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That's the Way

Chapter 7

Swan Song

Une had barely slept in days. She was in a frenzy, trying to keep everything together as the previously deceased Relena Peacecraft was brought back to earth. Une thought it best if the team keep her private, do all they could to avoid the bustle of the media. They would have a field day once they found out the ex-Queen of the World was back from the dead. Une had not talked to Relena yet, but she was already picturing how traumatized she must be. She would try to shake that sad feeling as she remembered how strong of a young woman she had always been and hoped for the best that she still maintained that demeanor even despite the horrific kidnapping she has endured. Time will be key, as will her privacy.

She absently tapped her desk with the bottom of her pen, remembering the recent memory of Heero's call and the information he had to share about their mission. She expected to hear that they were successful in their endeavors and that they would be on their way back to her with the forged documents Initially she was infuriated that they had not successfully retrieved the files but as she reprimanded the entire team, Heero's low, steady voice stated the simplest but most unexpected of sentences: they found Relena, alive.

Une knew that Heero would never make a joke about such a thing, or in general, and she knew that he was well aware that she was not the joking type so it had to be the truth. But before she was ever given the chance to question him, the camera was turned on the sleeping princess – battered and malnourished, but still breathing. From what she could tell, she would make a full recovery physically. She did not have time to sit in her wonder as she needed to get organize a plan for them to get her back to earth unnoticed and completely invisible.

It was a simple enough task to shut down a portion of the spaceport on Colony L2-V07835, it was not located in a thriving metropolis as theirs was. For them to safely get Relena through would require them shutting down at least a third of the station, close off the entire west port. To achieve that feat at the last minute would require a mass of angry would-be travelers and cause a stir in the spaceport's annual gross, but the benefit outweighed the cost in this instance and she would go through with it as she decided. The blame was officially set against a malfunctioning shuttle and a small collision in a single dock. As a result, it set off a surge of errors in the computer readings, which presented an unsafe environment for travelling civilians. They had a last minute shut down for their safety – taking the precautions necessary so none are injured. It was believable enough but the CEOs were not pleased to hear about the required intervention of their income without a known legitimate reason. The excuse of a top-secret government project was beginning to wear, but they still could not refuse.

They would be arriving within the hour so everything had been set in motion. She was not surprised in the least at the uproar of travelers as they were told their flights were cancelled. She had her top agents in spaceport security uniforms and left them to be in charge of keeping the perimeter secure, not holding much faith in the security hired at the station. She brought in all the agents who were on the team of their initial discovery of the hidden information on Heero's security system. The ex-Gundam pilots were head of the team and the extraction of Relena but Mathias was brought in to lead the rest of the unit on earth until they touched ground.

Mathias was overlooking everyone in the west wing and the general surrounding area, quickly sweeping the screens as he ensured no curious eyes were attempting to catch a glimpse of the culprit of such disarray and aggravation to the station. Mathias had the pilots on headsets, constantly feeding them the necessary information for a seamless exit.

"Yuy, the perimeter is all clear. We are keeping a constant watch on it, men at every entrance. No chance of anyone getting through."

"Just keep it that way." Heero's rough voice buzzed through.

Mathias knew Heero was a stony individual. He could not imagine why he would not be. Completely war hardened as a child, seeing and dealing more death and destruction in twenty-one years than fifty people in fifty lifetimes and the death of one woman who he had held so close to him for four years. It was probably that much easier to shut it off than to let it all spill over.

But he was merely a silent observer in the distance, knowing things only by word of mouth. In recent years, he and Duo had worked some jobs together while Heero was on leave. The questions just came out and Duo, anxious to get it off his chest, would answer.

Some of the things he learned had him left in complete disbelief. What a life, he thought.

Time moved quickly from that point, the pilots coming in for a landing at the empty port. Mathias relayed the necessary information to his team, the pilots all calculating the amount of time it would take to travel from the shuttle to the vehicle. Even in a controlled environment, there were additional factors to account for, any possible worst-case scenario. If they assumed their time constraints properly, then each sector could be appropriately cleared as they move through. This was an especially delicate situation and no mistakes could be made and none tolerated. This was why Une brought in the best, because she knew they could achieve the best.

The group moved quickly, exiting the pod and hasting through the station. Mathias had not thought the pilots to be lying about Relena's recent resurrection, but he had not realized his borderline disbelief until he actually saw the frail form of the Foreign Minister. Actually seeing her solidified in him that this was actually happening, that this was not a dream that his subconscious was playing for him. The simple fact that Commander Une entrusted him being a part of this mission was honoring enough. Being the leader of it validated all the hard work, the long hours, the work-related injuries – everything leading up to this moment was more worth it than he had imagined.

He watched silently as they continued on, relaxed but cautious, alert yet fatigued. This was the close of a long, exhausting operation.

Mathias guided them through, telling them the exact route to follow and the agents at their checkpoints provided them with maintenance crew jackets, hats and toolboxes. They were coming up on their exit, dressed in inconspicuous garb.

