Disclaimer: Just noticed. Even if I put it in italics on my computer…it doesn't go with italics on ff.net. Sorry if that confused some of you…I mean, I KNOW I have 'bout a million and seven fans…but not all of them can be as smart as whichever one is reading this right now…right? :D One other thing that's slightly annoying. I'm writing this in Tempus Sans ITC, but when it's online, it's not tempus on most of the web browsers…ah, oh well, who the hell cares. Sorry it took so long to write, but I'm doing a ten minute, seven-fricken-page speech, and I don't even know where I'm supposed to find info on how the hell the ENVIRONMENT effects and causes ADD in children, due soon………and that sucks!!!!! Not only that…but about a week after I began writing this…my spring break started, and since I'm not at school, I don't have much internet access. And I'm starting my original, and the sequel, and the second and third, and who knows what other installments of my poem thing, and I need to remember to do the research for the speech…and an IPC test…and I dunno what else…and I'm getting tired of doing the disclaimers…and I dunno if I'm gunna take advantage of the leavin' it open for the sequel thing…hmm…better make it…naw, won't tell you…if I decided to keep writing the thing you'll know soon enough…Oh, and later on in this chapter, 'member, Nekomon's not quite human, so things affect her differently than the way they affect other people. 'GTT' means 'Gone To Texas'

Hmm, ever seen 'Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe'? If you have…email me…

Just a random thought while I'm on page 14. 'Mysterious Malady'…nice phrase…

Whoever invented dentistry should burn in hell! And you're gunna see this phrase at least one more time…cuz I really mean it!

Authors' rants, dontcha love 'em?



Chapter Twenty-One: The Recovery

X93 opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground, surrounded by people he did not know. He struggled to rise, but was pushed back down by a careful hand. "No, you'll probably hurt yourself more if you do that. Thank Ryuujin that you both are awake! Now who are you?" He began to speak, then paused. "I am X…no, that can't be my name anymore, I refuse to be known by what he named me. I don't want any connection with him!" He stopped talking again and looked at Miyaku. 'Heeey, she's cute…' he thought before continuing. "You can call me what you want." The girl lifted her beautiful and strange eyes to look at her companions. Another girl, the one he had been told of, the one he had been ordered to…he shook his head and stood up, trying to compose his thoughts. His mind was getting hazy again…

Eschaton shrugged, indicating she had no idea what to call him. Miyaku looked at him for a moment, then spoke, some slight amusement in her voice at the semi-obvious flirtation in his voice as he asked her. "Then you'll be named Kage. You're like Heero's other side. Do you think you can walk for a bit?" The clone automatically put his hand to his wound to see if it was bleeding badly. It had been bandaged. He swayed as he stood, feeling as though he were…floating… "I'm not sure…" His vision blurred slightly and he shook his head roughly. He felt so…strange…Heero was standing near him, his arms crossed, his face blank. Kage's vision blurred once again. He saw the small group of people surrounding him through a haze of multicolored static. He looked down at Relena's body and shuddered. The clone looked back up at Heero. "Dou, nante isu nai…norei ish et lis." He shook his head once again. "You're Heero Yuy…I…" Kage passed out, falling to the ground.

Miyaku looked at the clone, an expression of disbelief on her face. "I don't recognize that language…" Eschaton was fumbling around with the watch on her wrist. "That's no language that anyone else knows…the translator is going berserk trying to decipher it. I'm not even sure if that's really a language…in fact, I would bet my deck of blasting cards that it isn't. But…hey! That hurt!" She looked down at the pendant on her collar. The Morpheus disc begun to glow slightly. It had apparently shocked her. "It crashed! I don't get it, I thought this thing was supposed to easily translate every language, even Latin, and that is one screwed up language!" She walked over to Kage and swayed slightly, putting her hand to her stomach and grimacing almost imperceptibly. 'This is weird, I keep feeling so…strange…maybe it's Morpheus…yeah, it's probably just screwed up, maybe I need to get it reformatted…I just wish I didn't get all weird whenever Morpheus screws up!' Duo narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched her bend over Kage. 'This is crazy…first thing we do when we get back is talk to Moose! That crazy cat monster must have a cold or something…' "It doesn't look like he's faking it…he really is out."

Duo walked over to her and grinned slightly, hiding his worries from her and the others. "I dunno why, but he reminds me of this drunk guy I once ran into, well, actually I almost shot him, but…he's crazy as hell!" Everyone stared at him for a second, then almost all of them shook their heads in near-perfect unison. It was only Duo acting like……Duo. "Crazy, sometimes I think you really are that: crazy!" He grinned at Eschaton's remark. "Hold it right there. Throw down all of your weapons and hold your hands in the air! Now!" Eschaton looked up, her pupils slitted with fear. It was a soldier. She recognized him as the one with the gray eyes and white blonde hair. The same guy who felt sorry for her when Denizen came to take her back as a prisoner. She shuddered at the thought of what had happened at Base Terra, but…this soldier was actually kind to her in his own way. She hated to do it to him, but…he was an enemy. 'Hold on a sec…' she thought suddenly. 'I don't gotta kill 'im! I just gotta knock 'im out a bit!' She nodded her head slightly at the others. She slowly raised her arms above her head, then her right hand jerked forward. The soldier heard the sound of the whiplash too late: it wrapped itself around his waist, trapping him as she threw the two shuriken stars. He was struck in the chest, but not hard enough to be killed. He fell, badly wounded and unconscious. "Sorry bout that mate…" she whispered under her breath. "But you didn't really give me a choice."

Duo grabbed the whip from her and coiled it up as she wiped the two shuriken off on the soldier's jacket, then looked up with a start as he heard the wail of sirens. "We'd better get outta here! Quick, Zechs, you take Relena! Heero, you and Shanaiha get Kage, and the rest of you just run like Tricode's givin' you that oh-so-stupid smile that means he's 'bout to flirt and Havoc has a match!" The others obeyed and took off like bats out of hell.

Duo didn't want to hurry her, but the sirens were coming closer fast. It seemed the cops had seen Eschaton as she stumbled and fell in front of the burning building. She was trying to run, but stopped, with a dizzy, slightly sick look on her face. "Just go, I'll hide, I can't run." Duo stopped grabbed her by the arm, almost dragging her with him as they ran. She was panting fitfully and nearly fell at least three times. They reached Café Dumont and he helped her jump the railings so they could hide behind some of the tables. The speeding car whizzed by the restaurant and both he and Eschaton sighed in relief. "Nekomon, what's going on? You're acting…strange…I don't know how else to describe it! Are you sick or something? What's going on!" She got up and leaned against the railing, her arms crossed and her head bowed. "I dunno what the hell's wrong with me!" she whispered, more to herself than to Duo. "Maybe its Morpheus, it's probably messed up…it has to be…but why the hell does it bother ME!!!???" Duo stood next to her, his hand on her arm. "Lets get back to RF, we'll talk there…c'mon, everyone's gunna be worried bout us……either that or they'll think we stopped to have some fun on the return trip…" Eschaton laughed slightly, but her laughter died in her throat as she felt another twinge of pain and wave of dizziness. It was getting worse by the day. She meekly let Duo lead her away.

