Hey people! Uhh, why are you all glaring at me like that?

So I'm really sorry about not updating sooner. I just started high school and I've been swamped. Like, not even funny.

So I'll hurry this press conference along. As per usual, to my reviewers!

Reignashii: I have a question. Did you hate Sylvia before you read my story, or is it just now? Haha

Heaven'sgirl: Hmmm. Is he? Is he really?

AirStriker: Well, thank you very much! And here, I won't keep you hanging very long.

Pureevil230: "Angry Grief"! Ha! And yeah, you're totally right about Heero.

Faerex: Ahhh, yes it did! So happy to be back, I forgot how much I enjoyed this whole shebang.

Kim: Thanks!

AzNAngel07: I know. They're like…Sour Patch Kids! That's great! Cliffies are like Sour Patch Kids!

pruning shears: Grrr! And I liked that line a lot!

Angelus Draco: I think you may not be snickering for very long. Sorry, bud!

Theevilashleyness: Can't wait til I get you're next review!

: What is your native language? My second is French. Parlez-vous francais? Anyway, your review almost made me blush, such high praise! Thank you.

Liz: Aww! Please don't almost-cry! Then you'll make me almost-cry!

Becca G.: UPDATING!Okay, lovelies, HERE WE GO!!! Get your Pixy Stix ready!


"Wolfie. As much as I enjoy walking through the woods with blood dripping outta my hand, when are you gonna pick me up?"

Skyyeks was tired beyond belief. That Trowa guy-how the hell did he know him?-was not a bad fighter. Not bad at all. And that damn Wufei had left him alone to wander through the trees with no feeling in his hand and no mode of transportation.

He breathed into the CommLinK, short breaths of weariness and frustration, waiting for Wufei's response. "We're not."

"What?!" Skyy shrieked. "Don't joke like that Wufei."

"We're almost to Nikols' house. We're not turning back just to get you."

"Do it anyway! This is on your ass, Wolfie. When Anarchy hears-"

"About what? You whining because a Preventer kicked your ass?"

"You-!" Skyyeks exploded, kicking a tree branch in his rage. "If you don't turn around now and get me outta this godforsaken forest, Anarchy agents will be swarming that house before you even get there, ready to shoot you an' your little copter down!"

There was a pause before Wufei spoke again. "You think so, Skyyeks?"

"I know so." Skyyeks snarled. He heard Wufei sigh then issue an order.

"Where are you?"

Smiling, Skyyeks gave him his coordinates from his GPA, then turned and headed for the road.

"So, Trowa, what's so important that you have to get to Wufei before he reaches the Nikols'?" Heero asked, closing the door.

"Why did Wufei order a hit on you?" Quatre asked, throwing a glance at Heero.

"Because I was trying to stop him." Trowa said, defeated. He couldn't believe he was doing this.

Heero sighed in frustration. "From doing what?"

"Killing her."

"Dammit! Killing who?"

Trowa looked around the room, at Duo, at Quatre. Then Heero, whom Relena had loved so much it had broken her heart every day.

"The girl that stole Rellie's files."

Heero's eyes widened, Duo started, and Quatre stepped back. "Why?"

"Because she works for Anarchy. He's just doing his job." Trowa shrugged. He knew this was sounding so strange to them.

"Then why do you care?" Heero's voice cut through the air like ice. Oh, for so many reasons.

"Because I knew her."

"You what?" Duo shouted.

Trowa weighed his words carefully, trying to figure out how to lie to these people, these trained interrogators. "I…" Lie to Relena, or lie to them, to Quatre? "I…" Who did he love more? "…I"

"You?" Heero prompted malevolently. Trowa's eyes locked on his. How could Relena have loved him as she did? He didn't care about her, he didn't care about anything! He only loved her because he loved to see her break.

Trowa knew who he loved more.

"In the old group I used to work for…" He shot a look a Quatre, who nodded. "She visited once. Back then, she wasn't Memory, her name was Midii. And she was my only friend, the only person who cared enough to help me get out of that nightmare, to find the circus and Catherine." He looked up to Heero, who was watching him guardedly. "I don't know why she's doing what she's doing, but I can't stand to sit here while she waits to die."

"Why didn't you tell us this before, buddy?" Duo cut in, concern written across his face that relieved Trowa tremendously.

"I…I thought you would kill her." He admonished.

"What makes you think we wouldn't?" Heero said coldly. Trowa looked at the other two desperately.

Quatre sneered. "You wouldn't."

"What?" Heero snapped at him. "His girlfriend works for Anarchy, and we're sworn to dispatch of any and all of their operatives!"

