Beep… Beep… Beep... Beep... Drip…

These noises woke her. They broke through the fog of her mind. She was in pain; nothing she couldn't handle. She'd had worse. The smells around her put her on alert: bleach, chlorine, antiseptic. The sheets were cheep cotton; cold, starched, and rough beneath her. She was in a medical facility. How long had she been here? How did they get her? If she was here, something was wrong. There was another person in the room. She could hear the steady breathing and similar machines and medical rigs to her own matching hers beat for beat.

She opened her eyes, careful not to change her heart rate or blood pressure and looked around. The room was dimly lit. She could hear the vague sounds of the medical staff nearby and curious voices shouting simultaneously. There was some sort of commotion: a perfect distraction. Glancing at the person on the other bed, her eyes widened. Alpha was lying still on the other hospital bed. If they had Alpha too, then something had seriously gone wrong.

She had to get them both out of there and it had to be quick. The moment she unhooked herself from the machines the medical staff would be alerted. She had to find a way to shut them off. She sat up, mindful to watch her vitals, and scanned the machinery carefully. Her eyes fell on the power cords connecting them to the system. It would still alert them, but not nearly as suddenly.

She threw her legs over the side of the bed and took a moment to steady herself. Judging by the shakiness of her stance she had either been in bed for a long time, or her injuries had been more serious than she felt. She deactivated the power sources, walked to her roommate's bed and woke her.

"Alpha, Wake up."


"Alpha, wake up." Thia opened her eyes at the familiar, if unused, codename. She glanced up and found Serene standing over her, bandaged and clearly still weak. She tried to shake the fog of exhaustion from her mind.

"Serene?" The girl beside the bed winced, almost recoiling and Thia noticed that her usually ice-blue eyes were darker, almost shadowy.

"Alpha, are you well enough to stand? We have minutes before they will realize we're escaping. Get up."

At the second utterance of that name, she realized that the girl who currently stood before her wasn't her former ward. 'Beta' stood by her bed and clearly had the idea that they had been captured. She knew from her experience with Treize that trauma could make people forget and regress. Clearly, Serene was having an episode akin to amnesia and thought they were back on the base or somewhere similar.

Deciding it was best not to test the issue and risk putting the younger woman into shock, she tossed her legs over the side of the bed as 'Beta' made quick work of the monitoring equipment.

"The nurses are on rotation. If we go now, we minimize the conflict and maximize our time without detection." Thia nodded. She had to find a way to get Serene to wake up and snap back into reality but until then, she would let 'Beta' lead the way.

Not wanting to worry their friends, she made note to send out a tracking signal as soon as they were somewhere that would allow her to do so. She reached down and used some of the blood from the removed needle to spell a quick message before following her confused friend through the door.

Escaping the hospital had been easy enough. The stealth training from their youth had aided them in slipping over to the supply closet for scrubs and masks. After that, it was a simple matter of making it out the front doors and to a nearby vehicle. Thia decided to direct Serene to the hospital guest parking where she knew Preventer and Alpha agent cars would be waiting. She felt less guilty about stealing from their own.

Beta climbed in, hot-wired the car and disabled the tracking device. Thia winced at that last part but knew she could find other ways to send a message. Besides, she had no idea where Beta planned on taking her or how long it would take to get there, she only hoped Quatre and Trowa would understand.


Trowa hadn't left her side since the doctors allowed him entrance into her room. She had been comatose the whole time, but just hearing her breathing and the steady beep of the heart monitor helped immensely. The burns had healed well, leaving no trace of their existence, but the bandages that remained spoke to the volume of trauma she'd experienced. He only found enough peace of mind to relax after the doctors had given her the 'all clear'. He dozed off from time to time, his head using the side of her bed as a pillow. He wanted to be there the moment she woke up. He almost lost her: in a fiery instant, she was almost gone from his life forever and there was nothing he could do about it.

It had been touch and go after Zechs gave the transfusion. They were not fully certain her body would accept his DNA but it had and she seemed to stabilize shortly after. Once the doctors had been certain of her continued improvement, they had moved her out of the ICU into an observation room with Thiana where the two high priority patients could be easily looked after.

It had taken Relena, Quatre and Heero working together to get him to leave long enough to get a cup of coffee. Quatre had gone with him too; part of the bargain since he had not left Thiana's side for quite a while. It seemed almost ridiculous for him to be fussing so, but he couldn't help it. He would give her a hard time about worrying him and slacking off on her duties. It would make her laugh and help return things to some semblance of normal. She would, of course, poke back at him and, once recovered, they could go back to their movie nights. He looked forward to it.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Quatre smiling at him. They both had come dangerously close to losing someone they cared for. Quatre looked as if he wanted to say something, but before he could, the waiting room doors burst open as six people, three with cameras and three with microphones, made their way over to where Relena now stood. She had been resting on Heero's shoulder and the commotion must have shaken her up. Bright lights and cameras illuminated and surrounded her. He pushed his way past, still assistant head of her security, and stood between them and her with Heero doing the same.

