The middle of this chapter has sort of a lengthy flashback (originally I put it in sequence and then a) decided I liked to hint at it before revealing it, and b) it made the transition between scenes really awkward in my opinion). But I'm not going to put the whole thing in italics as I normally do. That's just painful on the eyes. I'll mark the break a little oddly.

Enjoy!

"So?"

Trowa closed the door behind him, stepping across the hallway into the common area where Duo, Hadji, and Jonny sat. Jonny had half-risen as soon as he'd seen Trowa appear, but he'd managed to keep his bursting concern and curiosity constrained to a single word.

"Race is awake again, and Quatre's block seems to be holding for now. Dr Quest and Wufei are explaining things to him. Quatre also asked me to tell you that he feels Jessie will be okay. She's not running away or anything. She just needed some space. But," and he smirked a bit, "It seems Heero's gone after her anyway."

"Heero?" Hadji asked, eyebrow raised. "He seems an unlikely candidate, if you don't mind my saying so. Not that I wish he hadn't, of course. She shouldn't have to be alone, and I can see how we," he gestured to himself and Jonny, "might not be what she needs. We are too close to it. But Heero?"

"Aw, Heero's got a soft spot for girls in trouble," Duo shook his head. "Especially tough girls. Besides, this whole thing is making Cat worry, so he's probably doing this as much to relieve that as anything."

"Is Quatre all right?" Jonny wanted to know. When everyone but Trowa had been asked to leave the room to give him some peace to reset the blocks in Race's mind, he'd seemed very weary; when he'd emerged, Trowa had steered him into the bedroom because the blond had been practically asleep on his feet.

"He will be," Trowa answered. "None of us really understands the work involved in whatever he's doing with his empathy, but he says he just needs to rest a little and I believe him."

"Yes, about that," Hadji said slowly, "it has occurred to me that what Quatre has done with Race, blocking the influence of ZERO, is a great deal beyond what he himself expressed he was capable of only a few days ago. Leading a person out of it, yes, but not suppressing it completely. Agent Chang informed me earlier that Quatre had reported some changes in his empathy after my own actions. I assume this is what he meant?"

Trowa and Duo exchanged a glance. Almost as one, they shrugged.

"Yeah, it's changed a lot, and he's not really making any secret of it, so I guess we can talk about it," Duo answered. "But it's not like we really understand it either. Wufei's the closest thing we have to an expert, and only because his family knew something about all this ooga booga stuff." He turned to Trowa. "How did Cat figure out he could suppress Race, anyway?"

"I'm not entirely sure. If I had to guess, I'd say he reverse-engineered the mental blocks I put on myself to keep him out when he was under the influence of ZERO. Like he said, he's blurring the line between empathy and something else, so I think he's making up the rules as he goes." He smiled a little wickedly at that. "Which is, of course, his favorite sort of game."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Jonny grumbled good-naturedly.

"Hey." Trowa pinned Hadji, who had turned away and was lost in his own thoughts, with a fierce glare. "Stop that." As Hadji furrowed his brow, Trowa crossed his arms against his chest. "You aren't to blame for what you might or might not have done to Quatre. You saved his life."

"You cannot deny that I may be directly responsible for these changes," Hadji returned a little hotly. "In my clumsy attempt to save him from ZERO I may well have actually changed his very psychic makeup. I permitted myself and my gift to be used to harm, and look what has come of it!"

"Yeah, look what has come of it," Duo repeated, tossing his head proudly. "My best friend is alive. What he can do now probably saved Race's life, and Jessie's. Not to mention giving us the best-ever advantage in an infiltration. We ought to be thanking you for whatever you did. Because of you, I can feel him now too." He spread a hand over his heart.

"Advantage? You're saying you have a bond like Heero's?" Jonny echoed. Then his eyes widened. "When you rescued us, you weren't using the comms but you still knew everything was okay. You could feel that Quatre was fine, which is how you could be so sure."

"See! Last time, ZERO hacked our comms. Now we won't ever need them again." Duo grinned. "Geez, Tubs, you're as bad as Cattie at this guilt thing. Can't you just accept that you did a good thing?"

