A/N:

Finally after so long I have returned with something new to post! Today is officially my 2 Year Anniversary of being here on FF so I knew I had to do something. So here's another chapter for this story, I would have loved to include two chapter for Alternate S. but my schedule is constricting at the moment so I'm hoping for Thanksgiving Week to add more chapters and stories! Thank you for all the support these last few years everyone! It has really made my writing come a long way!

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Gundam Wing.


They took the backdoors of the church to make it to the streets outside.

This was a rash decision but she had no other choice, that girl would undoubtedly have followed her home until she caved and ended up helping them anyway. If she wasn't in such a time crunch...

The roads were dampened by the rain, and the distant bark of a dog could be heard. The small entourage hurried off to her apartment, Heero and Duo glancing over their shoulders while she kept her eyes straight ahead.

The street lamps flickered every few blocks and provided very little light. Fall may have just begun but Hilde could already see puffs of air as they breathed.

"How far did you say it was?" she heard Relena whisper behind her.

"Not far just a little bit further."

"Alright," Hilde saw the blonde look back at the two men, concern etched on her face.

She had to hurry. There was no telling how long those two could last, even if they made a good show of being fine. Neither she nor Relena had the strength to carry them if they passed out.

Although once at the old brick building that was her apartment, Duo was less than impressed.

"This is it?" Duo motioned with his hand. "From all that talk about you being a criminal boss I expected like…"

"What a secret luxury hotel?" Hilde added dryly.

"Maybe?"

Hilde snorted, and led them in.

Although with all of them crowded in her room, it was a good reminder that she had come far from the places she used to stay in.

Relena had coaxed the two to give her their tattered shirts. Hilde pulled out a first aid kit so she could treat their wounds the best she could.

However Relena had plucked the kit from her hands and set to work, cleaning their cuts without hesitation. Hilde stood there empty handed and Relena glanced up briefly enough to catch her look.

She smiled, "These guys have done so much for me these last couple of months," she tide a cloth around Heero's arm. "I've learned to do some basics at least."

"And a lot of improvisation." Duo winked.

Hilde shrugged and didn't ask for details, deciding to occupy herself by pulling out every blanket and comforter that she could find. Even the large jackets she had been given by the homeless shelter.

The three of them hadn't made it this far just to die in her room by hypothermia.

She shook her head and pulled the last blanket she could find. The bed was the only thing in there that took up the most space. It could hold two people well enough.

"We'll be fine taking the floor," Heero said when she told them to take it.

"Speak for yourself." Duo rubbed his ribs.

Relena sighed and Hilde looked at them sternly.

"What good are you two if you're beat up and sleep deprived? Sleep. Now." She pointed to the mattress. But Heero continued to stand in defiance, and she glared back.

It was a staring match that would have lasted a while had Relena not interjected.

"You guys need more rest. Please Heero."

It was evident he very much didn't trust her but the brunette reluctantly stepped down, giving one last warning look at her before getting into bed.

'Ungrateful man', Hilde frowned.

Duo joined him after using the restroom, leaving the girls to lie on the floor with the pillows and comforter that she had set out.

Her body sagged, losing all the tension that it had built up during the evening. Only to be replaced with the thoughts of the future. This was not part of her and Dorothy's plan. When she pictured returning to Stuttgart it wasn't with a runaway princess, an assassin, and a priest's son in tow.

She could only imagine the faces of her subordinates.

Relena glanced at her as she mentally berated herself. When Duo began to snore and Heero's breathing seemed to even out, the princess spoke.

"You alright?" she whispered, empathy tugging her lips up.

"Fine," she responded with a low voice.

Relena looked towards the small window in front of them, "I was wondering…is everything Heero said true? About what you did?"

She looked at her through the corner of her eye. "Yes. All of it."

"Oh." Relena looked away, thumbing the comforter. "It's just I didn't picture you to be sooo…."

"Young?"

"Short."

Hilde's mouth dropped.

Relena quickly waved her hand, "Not that that's a bad thing— I just pictured you to be a little more menacing the way Heero was describing you," she said in a rush.

Hilde turned her head to stare at the disheveled brown haired man then back to Relena. "I say Heero has a way of over exaggerating, but he was right I wasn't very nice in the past."

"I see." Relena held the comforter closer to her body. "Well I still want to thank you for this. I don't know what we would have done without your help."

"You guys would have figured something out." Her gaze drifted to the paint flicking off the wall. "It's not my business to ask but, why exactly does Romefeller want you anyway?"

Relena half smiled, even though it looked more like a grimace. "I found out a few things that were happening behind my father's back."

"Drama in the royal courts?" she smirked.

"No nothing like that. Just a few representatives, I started investigating them when they began to behave strangely. I learned they were part of Romefeller and intentionally trying to ruin my nation's reputation. Abusing the funding we entitled them and, I believe, disrupting the financial marked by encouraging monopolies across the continent."

Relena became melancholy the more she spoke. Although that didn't stop her from finishing.

"I don't know how much damage they've done but I know their influence is spreading. When I was going to expose them I was targeted and had to go into hiding."

Typical, Hilde closed her eyes. It's what the old her might have done too.

However a thought struck her hard then.

Relena was being targeted for knowing Romefeller's influence in the Sanc government and almost exposing them. She had been targeted because she wouldn't sale the information of the Corsica scandal involving Sanc to Romefeller.

There was a possibility that the Sanc government didn't even know about that scandal. It would explain the lack of media attention it had received. If she had tried to sale it back to the Sanc government when they weren't even aware of the scandal itself…

'Those bastards.' She face palmed.

"What?" Relena asked.

"You never heard of the screw up your nation did at Corsica did you?"

"Corsica?"


A/N: Also a special thanks to *dootadoot* for their help! This story wouldn't have gotten better without your input!

One final note, I have been working on this project for well over a year now and I'm at the final stages of structuring a next generation story titled Harmonic Trials. It follows the children of the pilots and how they manage to guard the peace their parents helped forge. Some of the characters have already been drawn and are posted on my DA account. Including one of the main characters Helena Yuy.

I hope to make this story a fun experience for everyone! Thanks again and have a wonderful day!