His breath was held as they were heading for the sliding glass door. For twelve yards, they would be out in the open. This was the compromising part where more was out of their control. They had sectioned off to keep the line of direction clear for the repair team, but there were still civilians and onlookers surrounding it. They could not have Relena be recognized under any circumstance. He watched as Relena's chin dropped toward her chest, Duo handing her a tablet for her to likely aimlessly tap at until they reached their transport. The men were on either side of her and the remaining in the front, keeping her face out of easy view without making it an obvious show that something was trying to be hidden.

Trowa opened the door of the van, motioning for the woman to climb inside and the men followed after.

Letting loose a long sigh of relief, Mathias leaned back in his chair. They were not done yet, but with so many factors out of their hands and things moving as smoothly as they had was encouraging. Though at the unit, there was more to go through, it was easier to manage and they could walk in and through with no strife.

"Alright, we're in the clear. Let's head back to H-Q." He yelled to the driver and slapped his hand flat against the wall dividing them. "Maxwell, how is she?"

"She needs to get to the doctor. This entire trip was taxing on her and she needs a good long rest. But not before a thorough examination is done on her."

"We'll be there in no time. Doctor Sally Po will be waiting for you on the forth floor. It is all secured and accommodations, though sparse, are all ready for her."

"Perfect."


Sally anxiously paced before the row elevators, her heels clicking in sync with her erratic heartbeat. She continued to glance at the screen that displayed the number floor the elevator was at. They were only moments away from her but today the contraption seemed to moving especially slow.

The high-pitched ding alerted her and she listened to the slow groan of the doors opening. It was easy enough to recognize the five men in the elevator but her eyes were on the young woman in the wheel chair. One who she knew well but her brain could not process the unrecognizable look of defeat on one she had previously known to be so strong.

She was fully expecting this to be difficult but her emotions were about to overtake her. All her years as a doctor, treating those she knew well, and this was the hardest moment she had ever faced. She hated to retreat to it but there was no other way for her to handle this moment. Pushing all emotion away, she barred herself against the intrusions. Fortunately her choice of profession has allowed her to automatically desensitize herself when she felt overwhelmed. Now more than ever she needed that skill.

"Follow me." Her voice was low and leveled as she turned promptly and headed to the examination room. The men followed, Quatre pushing her behind her and the others trailing behind.

"All of you will wait out here."

She shut the door on them without looking back.

The men were silent, finally able to let the notion sink in that they had found their missing princess.

"Gentlemen," Commander Une's voice cut through the silent corridor, "I would like to see you in my office in three hours. In the meantime, get some rest. I will tell you now that I want a full report on what happened, written by tomorrow night."

"Yes, Commander."

The group disbanded, going their separate ways until they were scheduled to join Une for their briefing. Each used the time to relax in their own way and were mentally organizing the series of events to document.

Heero was the last to enter the office. The discussion of their series of events had already begun. Une's eyes were fixed pointedly at him.

"Nice of you to join us, Heero. Please, take a seat."

He accepted, remaining silent. He did not join in the conversation until he was asked about Relena. He told them about his trek through the bunker, describing everything in vivid detail, not skimping on anything.

"It doesn't even sound like a place suitable for an animal." Quatre whispered, only learning of this the first time. The majority of the ride back Heero had been quiet, Relena sleeping safely next to him. They had asked him questions but he would not answer. It was the same shock that overtook him when they all thought they had lost Relena, so they waited until he was ready to answer. It was not until they had to discussion their mission on getting her out safely did he finally reanimate.

The conversation continued on to their return, Une jotting down certain notes. "The files I want from all of you will describe from the moment you left, to the moment you returned here. I want to hear of any discovery you made, anything that may not seem pertinent – write it down. I want to know every detail to draw us closer to these people. I want to know everything that went on as if I were seeing it through your eyes. Do you understand?" They all nodded. "Good." She sighed, placing the papers in her desk drawer and locking it. "Now, on the matter of Relena."

There was an obvious stiffening among the group, jaws tightening, muscles rigid. This was the sensitive part of their meeting that Une wished she did not have to discuss but it was unavoidable.

"I have already talked to Zechs about this, but now you must hear it." She cleared her throat, "Relena has been gone over two years. In that time, we don't know what happened. You have a vague idea just from seeing her as you had. It is no secret that there was physical abuse. I do not know much of these people so I do not know how far they would take that sort of treatment. She was clearly not living in the healthiest of conditions, but malnourishment is a given.

"At this moment, I cannot provide with you a full report on her immediate condition. I know for a fact that Sally is doing all she can to make her comfortable and she will not rest until she knows Relena is. But I need all of you," she paused to meet the eyes of every man in the room, "when the information gets to us, to be prepared to hear the worst. And when you do, contain those feelings. You cannot act rashly at this point in the game. We may not have all the cards but we still have the most chips. We have Relena now and she brings us one step closer. Any slip-ups could make these people hide deeper and it was already difficult enough to get this close to them. When the time comes, I want each and every one of you to channel those feelings of disdain and give them all you got. But at this moment, please, keep yourselves in check." She made it a point to give Heero the longest look, ensuring he know that this speech was being said to all but was mostly directed to him. "All of you get a full night's rest. Sally will not be giving her report to us until tomorrow morning."

