Author's Note: [June 6, 2010] Hello, I've happily survived! -Yayyyy!- gastroenteritis is really something. There were so many times when I opened my WordPad and having nothing to say but ''ow''. Well I guess this is the recovery phase of this unfortunate event, since I am managing to find inspiration again.

There's many things I want to say, but it keeps slipping off my mind...

I came to the conclusion that... I must keep writing! For the sake of this couple's happiness. -stops sappiness-

Oh wells. This chapter 8 has been split into two, only because it's really long...

'

Italics - thoughts / phone conversation

Words in italic - to emphasize

Disclaimer: I, Candide Avedo, do not own anything that has to do with Gundam Seed. Or any other commercial franchise that I fail to mention.


'

Ceaseless Danger

'

Even without blankets, the figure broke into a light sweat, causing much discomfort. He wasn't aware of the increased temperature. He needed to be conscious for that.

The figure on the bed didn't even wake up as the bedroom door swung open quickly to allow entry to a concerned-looking, dark-haired fellow. It was difficult to see through the darkness, but he knew where to go. Upon entry he spotted his target, the figure writhing on the bed.

He flicked on the bedside table lamp, leaning over the bed.

The fellow took a firm hold of the thrashing shoulders, giving him a few rough shakes.

''Nngh.''

''Yzak.''

''Nyagh!''

''Yzak!''

Eyes popped open and Yzak awoke, panting. In front of him Athrun had gripped his shoulders tightly, clad in shorts and a plain shirt for his pajamas. He could vividly note the concern look on Athrun's face, which was in disbelief.

''Athrun, what are you doing in my room?'' Yzak's voice croaked out, taking both hands and enclosing his forehead between them. The light from the table lamp was a little overwhelming to the eyes and a headache was beginning to form, lovely.

The person he asked simply studied him again, hesitant. ''It's barely the crack of dawn and you were having a nightmare.'' Athrun assessed the distressed expression on Yzak's face. ''Are you alright?''

Yzak sat himself up, panting lightly. ''Yeah... Just a dream.'' He shot an inquisitive look at Athrun, who backed away to give him some space.

''Good, coz you were scary there for a moment.''

''How did you know I was having a bad dream?'' asked Yzak. He didn't like to imagine that the dark-haired man had an extra keen sense of hearing. Yzak sweatdropped. It would effectively make him feel inferior.

Athrun looked uncomfortable with that question. ''You see... Believe it or not, Yzak- It's a little disturbing, but your bed is backed up against the same wall my bed is.'' He sighed. ''Your bed was hitting against the wall, which woke me up.''

''Strange room arrangements.'' answered Yzak, feeling himself calm down. ''Sorry about that.'' He apologized, knowing he disturbed valuable rest.

Athrun waved it off. ''Nah, it's nothing. Well, if you're fine, I'll leave then.'' He was reaching the door when Athrun paused. ''Say Yzak, I haven't seen you this disturbed in your sleep since Nicol...''

Yzak did look baffled. ''Yeah...'' He stared out blankly at the wall, trying to remember bits of the dream. Athrun turned to leave again. ''Hey Athrun.'' He called.

''Yeah?''

''Dreams don't happen in real life right?'' Yzak asked, finding his question silly. At this time though, it was strange that he would have dreams since he rarely had them.

Athrun found the question a little strange as well. ''Uh, I don't think so, why?''

Yzak stiffened, realizing he had to elaborate. ''It was just...'' He hesitated to find the correct words. ''I never dreamed of someone dying before.'' Yzak knew it wasn't Athrun's nature to ridicule such a trivial thing before, but it was so ridiculous.

His counterpart did find it strange, yet he took note of the seriousness of Yzak's face. ''Oh... Do you think you dreamed of someone you know who is alive?''

Yzak shook his head. He ran a hand to check his shirt, which was clinging to his chest. A change was in order. ''I couldn't tell, it was obscured.''