"No I cannot," and Hadji actually rose, curling his hands into fists. "I did not do a good thing at all. I did a bad, unforgivable thing which happened to end well. I invaded the mind of another and changed him irrevocably without his permission. The ends do not justify the means – my choice, though it may have had beneficial consequences, was still a betrayal of all I believe."

"Oh, get down off your high horse," Duo returned. "Does killing some people justify saving others? Of course it does. We do it all the time. I didn't see you crying about the people we killed when we were saving your life and the lives of your family."

"By that logic, you would suggest that anything is acceptable as long as it ends well?"

"Um, yeah!"

"Stop it," Jonny got to his feet as well and moved towards Hadji, a little wary of getting too close to Duo, who was scowling. "This doesn't help anybody."

"What do you care about helping anyway?" Duo pointed at Hadji furiously. "You only want to help if it doesn't impinge on your precious little ethics. You know what happens to people like you? You die, unless people like me stand up and fight for you and defend you. The only reason you have the luxury to think that way is because of the blood I spilled for you!"

"Duo!" Trowa's voice snapped, cold and sharp. It was a clear command.

"Yeah, I hear you," he growled in response, turning on his heel. "I'm off for a while." And he stalked out the door towards the hangar.

"I, too, could use some time to myself," Hadji said in a barely-controlled tone before setting off in the opposite direction towards the other set of bedrooms.

Trowa and Jonny traded uncertain looks.

"He's not wrong," Trowa said at last. "But he doesn't mean it the way he sounds."

"I know," Jonny nodded. "He told me and Jessie once that he feels guilty about all the people he killed as badly as the ones he couldn't save. It's gotta hurt to have that much blood on your hands and feel like somebody is telling you what you did is wrong."

"Yeah, but it isn't just that," Trowa leaned on the wall. "Duo didn't need Hadji to tell him it was wrong. Of course he knows killing people is wrong – we all do. But not killing can be worse."

"How?" the question escaped Jonny before he could stop it. But Trowa gave him a sardonic smile anyway.

"Right after the attempted Barton coup, Heero made a promise that he would not take a life ever again. The rest of us blew up our Gundams to live in peace for the rest of our lives. Then Wufei talked us into becoming Preventers agents on an as-needed basis. 'To preserve that peace we bled for,' he argued. And we went along with it. Fighting is something we're all good at, and now we had a chance to use those skills in the right way for the right cause."

He looked away and continued a bit distractedly. "One mission several months in, things went bad. There was a sniper we didn't account for, and by the time we caught onto him, he had his rifle pointed at one of us. We were too far away to stop him from taking the shot any other way but to shoot him down. So we did. Heero broke his promise that day, not because he wanted to kill, but because he had the choice between his own ideals and the life of somebody he cares about. He chose to protect. We all did."

Jonny swallowed at the image. Could he pull a trigger, end the life of someone, take on that burden, even to save his family? He'd like to think he would find a way out, but if he couldn't, what would he do? Truthfully, he didn't know. He'd never had to do it before, though he'd come close a few times.

"We have all killed since then to save lives, even though we never wanted to do it again. I will not kill for orders anymore and I will not kill if I don't have to. But if the choice is between someone pointing a gun at one of us and my pointing a gun at them, I will always kill them first." He looked away.

"And…are you all right with that?" Jonny asked.

Trowa looked up and his green eyes were infinitely old and deep for a moment as he answered.

"No. But I can survive dealing death. I cannot survive the alternative." He pushed off the wall and began to walk away when Jonny called after him.

"Who was the sniper going to kill that made Heero, all of you, whatever, break the promise?"

Trowa looked back over his shoulder and smiled a smile that had nothing good in it.

"It was Duo."

-==OOO==-

"Benton, I want an explanation. What's going on?" Race asked impatiently.

"Race, it's important that you trust us," Dr Quest said, clasping his hands in front of him and leaning forward to meet his best friend's angrily confused gaze.

