"Time and Again" Part 3
by Mrs Chang

Warnings: Profanity, Angst, Mature Themes

Pairings: 6x9

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, or the characters therein. I am making no money off of this work; it is strictly for entertainment purposes.

Author's Notes: Yes, I *know* this part is a long time overdue, but I've been busy. Not much to say. POV piece; Noin and Zechs.

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[Zechs]

Nicholae is smiling. A bit too much, I think.

"You look like the cat that ate the canary," I say as I sit down next to him in the dining hall.

He smiles even more and says, "Well, you see, I heard a nice little rumor from a friend of mine."

My lip involuntarily curls in contempt. Nicholae's friends are the type I try to avoid; they're all nothing but trouble. "Oh," I say, curbing my disgust. "What might this rumor of yours be?"

"Well, it seems that the women's camps are getting so full that the big guys up top said that we should... remove some of them and put them to better use." A wicked smile accompainies his words. "We're choosing tomorrow, barrack 9."

I am silent. I *know* what this means. The guys will visit the women's barracks, several of the girls will disappear before nightfall, and...

I push the end of that thought out of my mind as quickly as possible. These little "removals" have been going on for a while now. I was never involved, but it never bothered me too terribly much. So why does it now?

Nicholae is still looking at me, expecting an answer. I cannot answer. So I just leave.

I return to my room; mercifully, it's empty. Sitting down, I rake my fingers through my hair as I try to forget what Nicholae has just told me. Those girls have *no* idea what awaits them. The others can be cruel. Very cruel. It would almost be better if those chosen tomorrow were sent to Mengele instead.

Mengele. Numbers. The girl.

My stomach does a cartwheel.

The girl whose number I erased. She was in barrack 9. I remember now. And that was a small barrack. A *very* small barrack.


[Noin]

One of the woman guards, the only one who talks to us, has told us that there will be more guards in tomorrow. She gave us no reason, but I think it may be some sort of inspection. The word soldiers makes me think of *him*... the one who saved me... is it *twice* now?

[Zechs]

The next morning comes too soon for me. My alarm clock goes off at 5 o' clock, as usual. I snarl, and throw it across the room; silencing it. Everyone else sleeps right through the noise, as is typical. I am the only early riser in the whole quaters, I'm sure of it. I pick my way across the floor. I try avoid the clothing and junk strewn about the floor, but, never the less, I nearly trip over someone's boot. I kick it across the room. It hits the wall with a thud. I really *am* in a bad mood today.

Walking into the bathroom, I splash my face with water. My mind just doesn't want to wake up today; there's this strange ache of dread in the back of my mind. And then I remember why. The're choosing today. More than a dozen girls are about to go through hell, and they don't even know it yet.

And I keep thinking of that girl, and how one of those chosen could be her.

You can't let that happen, I think to myself. Something in my gut is screaming for me to protect this girl.

There's a catch, though: I've only got a few hours.

And just how *does* one go about finding someone when you don't even know their name?


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So, Chapter 3 complete. Watcha think?

Mrs Chang wild_child0102@hotmail.com