"Miss Relena! Can you comment on the accident?"

"Foreign Minister Dorlan, is it true your guard was in the car?"

"Foreign Minister Relena! Is it true the guard in question is your half-sister? The people have the right to know!" Trowa was taken aback by that last question, a feeling he knew Relena had as well. How had they known? How did they find out? In spite of it all, Relena stood strong and placed a hand on his and Heero's shoulder.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I understand and appreciate your concern. As you can see, I am unharmed, and my guard is in recovery. I will give a formal and official statement at a later time." As she finished this sentence, the Preventer and ALPHA crew came in and escorted the press out after 'asking nicely' for them to leave. Lady Une and Drizzie, who had also been in the waiting room, wasted no time apologizing for the lapse in security and promised a prompt investigation into how such a breech, happened.

In the mean time, Trowa had decided he had been away from Serene long enough. Looking at Quatre who gave him a curt nod, they walked back through the doors and down to the ICU observation room. When Trowa opened the door, he felt all the color drain from his face. The beds were empty, the machines unplugged and the two injured women were gone without a trace. Trowa and Quatre both swore under their breaths before sounding the alarm.


Quatre looked to Trowa who seemed just as disturbed as he. The two women they both cared deeply for were missing. They had called everyone in to help search for any clue as to where and why the two patients would have fled and yet.

"Over here." Heero called, squatting next to the bed. As they neared, they saw him pointing to three simple symbols etched in what could only have been blood: Ḃ A.W.

"What does it mean?"

"This," Heero pointed to the first initial. "Is the Greek letter for Beta." Zechs confirmed that based on the case from the serial killings. "But the 'A' and the 'W' don't make any sense."

Quatre walked up to the bedside and looked at the initials once again, Thia was trying to tell him something; something to help him find her. In all his time knowing her, she had always been a cryptic woman of mystery, one he relished in trying to solve. This one, however, harkened back to when he first met her; red wig and frumpy clothes as a disguise. He smiled.

"April White." He stated.

"What?" Zechs asked, almost frustrated. The taller man seemed to be questioning his knowledge of the situation.

"It's an alias she used when I first met her almost four years ago." Had it really been that long? He shook himself, he had no time to dwell in nostalgia.

"Beta must be a reference to Serene." Trowa added. "But I don't know why."

"Maybe they were kidnapped by the man who wanted them dead?"

"No," Heero stated. "I've checked the security feeds. The girls went of their own accord. What I can't understand is, why?"

"Whatever the reason," Quatre stared at the symbols, "She has given us a way to track her movements. All we need to do is follow it."


Klementz howled in sheer anger as he checked the news. He had made his way back to Vulkanus as soon as the deed was done to report to the boss that he had successfully delivered a major blow to the morale of the Gundam Pilots. It irked him to no end to know that he had failed. His boss would be there any minute to take possession of the giant resource disposal block and he had only bad news to deliver.

The boss did not like failure. He had witnessed firsthand what happened to the fools unfortunate enough to fail and it usually involved maiming, torture, and—if you were lucky—death. He shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself for what little comfort it could provide. He had done what he needed for his revenge and the furthering of his boss's plans. It was not his fault that it hadn't gone as planned. There was a chance he would get to try again. If Sogran had succeeded, if the boss was in a good mood, he might let him try again.

"Klementz." The voice was cold and deep, using the same voice-changing device as always.

"Boss, as you can see, I found and apprehended the satellite as you requested." The stoic figure of his boss said nothing. "I know it took longer than expected, but it was difficult to track after those damned pilots sent it hurling randomly into space." He barely had time to register the fist coming toward him before it connected with his face. The severe pain shot through him as he felt his nearly dislocated jaw.

"What was that for?!"

"You acted foolishly." The cold voice of his boss shook him. The man in front of him had always been imposing and intimidating, but today, he made Klementz's blood run cold. There was an air of menace about him; calculating and dangerous. "You jeopardized our operation by leaving Vulkanus unguarded all to fulfill a vendetta I had forbidden you from following."

"But you told me to undo the Gundam pilots. You told me to demoralize them and take them down at all costs. Everyone knows that Foreign Minister Dorlan is their heart! I thought I would be helping!"

"And, again, you have only proved my point. The Foreign Minister has a different role to play in my plans and you nearly ruined it. For that, I am afraid I cannot allow you to live."

"What? But… No!" He heard the gunshot and felt the sting of the bullet just before the figure of his boss loomed over him. The mask had been removed allowing Klementz to see his face for the first and last time. "It's you… no wonder you're so angry about—" He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as another gunshot rang through the resource satellite, silencing him forever.


Serene felt like she was in a fog. It was as if her whole being was numb. It was quiet. She looked around and found that she seemed to be in a flower-filled field. The same field from her home. The same flowers she made crowns with. Here, it was peaceful. Here it was safe. She liked it here.