"You know I do trust you. But this…this is really strange to say the least," Race sighed. He pulled at the restraints that had enclosed his forearms. He wasn't tied to the chair, but he sure wasn't going to get far with his arms locked together elbow-to-wrist.

Wufei watched the two men carefully. The cuffs had been his suggestion, which had been more of an order really. Race had woken only a few minutes prior, just long enough for Winner to block out the influence of ZERO, and he wasn't taking any chances with a repeat of the previous attack. Like with Quatre's last effort, locking down ZERO's trigger and its effects meant that Race Bannon did not recall anything of the abduction by Surd. But this time, he also did not recall being rescued, nor returning to L2.

"Quatre did say we could probably explain it to him if we do it now, while we're sure the block is in place," Benton said, looking back to Wufei for permission.

The Chinese agent nodded – if nothing else, Bannon deserved to know why he would be restrained and kept from his daughter for the foreseeable future. Plus there was still the possibility he might know something about Surd that would be helpful in the case. He summed up the situation in just a few words.

"Jeremiah Surd compromised the Strataquest, abducted you, and attempted to reprogram your mind using the ZERO System. Surd is also the mastermind behind Ezekiel Rage's attempted genocide, but with the ultimate goal of acquiring a ZERO System for his own use. You were rescued, but the damage done to you has not yet been corrected. Until such time as Winner is able to undo what Surd implanted in your mind, you will have to be closely monitored as you constitute a threat to the safety of anyone around you should the ZERO programming take over."

"So that's why I'm all trussed up?"

"I'm sorry, Race. We didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt," Dr Quest apologized. "We're going to have to take some special precautions with you, just to make sure nothing happens."

"I'm a time-bomb, aren't I?" Race asked knowingly. "It isn't if whatever ZERO put in my head takes over, but when. You can't trust me because of that."

"No, we cannot," Wufei nodded. "But it will be much easier for everyone if you simply accept whatever conditions we put upon you."

"Nobody likes this less than I do," Benton added, "but if our positions were reversed…"

"You'd be hogtied and locked in a closet. I know," he sighed again. "If it were anybody but you, Benton, I'd never go along with it. But if you're sure, that's good enough for me."

"You tried to kill me, Race," Dr Quest said softly. "I'm sure."

"What does it say about our lives that you can tell me I'm tied up because a computer program hacked my brain and I believe you?" he shook his head ruefully. "Well, at least life isn't boring. And Quatre did some kind of empathic something in my mind to keep it under control? I probably owe the kid, then," he replied, carefully sidestepping thinking too hard about what he could have done to Benton, everybody, if not for the interference of the Gundams. He didn't have to be a genius scientist to feel a couple of bruises on his arms and shins, and he knew for a fact that not one of his kids would have held him down that hard with a grip that unforgiving.

"I must confess, I didn't realize Quatre's abilities were so extensive," Benton said, looking slyly at Wufei. "I was surprised by the power of what I sensed when he drew me in as well."

Wufei grunted noncommittally. It wasn't the time or the place for a conversation of that sort, particularly when Quatre himself were not there to describe the sentimental aspects of it, and Wufei would not share them, not even with an ally.

Quatre had summoned him scant hours after he had woken from his own encounter with ZERO, not long before the debriefing dinner with the Quests, and what had transpired was for no one but those who had been present.

-==OOO==-

-==OOO==-

-==OOO==-

"Barton said you wanted to see me," Wufei entered without preamble, closing the door behind him.

"Yes. Please sit down, Wufei," Quatre said politely. He rose from where he'd been sitting looking through files on his computer – probably work for WEI, if Wufei was to guess. Quatre showed no outward weakness or lasting impact from his ordeal, but he was still slightly pale and he hadn't ventured outside of this one room since waking.

"Thank you for coming. I know we've got dinner in a little while, and it's my hope the Quests will join us. But there's something I need to ask you about and I think I need to do it soon. Before there are others around."

Wufei took a seat on the small sofa and Quatre sat next to him. The Chinese agent did not say anything, but simply waited. He had learned that of the pilots, this one was not the ones who needed to be prompted to speak, nor ordered to silence. Quatre would gather his thoughts and begin in his own time.

