Disclaimer: Gundam Wing isn't mine. Be happy.

AN: Wow... This one actually came out in a civil amount of time. Enjoy!

Chapter 21

It had begun to rain on the colony by the time the five pilots were closing in on their destination, Preventer forces following behind them en masse as they headed towards the location that Zechs had managed to beat out of the Osiris agent. That same agent was currently lying chained and bound in the back of the truck Duo was sharing with twenty other agents, including Zechs himself.

They had been driving for hours now, the time that passed leaving both men tense and apprehensive for what they might find. They had left the main road only a half hour before, but the dirt road they now found themselves upon had quickly turned to mud with the coming of the rain, the larger military vehicles they used to carry all the agents making it difficult to maneuver through the run-down and neglected area of the colony. Around them, buildings were crumbling or already collapsed, obviously lacking care for years now, and no driver had yet reported sighting any other humans as they drove.

Along with the rest of the men, Duo was stunned. He had thought that portions of the colonies such as these had long since been cleaned up and rebuilt. After the war, the ESUN, especially during the time before Relena's kidnapping, had made vast efforts to erase the devastating traces the Eve Wars had left behind. Massive teams of government workers and volunteers alike had come together over multiple occasions across both the colonies and Earth to repair those portions of the Colonies and Earth countries that had been almost obliterated. For there to still be so large a portion of an otherwise prosperous colony still in ruins…

It was clear that the newest version of Osiris had been at work for a much longer time than was originally thought, to deter or even hide such a place from the ESUN and the Preventers alike. Or perhaps the organization had never truly died out the first time…

"Maxwell." Duo's thoughts were broken by the crackling of the inbuilt radio and he shifted one hand off the steering wheel in order to take up the receiver.

"What's up, Wu-man?" He grinned to himself as he asked, knowing Wufei hated the little nickname. There was a telltale pause, most likely the Chinese man trying his hardest to not start screaming at him, before the reply came, the voice sharper than before.

"We're coming up on the compound. Get your men ready to engage. We don't need any idiots running into a battle they're not prepared for." The grin widened.

"Ouch! That was a blow to the heart! Why are you always so cruel, Wuffie?"

"Maxwe-!" Duo positively giggled as he heard the other transmission being suddenly interrupted, followed by a much quieter voice.

"We'll see you there, Duo. Watch your back."

"Will do, Q-man! Over and out!"

Placing the receiver back down by the radio, Duo instantly sobered, his eyes intent on the road. Beside him, he knew Zechs was looking him over, reading the instant change in demeanor. It was a side of himself he rarely showed to the other pilots. Heero had been the only one who really understood how much of his personality was a mask, and how much was honest, but the others were still guessing. With Zechs, however, Duo found it almost pointless to try and play the happy, good-spirited man he always pretended to be. If he needed to be serious, he would be serious, and, like Heero, Zechs would simply accept it.

It was odd what one learned about a former enemy during times of peace…

Finally, they pulled to a stop in front of an old, broken down military complex, the concrete walls seeming to crumble before their eyes. There was no attempt to cover up the fact that Osiris had made its base here: the tire tracks in the mud discernable enough. But, as expected, there was no one in sight, no one waiting. It appeared as though they would have to do this the hard way.

"Ambush," Zechs said. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah… And probably another underground fortress like the last. It'll be hell just to get to the lower levels since they're already expecting us. What do you think?" He glanced to the older man, violet eyes watching as he seemed to mull over the situation in his mind. They both knew that the Osiris soldiers were simply waiting for them to leave the safety of the trucks before firing at them.

"Yuy is inside with Relena."

"That's my guess. You know those two: you don't get one without the other." His words earned him a glare, but Duo simply smirked knowingly. Zechs would never fully approve of Heero for Relena, but Duo suspected that he would tolerate no one else. "I'm sure he's figuring out a way to save the Princess right about now, knowing that guy, but he's probably pretty torn up if the wreckage of the car was any indication. He'll need some backup sooner or later…"

A hard look passed between the two men, before they shared a distinct understanding. Duo smirked again, a genuine gesture.

"Right, then… This'll be a piece of cake." With that, both men signaled the soldiers in the back and the Preventer agents prepared to throw themselves into the heart of enemy territory.

Below the compound, Relena sat in a confined little office space, the plush setting of the office and the lack of any chains or shackles her only reassurance that she was not in a jail cell. The only light in the room came from a small desk lamp, which she had had to turn on herself after much groping around in the dark, and for the time being it had provided a comfort that she had not often had in times past. She had already searched the room for any objects that might be used for a weapon, but had come up empty and simply allowed herself to sit in the single chair provided in the room, unable to do anything else for the time being.

They had thrown her in here upon Cronis's orders, locking her in, almost an hour ago, but nothing had happened yet. She had simply been left alone, almost forgotten, and that allowed her mind to wander to what had happened.