She thought she vaguely could hear voices. They sounded familiar, but very distant. They were angry, or agitated, but she couldn't find the desire to care. It seemed each attempt to hear them ended in blinding pain.

She felt a presence. There was someone there with her. She tried to turn her head to look but a feeling of dread as she had never known sent a chill through her and she recoiled from the effort. Besides, the flowers were so pretty.

There was a tower standing in the middle of the vast field. It was a familiar looking tower. Why was it so familiar? Pain shot through her head as she tried to place where she'd seen its like. She shook herself and decided to explore, feeling the presence from earlier might be inside. The flowers were soft beneath her but bounced back up as soon as she passed over them as if no harm had come to them at all. It was remarkable. She bent down and plucked one gingerly from its place and took a long inhale of its comforting and familiar aroma. These were the same flowers from her home. These were the flowers she once made wreaths and necklaces from. She wanted to do that again…

She continued toward the tower. There were no steps; they seemed to have corroded and become too decrepit to climb, but she knew how to easily scale her way up the side. She used to do it all the time with… her head hurt again and she shook it vigorously. She grabbed the cold metal bars and made her way to the top with ease. She was not prepared, however for the small figure sitting in the middle of the tower.

A child no older than six or seven sat alone humming to herself, golden hair adorned by a crown of wild flowers. She seemed preoccupied with making another necklace to add to the pile of necklaces, bracelets and crowns at her side. Concerned for the lone child being off by herself like this, Serene stepped forward to address her.

"Little girl…" she began, the child turned at looked up at her with the sweetest of smiles, blue eyes shining with immeasurable innocence.

"Oh, Hello. Have you come to make flower wreaths with me?" The child's gentle voice was eerie, but soft as a baby bird's first chirp. She didn't know how to answer the child. What was she doing there? How had she arrived? The longer she looked at the child, the less those questions seemed to matter.

"I… I don't know." The little girl pursed her lips in a small frown.

"It's so sad not knowing. There's a lot I don't know. Making the flower wreaths helps me feel better about it." She smiled again and Serene felt a sense of strange kinship with the child. "Would you like to make some with me?"

Serene considered the child's proposition. Making flower jewelry always made her feel better as a kid. She returned the child's smile and nodded.

"I'd like that." She sat down, took a handful of flowers and went to work, humming along with the child to a tune she somehow knew.


It took nearly two days to get to their destination. Thia was able to convince Beta that renting a small, private plane would be far less hassle than her initial idea of commandeering one for their trip. Being that Beta was trained to follow 'Alpha's' lead, all she had to do was insist on it and Beta gave in to reason. She used her alias of April White and her didactic memory to recite the bank account numbers for the transaction and they made their way across the ocean from Europe to the North American continent formerly known as the United States. The fate of that nation had been the same as all of the others becoming a sub-nations under the new universal alliance of the United Earth-Sphere. Thankfully, she had been able to distract Beta from disabling the communications and tracking systems. She knew the boys would be able to track them with little effort. Besides, it would be pretty obvious to anyone who knew her younger friend exactly where they were going.

Once the chopper landed, she, once again, convinced Beta that renting a car would be far more convenient. Beta drove them through the countryside over winding roads surrounded by fields and hills. It was both entirely different and yet still so similar to the rural countryside where the villa sat. It was quite a simplistic scenic beauty. This was Serene's homeland. Thia almost envied her for a moment. She, herself, had no idea where her homeland was and yet part of her couldn't care less. The past was the past and meant to stay there.

Beta turned left at a fork in the road and followed it out and around a bend. By all accounts, they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. As they neared a clearing, the only thing that gave away the fact that it had once been inhabited was the gravel under the tires. The overgrown foliage was deceptive, but one could tell this was once a yard and at the end of the drive laid the burnt husk of the frame of what once was a house.

The car came to a stop and Beta shut off the engine before opening the door. Thia followed suit and joined her friend in front of a large tree as the sun began to peak over the horizon. The eerie sound of the creaking branch cast a dour mood as her friend walked up to a dangling swing and sat down. Thia watched; half in wonder and half in confusion as Beta swang back and forth, kicking her legs to her own rhythm.

The pace began slow and gradual but she picked up speed. Thia feared the rope might break or perhaps the very branch above it. Finally, she stopped. Her feet ground into the dirt below and kicked up a cloud of dust. When the dust finally cleared, Beta stood before her, eyes empty and dark even as tears slid slowly down her cheeks. It was truly a pitiful sight that broke her heart. This was Beta, but it wasn't. This was a girl who had had her whole world shattered and everything taken from her before being trained to be the perfect soldier and a cold-blooded killer.

"Alpha…" her tone was impassive.

"Beta?"

"We have fought. We have trained. Master Dekim is dead." Hearing her refer the Dekim in that way made her stomach churn.

