A/N: Well, this is the end. I don't have much that I can add except thank you again. Whether you've been following this story for awhile or it's your first time reading, thank you so much. This was such fun to return to and I hope you've enjoyed reading it.

"What is it, Relena?"

Hearing her name, Relena snapped back to her senses. "Oh, Heero. It's… nothing. Don't worry." She clutched the envelope tighter to her chest and looked down.

"It's not nothing. Show me." She didn't respond. "Trust in me, Relena."

"I do, but…" Relena tried to protest but her voice trailed off. Heero continued to stare and part of her wondered if he already knew, irrational as the thought was. She walked over and handed him the envelope. As soon as it was out of her hands she turned away and moved to the other side of the room, not facing him.

Heero opened it back up and his breath was caught in his throat. In it were pictures of their hotel room through an outside window. While he was in a couple shots, Relena was clearly the focus. More importantly, neither of them were wearing clothes. "He was right outside that night…" Heero heard her say.

Damnit… we should have gotten a room on a higher floor. "We need to start moving around. You can't afford to stay in one place for any period of time."

Sally spoke up. "I can take you to the Preventers right away." Relena nodded.

"Wait," Heero said. "Relena, is there more?"

He could easily see a paper crumpled in Relena's hand. Her whole body was shaking. Heero had never seen her so upset. "It's not important!"

Sally walked over and put a hand on Relena's shoulder. "Please, Miss Relena. It could help us find him." She did not move, but also did not resist as Sally reached down to take the page from her. The older woman unfolded it and started to read.

"To the object of my affection… For the longest time I've been looking for a place to call home. To think that I've finally found it here, on this colony. And that I could spend it here with you. Maybe you've never thought about me much, but I'm always thinking of you. I want to show you how much you mean to me. How special you are. And I can't think of anything better to do it with than fireworks!" Sally gritted her teeth as she continued. "Oh, to create such a bright, dazzling display just for you. Show the whole colony how special you are. From airports, embassies, city hall… it will be beautiful. I hope you'll join me when the night comes. Good-bye, my love."

Sally looked up from the note. "We need to leave now."

"Just a minute," Heero said. "I'm coming too."

"Heero, it's okay," Relena protested. "You're still injured. The doctor isn't finished with all the surgeries yet."

"The only thing they have left to do is cosmetic."

"Heero, you've been slurring some of your words," Sally pointed out. "Your left eye is discolored; how is your vision?" Heero didn't respond. "You need to stay here and recover. You know how far medical technology has come; it won't take too long."

Heero turned his focus to Relena. "I need to stay with you. I'll talk to the doctor and get him to move up the surgery if that's what it takes."

Relena sighed and looked over at Sally. "Can I have a couple of days?" The Preventer frowned but nodded. "Okay, Heero. But I'll speak to the doctor."

oOoOo

Heero and Relena stepped out of Sally's car. "I'll pull around to the parking lot. You two head inside." With that, Sally drove away.

"You were right, Heero." He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm glad we waited. I don't see any scars; it's as if you weren't injured at all." Relena then smiled and added, "You're as handsome as ever, Heero."

Heero coughed and looked down. "Yeah…" Although he tried to hide it, his face was turning red.

Relena giggled. Had she just found the Perfect Soldier's only weakness? Opening the door, Heero motioned for her to step through. Relena kissed his cheek and thanked him, smiling as his face became even redder.

They stepped up to the front desk where two Preventers sat. After a moment one of the men looked up from his computer. "Miss Darlian!"

"We're here to see Lady Une."

"Yes! She's expecting you. Please, have a seat and I'll let her know you've arrived."

"No need," Heero said. "Where are the elevators?"

"Oh… um… are you sure?" Heero's only response was to stare down the man. "Okay, it's right there on the left. Top floor. I'll call her and…"

Before he could finish, Heero was already moving to the elevators. "Thank you," Relena mumbled. She hurried after him. "Heero!" she said as she caught up. "There's no need to be impolite."

"There's also no need for us to wait. I want to finish this."

As they stepped into the elevator, Relena replied, "You should know just as well as I do. It's never finished. I'm the Vice Foreign Minister. There will always be something. That's part of the job." She paused. "Maybe you could stay this time… be there for the next time. For every time. For the times that there aren't times…"

Before Heero could respond the elevator doors opened. Lady Une stood in front of them with a warm smile on her face. "Relena. I'm so glad to see you're well, despite everything that's happened." Relena adjusted herself and smiled back. "And Heero. I heard what happened. You recovered quickly, just as I expected. Thank you for protecting Relena." He nodded.

Lady Une turned and began walking. "I'm afraid we'll have to skip further pleasantries today. Let's meet everyone in the tactical room. I'm putting two of my best people in charge of your security detail while we catch this man."

Relena nodded. "Wufei and Sally, I take it? They've helped out so much so far."