Athrun nodded in understanding. ''Dreams tend to do that.'' He gave Yzak a scrutinizing look. ''Don't dwell on it, okay Yzak? Dreams don't happen in real because we create our own choices.'' Athrun was hesitant in leaving, managing to slip through the door and shutting it quietly behind him.

Feeling as though he was heavily in need of recuperation, Yzak flopped back onto the bed, hands folded on his chest. He knew there was no way he could get back to sleep now.

'

Arriving was of no hassle. Kira, Lacus, Yzak and Shiho had gotten off at the far side of the shuttle terminal, where it had been known to be less populated. Anything that was to be in the shuttle's storage compartment was sent to the personnel in charge of putting them in their place. After, they made sure their cellphones were turned on, pocketing them in their perspective places.

Security was quite abundant, the group having to take a longer time to greet them more than they wanted to.

''I really do express my disappointment for my short stay.'' said Lacus, walking a little farther ahead between Kira and Yzak. ''It's unfortunate, however business back home has been piling up and I cannot hold it off for very long.''

Kira sighed, catching up and sparing her a sorry smile. ''Maybe you'll get to visit again soon, when you can have some time off, right?'' He chuckled. ''Cagalli would love that.'' Lacus answered with a wide smile.

''Why is it that you always know how to placate my thoughts, Kira?'' she asked playfully poking his arm, something that she enjoyed recently.

The victim in her grasp did appear puzzled for a moment, before sliding the arm around hers. ''Because every time you poke at my arm, a little bit of your innermost secrets leak their way into my mind.'' Kira answered, amused at it's effect.

Lacus gasped, wide-eyed, before poking at his arm again. ''I don't think I have any other secrets, I've told you plenty.''

''Maybe you have other secrets that you don't know.'' replied Kira in a serious tone. They remained in awed silence until they both burst out laughing.

Once calm, Lacus peacefully leant against Kira's arm, still leading them through the maze to their terminal. She was peaceful, humming a melody that was a distant memory to all of them.

Yzak turned to look at Shiho behind them, whom gave a prompt nod and saying nothing more. He was quite surprised.

Apart from the past few days, the Shiho Yzak saw right resembled more of the Shiho he was most familiar with. She was completely composed, following them like an appendage similar to a scorpion's stinger- silent, alert, and ready to strike when needed. In fact, her seriousness was such that it seemed to reflect on everyone else, causing a few abrupt silences.

Before they left the Attha estate, Yzak assumed that Shiho had been possessed, as her personality clearly made a 180 degree turn. He was beginning to think that the professional Shiho he once knew disappeared and yet here it was again, a little more convincing than before. Rather, the more he thought about it, the more she began to resemble a little bit of someone he knew. Someone who was prone to becoming a little reckless regarding themselves once in a while.

Uttering a small curse under his breath, Yzak fished into his pocket to find a small bottle of acetaminophen that the nurse provided, and popped one in his mouth. The headache gave no sign of letting his head go, ever since the time he woke up after that nightmare.

That nightmare.

He frowned, willing to remember a little more than just the three main pieces of the dream. If there was something strange about it, maybe he could find out why he dreamed it.

There was a gunshot, yes but what else?

A scream echoed within Yzak's mind. A scream? Yes, a scream after the gunshot. Not a lot of good that will help, though. A lot of people scream after hearing a gun shot. Depending on what situation.

The second part of the dream Yzak dwelled upon next.

In the dream, he was running, right? Yzak remembered being fast, however he felt no wind passing his hair. His body felt heavy while he was running.

Why heavy, though?

Hmm, perhaps the heaviness was due to the reluctance to see where he was running to?

If he ran towards the gunshot, then he should be worrying about what he would be seeing, correct? Considering that the gunshot and the running is actually in the same scenario together.

Had the cause of running been towards an enemy, looking for survivors, or heading towards a fight that had yet to be finished? What if he was running from someone?