Beta turned and looked at the burnt house. Thia followed her gaze to the giant headstone that stood where the threshold once was. When Thia had found out where Serene's home was, she had had the stone erected out of respect for the woman who died honorably protecting her child. What had remained of Serene's mother had been buried in a local cemetery. Thia had had the remains exhumed and placed here beneath the stone after purchasing the property to ensure that they would not be disturbed. It seemed to be the least she could do.

"Our mother… no, Her mother died here... She was too weak to stop it; too weak to protect her." Something shifted. Something about her changed in that split second. The aforementioned child seemed to have morphed into something… darker.

Thia noticed Serene's, or rather Beta's change in personal reference. It was becoming ever clearer to Thia that, unlike her, Serene's years with Dekim had forced her to develop a split personality. Her kind, innocent heart had needed a way to protect itself from the horrors Dekim had forced her in to. Thia had seen hints of it over the years but this was the first time since Serene's arrival at the villa that Beta had fully been conscious.

"It wasn't your fault. The only one to blame is Dekim." Thia tried to offer her young friend some comfort. Beta shook her head.

"They came because she exists. She has forever blamed herself."

"They came because Dekim was a power-hungry madman with an inferiority complex." Thia fought back. She didn't want to trigger Beta further, but she had to try and reach Serene. "Nothing you did under his orders was your fault. You did what you could; what you had to. There is no shame in that."

"You're not wrong, but the orders he gave; the things he had her do were too much. That is why I exist."

"You mean you really are another personality?"

Beta grew quiet and still. Thia found herself holding her breath. She could hear the distant sounds of a car coming and hoped it was someone they knew. She had to stall for time.


She couldn't figure out why it was so quiet. Being in the tower there should have been some sort of breeze or wind rustling through. As her fingers skillfully entwined to flower stems, however, even the silence seemed unimportant.

"Mommy and I used to make flower wreaths all the time together. We used to swing on our swing and make cakes and cookies together. It was so much fun."

It sounded like fun; familiar fun. She thought, perhaps, that she had spent her time that way once, long ago, but the memory of when and where refused to come and the flowers were so fragrant and soft that it hardly seemed to matter but it did remind her of why she approached the child.

"Where is your mother?" Even as she asked this she felt pain rise from the base of her skull. The child stopped working on her necklace and looked up at her, blue eyes suddenly full of pain and sadness. Serene felt it as if it were her own as tears pricked her eyes. After a small eternity, the child smiled again, all trace of grief gone.

"Let's keep making necklaces." Serene did not argue. It wasn't worth upsetting the child and she had no desire to cry, herself.


"Beta, why have you really brought us here?" The younger woman turned to her, eyes still cold.

"This is where it ended. This is where it began. She wants to know where to go from here. She wants to know what it is she is supposed to do." Beta locked eyes with her then and Thia almost saw Serene huddled behind them, knees curled to her chest as she rocked back and forth the way she had that terrible night when Dekim had sent her as bait. She felt her throat tighten. "But I have my own reasons." Her tone made Thia's skin crawl.

"She told her stories. The stories ended perfectly; happily ever after. White knights and brave princes." It took a moment for her to realize Beta meant Serene's mother. "But where…" she paused. "Where was our happy ending?" It was a jarring question, but one she now related to. Was Quatre her happy ending? Was it possible for her to even have one? Did she even deserve it? Somehow, she knew Serene felt the same. "She bought every word. She really believed in the possibility of such happy existences. She believed that she could find normalcy. She let down her guard and she almost got us killed. It's pathetic."

"What are you getting at?"

"Alpha," She continued. "You were supposed to be the leader. Serene looks to you for guidance and for reassurance." Thia considered all the possible ways she could answer her but only one thing became clear. She had no idea. "I, on the other hand, know we don't need you."

"Beta…"

"How many years were we beaten within an inch of our life because of his hatred of you? How many beatings did we incur at the mere thought of you? Always being compared to you, always having to try and live up to his expectations of what you should have been. Always being second best and it only got worse after you abandoned us!"

"I didn't abandon you!"

"Serene believes that." Beta shifted her stance. "And the funny thing is: she forgives you. She has no resentment for you at all," Thia felt a sense of relief hearing this, but could not let down her guard. "But I am not so weak." The younger girl squared her shoulders and her stance. "You never came back. You never even tried and that day that you opened the hatch of the gundam and I punched you in the face, you promised that someday I could take a go at you if I wanted to." Thia's mind raced back to that time when Serene's half-dead body was sent to her by Dr. A. It had been one of the greatest reliefs of her life to find her alive. That promise had been made out of a guilt she no longer possessed.

"I did promise that, didn't I?" Beta smirked.

"And I am going to hold you to it. It is time that we find out who the real perfect soldier is."

"Any other time, I would welcome the challenge, but neither one of us is fit for a fight."

"No more excuses! We need to know if all those years of torture were worth the pain! I need to know!"