Heero had…

The memories flashed before her. Before this time, she had seen him shot and otherwise injured, but it had always been a rarity that she was present when he was wounded. In the past couple of weeks, she had seen him take so many wounds in her name it made her stomach turn, but this took the bait.

As they had been led down the hall, the soldiers had suddenly grabbed her and clamped a hand over her mouth, dragging her in a direction opposite that which Heero was headed. Somehow, he had realized this and has taken the guards by surprise by sweeping their legs out from under them. She had watched as he had pivoted himself around and vaulted over the bodies before running after her, using his weight and his restraints to forcefully plow through the remaining soldiers. Seeing his success at overcoming the soldiers, Relena had begun to struggle in her captor's arms, squirming and doing her best to break away, and she had almost succeeded before she seen the almost unnoticeable hallway and the figure that crouched there with silver fire blazing in otherwise unfeeling eyes. She had screamed out a warning, but it was too late as Cronis drove himself into Heero from the side and ground himself into the opposite wall with a force that made her head spin from watching.

Heero had crumpled like a rag doll, already bleeding and broken from the wounds he had sustained from the bombing. She had been amazed when he had summoned up the strength to somehow rise to his knees, but by that time Cronis had pulled a gun. She had screamed again when the butt of the gun was brought down upon the face of the unyielding soldier, and had looked on in horror as he had then been dragged away like some broken toy.

Fear flooded her body for the Prussian-eyed man. Never before had she seen Heero in such a state, even when he had collapsed into her arms after the Mariemeia incident. He had looked so utterly torn to pieces, his body useless. She already knew Cronis held no love or admiration for Heero, and she could only imagine what the cruel leader of Osiris might do to him just for the sake of amusement.

She shuddered.

"Heero…"

The door rattled suddenly before clicking, the distinct sound of unlocking. Her eyes snapped up warily and Relena was instantly out of her chair, fists clenched by her sides while she tried to look as dignified and proud as possible. She was not surprised when the tall form of Zephyr Cronis stepped into view.

"Ms. Darlian, I am sorry to keep you waiting," came the cruel drawl, the grey-eyed man ignoring her and he waved off the guards standing behind him in the doorway. The door was promptly closed and the clicked sounded once again.

Locked in. With Cronis.

Relena had to stop herself from visibly trembling. Unbidden memories rushed forth to her mind, where she relived in a flash all the thing that had been done to her by and at the allowance of this man. Her legs felt weak, but she forced herself to stay upright and face him with the strength she was determined to have.

He took one, sweeping look at her and sneered.

"I see that boy has put ideas into your head while you were gone. Do you really think that he, or any other of those foolish little children, can actually help you? Do you believe that you can really fight against me?" he asked, mockingly casually as he regarded her from across the room.

Relena steeled herself against him, schooling her expression so that her eyes blazed with defiance, raising her chin against his preliminary attempts to break her spirit. "Yes. I will always believe in Heero."

This appeared to be an unsatisfactory answer, as Cronis clenched his jaw, the motion subtle but all too pronounced after all the time she had been given to observe him since her first abduction. He began to circle behind her, a wide movement that mirrored their very first encounter with each other, and she was given the distinct impression of a predator ready to lung for the kill. She stood her ground, undaunted.

Suddenly, he was behind her, his body pressed flush against hers and his arms locking her tightly against him like bands of iron. Her heart jumped in her chest, her mind fighting her body's inherent urge to increase the rate of her breathing as fear laced through her. He laughed in her ear, low and cruel, before allowing one hand to play over her breasts before snaking down to slide under her shirt, the other arm keeping her in place. Her blood ran cold.

"My dear, sweet, naïve little princess… Don't you know that you're already mine?" His hand dipped dangerously low, past the waistband of her jeans, and that was when Relena reacted, panic driving her to throw her head back so that skull met face in a sickening crack. At the same time, she used what small amount of freedom she had to drag the heel of her foot down his shin with all the force she could muster, then elbow him firmly in the ribs as his grip loosened. He released her and she stumbled away from his grip, teetering precariously as she turned to face him.

Her head spun from where she had hit him, but she noticed with small satisfaction the way a generous stream of red streaked from his nose and dripped from his chin. Unfortunately, the white rage painted on his features was enough to kill any feeling of triumph. Relena dove out of the way, tumbling across the office, as he dived at her with something akin to a snarl.

"You little slut! You think a few lessons in self-defense will really help you now?" He lunged again as he spoke, and this time Relena was barely able to avoid him, ending up trapped against the farthest wall from the doorway, both Cronis and the desk with the lamp blocking her from the exit. His face twisted into a sick expression of arrogant victory and he was suddenly calm once again, approaching slowly, once again the careful stalker. There was nowhere for her to go to without him grabbing her.