Yzak rolled his eyes at that thought. There were too many possibilities for that scenario. Maybe the situation could be all too different from what he was even imagining at this point.

So, what about that bleeding figure in my arms?

The figure was way too fuzzy to be distinguishable. Male, female, stranger, or friend, they were nameless. The figure could evoke no emotion. He could only recall the excessive amount of blood found on their body, so much that he could almost feel it's thickness on his fingers.

He knew from experience that the figure in his arms would have been moments away from dying.

If that dream was in relation to the first few segments he worked out from the others, then it's to be concluded that whatever the gunshot was and whoever he was running to was the person dying in his arms.

Breaking out from his thoughts, Yzak replaced his full attention back onto their walk. Their group had already arrived at the shuttle hangar, where armed men were stationed perfectly to create a safe perimeter. Behind them at the hangar entrance, paparazzi were eagerly pressing themselves against a few more armed men, calling out Lacus's name in desperation.

Flashing lights filtered into the hangar, shining light that bounced off the shuttle's windows.

Head throbbing a little less for the meantime, Yzak allowed his guard to remain a little loose, scanning the area once and watching Shiho do the same. Before them, Kira and Lacus had been talking with the pilot, who excused himself for a moment and begging for Lacus and Kira to please wait.

'

Shiho could only look at the corner of her eye at what appeared to be Yzak in inner turmoil. Perhaps he was assuming that no one was looking, or that he just plain didn't care. Yzak could be seen staring in the direction they had been slowly walking to, however so preoccupied that clearly he wasn't seeing what was in front of him.

It was a miracle that he hadn't tripped.

On any other occasion, she would be amused at his preoccupation, yet today was to be for focus. From the way Yzak was acting towards her, he understood her intent to a good job that he allowed her the responsibility of keeping watch behind them.

That small opportunity to prove herself effective meant plenty of joy to her. She was grateful.

Heat arose at her neck and she could feel a pair of eyes looking at her. Turning, Shiho's eyes connected with Lacus, whom smiled at her warmly, mouthing a thank-you. Beside her, Kira was speaking to Yzak cordially, in fair terms.

Shiho gave a respectful salute which Yzak followed, as Kira and Lacus decided that it was time to board the private shuttle.

Her eyes relaxed onto a small pile of crates near the employee entrance to the hangar. To her discomfort, Shiho could feel a nudge within her stomach, pressing against it's walls. Her intuition was saying something.

The hairs on her neck stood up again as she found herself staring into a figure half-hidden within shadows, clad in a dark professional garb of shuttle personnel.

Who is that?

Squinting to get a better look, the figure appeared to be watching the shuttle intently.

A gasp escaped her throat, one that had Yzak's attention in an instant. Her woman's intuition was sending signals, but about what?

''What is it, Shiho?'' he hissed, watching Kira and Lacus walking the small bridge to the shuttle. The two were happily waving to them both.

She noticed a certain eerie familiarity in the face, especially in the blond hair. Something that immediately told her to stop Kira and Lacus from boarding the shuttle right now.

''Yzak, we can't let Kira and Lacus in yet.'' Shiho gasped out, breaking out into a sprint towards the bridge. Not too far behind was Yzak, clearly not having a clue on what brought this action on. Her feet pounded against the ground heavily, catching up to the two who paused, noticing Shiho's flustered manner.

Lacus was concerned, watching Shiho's frantic gesture to stop them from going in. Kira was concerned as well, waiting for Shiho to explain herself. She could only hope that her instincts were correct.

''What is it, Shiho?'' asked Lacus lightly. ''Have we forgotten something?'' She glanced at Kira, who shrugged. Beside Shiho, Yzak waited as well.

''I'm sorry.'' Shiho breathed, looking at each of them imploringly. ''Look, you both cannot go on that shuttle.'' As they all silently expressed why, Shiho continued. ''I have reason to believe that I have seen a silhouette of the assassin here in this hangar.''