Lady Une looked at the pair over her shoulder. "I'm glad to hear that… but it's not them."

She opened a door into a large room. The only light came from the computers that encircled the space. Relena gasped when she saw who was standing inside. "Noin! Milliardo!" She ran to them.

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Zechs…"

Ignoring him, Zechs embraced Relena. "I'm so sorry, my dear sister. I wanted to be here sooner but the flight from Mars took longer than we expected."

"It's so good to see you, Miss Relena." Noin and Relena hugged. "How are you?"

Relena smiled. "I'm good. I'm here." She looked around the room. Among the technicians sitting in front of their computers she saw the four other pilots. "And I am very thankful for these men to be here, too."

Noin looked at Heero, who nodded his greeting. She shook her head. "Oh no. You don't get off that easy. Come here." Heero's whole body stiffened as Noin grabbed him in a hug. "How is Relena, really?" she whispered.

Heero looked over Noin's shoulder at her. "…She's strong."

Heero could feel Noin's chest move as she sighed. "Yes she is." Noin let go and spoke up louder. "Now you need to reach out more! I haven't heard a thing from you in years!"

He turned away. "I've been… busy."

"Hmph. When all this is over you and I are sitting down for a long talk."

Lady Une cleared her throat. "As I mentioned, I'm putting Preventers Wind and Fire personally in charge of Relena's security detail. I also want to start taking proactive steps to identify and secure this Charles Disset before any civilians are harmed. Zechs, have you taken a look at the map?"

"We have." He motioned to one of the technicians and a holographic image of the space colony appeared in front of them. As Zechs "touched" the image, he zoomed in and highlighted various locations. "I've taken the liberty of constructing a layout of all public buildings in the area, right down to the libraries and parks. The points I'm interested are here… here… and here." The first point he highlighted was the hotel that Heero and Relena had been hiding in, the second was the hospital, and the third was their current location, the local headquarters. "We can assume Mr. Disset knows that Relena has stayed in these first two locations, and we are his main obstacle to getting what he wants."

"Pardon me." A woman behind them adjusted her glasses and stepped forward. She had red hair and was holding a clipboard. "I don't mean to interrupt, but it's not as simple as something he wants. He's not throwing a temper tantrum because he lost his favorite toy."

Zechs folded his arms. "That is exactly what is happening."

Lady Une stepped between them. "For those of you who don't know, this is one of my senior advisors, Dr. Atti Bjornstad. She is a psychoanalyst with whom I work on cases with more… noteworthy criminals. She's here to observe and she also has some information on our suspect."

Heero frowned. "Is this necessary?"

"My observations are never wrong. For example, I noticed that when you walk you favor your right side. Are hiding something in your shoes, or is it that you still feel pain from the incident at the hotel?" Heero opened his mouth to speak but Bjornstad continued. "And Miss Relena…" She looked at the scientist and swallowed. "You have excellent posture, as I would expect from someone of your stature. But ever since we mentioned Mr. Disset's name, your hands started shaking. Do your palms feel sweaty as well?"

Lady Une cut her off. "Dr. Bjornstad, I think you've successfully demonstrated your capability to everyone. Get back on track."

"Of course, my apologies." Bjornstad cleared her throat. "As I said before, Mr. Disset does not want to see Relena. This is not a desire or an infatuation towards her, but a need. For example, humans need to breathe. It is a simple fact; we take tens of thousands of breaths a day without thinking in order to stay alive. Now, what if you were in the middle of the ocean, drowning? Suddenly breathing is the only thing on your mind, you can't focus on anything else, and every breath you take feels like it will be your last. You must fight simply to breathe. He feels like he is drowning. He needs Miss Relena to survive, and not as a person but as an idol. Seeing her, hearing her speeches, that was enough to satisfy that need. But then she was taken away from him. He's now struggling to keep his head above water and is willing to do whatever it takes to get her back to him."

"Hold on," Heero said. "He's trying to kill Relena! He would have suffocated her if I hadn't stopped him."

"Heero, I think she's right," Relena said slowly. "When he sat over me, he said he just wanted me to go to sleep… that he wanted me to be with him." She closed her eyes and shook her head as if trying to throw away the memory.

"That doesn't mean he won't kill you if he feels someone else is going to take you away from him," Bjornstad warned.

"That won't be happening." Zechs returned everyone's attention to the map. "I've located all public areas in a hundred-foot radius of these three locations. Our agents are moving through them and will find and disarm any traps he has set."

"What if they don't find a bomb soon enough?" Relena asked. "What if he targets a completely different location?"

"We'll find him and stop him. I promise you, sister."

"No. I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me. I especially don't want people who have no connection to us getting hurt. I'm ending this now."

Heero looked at her. "Relena…"

Relena straightened up and Heero recognized the shift in tone of her voice. "He sent a letter specifically to me, and I'm accepting his invitation."

