Konnichiwa Minna-san! I apologize for the wait, I was less productive than I wanted to be during the vacation. But it happens. So I have a little warning for this chapter, it's a bit more graphic then any of my other chapters have been. And the extremely squeamish should probably skip the section in italics. But aside from that, I'll let you get started.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam 00 or the characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while (with Veda's permission of course). But Destiny and Miracle are mine.

Happy Reading!

Chapter Ten: Feverish Terror

Sumeragi sighed as the girl left the hangar. What Destiny said frightened her a bit. She finally understood why Tieria pulled a gun on Neil and why he said the things that he had and it frightened her. //Is it really possible for someone to control Tieria that easily?// She thought, //What do I do about it? I need him to fight, but he's already attacked his comrades twice…can I really trust him?//

"Sumeragi Li Noriega," a voice called pulling her out of her thoughts, "What's wrong?"

"I'm just wondering about what Destiny said," She said, "Knowing that this Ribbons person is able to take full control of Tieria's body and mind, I wondering if it's safe to trust him in a Gundam."

"Tieria Erde would never hurt one of us," Setsuna said, "Even if he was being controlled he would never pull the trigger to kill any of us."

"How can you be so sure, Setsuna?" Sumeragi asked. She knew that it was ridiculous to think that Tieria would ever do anything to hurt any of them, but there was that minute possibility that it could happen.

"Because I have fought against him twice," Setsuna said, "And both times, despite being completely controlled, he never hit me. The shots he fired at me always missed. Despite fighting for the enemy for four years, Tieria never betrayed us. He was captured right after Fallen Angels and he was unconscious and severely injured when he was taken so he didn't have a say in the matter. Think about it Sumeragi Li Noriega, would Tieria Erde willingly defect Celestial Being?"

Sumeragi sighed, "I guess you're right," She said, "I was being stupid, I'm sorry for bothering you Setsuna."

"No, you were being cautious," Setsuna said as he walked back to his Gundam to continue the repairs.

Sumeragi sighed and headed to her room so she could indulge in a nice stiff drink.

After Destiny changed into the uniform that Sumeragi had given her, she headed to Tieria's room. She wanted to tell him what Regene had told her. When she entered Tieria's room she found him sitting against the wall reading a book.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as he looked up.

"I'm tired but alright," He said, "Although I am getting rather fed up with hearing that question. What do you think of the Gundam?"

"It's very different," She said as she sat down next to Tieria, "But it's so much faster than the Mobile Suit that I was used to. What are you reading?"

"Just one of the books that I had from four years ago," he said as he marked his page then put it down.

"I see," She said, "I ran into Regene-kun out there today."

"Did you?" Tieria asked, "What did he say? I take it that Ribbons found out that we survived."

"Yeah," Destiny said, "Ribbons found out but Gene-kun said that Ribbons isn't angry about it. He thinks that that bastard is planning something with us, we have to be careful Tieria-kun."

"I know," Tieria said softly, "I don't want to hurt anymore of my comrades."

Before Destiny could respond, the door opened and a young woman with long sliver hair walked in, "I'm sorry," She said, "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, you're not," Destiny said, "What do you need."

"Vashti-san asked me to bring this to Tieria-san," She said as she held up a tray.

Tieria looked at the woman standing in the door way, "You're Lieutenant Soma Peries, aren't you?" He asked as his eyes narrowed a bit.

The woman recoiled a bit, "I am," She said softly, "However, I'm like Allelujah, I have another personality."

"Another personality?" Tieria asked, "So you mean that like Allelujah Haptism, you also possess two entirely different personalities? Am I correct?"

"Yes you are," She said.

"So Soma is one of the personalities," Tieria said, "And who might you be?"

"My name is Marie Parfacy," She said, "I'll be helping out around here from now on. Vashti-san wants you to eat something and since you're on bed rest for the rest of the day, I volunteered to bring your meal to you."

"Thank you," Tieria said as he took the tray.

"Let me know if you need anything else," She said as she left the room.

"I take it Sumeragi-san wasn't happy with what you did earlier," Destiny said.

"No she's wasn't," Tieria said, "So as punishment I'm on bed rest for the remainder of the day."

"I'm not surprised," Destiny said, "Sumeragi was hesitant on letting you sortie anyway. But you really shouldn't push yourself so hard…you're lucky to be alive. If we had been pursuing any other Anti-Federation Organization, you would probably be dead…when I saw you after the explosion, I though you were dead. Why did you want to go out so bad?"