Kira and Yzak were surprised, while Lacus merely sighed. ''You think that there is something going on with this shuttle?'' Shiho confirmed with a nod. Lacus fell silent, in deep ponder. Shiho could only hope for Lacus to listen to her, would she?

''If that's the case then I'll have to take Lacus right now away from here and leave you two to push forth with your intervention. If that's okay?'' asked Kira, answering Shiho's thoughts. ''Shiho, Yzak, I think you guys have everything under control. We have trust in you to do what you need to do. All personnel will be alerted on what you'll be doing in the hangar. ''

He was already wrapping a protective arm around Lacus, and steering her towards the armed guards at the entrance to the hangar. At a wave of his hand, he beckoned the guards at the perimeter to follow him and Lacus, where they would no doubt be needed to help clear out the paparazzi beyond those doors.

Shiho inhaled deeply, letting the air out again in one heavy whoosh. Rubbing her forehead lightly, she turned to Yzak, a little apprehensive of what he thought. Deep in the back of her mind however, she knew there was no such time to think about it. ''We need to search the shuttle. I thought I saw Franklin Rull's presence around here.'' She saw his eyes light up- not in anger, but in the memory of their conversation from yesterday.

It was with gratitude that they most-likely found their major suspect; on the other hand, dealing with people she'd rather not deal with was a major hindrance. Hindrance meaning, would Yzak ever understand if she kept a few pieces of information secret to him?

'

Yzak had to admit, he was growing appreciation for the amount of knowledge Shiho knew about a few suspicious characters of theirs. However, just as his appreciation was growing, so was his ever so slight concern that she knew too much about everything.

A little too much to have it all as coincidence.

Sharing the results of the DNA tests last night was as predicted- Shiho was faintly surprised that the match came from Franklin Rull, but less surprised that Rull was associated with Vogel. On the contrary, she conveyed feelings of deep disappointment.

He didn't voice this concern out, but she seemed to understand his bewilderment on her knowledge.

Yzak was unknowingly refusing to butt heads with Shiho. In his defense if he were to find out, he would simply blame it all on the fact that what was important now is to solve this matter as soon as possible, without stepping on any political toes.

''If we were going to look for something in the shuttle, what are we looking for, exactly?'' asked Yzak, narrowing his eyes at the large metallic structure with it's door still wide open. He watched Shiho pace for a moment, before stepping closer to the machine.

Footsteps a little distance away from them caught their attention.

''Who's there?'' called out Yzak, scanning behind them to spot a shuttle personnel, wearing what seemed to be a uniform caked with heavy amounts of oil. Beside him Shiho studied the man with interest, yet calmly. He scanned the figure's approach, be it suspicious, or submissive.

The figure was paunchy, filling out his uniform indefinitely. He had a wobbly gait and upon coming to them closer, his face heavily smeared with grease. A hat in the same condition as his uniform was taken off his head in respect.

''Hello.'' greeted Shiho warily, as he came to a stop a few meters away from them. ''Can we help you?''

Yzak groaned inwardly. Would that be the kind of question suitable at a time like this? Resisting the urge to simply demand answers, Yzak allowed the rational side to permeate his emotions.

''Miss, I have a few concern to tell you.'' he spoke with a heavily thick and unknown accent. An ID tag hung low on his neck. He eyed Shiho with undisguised interest, leaning forward to squint at her eyes. Shiho took a suave defensive step back.

''What is it?'' asked Yzak, feeling his eyebrow raise. Why did he get the feeling that this guy wouldn't have good information to tell them?

Straightening his posture again, the man covered in grease had a shaky hand pointed to the door of the shuttle. ''About an hour ago, I saw a man playing with the door to the shuttle over there.'' He paused, clearly thinking more. ''I ask him why, because I know I'm in charge of that shuttle maintenance, you know?''