"Relena!"

"Miss Relena!"

Ignoring all of their shouts, Relena walked out of the room. Heero and Zechs ran after her without hesitation.

After a long pause, Noin was the first to speak. "She's as determined as ever. Some things just don't change around here." She smiled.

Lady Une rubbed her temple. "Noin, we both know we won't be able to change her mind. Let's focus on setting up a meeting time and place. Confer with Zechs on security details and contingency plans. Get me a report within the hour." She looked at the remaining Gundam pilots. "And I want you to be there."

Duo pumped his fist. "You couldn't keep us out of this if you tried," he replied. Wufei smirked.

"We won't let anything happen to Miss Relena," Quatre added. Trowa nodded in agreement.

oOoOo

"Ma'am!" A Preventer burst into Lady Une's office. "We've received a message regarding a hostage situation. An unidentified male entered one of L2's Earth embassies wearing a vest with multiple charges on it. He claims that there are more planted throughout the building and elsewhere in the city."

Lady Une stood up from her desk. "How many hostages has he taken?"

"Most of the people inside were able to escape safely, but we have confirmed fifteen hostages so far. Local police forces have already responded and we have teams en route."

"Has he made any demands?"

"Just one… he wishes to see Relena Darlian."

Lady Une nodded. "It's him… okay! Gather everyone in the briefing room. We're out of time, we need to act now."

The Preventer led Une to the briefing room. In minutes it was filled with the former Gundam pilots as well as Relena, Zechs, Noin, and Sally. "We've located Charles Disset; it seems he's forcing our hand. He infiltrated an Earth embassy. He's taken hostages and is threatening to kill them unless he speaks to Relena."

"Have you come up with a plan?" Quatre asked.

"Yes," Zechs replied. "But I'd like to hear yours first." His remark was met with a room of puzzled faces and so he added, "You've always been the brains of the group."

Quatre felt all eyes turn to him and he swallowed. He returned Zechs' stare and said, "Alright. Do you have a blueprint of the embassy?" Nodding, the older man pressed a few buttons and a picture of the embassy appeared on the table in front of them, walls and floors distinguished by white lines.

Quatre took a few moments to look over the schematic, touching certain spots of the hologram to zoom into an area or turn the building. "We can assume Disset will be in the center of the embassy, as far away from windows as possible. Miss Noin, I want you to accompany Miss Relena to meet with him. None of us here want her going alone and he won't feel as threatened if she's with another female. Heero, Duo, Trowa, use these doors to enter and get to the second and third floors. We'll have tranquilizer guns, right?"

Lady Une nodded. "The standard issue T-Gun uses enough sedative to bring down a raging bear almost immediately. The rifles you'll get are even stronger; we use them in high-risk operations."

"Alright. If Miss Relena is able to talk him down, then that would be wonderful, but we have to be ready to use them. Wufei, Sally, Zechs, and I will enter from these two doors and fan out. Let's cover him on all four sides in case he starts moving."

"He's not looking to leave that building," Zechs said.

"You're right," Quatre admitted. "Which is why it's important that one of us have eyes on him at every moment. I'd like all of us to have earpieces so we can keep in communication with one another… except Miss Relena. She needs to focus on him."

Quatre looked to Lady Une, who smiled. "Anyone have any further thoughts?" The room was silent. "Neither do I. Let's get started!"

oOoOo

The area outside the embassy was filled with activity. Police forces and Preventers were working together to close off the area from media and other onlookers. A group of Gundam pilots, Preventers, and one Vice Foreign Minister were all standing in front of the embassy, within the boundaries marked off by black and yellow tape. "Okay," Lady Une was saying. "Relena, you and Noin will enter first. I'm sending you through the front door."

"The front?" Heero asked.

Lady Une nodded. "He won't hurt Relena, and she can keep him talking while everyone else gets into place. I'll be out here running the operation. And one last thing…" She looked at everyone around her. "No one is allowed to terminate the subject without my express order."

The group split off and Relena walked up to the front with Noin by her side. Noin checked the door, finding it unlocked. "Are you ready, Miss Relena?"

She took a breath. "Yes. I'm not running anymore."

They walked into a small lobby. Several small tables were scattered around the room with chairs surrounding them. A couple of desks sat to one side; they had computers which still glowed with blue light. With the lights on, it seemed as if nothing had been disturbed in the room, except that no one was inside. "Hello?" Relena called out. "Charles?"

"Relena?" A voice called back. "Is that you? Come! Come further inside!"

The pair followed his voice into a large room. It had a high ceiling with a balcony that ran across all four sides. Tables and chairs had been pushed to the side with the exception of one desk chair. A group of people huddled in the corner, and a man sat in the chair. Relena recognized him immediately.