Eschaton felt better after a good stiff drink. The pain killers Moose had thrown in didn't hurt either…but…she felt slightly…hm, how to describe it…uninhibited, to say the least…She narrowed her wild hazel eyes as Moose came near her with a needle in her hand. The slitted pupils became small as her eyes widened. She tried to jump for it, but her leap wasn't as graceful as she had planned it to be: She hit the back of the couch head first. Those pain killers sure made it hard to make great and daring escapes from insane people with needles! Duo picked her up and set her back down with a sigh. "Honestly, why do you have to be such a coward when it comes to needles?" She gave him a look that would freeze a fire. "You've never had to deal with them the way I have! My parents weren't big on it, but my doctor sure was! Seemed to think I was some sorta….espiri, spearmint, eXpeerimant, er….a whatchamacallit!" 'Yep,' thought Moose. 'Those pain killers are definitely working!' Moose looked over at Duo as he wrapped his arms around the struggling Eschaton, preventing her from moving. In fact, he was almost preventing her from breathing. She stuck the needle in, and the first rush of blood was accompanied by an enraged yowl and a muffled grunt from Duo as Eschaton tried to make another break for it. "Hold still! You know how much it hurts if it gets stuck in you!!!"

It took an hour, but Moose finally managed to draw enough blood to run various tests…and experiment with. It wasn't everyday she got a chance to get some fresh blood samples from that crazy cat monster: that girl HATED needles! Moose watched as Duo winked at Eschaton and led her off towards the kitchen. They were always ready to eat…she wondered what they would be having. Her stomach growled and she sighed. There was a quiet laugh followed by a loud slap. Never mind…she didn't want to know what was going on. They were always violent when they were acting like that…She tripped over the floor and her hand accidentally knocked over a beaker into the sample she had just prepared. The results startled her. 'It's impossible!' she thought in disbelief. She decided that she didn't have enough equipment to run proper test. She packed up quickly and almost quietly: she somehow managed to get tangled up in her carryall bag's strap. She left, saying a quick goodbye to the few people she passed and leaving a note.

"GTT. Have better equipment in Houston…bye."



"Hmmmm, I think I'd like something sweet…other than you, of course." Eschaton made a face as she slapped him. "EWWW! I HATE sweet stuff! Well, most of the time anyway…I still go into extreme mental distress when I try to decide whether or not to eat ice cream…" Duo grinned evilly behind her back as she turned to reach up and grab a glass from the cabinet. She nearly had to climb up onto the cabinet to reach it without risking making it fall. His hand was in the refrigerator and he touched something that made him smile like Satan himself. Eschaton yawned widely as she set the glass down on the cabinet. "Mmm, I'm tired…I think I'm gunna call it…a…night?" She turned slowly as she heard the strange sound again…kind of like an aluminum bottle with some type of thick liquidy substance in it…kind of like…a can…of…whipped cream! Duo sprayed it at her and she screamed, running like there was no tomorrow, completely and fully awake. She ran into the underground hangar, screaming, eyes wide with terror. "Get this…this…this STUFF offa me you freaks!!!!!! Help!!!! Get him away from me!" She like sweet things even less than she liked needles. But the others didn't help. Some paid no attention, some looked curiously over, and others just laughed. Eschaton was on her own. Or was she?

Rhia looked down from her perch on Tricode's Gundam. It was a giant of a machine, a dark, lustrous green weapon, with double-clawed hands and a gigantic beam cannon fastened to one of its shoulders. Tricode grinned at her, a sly look in his reptilian eyes. "What, wasn't good enough for you?" Rhia gave a knowing giggle. "No, 'twas not that which pesters mine mind. 'Tis the fact that the lady feline is being near-ravaged by the long-haired Death Lord. Whilst thou aid me in aiding milady?" Tricode grinned at her. 'Damn, Rhia's fine! And, what the hell, why wouldn't I do it? Or that come to think of it…' "Sure, what're we gunna do sweetie?" She hit him lightly. "Pray, whilst thou desist wi' thine fool-like names? 'We' do nothing and thou shalt do everything. Or, shouldst I say that Ffrindar will do everything?" Tricode lifted one eyebrow, curiosity and confusion on his face. "'Ffrindar'? Who's Ffrindar?" Rhia looked at him, pride on her face. "Surely thou wouldst not think this thing between us had no results? 'Twould have to take root sometime!" She fluttered her eyelashes at him as his jaw dropped open in disbelief. "Come my love, and I, thine own and only, shalt introduce mine love to mine work!" She jumped down from the Gundam and Tricode was right behind her, although un-admittedly confused. And startled. 'Great, this is all I need! Commitment! That's it, first hot chick I see when I walk outta here tomorrow morning is my new girlfriend!'

The couple walked towards their room. Rhia patted the bed beside her, her laptop sitting on the soft sheets. She clicked on something and opened up a program. She typed in a few commands, then clicked a button. The lights dimmed to nearly nothing, just enough for Tricode to see Rhia, but not really enough to see anything else. "Dost thou see what mine meaning was, love? This device can control each of the strange inventions of this noble stone building. Whilst thou use thine knowledge of how people like milady and the demon act when alone together to aid milady?" Tricode grinned, a small scrap of relief, and an unbelievable expression of evil glee, in his eyes. "Sure ,but I don't think you'll want me telling you what they're doing, it might make you a little, er…strange if you knew what they were…course, I could always be wrong, but I highly doubt it, seeing as to how I am and what I am. I'm practically a psychic when it comes to stuff like this!" Tricode thought to himself with relief. 'Well, the new girlfriend can wait till tomorrow afternoon…'

Eschaton was still running and screaming, and she was still being chased by Duo, who was still using the can of whipped cream, although he was being more careful with it: it was almost finished up. Eschaton ran to the only place she considered safe in that building: The women's bathroom. Sure enough, Duo stopped right outside the door. "C'mon Nekomon! It's not that bad!!! Get outta there, I'm warning you!" She allowed herself a small giggle: this was the only place to go when being chased by Duo with a can of whipped cream. She stood at the mirror and began washing the whipped cream from her body. 'Ugh! How could he be doing this?' she thought, making a face as she rinsed off her long silver braid. There was a bang at the door and she jumped. Duo was getting impatient. She completely forgot herself as she grinned in satisfaction, so pleased with herself for getting away that she gave her claws a lick. And almost choked. That damned whipped cream was ev…ery…where? She licked her claws again, her face lighting up with happiness. It was non-sweetened whipped cream! 'Mmmmm, almost pure milk!!!' she thought with glee. She gave her reflection in the mirror one last evil smile and her claws one last delicious lick before walking out of the door. "Oh Duuuuuuu-oooooooo!"

Three things happened at once: The lights went out, Eschaton walked out of the door, and Duo jumped at her. Unable to see what was going on, he accidentally jumped through the doorway to the women's bathroom. Eschaton blinked for a second to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness, then saw Duo sprawled out on the floor, the can of whipped cream inches from his fingers. She pounced on Duo, grabbing the whipped cream and attacking him with it, causing him to yell. "What the…GET OFFA ME!!!" Eschaton, surprisingly, obeyed him, getting up and tilting her head back as she sprayed whipped cream into her mouth. Duo got up, his face covered in whipped cream. The lights came back on, but they were very dim. Duo looked at himself in the mirror and saw the whipped cream. He wiped it off with his hand and glared at Eschaton suspiciously. "I thought you hated sweet stuff!" The cat-girl gave him an innocent smile. "I do crazy, but this is non-sweetened whipped cream!" Duo made a face. "I shoulda known it was too good to be true…"

He stood there and scratched his head for a second, then gave Eschaton an evil grin. Eschaton's eyes widened slightly, the pupils contracting into even smaller slits as the lights slowly returned to normal brightness. "I need to talk to Kage. He's the new guy 'round here, and he needs to know the rules. Like no chasing the leader with whipped cream! Or, come to think of it…making out with Miyaku five minutes after he wakes up. Buuuuut…back to the whipped cream incident my crazy Shinigami…" She smirked at him for a second before talking in a slightly sing-song tone of voice. "You could get in TROU-bllllllllllllle!" Duo grinned once again. 'Hey, its worth it!' he thought before trying to give her a look of remorse, failing miserably. She laughed at him, then, unfortunately, tossed the can in his direction, hitting him in the forehead. He sat down in a daze as she walked out of the room.