Shiho and Yzak looked at each other briefly, wondering if each of them knew what this man was hinting. ''You've clearly overheard us talking.''

The man shrugged. ''Barely. I know what looks suspicious though.''

He slapped a hand to his forehead. ''You know? So there is no need to touch that door if I already made sure it didn't have trouble closing, but he just ignored me.'' He waited for Shiho to say something, a smile creasing in his mouth. ''He wasn't even wearing an ID, the little rascal.''

Shiho was perplexed. ''Didn't that give you the hint to check the door, then?'' Yzak silently agreed. Why didn't this guy check anything if it was suspicious?

Their source of information simply scratched his chin. A sheepish look donned his face. ''I was going to, but it slipped my mind until just now.'' He excused himself, backing up in a slow manner. ''Only thought about you guys wanting a place to start looking that's all.''

''Wait.'' called Yzak, catching Shiho's questioning stare. The terminal employee stopped. ''Can you tell everyone to stop people from entering this hangar for an hour?'' The man nodded. ''Could you make sure there's a few employees that can be available if we need help?'' Yzak added, and the man again nodded.

''One last thing.'' Yzak found Shiho catching up to the man already a distance away. What was she up to now? ''Do you know what the man looked like?'' Shiho asked, an intense look in her eyes.

The terminal employee eyed her again, this time in thought. ''If I'm not mistaken, he's about 5'10, medium build. Blond hair.'' He sought Yzak again. ''Got more to say, ZAFT Commander?'' He pointed at the suit Yzak was wearing.

To this Yzak just shook his head, unfazed by the man's recognition in his uniform. ''Please tell them to keep an eye out for a blond man matching the description you told us, and that will be it.'' The employee nodded, heading off.

Shiho caught up to Yzak again, curiosity written in her face. ''How are we going to do this then, sir?'' she asked, catching him off-guard with ''sir''.

Time was ticking fast. If Shiho's instincts were in-tuned, they could be dealing with something more sinister than just a hunch. Yzak didn't know anything about this suspect of theirs, though already he was spotted in the vicinity, messing around with the shuttle that they were in front of right now.

He turned tail, heading towards the stationary machinery. ''Shiho, this might be dangerous, since we don't know what we'll find.'' he said quietly, as they neared the shuttle. ''I might need your pair of hands.'' Yzak couldn't bring himself to check what she thought of now, but until they knew what was going on, he needed her.

Work mode was in order. Distractions were out of the question.

''I'm wherever you need me to be.'' answered Shiho effortlessly. Her words comforted him, somehow. Like he knew she would follow-through to those words in duty. Just like always.

He smiled to himself. ''Alright, we'll check on that door for now.''

They studied the shuttle door, looking for anything that appeared to be tampered with. The coat of paint hadn't had much chipping to it, dating about at least a year-old. Yzak allowed Shiho to study the locks, while he checked for cracks between the sheets of metal making up the thick door.

Sounds beyond their hangar added to their silent din, creating a much more difficult atmosphere to deal with.

He wiped a brow, releasing breath he didn't know he was holding. ''Any luck?'' he asked Shiho, who had knelt on the floor, following what looked like a crack below a lock.

''Nothing yet, but a few cracks I've looked at I'm thinking were already there.'' she sighed. ''Should we keep checking here?'' There was no answer, as Yzak had fallen into work once more, tracing his fingers on a crack he found covered by a rubbery seal that acted as cushion between the door and frame.

''Yzak?'' Shiho again asked, peeking her head to look at him.

Yzak could feel excitement swelling within his stomach. Fresh paint appeared to coat the metal beneath the rubbery seal which was still drying.

Is this what I think it is?

''Shiho, I need you to find me a small hand saw and some goggles.'' Yzak called over to Shiho, who nodded, heading off in search of what he needed. She came back a few minutes later, holding a hand saw in one hand and two pairs of goggles in the other. Another thing she brought with her was a bucket of water and a tool belt.

