Quatre Raberba Winner shook his phone violently. "Oh, no," he whispered. "It's broken." Just then, he
felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, sir, but what business do you have here?" Slowly Sandrock's pilot turned around. There,
standing in front of him was a stout guard, with large, brown eyes, and black hair. Quatre scratched his
head, and tried to think. "Answer me!" Suddenly, an idea hit him.
"Sorry!" He said, in a hushed tone, as he socked the guard across the face.
"Tony, what's wrong?" came a voice from somewhere through the trees.
"Er...nothing," replied Quatre, in the deepest voice he could make.
"Kay...just checking." The small teenager heard footsteps, and then silence, except for the crickets' soft
chirp.
"What have I turned into?" He whispered, as he looked at the guard. "Now, let's see..."
Later, Quatre entered the mansion in his newly obtained uniform. He couldn't help but notice the
beautiful pictures on the wall, so, he had to stop and gaze at them. He especially loved the one of an oasis in
the desert. The texture of the painting was very smooth, and the colors were so bright! He sighed, as he
continued down the hall. Just then, he heard yelling coming from a nearby door.
"Eat it!" The voice was that of a young woman's.
"Nope! Shinigami doesn't eat crud!" That voice...that was Duo's!
"Crud? Crud?! I cooked it myself!" Then, he heard a loud, whack!
"Ow! Well, then, can I at least have some pepper?" Whack! "I'll take that as a 'no'." Then, the door flew
open, and Quatre hurried to hide behind a wooden table. A girl with red hair and green eyes stepped into the
hallway, and walked in the other direction. At that moment, something happened that Quatre didn't expect.
A set of keys fell from her hand, and onto the soft, blue carpet. She was so angry with Duo, she didn't even
notice them.
Briskly, Quatre scurried for the keys, and ran to the door. "Duo?" He whispered, "Duo? Are you in
there?"
"Quatre, buddy, is that you?"
"Hold on...Ill have you out in a second." After trying every key on the ring, only the last one was able to
open the door. It opened with a loud creak, but no one seemed to hear. Quatre crept inside, and shut the
door behind him. "Duo! It's really you! You're all right!" His voice echoed through the room, as Duo, who
was standing on the stairway, held his finger to his lips.
"Shhh!" Hissed Duo, "they'll hear!"
"Sorry." He took a concise pause. "Do you know where Heero is?"
"Down there." The pilot of 02 pointed down the stairs, and to the corner. Sure enough, there sat Heero,
slowly eating a bowl of soup. An empty bowl, with a puddle of the brown soup was on the floor, next to
Heero. It had obviously been Duo's. "I wouldn't try talking to him, though. He hasn't spoken a word to me
since he came." Heero looked up, and slightly frowned.
"What are you doing here?" Duo clutched his chest with his hand.
"He spoke!" Heero sighed, and turned his attention to the soup again.
"You guys have to fill me in," uttered Quatre. Heero once again looked up from his soup bowl, and he
explained about Opelt, and what he wanted. One million dollars in American money, and to spare his life. A
worried expression appeared on Quatre's pale face.
"What do you plan to do?" He inquired.
"Give him neither," Heero calmly, and emotionlessly replied. Just then, Quatre felt a shiver down his
spine. It wasn't the answer that disturbed him...it was the way he said it.
"Er...I tried to call Trowa, and WuFei, but my cell phone went dead."
"Let me see it." Quatre slowly handed the phone to Heero. The Japanese quickly snatched it from his
hands, and began to examine it.
"Trowa and WuFei will be big help," said Duo, as he sat down on the stairs.
"Yes. When the five of us work together, we can do just about anything." Heero tossed Quatre the
phone.
"Fixed it." Quatre caught it, and grinned.
"Thanks!" Immediately, he began to dial the numbers to their temporary home.
Trowa looked up from the floor as the phone rang. He shot up from the couch, and answered the phone
that was in the hall.
"Hello?"
"Trowa, it's me, Quatre."
"I was worried. Where are you?"
Meanwhile, Chang WuFei leaned against the wall, as he watched Trowa talk on the phone.. "Hmph...that
guy who captured Maxwell is weak. He has made a grave mistake." The Chinese pulled out his sword, and
began to admire how sharp it was. His lips twitched upwards, slightly. "We will find him, and destroy him.
Justice will be served." Then, WuFei heard Trowa's voice.
"Right, I'll bring some explosives." WuFei's cocked an eye brow.
Explosives? How dishonorable! What kind of fighting is that? He wondered. As soon as Trowa got off
the phone, the gundam pilot 05 shook his head with disgust. He noticed Trowa getting ready to walk out of
the door. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Quatre told me where they were. I'm going there. You're more than welcome to come." He silently
waited for an answer. WuFei grumbled a bit, but walked out of the door as did Trowa.
"Explosives! Explosives?! Really, Barton...surely there's a better idea."
"Quatre said that it was Heero's idea."
"I figured."
As Heero, Duo, and Quatre began to discuss their plan, they heard footsteps behind the door. "Where
are those keys!" Screamed Lantanna.
"Oh, no," muttered Duo, "not her again. She's a witch! I swear she is!"
"Aggh! The door is locked! Joseph is going to wring my neck!" Duo fell over laughing.
"Justice will be served to those who mess with Shinigami!" He stopped laughing, though, and looked up.
"Did I just say that?" Just then, several noises started echoing from the vent. "Huh?"
"It's Lantanna," whispered Heero. "I think it would be wise if we hid Quatre."
"Where, then?" Heero showed Quatre a small place beneath the staircase. Slowly, Quatre made his way
underneath, and prayed that the "witch" wouldn't find him. He squeezed his eyes tightly, as he heard the
vent open.
"Somehow, I have a feeling you were responsible for the disappearance of my keys," said Lantanna, as
she scowled at Duo. "You've been quite the trouble maker."
"You won't find anything here, lady."
"We'll see." The next thing Quatre heard was footsteps hitting the ground. "We'll see." Slowly, she
walked through the basement, looking at the floor. Then, something polished caught her eye. A ring of keys,
which happened to be right next to the staircase, a few feet from where Quatre was hiding.
Oops.
"What have we hear?" She bent down to pick up the keys, but from the corner of her eye, she thought
she saw something.