Heero left the room, walking back to the Preventer Medical Center. He bypassed the forth floor as he walked up the stairs, looking for a quiet place to think while being the closest to her he could. It did not take him long to reach the roof of the building. He walked to the edge, only a thin, stout row of bricks lining the entire structure. He took in the view, relaxing.

The sun had since dropped behind the horizon. The moon was high and shining bright, the breeze pushing the night chill against his exposed skin. He looked at the city, the tall buildings reaching the stars, the unnatural lights mixing with that of nature's. He found the noise to be soothing, the sound of running vehicles, on the ground and in the air, the sirens of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks all coming together in a symphony of urban life.

Hours had passed since Heero had been standing there alone. He had barely moved, acting as a statue as he stared off into the night sky. The rest of the city had long ago gone to sleep, some already preparing for their new day of work. He examined his watch. It was four seventeen in the morning but he still could not bring himself to sleep.

He tensed as he heard the scratching of the metal door against the concrete but he did not turn around. He knew who to expect, he was always the first one to find him to check on him.

"Hey, man. You can't sleep either?" Duo said to him as he took a seat on the brick wall. He propped a leg up and rested an arm on it, his other leg dangling off the edge. He always seemed so relaxed. "I'm surprised you're up here. I thought for sure you would be waiting right outside her room."

The two sat in silence for a time, watching the night sky as they thought about the past few days. "She's going to be okay."
"You don't know that."

"We saw her. Her injuries are manageable, Sally can have her back to new in no time."
"Mentally, emotionally. I doubt she will ever be okay again."

Duo leaned back, looking at the other man. "She is stronger than that and you know it. She is way too stubborn to let them have that kind of satisfaction."

Heero turned his head, his dark eyes closing. "I let her down."

"You keep blaming yourself for something that was completely out of your control. You can't keep doing that, man."

"You didn't see her the way I did!" He turned abruptly, his voice sharp, cutting straight through Duo's optimism. Duo immediately jumped up from his seat, turning toward the other man.

"And so what if I had? Nothing changes the fact that she is damn strong enough to come back from this. She survived this far already. There is no reason she can't keep fighting now." Duo's voice was rigid, matching Heero's tone without raising his volume. He was trying to bring some sense into his closest friend without angering him.

"How would you feel? You think it's so easy to just shut it off. Two years. Two years I spent thinking her death was my fault. Now I have to spend a lifetime knowing I caused her all this pain. No one can turn that off."

"We all thought she was dead. There was no way you can have known."

Heero shook his head. "I should have known! I was responsible for her. It was my security system that screwed up. It was me who was not there when I was supposed to be."

"If you were there, you would have been killed. You're no good to her dead."

Heero turned around taking a few steps away from his comrade. "I just needed to look. It was so simple. Everything I needed was right there in plain sight. I could have gotten to her so much sooner. But I was too ashamed of myself to even try, because I let her down. I promised I would never let anyone hurt her and now look at her." He ran an exhausted hand down his face. "I could have saved her but instead I left her to rot like some filthy animal. There was more I could have done for her. I should have done." His voice was calmed but pained, his guilt reaching its peak at this moment.

Duo could not think of anything to do but put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Heero, man, this isn't your fault. None of us checked. It was hard for all of us. There were so many people who could have checked but we just didn't. We didn't know what we could do. Every last one of us took a hard hit from it. I know it was hardest for you, but you still can't say this was your fault. You didn't do this. You didn't cause any of this. There was nothing that you could have done."

"Stop saying that!" Heero was livid, whipping around to face Duo. His resentment for himself was burning his skin as he seethed. "Do you honestly believe that? Why do you think it is so simple? I have heard it a thousand times from everyone and I don't buy that for one second, because she has been laying in some prison for years, traumatized and abused because I messed up." His breaths were coming in deep heaves, his anger constricting his lungs. He looked down, the anger dissipating as quickly as it came. "Every way I look at it, it is my fault. And you continue to stand there and act like it wasn't. Indirectly, I caused this whole disaster and now she is the one suffering for my mistake."

The braided man stood in disbelief, unsure of how to comfort his friend. These emotions have been festering for years and finding her alive two years later was bringing them out full force. "Heero…I –"

"I died that day. I couldn't understand how she could just be gone like that. It killed me." Heero turned back towards the skyline, looking back up at the dark abyss above them, Duo's eyes still fixed on him. He saw the tears the brimmed his glassy eyes, the emotions taking him over. He blinked, trying to push them away but they trickled down slowly, defying what he wanted, humiliating him further. "I can't lose her again, Duo.

"You won't, man. We won't let that happen." Duo said as he took his seat back on the edge. The rest of the night they were silent, staying on the rooftop until the sun rose, lighting up the sky of a new day.