A few moments later, her head appeared through the doorway. "Hey, crazy! In case you didn't notice, this ain't the place you'd normally be found, at least not voluntarily found…if you get my drift…" Duo just looked at her, still slightly confused after getting pegged by the whipped cream can. She walked in with a sigh and helped him to his feet. "C'mon crazy! Hurry up!" Duo put his hand on her shoulder as she began to walk out of the room. "Aw, Nekomon, you don't gotta tell 'im all bout everythin' tonight…or anythin' tonight, come to think bout it! Let's go get a drink…you know…a drink. Then we'll…ah…figure out what you need to tell them, we'll both think about it!" Duo grinned evilly at his reflection as they walked out of the room together. Whoever said that old saying…what was it? 'Early to bed…Early to rise…Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise…' was wrong. He'd be happy to go to sleep late and wake up even later!

Eschaton paused as they passed by the hangar. Those damned pain killers…they made her feel crazy! She had the wild urge to see what would happen if she got in the Phoenix and tried dancing a tango above the French Quarter while singing 'House of the Rising Sun' over the mobile suit's loud speakers. Of course, there would be few drawbacks: She had no idea how to dance a tango…She would have no partner, and everyone KNOWS it takes two to tango…And if anyone heard her singing they'd probably declare war on her. Tigers might be good at fighting, hiding, etc., but they definitely weren't the best of singers! Duo nudged her slightly and she remembered he was there. 'Oh well…' she thought. 'There's always next time to see what would happen!' They began walking again.

Tricode closed the laptop, a satisfied smile on his reptilian-reminiscent face. 'It looks like Duo's gunna be happy tonight! Damn, just getta look at that camera on hall 34 A! They're practically running! And speaking of happy tonight…' He turned to Rhia. She was giving him a rather interesting look, but he couldn't even begin to interpret it. And at that moment, he didn't care what it meant. "Hey there sweetie. How bout a congratulatory party in my honor for savin' the 'fair lady feline' from bein' partially ravaged by that damned hippie long haired Death Lord?" Rhia smiled and opened up her laptop, typing in a few special commands. The lights dimmed to almost nothing, the door closing, and locking, automatically as the program manipulated the electric sensors in the doorway. "Why, mine lord, of course! Whilst thou prefer refreshments…or…live entertainment?" 'Alright, matter decided. She's still my girlfriend…least till a cuter chick comes round!' Tricode grinned evilly as he once again closed the laptop. "You'll find out in a few minutes!"

Rhia walked out of the room, clutching her robe to her and sporting a scowl on her face. A few minutes later, she returned, carrying a large glass of ice and a bottle of Coke.

Things were not going so well in Quatre and Angeline's room as they were in Duo and Eschaton's, Dairaki and Richard's, and just about everyone else's rooms…even if over half the people in the base were sound asleep. "How could you say that? I've cared for you like…like…I've never cared for anyone else!" The usually calm and quiet Quatre was furious. Angeline had been so…distrusting of him lately! Every single thing he did was wrong in her opinion! How could she be treating him like this! Angeline leaned against the wall, as far away from him as she could get. How could she explain to him? It wasn't him…it was…something else! She didn't know what, but it SO was not him! Quatre didn't wait for her to answer. He stormed from the room to the hangar, making his mobile suit, the Areno, his bed for the night. Angeline didn't let tears run down her face. They did no good when she was alone. In fact, all they would have done that night would have been mess up her complexion. She looked at the door and knew within her heart that they would never have the same relationship they had once had. But she sensed that once his anger wore off, he would be ready to reconcile as a friend, but never again as a lover. She would have to find someone else, and as difficult as it sounded to find someone else as kind, caring, loving…as wonderful as him…she would do it, she knew she would!

Ririku's eyes were narrowed in concentration. She had been working on the Phoenix for three hours. It was slightly difficult, but then again…she was a pretty good mechanic. She caught a glimpse of herself in the highly polished Elendium that made up Phoenix's body. Her cheeks looked slightly rosy. Perfect…how horrible! She hissed through her fangs and back away from the reflection. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that she was on the Phoenix's shoulder…and she fell. With a shout of dismay, she felt herself hurtling through the air. But, to her surprise, she didn't feel any pain when she hit the floor. In fact, she didn't hit the floor. She was caught by someone. As the unknown catcher set her on her feet, she looked up. 'Well, well, well…' she thought. It was Trowa. He managed a small smile as she began complaining about the mobile suit. He wasn't even listening to her. He was imagining being back at the circus. He wondered if she would be good at balancing acts. He decided to put all his cards on the table and ask her. "Hey, Ririku…when this is over, would you like to come to the circus with me?" She looked up at him in surprise. This was something she had never imagined. But she was ready with an answer. "Sure…but if I have to fold up my cape and stop wearing it…you'll have to drag me along!" He gave her a quiet smile as she continued complaining about Phoenix. She climbed up the mobile suit again and began making more repairs to the shoulder-joint, still muttering complaints to herself.



Tarantula was tired. She had been kept busy all night trying to find out if there were any reports on Denizen and his son. She saw something on the radar screen to her left…but it disappeared as soon as she turned to look at it. 'Oh well…' she thought with a sigh. 'Maybe I'll go get something to eat in a bit.'

Slade read the book…sighing now and then. Now that was her idea of a man…too bad he was an Elf. Those were hard to find in her opinion. In fact, she had never heard of people finding them. But she knew she could find him…someday. In fact, she had named her mobile suit after him. Legolas. She sighed once more. Why couldn't one of the Gundams have been an Elf?

Peter sat at his desk, his head nodding as he struggled through computer printouts. "System Info. FAT32…etc…" his head slowly fell to the desk. He hated going through all of that computer junk. He gradually fell asleep, lulled by the sound of the printer. He didn't dream. It had been a long time since his last dream.

"Blimey! That one nearly 'ad me there! But if she really wanted ta bite me…she'd 'ave CHOMPED down on me 'and an' pulled me over to 'ere! But as ye kin see, it was really more of a little nip tellin' me to BACK off and that she don't feel like 'avin' company tonight…" Steve turned over in his sleep, completely ignoring his namesake on television. He began snoring uproariously. If he had had a room mate, he would have been hit by the time he was drowning out the noise of the television. But he didn't. And as he had put it while talking to his pet iguana…"Someday me shela will come…and then I'll get ya yore own room mate! 'Ows that sound pal?"

Sage gulped at her drink and looked up challengingly at Wufei, who definitely looked surprised. Raven, Ignition, and Havoc laughed at his confused face. "We shoulda warned ya! We don't refuse to have drinkin' parties with her invited for nothin'!!!" Wufei glared at the others and grabbed the bottle of vodka, choking it down. He stalked out of the room. The others stifled laughter when they heard him cough as he staggered into his room down the hall. "Well, it served him right! He shouldn't be so stubborn, stupid, rude, and…well, I'll think of something else to say in a bit. But now back to the drinks! I trust the jerk didn't drink everything…did he?" Havoc gave her a queer look after she rummaged through the liquor cabinet. "No, he didn't…but you did!" Sage shrugged her shoulders and sat down. "How typical. How completely and unbelievably typical!"

