Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

A/N:: chapter was supposed to be so much longer, but I got a bit stuck so this is what it is… Enjoy.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Ten – Break Time

o0o0o0o0o

As Sally began her long trek up the hill, the others were arriving back at headquarters. Quatre had been sitting in the same spot the entire night and was shaken out of his thoughts as the first vehicle pulled in. It deposited Dorothy and Wufei in the middle of Duo's showroom and, to Quatre's shock, the two were having a civil conversation. He watched in amazement as Wufei helped Dorothy unload the car before heading in his direction. Dorothy followed soon after, still talking animatedly. As Wufei looked at him, he raised one eyebrow, causing Wufei to look quickly at Dorothy then blush. Quatre backed off, knowing if he pushed the issue Wufei would get angry, blowing all chances of his co-existing peacefully with the blonde girl.

"How'd it go?"

The two exchanged a look then Dorothy answered, "Cadets. A couple of military officials, some of the instructors from St. Noventa's. There were also barracks housing probably 200 soldiers."

As Quatre nodded, Wufei added, "Most of the base is timber. We'll need C-4."

"How much of it?"

Wufei gave a tiny smile and muttered, "As much as we got."

Quatre stared at him for a moment. "So, let me get this straight… Not only are you telling me you need C-4, you're telling me you need all the C-4?"

Two heads nodded seriously and Quatre sighed. "What exactly do you want to decimate, China?"

"Just the base. We think we can destroy certain parts and corral everyone in." Dorothy sounded like she truly believed it would work.

"I'm telling you Quatre, precision bombing. It's been in all the magazines lately." Wufei sounded like he was trying to convince his dad he needed the latest video game.

Dorothy nodded. "They did a feature on it in M-4 Monthly, in their Explosion Special."

Quatre stared from one to the other, rubbing his temples soothingly. "You guys must be joking." When they both just stared at him blankly, he sighed. "It's your C-4, Wufei. Do whatever you want."

Wufei and Dorothy walked off, looking pleased and discussing plans. Quatre stared after them in disbelief, looking up only when he heard another car engine. Duo's Camaro pulled in, followed by Trowa driving the Batmobile. Both vehicles parked, the doors flying open and spilling teenagers into the room.

Quatre watched in new amazement as Duo looked at Heero and said something. Heero gave him a look that, on a less stern man, would have been called adoring. On him it looked mildly amused. Quatre fought the urge to gape at the two. What had happened to the feuding boys that had left just the night before? He then glanced at Trowa and saw that he was engaged in conversation with Relena, which was almost as shocking. Feeling like he had missed something, he watched them all grab their stuff and pile it by the War Room.

By the time they had all gathered, Quatre sat at the head of the table waiting for them. They all sat and he waited expectantly. No one wanted to speak, but Duo was the first to break the silence.

"Civilians. A lot… possibly all of them. Tucked in the south corner."

Heero saw the slight grimace on Duo's face and continued for him. "We don't think the base is well guarded. I saw no ground patrols while we were there, and the tower guard was minimal."

Quatre nodded slowly. "Any guards on the individual rooms?"

"Staggered guards throughout the hallway, armed with automatic rifles." Duo smirked. "I'd say one guard for every hundred civilians."

Trowa snorted and both Relena and Catherine hid smiles. Everyone could see Quatre's brain picking through Romafellar's mistakes. He was silent for a minute, then he turned a thoughtful gaze on Trowa, Relena and Catherine.

"What's the Air Force Base like?"

The three exchanged a glance and Relena gave Quatre a sunny smile. "We want to blow the planes."

He sighed mentally, not a bit surprised. "What is it with you people and wanting to blow stuff up?"

"Hey, it is the most logical way to both create a diversion and ground their fleet."

Trowa gave Quatre a reassuring look. "And we have C-4. It'll be fine."

Quatre smirked, glad that he at least didn't have to deal with that argument. "All requests for explosives now go through Wufei."

Trowa raised an eyebrow and Duo looked startled. "Why?"

"Him and Dorothy said they need it for…" Quatre paused, trying to decide the best way to explain the plan they had given him, "…something; I'm not quite sure what." At everyone's look of disbelief, Quatre shrugged. "Besides, he's the one who got it in the first place. Technically, it's his."

None of them looked satisfied with that argument, but Quatre didn't care. He looked pointedly at Trowa and motioned for him to continue. Trowa stared at the blonde for a moment before jerking to attention. "We have more files to review. I was hoping I'd have time to do that today."