Tieria sighed as he finished his meal. "I feel as though I need to do something to make up for what I've done in the past four years," He said, "To go missing for four years then show up in an enemy Mobile Suit and then to injure and almost kill two of my comrades…I can't imagine them being able to trust me completely ever again."

"Neil-san, seems to trust you a lot," Destiny said, "Setsuna-san as well. When you went to talk to the others for the first time Setsuna-san stood up for you after you passed out."

"It's the other two I'm worried about," Tieria said, "Allelujah can be easily influenced and Neil's twin…He's the one I worried about the most. He nearly killed me the other day."

"Neil-san and Noriega-san were pissed though," Destiny said, "I don't think you have to worry about him. And as for Haptism-san, he seems very straight-forward and understanding I don't think you'll have to worry about him at all. But there's something I want to know, how do you know Lieutenant Peries?"

"I worked with her squadron once a few years ago," Tieria said, "Before that bastard started locking me up."

"I see," Destiny said, "Well, there are things I need to do so I'm going to leave you alone now. If you need anything, please just call me and I'll be right there. And I'm sure the same goes for Neil-san as well."

Tieria nodded as Destiny left the room. There was something about the girl that made Tieria more at ease. He didn't quite know what it was but it was almost as if he felt as though he could talk to her about anything. He then picked up the book the lay abandoned on his bed and continued reading until his oddly heavy fatigue took over.

He woke up feeling rather strange. It was almost as if something was off but he couldn't quite place it. He sat up and found that his stomach wasn't sore at all, which he found to be odd because it had been acting up lately. But perhaps he was on the mend so he didn't think anything of it. He found that there was a message on his communicator.

"Tieria when you wake, please come to the briefing room," the message read, "We have some issues to address."

The message was signed Sumeragi so Tieria figured that they were just going to discuss when he would get back to fighting or the ever annoying subject of how he was feeling. He quickly got dressed, failing to realize that the laceration on his stomach was absent as well as any scar that would have been left and despite losing quite a bit of weight, his old uniform still fit him perfectly.

When he entered the briefing room he found the members of the crew and Destiny, however Neil was absent.

"Where's Neil?" He asked automatically.

"What are you talking about Tieria?" Sumeragi asked, "Neil Dylandi's been dead for nearly five years."

"What!?" He exclaimed, "But…he was just here yesterday…he was here…talking to me…"

"It must have been a dream," Sumeragi said, "Neil's dead and has been dead for five years."

"That…that can't be true…" Tieria gasped, "Neil…can't be dead…"

"I wish I could tell you that Neil is still alive, but he's not," Sumeragi said, "Well, now that that's over we have an issue to address. The rest of the crew and I have come to the decision that you're no longer needed here."

Tieria's eyes widened as those words resonated in his head, causing him to feel almost faint, "What…!?"

"Celestial Being no longer requires your services," Sumeragi said, "You are being let go."

"But…Why…?" Tieria asked in shock. He didn't want to believe any of what he was hearing, he just didn't and yet it was happening. He sighed and tried to muster up the strength to ask the words that had form at his lips but refused to come out, "Where am I to go?" he asked as tears obscured his vision. "There's no where for me to go…what are you going to do with me?"

"You're not going anywhere," Setsuna said as he drew his gun, "As you know, all of our secrets and our identities are under S-level confidentiality. We've come to the conclusion that we can't allow you to live knowing what you know."

Those words struck Tieria harder than any bullet could have. He was going to die at the hands of his comrades! He was now torn between grabbing his own gun and attempting to defend himself or making a run for it. But he knew the likelihood of him having a firearm in his possession was slim and knowing Sumeragi, the door was locked to prevent him from escaping. He went to reach for where his gun would be kept.

"Don't you dare!" Setsuna yelled as he pulled the trigger.

Tieria heard the shot then sank to his knees as the bullet penetrated his skin, his muscle then exited through the center of his back, shattering vertebrae and severing his spinal cord in the process. He knew that this kind of gunshot wound was fatal and that he would either suffocate on the blood that was surging to the back of his throat or bleed to death. But one thing was certain, he was dying and no amount of regenerative medicine would save him.

Tears flooded his eyes as the rest of the crew stepped over him and the growing pool of blood that he was lying in. While Lasse, Feldt, Mileina and Ian left, Destiny, the Meisters and Sumeragi remained. //This can't be happening// he thought as his eye sight grew dim. There was nothing he could do. Despite being shot in the lower back, he was completely paralyzed, the only thing he could do now was lie there and wait for death to come. //Why…would they do this…// he thought as his lungs refused to take in anymore oxygen, //Setsuna…why…//

Tieria wasn't sure if it was the loud bang that was caused by a Haro out in the hall, the pain in his stomach or the sheer terror he felt from the nightmare he had experienced that had woken him. He was shaking uncontrollably, his breathing was heavy and he felt extremely sick. He went to sit up and he was met with an incredible pain in his stomach and as he fell back against his bed a deep red stain on his shirt caught his attention.