"You taught me how to visualize and analyze my feelings," he said after a moment. "How to assess what I was sensing and interpret it." Wufei nodded, so he continued, "I don't remember exactly what Hadji did to me while I was in ZERO, but I have some idea based on what I was feeling when I first woke up here. And…I think something is…different."

"I have already spoken to Quest," Wufei said, annoyed suddenly that there were three people to whom he might be referring but not one of them had yet earned anything resembling first-name worthiness yet. Still, Quatre was well more than intelligent enough to know which "Quest" he meant. "He gave me a basic debriefing of what he recalls from his meditation. He claims he cut you off from all your connections, isolated you from everything that might link you to yourself."

"That sounds right," Quatre said slowly. "Because the first thing I remember feeling is nothing, absolute emptiness, not a single bond or emotion except my own. It was so…so very lonely."

Wufei remembered well his original training sessions with Quatre, and how overwhelming it had been for him to be constantly aware of dozens or hundreds of people around him. But when he had begun to learn to shield, he had ruefully confessed that while it was a relief to be alone in his own heart, it was also lonely there, too, after feeling so connected. It was not something Wufei could imagine, but he knew the difference in himself between being able to trust four other people completely and what he had been before, and it was enough.

In a rare show of emotion, Wufei closed a hand over Quatre's, reminding them both that they were not alone. He spoke gently, "But that's not what is worrying you now."

"No, not exactly," Quatre looked down. "The bond with Trowa was fractured at first but it's fine now. And Heero too. Whatever Hadji did to me doesn't seem to have been permanent, because those connections came back almost at once."

Quatre turned his head and met Wufei's eyes, and inexplicably Wufei's chest contracted. A moment later, worry and uncertainty and a tiny trickle of relief seemed to bloom in his heart. None of which were his. His eyes widened as his lightning-quick mind pieced facts together.

"Quatre, you don't think…"

"It's the only explanation," he said, catching onto Wufei's thoughts. "Trowa mentioned that when I first woke up I somehow knocked you all back even though I didn't touch you. Now I can sense you and Duo more than ever before, a lot more. It's almost like what I had with Heero, that same level of awareness. And you can't tell me you don't feel this."

Another lance of emotion, this one a bit smug as well as cautious and happy flashed through Wufei.

"What Quest did should not have changed your gift," Wufei shook his head. "He does not have the power to awaken your abilities further, not directly."

"No, but it's possible that what he did allowed me to grow again. You know, when we first started working together, I had recently had an explosion of what I could sense. I don't think this ability grows in a straight line. Maybe all our training together set me up for another leap forward and what Hadji did effectively opened me to new potential…I don't know," he ran a hand through his hair. "It's so hard to explain."

"But your explanation may be the right one even if your words are uncertain. Quest likened the connections he cut in your mind to a tree's roots, and like a tree, perhaps some of the older wood must be removed in order to make room for new growth," Wufei conceded. "There is no denying that I am clearly experiencing your emotions."

"And I'm fully shielded right now."

That was a surprise. Wufei knew that when Quatre shielded fully, even Barton had difficulty discerning his feelings at a distance, though not when in physical contact. Fully shielded from Yuy, though, and even skin-to-skin the Japanese pilot might not sense anything at all from Quatre unless he willed it.

"And it's not just you," Quatre continued. "I sense everything better, stronger, more intensely. I can focus in more clearly. For example…" he trailed off and closed his eyes. "Four hundred yards, give or take, in that direction," he pointed towards the interior of the colony, "there is a child being taunted by some bullies. There are…six of the bullies, but only one is particularly malicious – the rest are just as afraid of that one as the target. But the target isn't ashamed and seems to be fighting back."

He opened his eyes. "If I focus on it hard enough, I think I could almost give you the blow-by-blow of their words, not because I can hear them speaking, but because I can read them that clearly."

"Whereas when we first trained together, you would have sensed 'conflict' in the general area, but not the direction, nor could you have isolated the specific causes with that level of precision at this distance without a great deal of interference from everyone in between and around them," Wufei said, considering.