Serene reached down to add another flower only to find that the pile had depleted to one or two final flowers. She glanced at her small pile of competed flower wreaths and then to the unfinished one in her hand. She stood and began to walk to the side of the tower to venture out to get more.

"Wait! What are you doing?" The fear in the child's voice made her pause as the little on jumped to her feet, ran over and grabbed her arm.

"I'm going to get us more flowers."

"But you can't! You mustn't go back down there! It isn't safe!" Serene stared at the child completely confused. She had just come from the field and seen nothing of concern. Why was the child so terrified?

"If we don't go down there, how will we get more flowers?"

"She will bring us more flowers. She always does. We have to sit here and wait. It's safe in here. Nothing can hurt us if we stay in the tower."

Serene looked at the child. She? Who was she? What danger was the child talking about? The field had seemed perfectly harmless before. Why was it so dangerous to leave? Suddenly, a wind, the first she'd felt since she'd arrived, gusted through the tower. A voice seemed trapped in the wind, crying out:

'I didn't abandon you!'

"What was that…?" She looked around only to find the child tugging harder on her arm.

"Please don't listen! I hear those things sometimes! They are the things that want to hurt me! I stay here because it's safe. Please stay! Please be safe with me!" Serene already felt the words fading from her mind as she gazed into the child's eyes.

"Alright, I'll stay."


"Beta, I don't want to fight you." She had to try one more time to reason with her. They had both been forced to fight all-out before in worse condition, but they were older now; stronger and far more dangerous. The risks were higher.

"Scared you'll lose?" The taunt irked her more confrontational side. She did love a challenge and Beta was clearly asking for lesson. She smirked back.

"You know what? Screw this! If you want to fight, Beta, then you're on! But, when I win, you let go of Serene and let her continue to make her own choices." Beta scoffed.

"I might actually enjoy this."


Serene turned, hand and hand with the little girl to return to their piles of flower wreaths. She had promised to tell the child some stories she knew although she couldn't remember who told them to her.

"I know stories too. I used to tell them to my friends and my mommy told them to me."The jovial tone shifted suddenly when another gust of wind, colder and stronger than before blew through the tower with the same insistent voice.

'Beta, I don't want to fight you.'

Why did she know that name? Why was it so familiar? Why did that name tie her stomach into an instant knot? She raised her hand to her head and tried to steady herself suddenly feeling very dizzy.

"You can't listen to the wind. It hurts too much."

"But I know that voice… I know that name…" The child gripped her hand tighter, hugging her arm.

"It's safer here in the tower and it will be more fun to tell stories, don't you think?" Serene's vision blurred for a moment before she looked down into the face of the child. Her mind cleared, the headache leaving. The child smiled and she smiled back.

"Yeah, let's tell some stories."


The first punch was thrown and simultaneously blocked followed by high-kicks and jabs. Each attempt to make contact was tactfully done, Beta landed a solid punch in Thia's gut and Thia landed one of Beta's face. Thia blocked a kick to the neck countering with a jab to the younger girl's side. This would have been fun if she weren't exhausted beyond belief and worried for the life of her friend. Alpha loved the challenge. It had been so long since anyone challenged her that could give her a good run that she relished the feeling of letting it out. For a short time, she even forgot that they weren't actually sparring; that this was as serious as it was dangerous. The fresh blood stains formed on Serene's bandages made her rethink her strategy. She jumped back and wiped some blood from the corner of her mouth, the result of a lucky punch.

"Face it, Alpha! I am the better soldier! You've gone soft hiding in that office behind that political mask!"

"Tough talk for the copied shell of a scared child!"

"What did you just say?!"

"You heard me! You're a psychological defense mechanism created by a frightened child to hide from reality! A reality I am going to make you face once and for all!" As evenly matched as they seemed to be, Serene's injuries were far more severe. If she didn't end it quickly, Serene could bleed out.

"Just try it!" Thia planted her feet. Every bone in her body ached. Every muscle screamed for rest as she found her breathing to be more labored with every move. Beta was not unaffected by this melee, however. Several of Serene's wounds had opened back up; her bandages stained with the fresh blood. Her breathing was labored and she was clearly running low on energy. Thia saw her opportunity to try and reason with her friend as an opening in the younger girl's stance formed. Using speed she'd rarely had to call on, Thia feigned an attack as a distraction, ducked and side-swiped Serene's legs, knocking her to the ground and then proceeded to pin her, locking her down with all the strength she had remaining.

"You're desperation is showing, Alpha. It's almost as if this is a last resort."

"She's killing you, Serene."

"She can't hear you."

"I know you created her to protect you. Part of that might be my fault. You thought I abandoned you. You needed a way to cope. But now, if you let her continue, you will die."

"Shut up! You don't know anything about her! I will ensure her survival!"