Alandriel looked up, startled, as she heard someone cough violently in the room next to hers. She pulled a robe around her body and walked over to the doorway, pausing for a moment to listen again. Someone coughed again, but this time it was obvious they were trying to stifle it. "Damn it! How could I have let them trap me like that? How, why…? What the hell am I talking about right now?" It was Wufei, and he sounded a little upset. Alandriel entered his room as he was talking to himself. 'Oh great…he looks a little drunk. Must be around Sage too much lately…' "Wufei, honey, are you alright? You look a little tired. Maybe you should get some sleep?" Wufei looked up, his normally pale face slightly flushed. He was more than a little drunk…but then again, gulping down a bottle of vodka in one go can do that to a guy. "Sleep? Hah, to die…to sleep…perchance to dream? To dream…aye, there's the thing that makes me sleepless. In Seattle…I left my heart…in San Francisco. When the swallows…come back…to Capistrano…Rollin', rollin', rollin'…though the streams are swollen…keep them doggies rollin', Rawhide…the Rock versus Hollywood Hogan, the clash of the wrestling Titans! Hark! The call of Zeus to fight the beasts! Remember the Titans!!! The Replacement players! Guys who play cuz they like to and they were the only guys left after the other guys left! Left, left, left right left! G.I. Jane! Look Jane, see the dog that runs? Yes Dick, I see the dog that runs! Little Dick Whittington! Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers! That's the ol' pepper, Jack, that's the ol' pepper!. Cracker Jacks! Take me out to the ball game! A gamer's paradise! Livin' IN an Amish Par-ar-a-diiiiiiiiise!!! Paradise without the 'E'! The tang-eeeee zip of Miracle Whip! Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark…Oh god look out, he got his whip out an' he's gunna use it to cross over the bottomless pit!!!! The Arc, the Compass, the area of a circle is pi r squared! Pie, that food of the heavens! Heaven…there is no heaven or hell, just…used car dealerships! It's not my fault! My car ran out of gas, I had no money for a cab, there was a storm, an earthquake, a flood, flies, LOCUSTS!!!! It's NOT MY FAAAUUUULLLLLLLLT!!! Its 106 miles to Chicago, we gotta full tank a gas, half a pack of cigarettes, its dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it! It's a hit, and the fencing master of the West is defeated by the fencing master of the East! East meets West! West, Jim West! Artemis Gordon! Flash Gordon conquers the universe! Universal domination! Dominion! Zool, the minion of Gozer! Gozer the Gozerian! Some Sumerian god…I think it can hear you. AHHHHHHHHHH! It slimed me. Slimer! Who ya gunna call? Ghostbusters! Something else! Everything else! Make the voices stop!!!! Shut up when I'm talkin' to you! It's like a paranoid lookin' over your back! It starts with love, one thing, I don't know why, it doesn't even matter how hard you try, keep that in mind that I designed this rhyme to remind myself how I tried so hard!!!! Hey mom, there's something in the back room, hope its not the creatures from above! Somebody, Anybody!!!!!! Help me!!!! I'm not human!!!! Psycho! The Birds! Alfred Hitchcock, who didn't win any Oscars even though he got that other award thing which really sucks cuz after being nominated six times you'd think he'd win one specially since his was some of the greatest work ever seen on the big screen, or the little screen for that matter! That funny little man! Ryan Colmer with a pillow in his shirt humming that weird theme music from the Alfred Hitchcock show!!!!!! Whoever invented dentistry should burn in hell!!!!!!!" Alandriel did the only thing she could do. She slugged him, knocked him out, and went to her room, falling asleep in a few minutes. She didn't even think twice about his ravings.

Miyaku looked at Kage happily. She had always thought Heero was cute…but a little too stiff for her. Kage was, to say the least, not as stiff. He looked up from the runes he was studying…actually, he looked up from the comics he was reading, but that day he decided to call them runes. "What, I told you…don't disturb me while I'm studying the ancient mythical runes!" She raised one eyebrow slightly, then rolled her eyes and shook her head. Sometimes, he was too un-stiff for her taste…but that just made her like him even more. She looked over his shoulder at the comic strip. "Thundercats, don't you think that's a little farfetched? I mean, cat people and that strange digging machine that panther guy made…" Kage interrupted her with a bemused expression on his face. "Well, unless I think mobile suits and Eschaton both aren't real…no. I don't think that. In fact, they are only slightly unbelievable. Now even more unbelievable is the fact that I look like Heero Yuy and I'm reading a Thundercats comic right now. Wouldn't you think that?" Miyaku grinned at him and began reading over his shoulder. "Now who's the hypocrite? Don't you think the Thundercats are a little farfetched?" She continued reading over his shoulder, hardly paying any attention to him at all. But then she answered. "No, I know Eschaton. Now SHE is farfetched. Shut up and stop bothering me while I study ancient runes!"

Zechs watched Ririku and Trowa as Trowa watched Ririku work on Phoenix. He turned back to his work on Sundare. "Noin, see if the radar is working. Set it to search for…Libras. There shouldn't be any, but if we're going to test it, we might as well do something worthwhile." Noin nodded and initiated the radar. Something was wrong with it, there had to be something wrong with it! It showed a Libra looming over the base. She shut it off. "No, its broken. Hand me that updated microchip. I'll fix it right now."

Less than an hour later, alarms sliced through the near perfectly-still night.

Lissom looked over at his injured father, disgust and hatred on his bestial, but, thanks to the beauty his mother had possessed, slightly handsome features. Denizen was laying on the floor of the skimmer, weak from blood loss. He aimed a kick at the prone man's form. Denizen snarled in pain and anger. "How dare you, you bastard! How dare you lose all of this to some idiotic cat-bitch!" Lissom was enraged at his helpless father. Denizen's voice was raspy and weak, but still held enough cruelty and terrifying menace to stay his son's blows. "You try that again, and you will see what I can do against some young whelp who thinks he's stronger than I am! Like it or not, but what I am has made you what you are! In fact, you'd be nothing without me! I could've left you with your mother! Yeah, that's right! That Linda Black whore! I could've left you with your mother and sister! Or, better yet, I could've caused your death like I caused your mother's! The stupid bitch, she didn't know what was good for her!"

Lissom quieted down, a look of studious reflection on his face. Denizen saw his chance. His voice was a soothing, eager whine. "I say we go find that cat and put paid to her, my son! We can kill her and all her followers, including her beloved and all her closest friends! Quickly, turn the skimmer and take it to Base Kansen! We will take a Libra and destroy their hiding place!" Lissom nodded slowly, indicating his agreement. Denizen angrily set to thinking about how he was supposed to get his revenge on Eschaton and the others who had caused his injuries. Lissom banked the skimmer, turning towards their ocean base. No one could pilot a mobile suit like him: the only reason he hadn't already been piloting was because he was Denizen's son, and he didn't have to.



Moose looked at the tests as she was standing in her apartment in Houston. She had left the others to go to her more advanced Houston quarters so she could run proper tests on the blood samples. They had to be wrong! Eschaton couldn't be…no…it couldn't be true. She didn't even want to imagine how Duo would react, much less how Eschaton would…She began the long and tedious process of rechecking her results…it was going to be a very long night…



Lissom imagined his Libra as he anticipated fighting with Eschaton…and defeating her: her death would be the most painful and humiliating that he could devise…but back to the mobile suit. It was a giant of a machine, with a deadly looking beam sword/laser cannon main weapon with the capabilities of destroying the entire city of New York with one hit. No one could hope to defeat him with a mobile suit as powerful as this!!! He fingered the controls lovingly. He had never liked New Orleans, and now…he had a reason to destroy it! Denizen coughed as he relaxed into the seat. He didn't feel he would live much longer, and he couldn't stand the thought of his son taking over the Sons of Darkness…but he wasn't afraid of self detonating his most powerful mobile suit…especially if it would mean destroying the Black Stars along with his son! The Libra sped off towards the Black Star hideout. It was there in less than three hours. Alarms were blaring as Lissom began his attack on the city of New Orleans. But what he didn't know was that the alarms had been blaring for well over an hour, and the city was almost completely empty. Empty, all but one person, all but one mobile suit…Eschaton would not allow him to destroy the city without a fight!

