as her own. "Tarmine, the only reason my son loves Julia like that is because they didn't grow up being 'cousins'. And she gave him something you forgot to give him. A few things, actually." Tarmine looked over at Qautre and glared. It was true her and Zero grew up in the same home, and they used to call eachother 'cuz' or 'cousin'. The cousin thing had changed though, when Zero found out about his daughter. But what did.... "How did you know what I was thinking?" "The look on your face. Remember; I raised you for most of your life, I know you like I know my favorite book." He grinned and pressed the delete button on the computer screen. "Files deleted." Came the electronic voice most of the automatic things in the base had. "Also," he started, helping take the disks from the drives. "I heard you call her that name. So did your father. Don't try and lie, Tarmine, it doesn't work when you're right next to people." "Whatever." They all looked up as the whole household ran down the stairs with more bags and boxes of things. Zechs's voice came out over the stomping of feet. Tarmine had to smile. "It didn't come by any of you to just pack all of this and keep it down here so it wouldn't take us as long, did it?" "Not really." came Relena's voice. "There's my mother for you." Alex said in a bland voice. "You're related to her." This from everyone else. "You married her, dad." No more arguing came for a few minutes until they were all standing there. Then Relena looked as though she had a sudden important epiphany. "Hey! I resent that!" The people around her smiled then walked to different parts of the main room of the shelter. There were about fifteen doors in the shelter, the one they all came in from, and different escape routes. The fourteen that were for running out of branched off into some elaborate labyrinth that extended out for miles and went down seven floors. There were sliding and trapdoors that led to oubliettes that had no light and mercy only knew what they held. There were electronic tigers and wolves also stalking around in the halls. Every once a month they'd be programmed with different sensory devices and up-graded in who was and wasn't enemy. They looked like real animals, and were nice weapons. There were halls that were set with traps that could easily kill or mortally wound also. The animals weren't the only things that an enemy had to keep an eye out for. There were also halls that led off into the walls of the house and base the shelter sat under. Only the people in the Preventers knew how to get out of the labyrinth. Very useful for when they'd be raided. There was also one other hallway that was put in a far wall in back of the computers. There was a sliding wall that came down once every door was shut in the living quarters, for just such an emergency as having the raiders find the shelter outside of it. It had half the number of rooms of the people that slept in them. Two people per room, sometimes more, sometimes less. Again, there were three doors in each room besides the ones that let you in and out of the room. They also branch off into the labyrinth, and the same things applied in there. And if you were just unlucky enough to get to the very bottom of the labyrinth, there'd be a very nice surprise there waiting for you. There had been a thoroughly planned out pit of ever burning fire-tile that had been installed before the first floors of the labyrinth were finished being planned. It was like a floor of molten lava that stayed in one spot and kept burning. But it was a tile Julia and Alex had accidentally created using hot plates and glass. Tarmine had to give credit where it was due. Julia, Alex and Heero had both made awesome plans when Heero had decided to have this house and base built. It was the ultimate weaponry shelter. "It will be total black out in ten..." All of the people in their shelter went into their rooms, Tarmine watched Zero walk into the room he shared with his father, Julia go into the one her and Alex shared. Everyone carried bags and suitcases, Julia carried her one extra set of clothes and still wore Zero's coat. She watched and noticed as the two of them exchanged glances, then the door shut and Tarmine sighed, turning around to face her father. The light was on, and it shone bright enough not to leave any shadows on the ground. Their doors were all shut tight enough that no light would show through anywhere out-side. The electronic voice droned on. "Five...four...three...." The first shock waves of the enemy hit. "Two... one.... Black out initialized."