"And then, the prince said 'Rapunzel, let down your hair!' and she did, knowing he would come up to see her and it made her happy for the witch had kept her locked away." The child recited the tale with an animated joy that was utterly infectious. It reminded her of long ago, in a tower like this one, with two friends… what were their names…? She felt that stabbing pain again as another harsh wind crashed its way through the tower, shaking the entire platform.

'She's killing you Serene!'

Serene jumped to her feet and looked around, desperate to find the source of the voice. She knew that voice! It called her name! She raised her hands to her head as the pain swelled within it.

"No! You cannot listen to the wind! The wind lies! It wants to hurt us!"

"But… it's calling for me…"

She saw it then: a phantom image of a figure she knew facing off against another. They were both hurt, both weak, but still blatantly hostile. She watched them fight, two shadows clashing: one with deadly efficiency, the other skillfully evading, but it was clear neither of them could keep this up.

Her whole body ached. Why did her body ache? Her stomach had stabbing pains and her arms and legs burned. She vaguely heard the child trying to say something to her but her eyes could not leave the fighting figures. And just as suddenly as the figures appeared, the fighting seemed to stop. Words were exchanged and one of the figures was livid. What she did hear, however, shocked her to her core:

'If this is what you want, Serene, if letting Beta prove that you're better than me will save your life, then I give up. I'll let her kill me because I cannot watch you die; least of all because of me'

In that instant, she remembered it all. Everything came flying back to her. The death of her mother, her years of training, the villa, Heero, Kit-Kat, and all she had experienced. The shadows cleared and she saw Kit-Kat squared off against herself. She couldn't let it happen. She felt her doppelganger's intent. She knew she aimed to kill Kit-Kat… her comrade… her friend… her sister… she couldn't let it happen. She had to stop it…

"Kit-Kat…"


"Your injuries have reopened. If you continue on this way, you will die and it will be your fault."

Thia locked eyes with her then, black-blue to the currently stormy grey-blue. She had to get through to her.

"You don't need her anymore, Serene. You have your sister and brother, Drizzie, Treize, and even Constance and Daniel. And you have me. You are not alone anymore." At that moment, the sound of feet on the gravel made them both look over to see Trowa, Quatre, Matthews and Heero watching them. Beta's eyes snapped from them to her again, determination clear.

"That's not going to wor—"

"Serene, fight back! Don't let her kill you!" With those words, something changed. For just a moment, the grey-blue cleared back to the ice-blue she knew. She had cracked Beta's façade.

"NO!" Beta kicked her off in one quick move and staggered to her feet. "We don't need anyone! She doesn't need anyone! I will defeat you and then we will prove that we are the perfect soldier!"

The fight reconvened. Beta charged at her with all she had and at this point, and Thia knew she couldn't do anything more than block. She couldn't fight her. The rate at which Serene was bleeding and the amount of energy it was taking to keep it up was too much. Serene would die if they did not stop. Thia jumped back away from her, lowered her defenses and dropped her head.

"What are you doing? This fight isn't over!"

"It is." Thia look up at her friend. "If this is what you want, Serene, if letting Beta prove that you're better than me will save your life, then I give up. I'll let her kill me because I cannot watch you die; least of all because of me" Beta staggered backward, visibly shaking. Her hands went to her head as a pained expression consumed her features.

"K… Kit… Kat…" Her eyes flashed between the two shades of blue as if a war waged behind them. From her place, she saw Quatre stop Trowa from walking forward. He knew what she did: this was Serene's personal battle. She alone could win it.


"Kit-Kat…" she said the name again.

She felt her world spin for moment. It was now dark. The flowers were gone. The shadowed figure now stood in front of her. Grey-blue eyes, stormy and intense stared back at her from her own face. There was no mistaking it. The figure was slightly shorter, perhaps a younger teenaged version, but it was her. The little girl stood with her and latched onto her arm almost hiding from the teen.

"I'm scared!"

"Who are you?"

"Go back to playing with your flowers and your younger self."

"Younger self?" she glanced down at the child gripping her arm so tightly. It still wasn't making much sense but she did recognize herself. There were no mirrors at the base and she had had no pictures growing up to know what she'd looked like. She glanced at the figure.

"If she is my younger self, then who are you?"

"I am the better you. The stronger you. I protect us."

"Protect us from what?"

"From everyone and everything. You don't need anyone or anything. You have me. We are invincible."

Serene felt sharp pains all over her. She glanced down and saw the tell-tale red that contradicted the other her's statement.

"It hurts!" Her younger self began to sob softly. She remembered the sounds of her sobs. They had been the only sound she'd heard at night until Kit-Kat came along…

"Kit-Kat…" Serene squared her stance. She had heard her friend yelling out to her. What had happened? Her voice had sounded pained. "You were hurting my friend, weren't you?!"

"We have no friends."

"You are trying to kill Kit-Kat!"

"Why would you hurt Kit-Kat? She was my very first friend!"

"She abandoned you! She is the reason for your pain!"

