T. K.: This is the end... okay, maybe not. I'm writing an epilogue.
Neko: We don't own Gundam in any form.
Tsuki: But Ayame Suisei, April and Brandy Adams, and Bill Verhelst are ours.
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"WUFEI!" Ayame screamed, forcing Verhelst off of her but getting no more than two feet from him before he grabbed her braid and drug her from the room. "LET GO! LET GO GODDAMN IT!" she screamed, clawing and kicking at her brother.
"Now, now, my dear Iris of Mercury, you don't want to keep your Heero waiting."
Wufei lay as still as possible waiting until Ayame's screams faded completely then lifted his hand, feeling where the bullet had hit just below his ribs. He smiled at the irony. 'Just where Duo was hit,' he thought and suddenly he felt determined to complete his mission and return to his koi. Wufei slowly lifted himself off the floor into a sitting position. 'Time to get back to work,' Wufei thought ruefully.
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"Chang?" Lady Une called out as she entered his office without knocking. She knew that Wufei was just worried about Heero and stressed out about Duo; she also knew the instant she stepped fully into his office that he had disobeyed her orders, just as the last four people whom she had been to see. "Damn," she said loudly. Une sat down heavily in his chair and said, "There will be hell to pay for this later, but right now all I want, Mr. Treize, is for them to come back safely."
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Heero silent sat with his with his legs in a half lotus position and head bowed gracefully in a silent prayer. Kami-Sama, please hear me now. I know a murderer like me, one who has killed so many of your children, shouldn't speak to you but I only ask for your forgiveness. You gave me friends who cared and spared my life for twenty years, then you granted me the one thing I never thought possible, love. I thank you for Ayame, the one person who sees past everything I've done and loves me for who I am. Domo arigato, Kami-Sama. I sit here, humbled in your presence and ask you only for forgiveness. If I do not live another hour, minute, or second I would understand. I beg for your forgiveness and the forgiveness of those I killed.
"Bill!"
Heero's head shot up. Nonononono. Please, dear Kami-Sama. Don't let her be here, please not Ayame, Heero thought, his mind searching frantically for any reason that he had heard Ayame's voice.
"WHERE IS HEERO?!" Ayame's voice rang through his cell, followed closely by the thump of her body hitting the door.
"In there," Verhelst said. The door opened, cautiously at first then faster. Ayame stuck her head in fully expecting it to soon be parted from the rest of her body, but instead was met with the sight of a beaten Heero.
"HEERO!" Ayame exclaimed, a mixture of emotions passing over her face as ran to him, finally settling on joy as she hit her knees and pulling him close.
"Ame," Heero said breathing in her scent. Heero wished now more than ever to hold her in his arms.
Verhelst watched the reunited couple from the door, sickened with the sight. "Enjoy," he said darkly. Ayame pulled back from Heero and looked at Verhelst just as he closed the door and locked it.
Ayame hung her head and said with a chuckle, "Walked right into that."
"Ame," Heero said, getting to his knees and leaning as close to her as his bonds would allow.
Ayame looked back at Heero and said, "I'll get us out of this." She reached into her braid and pulled out two hairpins and a small square of plastic explosive. "Wufei told me that this is what Duo does in case he gets caught," she said as she expertly picked the locks on the binders. Heero felt one cuff pop open and fell slightly forward using the now freed hand to hold himself up. Heero heard the click of the second cuff as it sprung open. Ayame rose up and started towards the door when Heero caught her by the wrist and pulled her gently to the floor. He claimed her lips in a gentle, passionate, and starved kiss that Ayame returned in threefold.
"Aisheteru, Ayame Suisei. I've missed you more than words could ever say," Heero said after breaking the kiss. "This isn't how I planned to ask but... will you marry me?"
Ayame sat there in Heero's embrace and for the second time in twice as many minutes Ayame's emotions ran wild. "Oh, Heero, Kami-Sama, hai. Aisheteru, Heero Yuy." Heero leaned in and kissed her again.