"Midii…Memory, she doesn't know what she's doing," Trowa said, a note of plea in his voice. "Heero, you've got to help me. If we can save her, then I'm sure she'll tell us everything she knows!"

Heero regarded him, his truly desperate face, then turned to the others. Duo stepped forward.

"Let's do this, man." Quatre nodded his assent. Heero returned his eerily level gaze to Trowa.

"Alright, Barton. We'll rescue her." Trowa's face cleared, but Heero hadn't finished. "But once we reach her, she's under our custody and still under the death penalty."

Trowa paled slightly at the news, but took it in stride. Once Heero saw it was Relena…

They stood, the four of them, and made they're way to the door. "Wait…"

They turned to Quatre, who was looking around as if he forgot something. "What about Wufei?"

Trowa sneered. "He's dead to us, Quatre. Forget him."

Duo looked up, startled. "But Trowa-"

"Let's go." Heero said, aiming another level look at Trowa. "Your girlfriend is dying."


Skyyeks was giggling far too much for Wufei's tasted. "I forgot how much I love riding in helicopters!"

"Would you just shut up!"

"Aww, chill out, Wufei. We're about to nail Anarchy's number one fugitive, and your little problem will be gone." Skyyeks chuckled, examining a bazooka that he had found in the cockpit after Wufei picked him up.

"I give the order! You're not going to even touch her." Wufei snarled.

Skyyeks raised his hands in the air. "Geez, okay, okay."

Silence filled the copter again. Wufei's LinK buzzed but was ignored. Skyyeks guessed it was one of Preventer losers.

"Hey, Wufei, whadya tell your Preventer friends?" Skyyeks asked, gazing at Message Waiting button that was blinking on Wolfie's LinK.

Wufei sighed. "I didn't."

"Why not? I'm sure killing one of us is a great accomplishment at Chez Preventer."

Wufei didn't respond this time. Skyyeks straightened in his seat belt. "You are gonna kill her, aren't ya?"

The Asian man only looked solemnly at him. Skyy's temper blazed up again. "What?! That's the whole point of the mission, to kill the girl! You're not telling me you're gonna let her walk."

"I'm turning her in." Wufei growled. "Pilot, we're here, lower altitude." The pilot waved his hand and the helicopter dipped, a mansion with all it's lights lit up glittering below them.

"To the Preventers!" Skyyeks scoffed. "Those aren't my orders, Wolfie, there is no 'Dead or Alive'. Boss-man wants Memory's head on a platter!"

"Yeah, well, tough!" Wufei yelled. "Relena lives, and that's the end of it!"

"Who's Relena?" Skyyeks asked, utterly bewildered, but his voice was lost in the noise as the helicopter began to land.

Wufei jumped out before it even touch the ground, Skyyeks and his bazooka following. "Stop!"

The Asian man ignored him, still thundering towards that huge house. "STOP!" Skyyeks screamed, hefting the bazooka onto his shoulder.

"What?" Wufei said, finally turning and cocking his gun. His eyes bulged when he saw Skyyeks. "No.."

Skyyeks' eyes glittered maliciously. "This bitch dies. Tonight." His finger twitched on the trigger, and Wufei flung himself aside as the bazooka flew past him. He pushed himself up to follow its path.

The noise as the cannon smashed into the front of the house was terrific, the façade instantly exploding into white-hot flames.

"NO!" Wufei screamed, standing and racing towards the house. Skyyeks caught him and started dragging him back.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Wufei?"

But he didn't respond. He could only watch in horror as the house exploded, sending debris flying over his and Skyyeks' head. She was gone, she was dead.

"Mission accomplished." Skyyeks said, laughing as he let Wufei go. "And I couldn't of done it without you."

Wufei let out a roar of anger like Skyyeks had never heard. He could only watch as the man sunk to his knees.

"Whatever, man, she was nothing. Let's go, I can't call Anarchy in all this noise." Skyyeks began to walk towards the waiting helicopter, but Wufei remained where he was.

He had wanted this, he had wanted Memory dead and gone. But not Relena, never Relena. He had never meant to kill her, he only wanted her back to who she was, the Princess.

He rose wordlessly, contemplating the gun in his hand. His mouth formed a name that he thought he had forgotten and he wished he could say again and it mean something.

But the name was burning as she was burning. And it was all his fault.


They got there before the fire trucks did.

By then the fire had died down, having burnt everything to a cinder, except for a stone tower. The frame of the house still stood intact, but it's insides were gone.

Trowa stared through the windshield at the ashes, refusing to believe what he saw. Heero put the truck in park and jumped out.