"No!" Her younger self covered her ears and slid to a kneeling position, rocking back and forth.

"You're wrong!" Serene stepped forward, her strength pooling. "Dekim was the source of my pain. Dekim had my mother killed. Dekim abused me! Dekim made me do those terrible things. None of it was my fault. None of it!"

"You are too weak to handle life alone. You need me." Serene shook her head. It all made sense now. This was Beta. This is who Kit-Kat had been talking to.

"You're half right, Beta." Serene began. I am too weak to handle life alone. I have made many mistakes and I know I'll make more." She smiled at her other self. "But that's why I have friends. I have a family of people around me supporting me and helping me. I'm not alone anymore. It's time I allowed myself to welcome that."

She thought of the times she and Kit-Kat laughed under the Christmas tree, the shopping trip with Relena, and all the time spent with Trowa. It warmed her. She felt herself gradually getting stronger.

"They will hurt you. They will leave. They will die."

"That may be true, but the same could be said of me to them. I will not run away anymore." She turned away from Beta. "I can't."

"Then you have won the most important battle of all." Beta smirked. "You no longer need me." Serene shook her head.

"You're wrong. I will always need the strength you provided, but I am ready to accept that strength as my own." She knelt down next to her younger self. The child looked at her, teary eyed and scared. "It's time we decide to find out the rest of our story little one." She reached out her hand. After a tentative moment, the child smiled and put her tiny hand in Serene's, slowly vanishing into her. Serene stood and felt the tears slide down her own cheeks but made no move to wipe them away. Her pain, no matter what stage it came from, was valid and she wouldn't ignore it anymore. She turned to the form of Beta now whose eyes glinted at her with a resolved resignation.

"Thank you." She wasn't sure what exactly she was thanking the teen for, but the figure paused, eyes widening in surprise and then nodded. She reached out and held out her hand, palm out flat facing her. Beta did the same and as she lay her palm flat against Beta's the figure before her slowly merged with her. She took a deep breath, stepped forward into the light and felt the pain of reality hit her.

Her body ached, her abdomen and other areas wet with what she surmised was fresh blood. Every bone in her body protested. Every muscle screamed at her. She looked at the figures in front of her and smiled weakly. Her eyes went from Heero and Matthew to Quatre, Kit-Kat and Trowa, both of whom now stood together watching her. Thiana was barely standing. She had clearly taken a beating on her behalf. Guilt sucker punched her in the gut. She shifted her gaze to Trowa; his deep green eyes full of concern and something deeper that she didn't have the energy to try and puzzle through. She had worried them all. She smiled weakly to reassure them.

"I'm so sorry." This was all she could manage to say before she felt the void of unconsciousness swirl into her skull and her world went completely black.


Quatre stood with heart breaking at the scene he was watching play out in front of him. The pain and confusion coming from Serene almost staggered him. It was like nothing he'd ever come across before. There was too much inner turmoil, so much in fact that he realized that there was more going on than what they were all seeing.

"Serene, fight back! Don't let her kill you!" Thia's voice cracked in her desperation at trying to get through to her friend. It was with that simple statement everything made sense. This wasn't the Serene they all knew. This was someone else in Serene. So many things started to click into place in his mind. Things that Thia had said over the last four years, the information that had come out over the last month, and now the different pulling sensations he was getting from Serene would have him betting she had something like a split personality.

He glanced at the other men around him and realized they all were in the same boat of not really knowing what to do. It was clear that neither Thia nor Serene could take more of the beating they were giving each other. Though Heero was probably the only that could interfere without major damage due to the intensity and skill their friends were fighting at. He hadn't felt this helpless in a long time and he could only hope that Thia could get through to Serene like it seemed she was trying to.

Every hit made him sick but what really shook him was the ending phrase Thia gave. She was giving up. No, not giving up. She was sacrificing herself for her friend. A choice that spoke to the deep love she had for Serene. Quatre had watched over the last few years how proud Thia was of all Serene had accomplished. He had also seen how devastated she'd been when Serene had walked away from it all. The confusion and thoughts of failure had swamped her. Not that she had shared many of her concerns. They had been at a bit of a cross roads at that time and now he feared her surrender might mean he'd never get a chance to fix that.

He reacted without thinking though as Trowa tried to run forward when Serene staggered. It took all his strength but he was able to stop his friend from running into the fight. No, this was something that Serene had to do for herself. Something both of them had to get through on their own. Matthews, Heero, Trowa, and He were to be silent witnesses to whatever was going to come next. No matter how painful it might be.


Trowa couldn't comprehend was he was seeing. Serene was covered in blood and both women looked extremely exhausted. It was clear Serene's wounds were reopening and their fighting was putting her in real danger. He wanted to scream at the sky and anyone that would hear how wrong this was. Why wouldn't they stop? Why did they start in the first place? Why had they traveled this far only to fight? The ferocity and ruthlessness in every move Serene made told a darker story of hatred and pain and yet he had never picked up any such hard feelings from his partner about her former guardian.