"We'd better go," Heero said as he broke the kiss. Ayame nodded and help him to his feet. For the first time since she'd been back at his side she looked him over; he was bruised, bloodied, and limping slightly. Ayame reached out to touch Heero's leg when he stopped her. "Don't," he said, "I was shot." Ayame gasped, but Heero continued, "But it's not bleeding or infected as far as I can tell. I'll be fine."
Ayame bit her lip but nodded and walked towards the door. She pulled the short black ribbon off of her braid and rolled the small amount of plastic around it, then fished a cheap lighter from her pocket, which was luckily unbroken despite the Hell it had been through. She placed the plastic in the lock of the door, lit the makeshift fuse and ran to the far side of the room and stood beside Heero. The explosion was small but effective and the door swung open. Ayame touched Heero's hand and the couple walked out of the room.
"Where to now, Little Miss Rescue?" Heero drawled. Ayame graced him with a playful glare and started towards the way from which Verhelst had dragged her.
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"Noin, Merquise!" Wufei called out as loud as he dared from the planned escape door.
Zechs' head popped out around a corner. "Wufei, are you done? Where's Ayame and Yuy?"
Wufei shook his head and said, "We didn't find Yuy and Ayame was captured." Wufei took a deep breath and gasped.
"Wufei?" Zechs started as he came to stand by Wufei then noticed the slowly growing patch of crimson on his shirt.
"And I was shot," Wufei said. Zechs moved to check Wufei's wound but stopped short as Wufei growled. "Get your ass in there and save Yuy and Ayame. I will not allow this mission to fail."
Zechs stared at Wufei before nodding slowly. "Noin is on the other side of the base double-checking the work."
Noin stepped from around the far corner dusting the powdery snow from her gloves. Noin looked from Zechs to Wufei, questions forming in her eyes, and said, "I'm finished. Wufei, what's wrong?" Wufei told Zechs and Noin the whole story of what had happened and when he'd finished, they all stood looking back and forth.
Finally Noin sighed and asked, "Shall we be off?"
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"Damn it!" Ayame growled as she kicked a wall. "Where the hell did he go?"
Heero leaned against the wall and stared at the puddle of blood on the floor. "Well, Wufei wasn't dragged off; there would be streaks of blood on the floor. So, I'm guessing he got up and is now looking for you and/or me."
"Or Zechs and Lu," Ayame added as an afterthought.
Heero closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please tell me that you did not just say that Merquise is here."
Ayame gave Heero a funny look. "Um, why?"
"Damn it," Heero said. "I'll never hear the end of it. 'The Perfect Soldier got caught. I rescued Heero Yuy.'" Heero sighed and Ayame fought a loosing internal battle not to laugh at him.
Snickering, Ayame walked over to Heero and said, "If Zechs calls you the Perfect Soldier I'll--- I'll--- I don't know what I'll do but it'll hurt. Let's go see if Wufei is outside with Zechs and Lu. If he is, we can get the hell out of here and be on our way home." Heero looked up and smiled.
"Home," he said as if savouring the word. Pushing himself off the wall he leaned over to Ayame until their foreheads touched. "I just have to say this again, Aisheteru, Ayame Suisei."
Ayame giggled and said, "Soon to be Ayame Yuy." Heero gently took hold of her chin and kissed her.
Ayame broke the kiss and giggled again. "Let's go." Ayame put Heero's arm over her shoulder and her arm around his waist. Heero leaned on Ayame for support and together they walked away.
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Brandy started her fourth round of pacing the empty base and Trowa had reached his breaking point. "Would you please sit down?" he demanded, standing in front of her.
Brandy looked at Trowa and said, "I'm sorry. It's just that I have this feeling that something bad has happened or is going to happen to Ayame."