"Exactly."

"But now I do not feel anything from you except perhaps a general awareness. Now that I know what I am feeling, I suppose I would describe it as Yuy did, a sense of connectedness to you."

"I reinforced my shields, so I'm glad it worked," Quatre nodded, "and I think that we can safely say whatever I had with just Heero before has now grown to you and Duo. And what I had with Heero is deeper. With Trowa," he blushed but rushed on, "we've always been impossibly close so I don't know if we would recognize even more than that. We haven't exactly tested it yet."

"You should," Wufei said. "Try to project to Trowa now, something subtle that he might have missed before. We'll see if he responds."

"Negative or positive?"

"Negative, to ensure it works." He watched Quatre's eyes go out of focus for a moment. When they'd first been exploring the extent of Quatre's empathy, they had learned that negative emotions of fear or pain or anger tended to be more clearly read through their bond.

There was a long moment and then the door burst open. Trowa stormed in, Heero at his heels, Duo not far behind.

"What the hell are you doing?" Trowa barely managed not to roar, but he could not keep himself from pulling Quatre up from the couch and holding him away from Wufei protectively.

"No, it's…oh Allah," Quatre sighed, knocking his forehead against his lover's shoulder in exasperation. Almost at once, Trowa calmed completely as contact with Quatre reassured him.

"Explain. Now." Heero's face was twisted in anger, too.

"Yeah. How come I…maybe I just had one too many of those nasty ration bars yesterday, but I'd swear…" Duo looked uncertainly on.

"It was an experiment," Quatre explained quickly. "I'd noticed that my empathy seems to be different, and Wufei was helping me test it. He asked me to project something negative while fully shielded."

"I'd say it works," Trowa answered. "Wait, fully shielded?"

"What did you experience?" Wufei asked, having stood also and shut the door behind the others before returning to the group.

"A blast of guilt and fear, specifically fear of you," Trowa turned to him. "It was extremely clear."

"It was clear to me as well," Heero said. "Normally impressions from Quatre are only that clear when we are in physical contact or he is not shielded at all."

"Okay, am I not nuts then?" Duo asked. "Because I felt something too, something that wasn't me. It was like when we, you know…like in the desert."

The two of them quickly detailed their suspicions about the nature of Quatre's empathy, now much advanced and deepened. Mid-way through the explanation, Quatre apologized sheepishly.

"By the way, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry anybody. I wasn't even projecting that hard, really. It should only have been enough for Trowa to pick up on, and then only enough to make him wonder – it wouldn't have caused a riot a week ago for me to project only that much."

"You're going to have to learn to direct it more carefully," Heero said. "If you wish for only one of us to receive when you are projecting, you're going to have to master how you send that emotion. Or we will all very quickly be receiving mixed signals."

"You may also need to reinforce your shields or learn to make them more powerful," Wufei added. "Though you are not experiencing anything outside of the four of us?"

Quatre shook his head.

"Then perhaps it is simply your connection to us that is the exception."

"Yes, but," Quatre worried his teeth at the corner of his mouth for a moment before continuing, "the precision with which I can sense other people is a lot more…open. I think, if I tried hard enough, I could project into somebody else, somebody not one of you with whom I have an established bond."

"It's grown that much?" Trowa asked.

"Yes. At least."

"We will all have to work with it, then," Heero said decisively. "This could be a very great advantage in a battle for all of us. And the ability to project may also assist us in protecting ourselves or others. But that will all take time."

"Yeah, and it's almost dinner time anyway," Duo pointed out. Then he poked Quatre in the shoulder. "I gotta say, Cat, it's a little distracting having this thing in my head now."

"Duo, I never meant to cause you anything like this. I'm so…"

"Don't." Heero's voice cut darkly through his contrite words. "Quatre, do not ever apologize for your gift. It has saved us many times in many ways. And Duo," he turned harshly to the braided pilot, "if you ever denigrate the value of the bond you now share with him again, I will personally make you regret it. Do not insult something like this."