Even so, she gathered up her strength and attempted to break past him, only to feel an arm hook across her neck and slam her back against the wall, crushing her windpipe. She could only choke and cough as he once again pinned her, closing her in. This time, his body was the leverage that held her while his hands moved freely, violating her with every stolen, unwanted touch, one slipping down into her jeans and causing her to cry out in sickened outrage, her heart aching at the thought that she would once again become the plaything of this… this monster of a man.

She continued to struggle against him, but it was useless, his weight crushing her to the point of suffocation when she tried.

Desperately, she did the last thing she could do.

She screamed.

Duo dived behind a truck as an explosion rocked the battlefield, sending Osiris and Preventer alike flying backwards. He cursed loudly to himself, his ears temporarily deaf from the backlash, and took the opportunity to roll under a truck and incapacitate three more men before being forced to roll back.

All around men were fighting, bullets flying and even the occasional bomb being thrown from both sides. It was chaos, and, he was sure, death. It was war.

Taking the short moment he had to rest, he shot a piercing glance towards the entrance to the complex in front of which the battle was taking place. It had been barricaded with soldiers and plates of metal, any Preventer who drew close to it meeting a bloody and cruel end, filled with bullet holes. However, there was one man that had slipped through, unnoticed, when the fray had first began, and it was upon this person that Duo was banking everything.

You'd better bring them back alive, you bastard, Duo thought, before once again throwing himself into the midst of the battle.

Metal met concrete in a hazardous screech, the sound filling the small cell as Heero tried futilely to test the resistance of the encasing shackles around his hands. The restraints were untouched, still firm around his hands. Unfortunately, in the dark of the cell it was impossible to tell if they had taken any other significant damn in the handful of times he had smashed the casing against the concrete wall, but they were otherwise untouched by the onslaught.

Heero frowned, his head still swimming, and looked towards the smallest sliver of light the dared shine forth from beneath the doorway.

He had examined the entire cell, as thoroughly as was possible in his current state, but had found nothing of interest that would free him from his current confinement. The small room was void of any other objects beside himself, and it was near impossible to manage anything without the use of his hands. His only chance now was the two guards that had come to attend to his cell a few minutes before, who were now talking amongst themselves.

He already knew he could not feign illness or some dire circumstance. Cronis had more than likely informed them that it was no trouble if he were to meet an untimely end. Currently, he could hear the idle chatter of the men, relaxed and unconcerned for their positions.

His eyes narrowed at the slit of light.

Although the cell itself was relatively secure, Heero wondered over how sturdy the door was…

Well, if they had no trouble with him dying, they might have issue with his trying to escape.

Steeling his body, Heero suddenly rushed at the door, slamming his full weight against the metal so that it left a fine impression where his uninjured shoulder made contact. His entire body cried out with the movement, but he force himself to stay on his feet, moving backwards away from where he had just hit and preparing for another rush. Outside, the guards had gone silent.

He took the opportunity and threw himself forward again, hitting in almost the exact same place so that the dent increased and the door creaked dangerously on its hinges.

"What the fuck…?"

Again, he rushed forward. This time, the metal screeched in rapt protestation.

"Hey, knock that off!"

Again. Once more in the same place and he would have the door off its hinges anyways.

Prepared to throw himself one last time at the only barrier preventing him from looking for Relena, he stopped instantly when there was the distinct click of a lock being turned, the guards throwing open the bent and abused door and rushing at him. Heero took the opportunity and bent low, driving his shoulder at the first man so that he was caught in the stomach, then shifting to throw the body back behind him. The next man came at him an instant later and Heero dropped, using his shackled hands as support as he cleanly swept the man to the floor, his head audibly cracking against the ground as he landed. He did not stir after, out cold, and Heero turned to the first man who was now struggling to his feet.

It had been too long a time since he had been separated from Relena now. There were too many possibilities regarding what could have happened to her after such an extended period, especially due to the manner in which he had been parted from her. Cronis's words still echoed in his ears.

"Take her to 'the room'" He did not like the implications of those words.

Knowing this, he approached the man that was still conscious and kneed him in the chest, forcing him back down to the floor. Once there, Heero followed, firmly planting his knee over the man's throat and pressing hard enough to cause the man's eyes to widen in fear.

"Take these off." He motioned to the shackles binding his hands and the man shakily moved his own down to his belt, fumbling for the release mechanism and activating it against the gloves. They fell away with little trouble.

Once freed, Heero made a point to knock the man out with a careful punch before climbing to his feet. His hesitation only lasted a moment before he was out the door and weaving through the hallways.

His number one priority was finding Relena, and he would be damned if anything had happened to her.

Next Chapter: 22, Finders Keepers, while Heero and Relena struggle internally, outside the war with Osiris has grown desperate as reinforcements come to join the fight against Duo and the other Preventers.