"What the…"

The rest got out , too. The odor of burnt and dead things assaulted their noses and they covered their mouths with their arms.

"What happed?" Duo coughed.

Trowa, who had made no move to cover his mouth, still gazed at the hollow figure before him, unconsciously walking towards it. "We're too late." We're too late.

"Tro…" Quatre said softly, approaching him softly. But Trowa ignored him, walking stiffly still, towards the remains of the mansions.

"She's gone." He said to no one in particular, his voice breaking. "She's gone, she's dead, we're too late."

"I'm sorry, man." Duo said.

"Trowa." Quatre called, "Let's go. We can come back later and get her bo-"

"Well," Trowa said over him. "He got what he wanted. He finally killed her."

"Finally?" Heero said, but his voice sounded distant to Trowa. The frame of the damned house loomed ever closer till finally Trowa couldn't stand the smell.

"And now she's gone forever." He said matter-of-factedly, but his own words weren't sinking in. She couldn't be, not her, she was still alive in there, waiting for someone to save her.

He felt someone approach him. Heero touched his shoulder carefully. "We've got to go before the firemen get here, Tro."

"No.."

"I'm sorry about your friend, but-"

"You don't understand." Trowa said, shaking his head. "Don't you get it, Heero? She's dead, she's not coming back." His voice cracked and tears ran unbidden down his cheeks. His whole body trembled with the force of his anguish, his loss.

"I know, Trowa."

"No, you don't!" Trowa screamed. "I loved her! And you could never understand that!"

Heero grabbed him by the shoulders. "I don't know what you're talking about, but we have to go."

Trowa shoved him away. "Of course you don't." He spat. "You never did. You're the reason she's in there, burning, dying, it's all because of you, Yuy!"

"Trowa, you're not making any sense!" Heero yelled, thoroughly confused and angry. He dragged the unwilling man to the car and all but threw him inside. Trowa glared at him as he revved the engine, Quatre and Duo getting in quietly behind them.

"We can't leave her there." Trowa said.

"She's dead!" Heero snapped.

Trowa shook his head again. "We have to save her, we always save her!"

Heero threw the car into reverse. "What the hell are you talking about?!" He said, but didn't wait for Trowa to answer, dialing Wufei on his LinK.

"Where are you?" He barked into it. Trowa's blood blazed as Wufei's tinny voice buzzed through Heero's earpiece.

Heero's face transformed from a scowl to pure anger. "We're headed back to base now. When we get there, you'd better be waiting in the conference room." He tore the LinK out of his ear and threw it to the floor. "That baka's ass is mine."

"Trowa…" Quatre started.

"I'm fine." Trowa said, gazing at the rear view mirror at the house.


"Mom, I'm hungry." Kenrik complained. The red headed woman turned to him, blotting her tears as she smiled down at him.

"I'm sorry, baby, but we have to wait here until we know it's safe."

They had been stuck in this tower forever, she and Kenrik. She had sent the rest upstairs, but Kenrik had been rather badly burned and couldn't make it all the way up. And since that bomb had gone off everything had been a chaotic nightmare.

Suddenly banging noises and voices could be heard.

"Hello? Hello?" Kaoree yelled, rushing to the door.

"Hold on, miss, we're gonna get you out." A man's voice came from the other side. Minutes later, they had the door open and were helping Kaoree and Kenrik out.

"Please, sir, the rest of my kids are upstairs. Twins, two redheads, a brunette, and a blonde." She said to one of them, who immediately gathered a few others and started the trek up the tower.

She sat with Kenrik while they treated his burn with rather painful ointment. The poor little boy had been in so much pain, she almost couldn't bear to see him be put through more.

Sometime later, a man tapped her on the shoulder. "Ma'am. We found them upstairs. Your twins, Haydyn, and Cherise."

"Dacoda and Memory?" Kaoree asked, a tendril of fear seeping into her heart.

"No sign of them, ma'am."

After being checked over thoroughly by medics, Lia was finally released while her brother took his turn. She found her mother and big brother as soon as possible.

"What's wrong with his leg, mama?" She asked as Kaoree hefted her up into her lap.

"It got burned. Are your brothers and sister coming?" Lia nodded. "Where are Cody and Memory, Lia?"

The seven-year-old shrugged. "I don't know. Meem said she had to leave and broke one of those awfully big windows on the staircase. And she jumped right out of it, mama! Coda said somethin' to Rissy and jumped out after her."

"They're okay." Kaoree breathed. Lia nodded, bouncing on her lap.

"Mama, let's do that again!"