"I know you're worried," Trowa said placing his hands on her shoulders, "And I'm worried too. But you have to calm down; walking holes in the floor is not going to help them. Besides, I'm sure they'll be fine." Brandy closed her eyes and leaned against Trowa's chest. Trowa wrapped his arms around her and whispered soothing words to her. Brandy allowed herself to be comforted and fooled by his words.
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Wufei had been forced to sit on a box just inside the door while Noin doctored him. Noin poured antiseptic onto a piece of cotton she had found in her med-pack and placed it over the bullet wound. Wufei squirmed and Noin said quietly, "Sit still."
"And what if I don't?" Wufei shot back. Noin did something most people would have considered insane. She slapped him over the head. Wufei sat stunned and Noin took advantage of it, taping the cloth over the wound.
Zechs doubled over in silent laughter and thought, God, I love that woman!
Noin packed up what was left in her kit and walked over to Zechs. "Done," she said in Wufei's direction. Wufei shook his head as he came out of his dazed state and glared at Noin who unconsciously moved closer to Zechs.
Wufei slid off the box, two seconds from a rant on injustices and women but stopped when he saw the hobbling couple slowly making their way toward the door.
Ayame looked up and said, "A little help, if it's not too much trouble."
Zechs walked forward and said with a smug grin, "No, no trouble at all." Heero stood there, waiting for what was to come. "So, Heero, what'd you do to yourself this time?"
"Merquise," Heero said evenly turning to look Zechs in the eye as he put his arm over the older man's shoulders, "shut up."
Ayame stifled a laugh as Zechs smiled and shook his head. "C'mon," Ayame said, "the sooner we leave the sooner we can set off the fireworks and leave this experience behind."
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The cold winds tore at Heero's skin and he started to shiver. Zechs dropped Heero's arm off his shoulder and shrugged off his coat, slinging it over Heero. Heero gave a small but grateful smile to Zechs who nodded and continued to help him across the plains. Between the harsh winds, the now falling snow which seemed to have came out of nowhere, and Heero's injuries, the walk was slow going.
"We still need to get further away," Wufei said looking back, "we aren't out of Adams' estimated blast zone."
Ayame looked at Wufei and asked, "How much further?"
"Another twenty to thirty feet should do," Wufei said starting to move towards the barren forest.
Click. Everyone stopped, everyone knew the sound of a gun being cocked. BOOM! A tree in front of them exploded in a cloud of splinters. A sizeable hole stared out at them from the trunk of the tree.
Hollow tips, Ayame decided mentally, probably a .44 millimetre.
"Move," Verhelst said, cocking the gun, "and your face will look like that tree." Verhelst moved up behind Ayame and roughly pulled her away from Heero. "This is mine," Verhelst said pushing the gun under Ayame's chin. Ayame let out a near inaudible squeak of pain as a sharp edge on the barrel cut her.
Heero's rational mind shut down and the soldier kicked in. He lunged at Verhelst who quickly turned the gun on Heero. A shot rang out through the still morning, but it wasn't from Verhelst's gun nor did it hit Heero. Verhelst's grip on Ayame loosened and his gun fell into the snow. Ayame pulled away from her brother and ran to Heero.
"I'm sorry, William," a small voice said, carried off by the wind and unheard by anyone. April Adams slipped her gun into its holster and walked to her waiting snowmobile and rode into the dark forest. Maybe I can make things right with Ayame and Brandy, one day, she thought. Ayame, Heero, Wufei, Noin, and Zechs silently moved into the forest and detonated the base.
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Brandy sat silently on her makeshift workbench comfortably wrapped up in Trowa's arms with no intention of disturbing the tall pilot who had finally settled her down. It was then the garage door opened and the five pushed the snowmobiles in and shook off the snow.
Ayame helped Heero into a chair, propping his left leg on the table, then moved over to Wufei who shrugged her off, choosing to sit across from Heero. "Sally! I need you!" Ayame called. Sally stuck her head around the door frame and took in the sight. Sighing she went to find a med-kit.
Brandy looked at Trowa who gave her a quick, reassuring squeeze. He had been right. They would be fine.
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