Duo and Eschaton looked up, startled, as the alarms began. Hastily wrapping her blanket around her shoulders, Eschaton struggled up and opened her laptop, typing in some hasty commands. A radar screen appeared, showing a green shape rapidly coming towards the city. Her slitted pupils narrowed as her eyes widened in shock. "That's a Libra! And that is the biggest Libra I've ever seen!" Duo sat up, surprise on his face. "What? A Libra! But…what could it be…doing…here…" He knew in an instant, even before he had finished his question. Denizen would be looking for them. And if he knew Denizen from past experience, he wouldn't care about destroying New Orleans if it meant killing Nekomon. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, remembering what she had looked like the last time Denizen had gotten a hold of her. He found himself breaking into a cold sweat as he thought of what she had told him had happened. The others didn't even know about it…the beatings, the drugs, the abuse…the fear…He opened his eyes and looked over at his wife. He could tell she was thinking about the same thing, but he somehow knew she hadn't told him everything. There were some parts of her imprisonment she didn't even think about if she didn't have to. But she was thinking about them now.

Her eyes were blazing in anger, the amber surrounding her pupils was only outshone by the green in her eyes. Her teeth were clenched, her claws bared as they dug into the side of the bed. Her entire body was tense and shaking slightly. "Nekomon." Duo said her name softly, bringing her out of fearful trance she had been in. She immediately began speaking as she grabbed her jumpsuit and got dressed. "You're going to have to get everyone outta here! And I don't just mean outta RF, I mean outta New Orleans! Here, take this." She reached in the beat-up old black backpack she had used before she even met Duo. She pulled out a medal. It was round and silver, but it had some strange markings etched on one of its sides. "I'm going to have to call in a favor. Well, you're going to have to call in a favor for me. Go to the N.O.P.D. station. Ask to talk to Jace. Show him that medal and say Kat sent you. Then ask him to clear out New Orleans. Tell him its an emergency, and if he doesn't do it…well…just tell him the lives of the citizens depend on it. He'll understand." Duo looked at the medal curiously. "Hold on. What exactly did you do for him to…" Eschaton gave him a fleeting smile. "Now, now, now, if I told you that I'd have to kill you! Just do it for me, please?" Duo nodded as he watched her run from the room. She stopped and turned back. "Hold on, forgot something. Would you take care of my laptop and backpack? Just turn off the laptop and toss it in the backpack, kay?" Duo grinned at her, opening the laptop and turning it off, then prepared to toss it into her backpack. "Hey! I didn't really mean to toss it! C'mon, that laptop's nearly my best friend!" After carefully putting the laptop in the backpack, Duo turned to her, a smile on his face. "You're forgettin' somethin' else too Nekomon!" He kissed her before she could dodge him and rung from the room. "See, you can't get away from me easily!" She laughed then ran through the doorway and into the hall, her long tiger-striped tail held low and tense, helping her keep perfect balance as she nimbly dodge sleepy, and some not-so-sleepy, people. She ducked into D's room, then dashed out a few seconds later, face slightly red. After slamming the door, she shouted into the room. "Hey, make an announcement. Tell everyone to head to the Mediterranean Base A.S.A.P.!" She added in a whisper, "And by the fates, make up your mind…are you a gal or a guy? And stop harassing Richard…he's confused enough with your disguises alone!!!" She ran off towards the hangar. Duo couldn't help but shake his head. She was still the same as she was…just slightly different from herself.

Ririku nearly fell from the Phoenix's shoulder when she heard the alarm. In fact, after she got up she slipped on her long cape and fell for the second time that night. Trowa caught her once again. "Wha-what's going on?" she asked in bewilderment. Trowa didn't answer her. He just looked at the doors. Ririku looked with him. They both stood there staring at the doors. Eschaton ran in the room, looking messy, tired, angry, and worried at the same time. "We're going to be attacked in a minute if I don't get out of here! Quick, what changes were made to Phoenix? We don't have much time!" Ririku quickly explained that there were no changes, just some repairs. Nodding slightly, Eschaton boarded her mobile suit and activated the alarm warning everyone to stay clear of the hangar while Phoenix took off. Zechs watched the Phoenix fly through the night sky. He did not follow. Revenge was a thing for one person to take.

Raven, Ignition, and Havoc practically dragged Sage out of the building. She was searching for something to drink. And when Sage wants something to drink…hell will freeze over if she doesn't get it…and that's the sober truth…well, solemn truth…cuz she won't usually end up sober!!!

Lissom snarled angrily to himself as he saw the darkened streets. He had never been to New Orleans before, but he had heard plenty. Surely everyone didn't sleep at night? He saw the smoldering wreckage of his father's old base. He was bored. So he fired his beam cannon at the wreckage. The explosion was unbelievable. Lissom laughed at the flames and turned to his weak and injured father. "That is what I think about all of your beliefs old one!" Denizen turned his head away from his son, a cool impersonal look on his face and a burning rage in his cold heart. He would show that brat just what he could do…and he wouldn't like it! A voice crackled through the radio. "Well, well, well. If it ain't my two favorite people in the city…Ya ready to die today, suckers?"

Eschaton felt dizzy for a second as she spoke into the radio. Great. Those damn pain killers were wearing off. She shook her head as Lissom's face appeared on the screen. It was the first time she had seen him. His eyes were like his father's. Lissom snarled at her as he swung the beam sword through the air at her. She dodged and began traveling upwards. She had always enjoyed fighting in space. She could only hope Lissom didn't!

Lissom could have cared less where they fought, especially since there were obviously no people to kill in New Orleans. The mobile suits were covered by the heat shields as they passed through the atmosphere. The moment it was safe enough…at least safe enough so that nothing would more than an uncomfortable burn might happen would happen…Eschaton pulled away the Phoenix's heat shield wings. Her mouth was set in a grim line as she looked at the large Libra passing through the atmosphere. It was easily the biggest mobile suit she had ever seen, but she didn't care about that…all she cared about was destroying both him and his father. And all those two cared about was destroying her. Lissom's Libra was definitely fast. And particularly nimble for any mobile suit. Of course, so was Phoenix. There was a metallic click as the Libra's heat armor automatically disengaged itself after they passed through the atmosphere. The small silver mobile suit was far ahead of them. But while Lissom seethed and shouted into the radio…"How dare you run! You cannot hide from me! I am Lissom, the most powerful being in this galaxy! I will find you and destroy you!!!!"…Denizen knew the truth. She would not hide from them. She was going to make sure no one would get hurt during there battle. She knew Lissom might decided to hold someone…or some building…or some city…or even some state hostage if he felt he would not win. Or if he was just bored and decided the fight wasn't going fast enough.

She knew that Morpheus was becoming dangerous to her. She had been avoiding even wearing her pendant thanks to the dizziness she thought it caused. But if she had known what was really causing the strange things that were happening to her…she would probably have passed out. She didn't know the truth.

After taking a deep breath and whispering a prayer to the fates, she began the voice activation of Morpheus. Lissom was directing energy blasts in her direction, but he was too far away to get close enough for hand to hand before Morpheus had been initiated.

She got a feeling of deja-vu as the familiar sequence began.