"Des…D-Destiny…" He gasped, "Destiny…!"

"What's wrong, Tieria?" Destiny asked after about a minute or so.

"Destiny…I…I think I…was shot…" Tieria gasped. He couldn't breathe and he was panicking.

"What!?" Destiny cried, "Tieria, are you sure?"

"Please…help me," Tieria gasped, "Neil…where's Neil…Destiny…please…"

"Alright," Destiny said, "Hold on Tieria, I'll be right there."

Tieria sighed as he tried to calm himself down.

Neil was rather surprised when Destiny woke him.

"What is it?" Neil asked as he replaced his eye patch.

"I don't know," Destiny said, "But Tieria called me in a panic a few minutes ago asking for you."

"Alright," Neil said as he sat up, "He probably had a nightmare again."

"That's what I was thinking," Destiny said, "But he called me saying that he had been shot."

"What!?" Neil cried as he quickly got out of bed, "I swear, if it's my brother again I'll kill him!"

Tieria was relieved when Neil and Destiny walked into his room.

"Tieria, what's wrong?" Destiny asked as she walked up to the bed.

"Setsuna…shot me…" Tieria gasped.

"What!?" Neil cried, "Setsuna shot you? Are you sure?"

"He shot me…in the stomach…" Tieria muttered.

Destiny and Neil looked at each other. They both knew that Tieria's mind was still on the nightmare because there was no gunshot wound or massive bleeding that would come with getting shot in the stomach, "Tieria…" Neil said, "There's no gunshot wound."

"How…is that…possible…?" Tieria asked, "I…was shot…"

Neil sighed as he carefully lifted Tieria's shirt, "No you weren't," he said, "You've popped a few of the stitches. Hold on, I'll go get Ms. Sumeragi and Ms. Vashti."

"NO!" Tieria cried, "Don't get Sumeragi…don't…please…She doesn't want me here, she's going to dismiss me..."

"Tieria…" Neil said as he placed his hand on Tieria's forehead only to pull it away almost immediately, "Destiny, he's burning up."

"What?" She asked as she too placed her hand on Tieria's hot forehead, "Oh god…he is…Tieria, we don't have a choice but to get Noriega-san, you're very sick right now and she can help you. It was a dream okay? She's not going to dismiss you, she's already told me that she needs you to fight for her. Please Tieria-kun, this is really serious."

"Are…you sure she's not going to dismiss me…?" Tieria asked.

"Positive," Destiny said, "Can we get Noriega-san now?"

Tieria nodded, "Destiny…I don't feel well…" He moaned.

"You have a very high fever right now," She said, "Try to relax a bit. Neil-san, will you go get Noriega-san?"

"Alright," Neil said as he left the room. He was hoping that Tieria's condition wasn't too bad. The boy was strong, but he could only take so much.

Sumeragi was rudely woken up when the lights in her room were turned on without warning.

"What's going on!" She yelled as she looked towards the door and saw Neil standing there, "Neil what are you doing? If you had a nightmare find someone else's bed to sleep in, I'm not your mother!"

"Oi," Neil said, "What was that all about? This is no time to be joking, we have an emergency on our hands!"

"What's wrong?" She asked as she sat up, "I didn't mean that, I had a dream where you wanted to sleep in my bed because you had a nightmare. What do you want?"

"Tieria had a nightmare," Neil said.

Sumeragi sighed, "That's not really an emergency Neil," She said, "Tieria suffers from nightmares all the time. Is he alright?"

"Not at all," Neil said, "He managed to pop at least two of the newer stitches…and he's burning up."

Sumeragi gasped. Her worst nightmare was coming true. She had been keeping her fingers crossed that something like this wasn't going to happen but it seemed as thought it was. "How high is his fever?" She asked.

"I don't know," Neil said, "But it's up there."

"Dammit," Sumeragi swore, "The last thing Tieria needs now is an infection."

"We may have caught it early," Neil said, "Because he wasn't feverish yesterday."

"Let's hope so," Sumeragi said, "I'll call Linda."

I know, I'm evil but I kinda like torturing Tieria. What's going to happen the next time Tieria sees Setsuna? Oh boy, that's gonna be interesting. Well, until next time Minna-san!

Ex-shark-V-005