"Geez," Duo shook his head, rolling his eyes. "I was just gonna say that I could do with some distracting now and then. But seriously," and he met Quatre's eyes fully, "it's okay. It's actually kinda nice, you know? I know we don't want to get all touchy-feely, but what the five of us share, what happens when you bring us together, Cat, I think we all live for that sometimes. So if I get a little of it all the time, that's okay. Even if Mr Protective over there can't take a joke about it."

"It is dishonorable to speak so poorly of something that has given us so much, Maxwell," Wufei pointed out. But he sighed. "We're all on edge. Winner, lock down your shields as best you can. Everyone else, manage your emotions. This is not the time for us to test this, but after dinner and the briefing we will see if we can explore the particulars of our…new arrangement."

"It's actually kinda cool," Duo commented as they made their way to the dining room.

"For me, too," Quatre said shyly. Four faces turned to him mid-stride and he smiled. "You're all here," he held his heart, right where their linked tattoos were imprinted on his skin, "and I'm with all of you. I'm part of you like you've always been a part of me. Now what's mine is yours, too."

Trowa took his hand and held it warmly. "What's mine has always been yours as well."

Duo, Wufei, and Heero refrained from saying anything, but in that moment Quatre could sense it all. He could sense the closeness, the actual happiness in Duo and Wufei from that constant knowledge that they were not alone in the world. He could sense the startlement but also the gratitude from Heero that their bond was deeper now, safer and stronger. And of course, he could sense Trowa's unbridled love. None of the other three voiced it, but their sentiments were the same as Trowa's. What they had, they gave. No secrets, no boundaries, not anymore. Not where it mattered. What belonged to one belonged to them all. Especially one another.

-==OOO==-

-==OOO==-

-==OOO==-

A beeping from his Preventers communications device drew Wufei back to the present. Quest and Bannon were still deep in discussion, although most of it appeared to be reassurance on Quest's part that he would ensure Bannon caused no harm to anyone. Flipping open the screen, Wufei felt himself go rigid with some combination of fury and fear at the information displayed there. He read the briefing twice before snapping the device closed.

"Quest, we have to gather the others. Something has happened."

"What is it?" the doctor asked, rising from his chair.

"Surd has attacked a Preventers outpost in a mobile suit."

"What?!" Race almost knocked himself off his chair he stood up so quickly, his bound hands unbalancing him dangerously. Dr Quest instinctively caught and supported him.

"You heard me. Bannon, I'm going to have to confine you to quarters so we can address this. Come with me." He strode from the office further down one of the hallways, opening at the end a small bedroom. It had its own attached bathroom and was as spartanly but comfortably furnished as everything else.

"So this is my cell?"

"I'm sorry," and Wufei meant it. "It is dishonorable to treat you this way, but in truth we do not have the time to do anything else. And I know you will agree that you are better served here than risking the safety of your family."

"Yeah, I know." Race lifted his chin and squared his shoulders. "Just keep me in the loop, okay? If there's anything I can do to help, I will."

"Agreed." Wufei did not allow any amount of guilt into his inflection or his expression as he let Bannon pass him into the room and locked the door behind him. There would be time for guilt later.

For a moment he paused, frustrated that the other pilots and Quests did not have their interlinked comms on their persons (though likely at least Yuy and Barton could be raised that way). Then he almost smiled, remembering. Even as he strode back down the hallway, Benton Quest in his wake, his mind reached outward. His thoughts were clear enough that he knew their intent would be heard.

Quatre, summon everyone. We have an emergency.

There was a moment of surprise and concern that filtered through his heart and the Quatre-ness of his feelings grew stronger, and then a pull that was so powerful even Wufei sped up his steps towards the dining room washed through him. As he had learned in the last day, there was a difference when he knew Quatre was listening, and with the empath more acutely sensitive than ever, it took very little to get his attention. Suddenly wondering, Wufei glanced to his side but he did not note any difference in Dr Quest's motions, suggesting the call went no farther than the pilots themselves.

As it should be. Their bond was only for them, after all.