She activated the particle shield, setting it to full strength and deflecting some of the attacks. "Phoenix, activate Morpheus Thirteen!" the feminine monotone voice of the computer began the sequence. "Retinal scan and voice imprint commencing. Give your full name." Opening her eyes wide and speaking clearly, she allowed the laser to scan her eye, saying, "I am Eschaton, the end of days." "Voice imprint and retinal scan completed. Password." She blinked her eyes, shaking her head to stop the flashes caused by the laser. "Random Apocalypse." "Morpheus Thirteen Activated!"

White mist filled the cockpit as a blinding light flashed. When the light and mist dissipated, Eschaton's eyes had changed. The green in her eyes were bright, glowing in the dim cockpit. The amber around her slit pupils was intensified, a bright golden red color. A helmet slowly lowered over her head. The Phoenix itself changed. The blue lenses that were its 'eyes' had become the same as her eyes, creating an eerie human-like appearance, but the rest of the head was in such sharp contrast that it seemed supernatural. The dragon-like wings seemed to grow, lengthening into something that could shield her, but could also be used as weapons; they were edged like knives. Phoenix's fingers sprouted long, curved silver talons. The body of the Phoenix glowed in multiple colors, like an opal.



But something was wrong. She felt dizzy. Her senses swam as she slid in and out of the past and present. The Libras were attacking her…she had to stop them! Her heart was racing…her head whipped from side to side as she relived what had happened on that day so long ago…the day she escaped from Base Terra…Phoenix was flying around erratically. Lissom decided to use something…a beam net…to stop her wild movements. He did not know a Libra had done that exact thing when she was first fighting them.



"Warning, critical heart rate exceeded. Emergency shut off of Morpheus Thirteen engaging." The helmet was raised from Eschaton's head…There was a flash of red light as the beam net struck Phoenix, and Eschaton screamed in agony, her eyes, now normal, snapping open in shock. When the red light cleared, she tried to manipulate the controls, but Phoenix would not move.



She saw Lissom's Libra charging up for a tri-strength beam attack. The beam sword glowed white.



She ordered Phoenix to start up Morpheus. "Maximum safe heartbeat overtaken. Heart rate is above 350. Morpheus could prove fatal." "I don't care!"



Eschaton stopped yelling at Phoenix and watched in horror as the energy beam from the giant Libra sped towards her.



"Phoenix, all power to the particle shield…… NOW!" Dark Phoenix was surrounded by the multicolored light of the particle shield. It's thrusters had no power and it fell. The energy beam struck it, but the particle shield held in place. As the smoke cleared, the Phoenix's thrusters fired up again, shining brighter than ever.

"Reinitiate Morpheus Thirteen now! Emergency automatic shutoff overridden! Give me the maximum Morpheus effect!" This time, the mist was thick and black. Eschaton coughed slightly before it cleared. Her eyes had changed again, but this time they were really glowing, the blazing green and glowing amber shone through the black smoke before it had even cleared entirely.



It took a few moments before she closed her eyes. "Phoenix, deactivate emergency automatic shut off system." Lissom fired again and would have struck her had his father not hit him. "You fool! You've left it until too late!" He was not shouting at Lissom, but at Eschaton. He offered her a chance to surrender. "You know I hate you, but I also admire you for your strength. Surrender and become a part of my army! You will be well respected…powerful, second in command only to my son and I!" Lissom looked at his father in confusion. Surely he was not really…no, he wasn't. He was lying to her. Lissom laughed at Denizen's weak attempt to make the girl give herself up.



Eschaton didn't answer. The helmet had lowered completely, and her body relaxed, indicating that she had once again passed out of normal consciousness. The heartbeat monitor continued to beat, but then went almost silent, giving a soft beep now and then.



Denizen allowed his son to laugh at him, then silently glared as he was berated. "You old idiot! I could have destroyed her with that hit!" He would wait a few minutes to hit his son. Yes, that would be perfect. He could time it so that his son would be hit at a critical point in the battle. At the same time, he would self detonate. The Libra would have to be close to the Phoenix. Other than that small detail, it was too simple.



The fight began quickly and ruthlessly as Lissom's beam sword slashed into Phoenix's chest armor. Phoenix shuddered as Eschaton flinched from the heat of Lissom's beam. She lashed out with her right hand, Elendium claws bared. The silver talons of Phoenix tore through the Libra's back as though it were paper. The giant Libra was not your average run of the mill mobile suit. The primary heat shields closed on the damaged surface, protecting it from more attacks. Lissom swung upward with the beam sword and tore through her thrusters, completely ripping the shield wings from Phoenix. Phoenix was still for a few moments, but that was all Lissom needed. He rammed into Eschaton's mobile suit. Both mobile suits began heating up as they passed through the atmosphere. The Libra detached itself from Phoenix and shielded itself from the heat. But Phoenix was too badly damaged to shield itself. Eschaton screamed in agony as she felt Phoenix being consumed by the flame. But there was something Lissom had not reckoned with. The particle shield. Phoenix glowed, its silver metal appearing like opal as the particle shield surrounded it. There was no way the shield could completely protect Phoenix, but it saved Eschaton's life. She was badly injured by the heat. And she was angry at Lissom.



Jace Alexander paced back and forth in front of his squad car. He had evacuated an entire city. Nobody had ever even attempted an evacuation of New Orleans before, but he had accomplished it. With a few minor setbacks. For example, when he was crossing the Huey P. Long bridge, some drunk guy kept running around screaming about black demons and the god of death. Especially when he saw that Gundam, what was his name? Ah yes, Duo. He wondered what Duo was to Kat. A friends perhaps? Or maybe a boyfriend? He didn't know which. 'Oh well, not that it matters. 'sides, if I asked, the old lady would get suspicious. Figures. A man can't even check up on his own goddaughter's relationships without getting the glare.' The Gundam walked over to him. "Hey, just wanted to ask you somethin'…why'd Nekomon say she was callin' in a favor from ya? Just checkin', ya know. I mean, what else is a guy to do when his wife is somewhere in space kickin' the crap outta some bad guy and tells him ta tell ya ta evacuate New Orleans and says that if she told him what the favor was for she'd hafta kill 'im…well, you know what I mean…right?" Jace raised one eyebrow. 'Well, well, well…looks like I'm a bit behind in the times.' He answered Duo, hardly able to keep from laughing. "Ya know…I had always hoped I woulda been invited to the wedding…seein as ta how I'm her godfather an' all. But…well, I guess that just didn't happen. Oh well. I guess it just figures." There was a scream. "Where's that dentist! Where is he! He should burn in hell! He should be burning in HELL!!!!! Alfred Hitchcock…the birds! When the swallows come back…" CLANG! Someone walked over to Jace and Duo. "Sorry about that. He apparently was dared into drinking a bottle of vodka. If he's bothering you, just do me a favor and SHOOT HIM!" Duo laughed as he saw Wufei laying on the ground, a bruise rapidly forming on his forehead from where Alandriel hit him with…what else…a frying pan. Wufei got up and began wandering around in confusion again. "I wish I had a video camera. Something tells me he's going to draw a convenient blank about tonight. Oh well, I have witnesses. And I'll be able to embarrass Wufei about something he can't deny! Wonder if Alandriel will help me? And its occurred to me: he has a remarkably hard head…" Suddenly, someone stuck his face right in front of Duo. "Gyaaaaaah!!! The god of death is back from hell!!!!!!! Demons! Death, I'm burning…holy shit! Hold on…I'm not really burning…but…!!!!! Little Nicky has returned!!!!!!" He looked closer at Duo. "You…You're…the god of death…I need a drink!!!!!!" He stumbled off out of sight. Jace and Duo both stared at his retreating back, then burst into laughter. "New Orleans…The Big Easy…don't ya love it?" Duo grinned as he nodded his head. "Yeah…nice place round here. Wonder where that crazy cat monster is right now. She should be done kickin' the crap outta that guy. Wonder who she's kickin' the crap out of anyway?"