"If this is what you want, Serene, if letting Beta prove that you're better than me will save your life, then I give up. I'll let her kill me because I cannot watch you die; least of all because of me" Quatre restrained him before he realized he'd even moved.

A quick look at the Arabian man's face spoke volumes. He glanced between all of the men present and found that the same feelings were echoed to varying degrees. Each saw the futility and danger in this fight, but also, in spite of their desire to stop the madness before them, they stood their ground. Matthews seemed torn in two at everything that was happening, Quatre seemed to be heart-broken but resigned to Thiana's decision, and Heero looked shell shocked as if he was in another time and place all together. Suddenly, Serene froze. After a puzzled few moments, he watched as Thia walked closer. Slowly passing her hand across Serene's vision.

"She's blacked out." Thia's voice was full of worry and fatigue, but it seemed to break the spell they were all under. They quickly ran over to her and filled with confusion. Serene seemed to be as if a statue. There was no vision in her sight and her chest hardly rose in way of breathing. The only thing still going strong were her wounds seeping. He moved to touch her and again he was stopped. This time however, by Thia.

"No, don't try and snap her out of it. I don't know what is going on but I know this: she has to be the one to bring her back." She looked at him silently pleading. This woman who could outwit politicians, manipulate multi-billionaires, and run a company was begging him. "Please trust me on this." All he could do was nod in return. It seemed like forever, but her plea worked as suddenly color seemed to return to Serene's eyes, and she finally blinked taking a deep gulp of air. Pain also quickly etched itself into her features and her voice had a wheezing sound.

Yet the small smile that lifted her lips had his spirits soaring. She was going to make it. He didn't know how he knew. He just did. Like Quatre seemed to read people and situations, Trowa knew this. She was going to make it out and she was going to be better than ever; after they could get her safe at home to recover.

"I'm so sorry." She spoke and he moved once again before he realized it, catching her before she hit the ground. He gently laid her down and everything went into over drive. Heero and Matthews joined him cutting away her clothing to get a better look at her abdomen and wounds on the whole.

"Go and get the medic pack from the transport." Trowa quickly removed his own shirt to press down around the worse wound to stem the flow of flood as Matthews followed his orders and ran back to get the supplies. Heero was thoroughly checking the rest of her body to take accounts of her other injuries.

"Thia, give me your status." Heero ordered.

"I'm fine." Trowa almost laughed at the similarity between this woman's response and what Serene would have said.

"Kit-Kat, please." Trowa glanced up quickly in curiosity at Heero's strange use of the nickname Serene always used. It sounded so natural coming from Heero that it surprised him. It seemed to surprise Thia as well by the look on her face, but she quickly composed herself.

"Possible Cracked rib but it could be just bruised, twisted ankle, split lip, bloody knuckles, and extreme exhaustion. No internal bleeding, but then again I wouldn't really know if that was happening right at this moment now would I." Heero grunted and nodded in response.

"You need to sit down so we can examine you." Matthews stated, but kept his distance when Thia shook her head.

"No need. I'm not the important one here and Serene's the one that needs the attention. I can wait."

"You're wrong about that. You're both important. Though Serene does need the attention right now I would agree." Matthews finally made his way back and Trowa breathed a sigh of relief.

"Here Quatre, wrap that ankle and put an ice pack on her lip. Everything else will just have to wait like she said." Heero spoke as he tossed a wrap and instant icepack over to Quatre who caught them before Thia could act. Trowa made a mental note to laugh at the similarity that each of the three perfect soldiers seemed to have.

Heero and Matthews set to the task of patching Serene back up and he did his part to help where he could. It was important to keep her comfortable and stabilize her. It gave him a warmth, even as logical worry nagged his brain that he was being too hopeful.

"She's going to be okay…" he heard Thiana half-plead in a whisper. "Quatre, tell me she's going to be okay."

It wasn't hard to tell by her tone that she needed to hear those words even if they might be a lie. His heart broke all over again for her this time. The two had been raised on comrades, grew up as sisters and had had rough patches that drove them apart. He never doubted the love and respect that had remained between them. As much as Serene's condition was killing him, it was obvious to be torture for Thiana as well. Trowa could see just in his peripheral vision Thia lean into Quatre's shoulder silently cried tears of exhaustion, pain, but relief that this hadn't ended a horrible way.

"That's it's. We're stable. Let's Go Home." Heero stated and everyone silently agreed. Trowa lifted Serene's frail body and tenderly cradled her to him as he carried her to the vehicle. In spite of being unconscious, he felt her snuggle in closer as her hands clutched on to him. The girls would need time to rest and recouperate and plans would need to be made to find and flush out the remaining threat. For now, he contented himself with the knowledge that Serene's heart continued to beat and that every breath she took as a continued promise for the life to live ahead.

She was going to be alright. They all were.