Quatre nodded."Take today to plan, gather your supplies and rest. We'll move out at dawn tomorrow."

They all nodded, standing and stretching before shuffling off. Trowa and Heero grabbed laptops and settled in the Control Room to decode the files that Trowa and Duo had gathered, and to watch the surveillance monitors. Duo went and found Wufei, dragging him downstairs to spar with him while Dorothy and Relena sat in a corner, their heads bowed in discussion. Quatre settled against a wall, watching Duo and Wufei try to kill each other in the name of practice and watching the sun try to rise through the thick storm clouds.

It was nearly an hour later when Quatre fell asleep, causing Duo to pause and smile. He also gave Wufei a slight opportunity and allowed a roundhouse kick to connect with the side of his head. He staggered back, groaning and glaring at Wufei, who had made no move to help him. The Chinese boy glared back, still in a defensive position, as if he was afraid Duo might lunge at any moment.

"I said practice, fucker!"

Wufei looked down his nose at him, and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could say anything, Duo raised his arms in surrender. "Ok, you win. I'll make breakfast." Wufei stared as Duo gave him a huge smile and headed toward the stairs. He paused at the bottom, looking back at Wufei, who still looked stunned at the abrupt change of topic. "You coming?" He raised his eyebrows as Wufei stared at him for a moment longer then slowly followed him up the stairs.

"You are so strange Maxwell…" He gave Duo an odd look. "And you are not cooking breakfast. I might die." He smirked and added, "And that would not be an honorable death."

"There is nothing wrong with my cooking!" Duo stopped abruptly on the stairs and Wufei nearly ran into him. "What is wrong with my cooking?"

"Nothing, calm down…" Wufei made a shooing motion and Duo glared at him. "C'mon, I'll let you… crack the eggs or something."

Duo didn't look happier but he continued up the stairs. As they reached the top he turned once more. "I will have you know that I can make a mean pop tart…" He nodded seriously as Wufei tried not to laugh.

"I'll tell you what… Go check on Heero and Trowa and I'll start breakfast." He once again shooed Duo in the proper direction, earning another glare from the braided boy. Wufei gave him an encouraging smile and Duo continued to glare at him as he stalked off to find the other boys.

He stuck his head into several rooms before locating Heero and Trowa, seated across from each other at a small table with wires running in every direction. Neither looked up at Duo's appearance, and their typing never faltered.

"Whatcha doin?" He grabbed the third chair and flipped it around, straddling it and resting his head on the back.

"Working. You know, doing something productive…"

Duo pantomimed being in pain, moaning piteously. "You wound me." He stuck out his tongue. "Seriously, you guys find anything?"

"Not really. No one in Sanc has ever captured Romafellar code, so we were never really trained in it. Only the theories that might be behind it." Trowa looked mildly unhappy, which meant he was pissed.

Heero looked up finally, his eyes settling on Duo. "We're making headway, but it's going slow."

Duo nodded, finally taking a good look around the room. "What're all those?" His eyes scanned the many screens, each showing deserted streets and darkness.

Heero looked vaguely proud of himself as he said, "When we went out for supplies, I managed to hardwire a lead into the surveillance and traffic cameras. That is our twenty four hour eye on the city."

Duo took a closer look, beginning to recognize some of the areas. He continued to stare, trying to cover his amazement. "Not bad Yuy."

Heero grunted in a non-committal way and Duo rolled his eyes. Trowa looked at both of them and set his laptop back, stretching luxuriously. "So, how badly did Wufei kick your ass?"

Duo rubbed the side of his head and smiled ruefully. "It wasn't my ass that he kicked."

"LESS BITCHING, MORE TELLING THEM THAT BREAKFAST IS ALMOST READY!"

Duo glared at the wall that blocked Wufei's general direction then sighed. "So guys…"

Trowa raised an eyebrow and held up a hand to stop Duo. "Wait let me guess… Breakfast is almost ready."

Duo gave him a huge smile. "However did you know?"

Heero hit several buttons and pushed his laptop away, standing as Trowa did and following Duo back to the kitchen. Wufei stood in the middle, whipping up breakfast with his usual efficiency. He looked up as three of his teammates came shuffling in and smiled serenely. "Ah, perfect. Trowa, you're just in time to flip the pancakes. Duo, you can squeeze the orange juice, and Heero, you should probably check and make sure the eggs aren't burning." When nobody moved he raised his spatula threateningly. "Move, people!"