Disset's blonde hair was a mess and it looked like he hadn't shaved in days. He wore a plain shirt and jeans, but on top of this had a tan vest with numerous square boxes and wires on it. He had a wide smile on his face. "Relena! I knew you would…" His voice trailed off as he noticed Noin was with her. "Hey, you! I told Relena to come alone!" He stood and raised his hand. They noticed him holding a cylinder with a button at the top of it. "Get out or I'll push this trigger right here! It's not only connected to the vest, but it has a remote connection to all the bombs I've planted in the city. One press and we all go in a beautiful parade of lights!"

"Wait!" Relena stepped forward. "Miss Noin is only here to check on the others. I came to talk. Just me and you, alone."

Disset hesitated. "…Fine. You can go join them."

Relena and Noin looked at each other. Noin nodded and ran over to the other hostages. She began whispering to them and Relena turned her attention back to Disset. "I'm here. What would you like to talk about, Charles?"

Disset returned to his seat and smiled. "About us, of course. I remember… I remember when you were first brought into the Romefeller Foundation. Like everyone else, my father was skeptical. Why should a fifteen-year-old girl become our leader, he would ask. But then he came to love you. He would talk about you as if you were his own daughter. I didn't understand it at first, but then I met you at a party. It was only the one time, but I realized what it was that brought him, brought everyone to your side. Your strength, your passion, your resilience. You fought for total pacifism against those who would overthrow it… and won. The idea that we could stop the fighting on Earth, in space, in… my home… it was precious.

"I finally got the chance to meet you again and it took everything I had to control my excitement. I knew you wouldn't remember me but I wanted to speak to you more, I needed to. That park shooter… I'd seen him at my restaurant. He tried to hurt you, twice, and I was the one who stopped him. I knew I could take care of you. I could help you just like you helped me. And then he shows up. I recognized his face immediately… that Gundam pilot."

Disset stood, taking a step towards Relena. "It doesn't make sense to me! How can you love this man you called Heero? Don't you remember what he did? Those five are terrorists! They came to Earth and did nothing but sow chaos and destruction. They left you to pick up the pieces! How many people did he kill at the same time you were out urging people to throw down their weapons? You fought for peace and he destroyed hundreds of lives!" Disset lifted the detonator in his hand. "Is this what I have to do to get your attention?!"

"You're right." Disset stopped. "Heero and the others have killed many people. But I don't just believe in pacifism. I believe in change. A change in the minds, in the hearts of people everywhere. They changed, and I know you can too. I believe in you. Let me help you."

"Yes…" he muttered, and Relena smiled. "You and me. We can go away together." Relena's smile disappeared as Disset continued. "We'll help each other, protect each other. We'll be there for each other. No one will be in our way."

Relena noticed figures had appeared in various spots on the balcony above them. She stepped up to Disset and wrapped her arms around him, leaning into him. "Don't you see?" she whispered. "Look again at those pictures and videos… I've always been there for you."

Disset didn't know how to react at first. He grabbed her, quickly returning her embrace. "Really?"

Relena nodded and mustered up a smile. As she withdrew her arms her fingers traced down his right arm. "Yes…"

Taking advantage of his relaxed guard, Relena snatched the detonator out of his hands. "Noin!" she shouted, tossing the device behind her. The other woman ran up to catch it.

"You bitch!" Disset responded by punching Relena in the face. She crumpled to the ground.

A dart lodged into Disset's neck. "Target hit," Trowa stated. "Reloading."

"Miss Relena!" Noin jumped forward.

"That's no good!" Sally shouted. "He has too much adrenaline right now, one dart won't stop him!"

"Everyone move in!"

"Get Relena out of there!"

"Take him down!"

Among the yelling there was the soft ring of metal hitting metal. Disset looked down to find a small earpiece sitting on the floor in front of him. He looked up to see Heero jumping down without a word. Sliding backward against the tile, he narrowly missed Heero's fists.

Heero recovered and attacked again. Although he tried to block, Disset's moves were sluggish on account of the tranquilizer. He could barely keep his hands up against his assailant. After a few blows he wasn't able to move in time to avoid Heero's leg sweeping across his head.

Wufei and Sally ran to secure the fanatic and Heero looked over to see Duo and Trowa joining Quatre with the hostages. Zechs and Noin were helping Relena stand. As soon as she was on her feet, she ran to Heero and collapsed in his arms. "Heero!" she sobbed into his shirt.

Heero embraced her, pulling her close to him. "It's okay, Relena. You're safe now."

"Please… don't turn around and leave again…"

Heero put his hand on her head as he felt more tears stain his shirt. "Let's get you checked out first."

"No. No more doctors, no more hospitals. I just want to go home."

Heero closed his eyes. "As you wish."

"And Heero?" Relena pulled back to look at him. She managed to smile, even as her eyes continued to water. "I'll need to find a new driver."

Heero drew a finger over Relena's cheek, tracing away her tears. He nodded. "I accept."