''Sorry, I wanted to be prepared.'' she breathed, handing Yzak the saw and goggles. He said his thanks, firing up the machine. Beside him, Shiho ripped back the rubber seal so he could cut without any hindrance.

As Yzak was cutting, bits of metal were flying, dangerously close to their faces. There was no doubt about it. With the way the saw cut easily through the metal, this was thinner in structure than it's original counterpart. What would they find in here?

Finally, he trimmed between the two sheets of metal that made up the interior and exterior of the door, creating a 6-inch by 12-inch cut. Shutting off the hand saw, he accepted a screwdriver from Shiho, who nodded in readiness.

Yzak made a gesture to keep her back a few feet away, digging the screwdriver to a protruding section of the metal, dragging it down the area he perforated.

With a loud CLANG, the metal fell, colliding with metal. Puffs of compressed air escaped with dust from the hole, making Yzak cough lightly. Close by, Shiho peeked around his head, wondering. Then, a gasp escaped her again, making Yzak refocus, looking in.

There, with no timer, was a bundle of wire, cylindrical objects, and a circuit board- what they were looking for.

''THIS is what he was putting into the door an hour ago?'' whispered Shiho, jaw dropping in surprise. Yzak clenched his hands. No other explanation for it. He dropped the screwdriver from his hands, attempting to see if it was connected to the door itself.

''Maybe you'll need this.'' came Shiho's voice, and Yzak spotted a flashlight being placed in the corner of his eye. He took hold of the flashlight, nodding again a thanks, and flicking it on.

The apparatus seemed to be what they were both assuming without word. What was more confusing was the position of where it was placed. At a door? Snaking his arm closer into the crevasse created, Yzak peeked at the structure placed within the door. Spotting a few strands of wiring that seemed to be connected to the shuttle's own locking mechanism, he understood.

''Bastard.'' he muttered, snaking his arm out again. ''He's planted a bomb that wires to the lock on the door.'' Yzak explained to Shiho. ''The bomb would ignite when the door closes, that's why it hasn't gone off yet... It doesn't look like there's no other source of detonation possible either.'' She frowned in return, no doubt thinking the same thing he was thinking.

How the hell would they manage to deactivate it?

''Sir... We can't leave this area and allow the possibility of this door exploding.'' Shiho said softly. Her face was distant, devoid of emotion, unlike the tone of her voice. ''There has to be a quick way to deactivate this quickly. It's too small to be a threat, isn't it?''

Yzak could hear one particular word echoing faintly in his head. Sir? She was using it rather repetitively that day. What happened to the 'Yzak' that she used a few days ago?

''I wouldn't get too comfortable right now.'' Yzak answered calmly. They were both too intent on how to intervene to speak too much .

His hand flicked on the flashlight again, snaking his hand back into the door frame. Angling the flashlight a certain way, his eye caught sight of a strange sticker on one of the cylindrical objects.

Eyes narrowed again, as he could only recall that identifying sticker from a long time back.

''Shiho... This isn't just an ordinary bomb either.'' he muttered, retrieving his arm, and stretching, to make it relax.

''Meaning?'' Shiho asked, who leant against the exterior of the shuttle. She had the tool belt dangling from her arm.

''Much more serious than I thought.'' Yzak replied, all serious. He knew Shiho could almost feel the aura coming off him at this moment. ''This bomb is a small nuclear type.''

A soft hiss emanated from his accomplice, who stood up in indignance. ''H-how could they implant such a thing.'' Shiho stammered, biting her lip. ''We have to remove that thing as soon as possible.''

Yzak couldn't agree more, but it was wired into the door. One wrong move, and there was a good chance that not just them- many others may end up getting hurt. He could recall Athrun saying that there was an easy way to render a small bomb like this useless, but what was it?

A figurative light bulb illuminated his mind, clearing his thought. Something he recalled during training.

That's it... Hopefully there was some to be found around here in this place somewhere...