"If you didn't have the ability to turn trail rations into a 5 star meal, I would not put up with your shit, Fei…"

Trowa looked at Wufei, smirking under his bang. "Who's the house wife now, Chang?"

Wufei ignored him, setting the food on the table and sitting down. Duo brought the orange juice and they all sat, eating silently. For twenty minutes, at least, they were going to pretend that it was a normal dinner in the Mess Hall. No war, no hostages, no Romafellar.

Duo was the first to finish, putting down his fork and leaning back in his chair with a sigh of contentment. The others soon followed,

Duo sighed and looked upset. "I'm worried about Quatre. I know he's the best one at strategy and all that, but people are going to die. He'll feel responsible and it'll kill him. It won't be as bad for us."

The others nodded, all suddenly grim. Wufei looked pensive, then spoke. "We should suggest that the plans be made separate of each other, and that not even he knows what everyone is doing. Then he has no tie to most of the deaths. We'll all be separate."

Trowa looked thoughtful, and Heero and Duo exchanged questioning glances. Duo then started nodding his head, half in satisfaction and half in amazement.Wufei's plan was actually good…

"He'll object; want to know why. You know he won't just accept that idea."

Duo smirked. "Tell him it's so if one of us gets captured the others won't be in jeopardy. It's true."

Trowa nodded his approval. "He'll see the logic behind that."

Duo stretched, leaning back into the chair once more. "Well, that's settled. What are you guys planning to do?"

"We're going to destroy the base." There was an excited undertone to Wufei's voice that made Duo smile. Trowa just glared, reminded that Wufei was the one who had commandeered all the explosives.

Wufei noticed the glare and gave Trowa a questioning look. "What's wrong now, Barton?"

"Quatre said that you took all the explosives."

A smile spread slowly across Wufei's face, causing Trowa to glare harder. "Aw, does lil Trowa want something that goes boom?"

"Yeah, real mature Chang…"

"Relax, you can have some." Wufei looked at Duo and Heero, who had been watching the exchange silently. "You guys need some?"

Duo shook his head while Heero remained motionless. Trowa gave Duo a skeptical look. "You don't want to blow anything up? You don't want to blow anything up? I don't believe it."

Duo gave him a lofty look "We're sneaking in and watching how the soldiers guarding the civilians react to the attacks. We decided to leave that base alone for now, until we can do something with all the people."

Trowa shook his head and muttered, "I still can't believe you don't want to blow stuff up."

"Hey, you're the one begging Wufei for explosives, not me."

"We need to blow up an Air Force. That takes explosives!"

"You're blowing up our Air Force?" Duo's voice sounded like he thought he'd heard the green-eyed boy wrong and Heero was staring at Trowa. Trowa simply nodded.

"It's in Romafellar's control, and it'll be a good distraction. It's a completely sound tactical move."

Duo snorted, looking from Wufei to Trowa with a huge grin. "And you guys say I'm bad…"

Heero smirked and stood, looking expectantly at the other three. "Are we done?" At the three mute nods, he tugged Duo's braid lightly and walked out the door, leaving three of his teammates staring after him. Duo's mouth opened and closed several times before he managed to say, "I guess he decided the conversation was over."

Trowa stood, pushing his chair back in and grabbing his plate. "I guarantee you he's already back at his computer, working on the code." He threw his plate on the counter and headed for the door. "Which is what I should be doing."

Wufei watched Trowa leave before turning to Duo. "Clear your plate and come meditate with me." The braided boy nodded, following him downstairs. They found a quiet spot between Duo's Camaro and Relena's convertible and sat down. Duo mimicked Wufei's actions, settling himself and crossing his legs before balancing his arms on them. His breathing settled, slowly falling in time with his friends and he began to calm down.

o0o0o0o0o

Sally cursed mentally as another gust of wind nearly sent her flying. She was dirty, tired, hungry, sweaty, cold and wet, and she had been fighting her way uphill on a dirt bike for the last two hours. She was not happy, and now some mini-storm had picked up out of the larger storm still brewing overhead, bringing gusty winds and hidden slick spots on the hill, making it a slow treacherous process.

So much fun she could barely contain herself…

Her back tire slid on another hidden cold spot and she swore once more, wishing she had brought a hairdryer and some music.

As she started up the next incline, she sent up a silent prayer that Nissan-guy had topped off the dirt bike before she had left. She didn't want to have to walk back.

A/N (again):: I hope it's somewhat clear what the plans are, who's doing what etc… I'm trying to make it easy to understand.