Duo was very wrong. Eschaton was in the process of nearly getting the crap kicked out of her. It was lucky that she had to be unconscious to use Morpheus. If she wasn't, she would have passed out from the injuries being caused by her falling-apart mobile suit. Phoenix was falling, falling to the ocean. She didn't realize that she was near the future Minister of Peace's home in Galveston, which was on a cliff overlooking the crashing waves. At the last moment, she managed to pull out of the fall, narrowly dodging a finishing attack from Lissom. Denizen snarled angrily. They had only been close enough for a second, not even long enough for him to reach over to the self detonate button. Now, Eschaton was staying as far as she could, but she was getting tired of running. She remembered what had happened the day she met Duo. She was fighting Leonard then, and the results had been disastrous when she decided to close on him. She didn't care. If there was the minutest of chances of destroying Denizen and Lissom…she didn't care what happened to her, just as long as she could rid the galaxy of both of them. The eyes of the Phoenix glowed brighter when she made up her mind. She swung the twin scythe and lashed the whip in the Libra's direction. She was ready for whatever they could dish out. And she wasn't afraid to send it back if she didn't like it.

Phoenix's once shiny Elendium armor was blackened by smoke, some of it ripped away from the Libra's heavy attacks. It was smoking heavily, but Eschaton could feel it, somehow it wasn't too painful to her. She nearly allowed Phoenix to double over when she felt a twinge of pain. The pain killers…she narrowed her eyes when she looked over at Lissom's Libra. She smiled, even though she was unconscious. If the Phoenix had the capability to smile, it would have been grinning like the Cheshire Cat. But it didn't, so neither Lissom or Denizen had any idea of what she was planning.

Lissom laughed aloud as a beam from his beam sword/beam cannon combination struck the Phoenix in the chest. It began falling again. Lissom decided to finish it off once and for all. He followed it as it fell into the ocean. Both mobile suits went underwater in a gigantic explosion of ocean spray. The Phoenix's once bright eyes were darkened. They were black, not even the dark blue that it normally was. The Phoenix was falling quickly, but Lissom didn't stop to think. The Phoenix was lighter than the Libra, it shouldn't be falling faster…in fact, it should have still been near the surface. Air bubbles were coming out in gigantic silvery spheres. The Phoenix continued falling. It was under water by more than one hundred feet. Then it stopped falling. The eyes lit up again and the particle shield was glowing like an opal as the water pressed in on the Phoenix.

'I never thought of that! The shield can protect against water pressure too! Amazing!' Eschaton was elated. She wouldn't have to worry about the water crushing her inside of the Phoenix! Lissom would have to worry about the Libra. She didn't want to go any deeper in the water though, so she wouldn't. She would attack them from right where she was. But she was moving up without even noticing it. In the back of her mind, she still was controlled by her fear of being under water. She fought her fear and stopped moving up. She was still about ninety feet under water. The whip wouldn't work under the water, neither would the shuriken stars. She decided to use the backup beam sword and the twin scythe to fight, they were her best chances. The beam sword and Twin Flame, the double scythe, both glowed. She swung the scythe in an arc and the Libra backed away slightly, its pilot scowling as he saw maneuverability return to the Phoenix. The strange eyes flashed even more brightly than before for a moment, then returned to normal as Phoenix advanced, the scythe raised above its head in her left hand and the beam sword was held point first towards the Libra in her right hand. The unconscious girl smiled as she felt new energy run through her veins. She swung the scythe again, watching Lissom as he dodged to the right. She swung the sword, neatly clipping some shoulder armor from the Libra. A few air bubbles escaped the Libra. The Libra reached behind its back and pulled another beam sword from a hidden slot. Eschaton had only one misgiving before attacking. She allowed herself one thought before rushing in. It was a difficult battle, but somebody had to fight it.

Denizen smiled slightly when he saw they were going to fight hand to hand. His chance would come…and soon. Lissom clumsily dodged a tri- attack: She swung the sword at leg-height, then the scythe at midriff height, then twisted the scythe so it narrowly missed the Libra's head. Denizen began berating his son. "You idiot. How could you have been even close to being hit by that attack! This is embarrassing…I suggest you let your father fight for you, otherwise you'll lose!" Lissom's eyes flashed angrily at his father. "Idiot, right, and this coming from the one who allowed her to escape when she was completely tied up…then allowed her to defeat him when her hand was broken, her side wounded, and when she was unconscious. Right, and I'm the idiot!" Denizen snarled at him. "I'll have you know that I've been leading the Sons of Darkness since before you were born!" Lissom smiled, feeling that he was coming close to winning the verbal battle. He was looking straight ahead, dodging attacks and making some attacks of his own when he answered. "Yes, since before I was born. What the Darkness needs is someone with some new ideas, fresh strategies. When I'm done fighting, they'll realize they were being led by the wrong man…and that's been going on for a few years. Listen up, Ancient One! I'm the new leader 'round here, and that's how its gunna be! You think you're so smart…hah, look at you, laying there in the dust. Why don't you start groveling, maybe I'll let you live. Yes. That's right. I'm taking over the Darkness now! And I'm gunna kill you as soon as I kill her!" Denizen was stunned. So that was…no…he couldn't let that happen! He struggled to get upright, then reached for the self detonate button. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. There is no self detonate button on this Libra. That button will cause your death!" Denizen didn't listen to his son. He pressed the button. He should have listened to Lissom.

Lissom yawned as his father gave vent to a strangled cough. "I warned you old man. Never let it be said that I didn't warn you." Denizen stared in disbelief at the rod projecting from the control panel of the Libra. "I put that there in case I ever had a passenger who wanted to kill both me and himself. Rather clever, don't you think?" Denizen could hardly hear him. He saw the dark gates open for him without a sound. A red mist appeared, his son's face floating in it. His son was laughing. Denizen snarled and walked resolutely through the mist towards the dark gates…but something was wrong…horribly wrong. A red river was behind him, and snaky tendrils of…what seemed like…burning tentacles of blood…were reaching for him. They clasped him by the chest, legs, arms, and neck. He screamed aloud as he saw the fate that awaited him. He was doomed to eternal agony in the pit. He slowly sunk into the burning, bloody waters, screaming and struggling the entire time. The waters closed over his head, and one last terrified scream erupted from the bubbles in the water. The bubbles stopped. Denizen was dead, and his spirit would be unable to torture the minds of the living. He would pay for his wrong-doings.

Eschaton was a good fighter. She hadn't used her mobile suit since it was brought to RF, but that didn't matter. It was more like her body than a mobile suit with Morpheus XIII. But she could still make mistakes. She tried slashing the Libra once too many. Lissom hit her with a surprise blast from the beam cannon. Water began rushing into the cockpit from some unseen opening. She was drowning, the Phoenix enacting her unconscious convulsions. Her eyes opened and she panicked. Phoenix began hurtling towards the surface, the Libra close behind. Eschaton gasped in air when they reached the surface. She flew to the cliff, landing and turning all power to the particle shield. She opened the cockpit, not caring about Lissom. Water gushed from Phoenix as she limply leaned against the cockpit doorway, gasping in the air. "You no good bastard…that was…a cheap shot!" she muttered through numb lips, her eyes nearly closed. The Libra was circling Phoenix, ready to attack at any moment. Lissom didn't see Eschaton standing on the cockpit door, which was lucky for her. If he attacked with his beam sword, she would have been completely finished. Finished…that was it! 'I have to finish him…his mobile suit should be weak enough…I'll have to check if it is…I'll use the self detonate. But I won't try to run. I have nowhere to run. I'd be thrown in the water if I tried, and I'd drown. I'm no good with swimming. I can't risk Morpheus any more. It's too dangerous. I wish I could tell Duo and the others…goodbye…' The thought saddened her…but in a sad way she was elated. She could destroy Lissom and Denizen with one press of the button! She leapt back into the cockpit. 'I hope he hits me with the beam cannon one more time. It should absorb it since I'm out of the water. I can't believe how crazy I am to give my life destroying both of them, the scum…oh well, it was fun while it lasted, but I guess its time to quit.' She managed to get in the air without sustaining any more damage from Lissom's thrust of the beam swords. She began circling, looking for her chance…trying to give him a chance. Lissom didn't know what she was up to.