''Shiho.'' Yzak began. His nature compelled him to make haste, call up all personnel and alert everyone, however he knew that causing panic within the building was unnecessary. His subordinate was rapt in attention, giving a salute. ''I need you to call someone to find highly compressed nitrogen gas.''

Shiho nodded and flicked open her cell phone, tapping quickly at the keypad. No doubt she was dialing the numbers they all went through that morning, in order to be prepared.

''Hello, this is Shiho Hahnenfuss, escort of Lacus Clyne in hangar J-8.'' Shiho began speaking into her phone. Yzak listened carefully, hoping she would pull through quickly. ''An emergency supply of highly compressed nitrogen gas is needed in J-8.'' She added, nodding to her 'yes' for confirmation. ''Right now, yes. Immediately, please.'' Her phone snapped shut, briefly distressed.

Admirably she composed herself again, placing the cell phone on the floor, along with her personal handgun on the floor. Shiho straightened herself up again, her full attention on the abomination inside the door.

''Good, let's just wait a few minutes.'' said Yzak, flashlight still in his hand. He scanned the hangar again, for anything amiss. If the guards prevented anyone from getting in and keeping an eye out for any blond men about 5'10, maybe there was a chance that they caught him already. All from experience however, tells him that such luck was never really existent.

Despite all that has happened to them, the noise surrounding their hangar had been unchanged. The paparazzi had long gone now, as well as a good amount of the armed men that guarded the front entrance to the hangar. Every now and then the sound of a revving engine would loudly take off, somewhere beyond the large doors where their own shuttle faced for it's exit.

Still waiting, Shiho was scanning their surroundings now, while Yzak determinedly kept his focus on the door, expectant. How long had it been now? It's definitely been at least a few minutes.

The rear doors to the hangar burst open. Charging inside and carrying a tank of the highly compressed nitrogen gas was the same paunchy employee they spotted minutes ago. The man heavily heaved himself across the boarding ramp, using his hands to pull on his weight to get to Yzak faster.

Yzak bit his lip, trying with difficulty to compose his features and to avoid insulting the man who was utterly beat. He handed Yzak the tank of compressed nitrogen, pointed to the directions on a piece of paper, and again heaved himself down the ramp, landing with a little wobble.

''Right...'' Yzak surveyed the sheet of paper attached to the nozzle of the tank. ''This all looks straight-forward. Simple, really. Similar equipment to what they have back at PLANTs.'' he turned to Shiho, who hadn't been listening.

''Hey, did you see...'' he could hear her say, voice fading into silence.

A little annoyed with her lack of concentration, he noticed that she was a little bothered. Maybe a little more than bothered. As though she saw something that she wouldn't even think of letting get away.

Without any warning, Yzak gave a yell in surprise as Shiho grabbed her gun, running down the ramp and onto the tarmac.

''Stop right there!'' Shiho yelled, gun cocked and ready. Her legs echoed on the ramp like rhythmic pistons.

''Shiho!'' yelled Yzak to her, already far in distance.

''Use that gas, I'll get this guy!'' was all he heard from Shiho, charging straight for a stack of crates down below.

Following the direction of Shiho's uproar, he spotted a figure bolt from between crates, heading for the hangar's rear exit.

He let out a yell and cursed loudly, also slamming a fist into the shuttle door.

Next to him, was Shiho's cell phone, forgotten.

Shiho, please don't do anything stupid...

'

'

'


Author's Note: First note on the ''Yzak thinking about the dream'' part- hopefully that isn't as confusing as I thought it turned out to be. My mind began assuming how Yzak would analyze something, and that's what turned out, hahaha.

I'm sorry for the lack of fluff this chapter. From what I understand, they are both driven individuals. Probably even dangerously driven. Nuff said, hahaha.

This ends part one! I didn't like to prolong it any further- I think people deserve a break.

Once again, hoped you enjoy- r&r

C.A. [June 6, 2010]