"What the hell is she doing?" Lissom began to mutter to his dead father's body…more confused than he had ever been. Denizen could have told him. He may have been an evil psychopath, but he was an old fighter who knew nearly all of the tricks in the book. She was trying to bait him into firing at her. But he wasn't there and Lissom didn't know all of the tricks in the book. So he did. Eschaton piloted her mobile suit so it would take the hit squarely in the chest. The particle shield glowed brighter. 'This is it. Now or never.' She went in like a wolf, or, for a more apt description, like a hungry tigress. The scythe cut the Libra in the side, ripping a glowing gash through the machine that nearly disable it. Her beam sword was knocked out of Phoenix's hands as Lissom tried to attack her. Phoenix's arms were wrapped around the Libra. She was too close for Lissom to properly attack. She closed her eyes and muttered into the radio, knowing that no one would hear since they had, hopefully, evacuated New Orleans. "Love all of ya. Just me sayin'…see ya round sometime. Good…bye, Duo…and everyone…see ya." She pressed a button. A feminine monotone addressed her. "What is the command?" She gulped, then answered. "Phoenix. Self detonate in…three, two……one…" Her right hand shook on the joystick controls, the claws digging into the rubber coating as her left hand wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. The Morpheus pendant glowed wildly one last time as she gave her final command. "…N- Now!" The explosion was amazing. Phoenix was thrown into the ocean while the Libra crashed into the cliff near the house. Men ran towards it, not even realizing another mobile suit had crashed. Phoenix sunk through the water, then floated upwards again, the waves making it drift through the water. It followed the ocean currents, a silver mass on a gray ocean.

"I guess we'll go back to the city now. Nothing else to be done, and the people are getting restless." Duo agreed. He wasn't worried in the least about Eschaton. She'd win. She always did win, no matter how hard the fight, she always won. It took sixteen hours for everyone to get settled. Everyone except for the people in the RF building. Wufei was still pretty drunk, so he just stumbled off in the rough direction of his room. But the rest arrived in the hangar in just enough time to hear Eschaton's last message. And her last command to Phoenix. Duo ran towards Deathscythe Eternal. He shouted into the radio, "We've got to find her!" before taking off into the night, his radar set to track Phoenix. It took him four hours to find her. Phoenix had drifted onto a deserted beach. He radioed the other for help to bring back the smouldering mobile suit. And to find Eschaton. It was more than he could hope for. There was no way she could still be in the cockpit. It was too badly damaged. He landed. There wasn't even a groan to give a hint of life. It was difficult to imagine her surviving. Duo felt sick. His foot kicked something hard and he tripped. He landed on something soft, then scrambled to his feet, smiling. "Nekomon!!! You're…" He didn't finish. Her eyes were half open, the whites were all that were showing. He bent over and tried to pick her up, but something held him back. He looked around, trying to figure out what the problem was. Then saw it. Her right hand was trapped between the cockpit's shell and the heavy control panel. He grunted as he tried to free her hand. It was too heavy…he ran down the beach, desperate to find something he could use to lever the heavy panel off of her hand. Every second mattered if she was going to live…if she were alive. He found some thick drift wood. Duo finally managed to lever the control panel over then gasped slightly at what he saw. The hand was perfectly fine, just slightly bruised. It was the control panel that was damaged the most. The Elendium claws had dug into it, cutting through the circuits and slicing through the metal. He carried her to the Deathscythe Eternal. "I found her! Get Moose, as soon as we get back she has to help her! I think she's alive…if she is Moose can help her." He set his mobile suit on autopilot, using the golden button.

It took about ten minutes. "Moose is almost here. Tarantula went in her new mobile suit, the Moonbeam. She would have used Sundare, but Raven and Ririku had just finished Moonbeam. She should be here in…" The was a loud crash. "About five seconds if she doesn't fall again." Duo rushed over to where he had heard the crash, calling over his shoulder as he went. "Thanks Ignition!" Moose examined Eschaton. "Well, if she's strong she'll make it. Don't worry. She should come out of it okay. All we can really do is sit back and wait for her to wake up. But it could take hours. Maybe even days or a week!" It took two weeks before she woke up, and another two days before she could move without gasping with pain. But Moose was right. She was just fine.





The End.

Well, not quite the end.





"You have to stay in bed for two more days, Moose said so!" It was getting harder and harder to make Eschaton stay in bed. She had escaped, and nearly fallen down the stairs in an attempt to find a Popeye's Fried Chicken box and a diet Coke. "Hmmph, its not fair! You get to stay outta bed! Why can't I?" Duo pushed her back down again. "Don't make me start…please don't. That would be the seventh time within an hour that I had to!" Moose walked in. "Well, I guess now is the best time to tell you. You can't get out of bed to attack me, but the shock won't kill you." Eschaton scowled slightly. "Oh just get on with it! I'm bored and I wanna get a diet Coke!!!" Moose gave her an annoying, knowing smile. "Well, when everyone, including you and Duo, was asleep one night, I took the chance of…some tests…well, you're gunna have twins, and can I be the godmother?" Eschaton looked at her dazedly for a few moments. Then her head slowly sunk back onto the pillow. Duo looked over and grinned. When she finally found her voice, it was quiet, measured, and completely confused. "Holy un-divine junk. No, I'll speak frankly. Holy Shit!" After saying this, she passed out from surprise. It would be the beginning of a VERY long year.



The men crowded around the smouldering wreckage. "He's dead." "Wait, here's another! I think he's alive!" The first man scoffed at him. "How could he be alive? You idiot, can't you tell they're both dead? Look at this one, the force of the crash made something from inside of the control panel practically skewer him!" The eyes glared at him, then slowly turned to the second man. "By the fates…he's alive!" They managed to pull him from the wreckage, then carefully carried him to the large mansion.

The doctor finished looking him over, then walked out and spoke to the owner of the house. "Dono Rou, he is alive, but how I do not know. I'm not sure if he will be in his right mind when he wakes up, but he is surely a survivor! I suggest he stay here. He must rest, then when he wakes up, give him liquids. In two days he will be ready for other food." Dono Rou nodded and bowed slightly. "Yes, he shall stay here. I have just received a summons though. I am to go. Miss Relena is dead, and I am to take her place. As soon as my guest is well enough, he will follow me to my new quarters." He smiled slightly at the middle-aged man in front of him, his voice softening somewhat. "While I am gone, I will need someone to take care of my home. I wish for you to move in with your family. This dreary old place needs some young ones to lighten it up. It has been too many years since it has heard laughter and felt the running steps of small feet. Go home to your family now doctor. I will look after the young man." The doctor bowed and left. Dono Rou looked at the unconscious man, then turned and left, murmuring quietly as he walked. "I do not know who you are or why you are here, but I have a feeling you will have something important to do before you die. Good rest stranger, good rest, and good journey."

And this is the end to a very long thing…and who knows, I might do a sequel.