© April 21, 2002

Sequel to Mercy's Sacrifice

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters or props affiliated with them. I do, however, own the plot.

Author's Apologies: So, so, sooo sorry this took so long but one little word kept me from posting and I'm not the best in translating English words to Japanese and my translator thing sucks and my friends had a little trouble too. SORRY! ~begs to be forgiven~

~*~ Chapter 3 ~*~

Winter Blizzards

Closing the gate, Trowa looked at their handy-work. It was a nice, makeshift shelter; it would block out the snow and winds, but allow in the air to keep fresh oxygen flowing through. Now all they had to do was to find some food to keep the animals alive and then to herd them into the shelter. "Well, maybe they still have a couple of arrows around here somewhere. I can take one of the older stags down and I think Wufei still has his dagger with him, don't you?" Looking toward his Chinese friend, he received a nod.

"Well, we need to do it as soon as possible then, the storm is just about here." Heero glanced up at the ominous clouds overhead, the gray masses slowly blocking out the sun.

Wufei leaned against the side of the cabin, looking about the area with a weary gaze. "Let me worry about the rations for the animals, and I think I saw a couple of arrows on the floor of the shed. You guys could get more done right now than I could." Sighing, Wufei grimaced as he leaned against the cabin wall, his back paining him with each movement. He'd probably sprained his back somehow in the instant swerve of the truck the day before. *I've sprained my back at least 6 times before, it really sucks! You can't move or walk without a lot of pain, seriously not a way to spend one's vacation. Oops! Sorry, on with the story!*

Trowa glanced over at Wufei in worry. "Are you all right, Wufei?"

Heero looked over at his friend as well. He had been wondering what was wrong with Wufei, for he'd been acting weird. "What's wrong?" His movements were stiff and jerky, and each step he took seemed to cause him grief.

Wufei shook his head and pushed off of the side of the cabin, refraining himself from groaning as a sharp pain shot up his back. Last night it hadn't been so bad, he was too tired to care as he fell asleep, but today he was wide awake and he could feel every ounce of pain. "It's nothing to worry about; we need to get this done." Motioning toward the shelter and then looking to the woods, he sighed when his friends stared at him and persisted.

"Go inside and sit down. We can take care of it Wufei." Heero's voice was soft and understanding.

"Go ahead, Wufei. We can get everything from here." Trowa placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, leading him into the cabin. Surprisingly Wufei didn't rebel, but went tiredly back into the house. Coming out again, Trowa found Heero looking through the shed, holding onto the re-curve bow and three arrows in fairly good shape. "Find anything of use?"

"Yah, in the corner under a pile of scrap wood, I found some arrows and a large bag of feed, this place looks like it must have been a ranch or something at one time." Standing up, he looked back at Trowa as he made his way through the snow. "Here," Tossing his friend the re-curve bow and handing him the arrows, Heero reached down and drug the bag of feed out of the corner, hoisting the weighted load over his shoulder.

"You go it?"

"Yah, could you go open the gate though?" Heero carried the load through the snow as Trowa trotted ahead of him to open the gate to the pen. Dropping the bag in the corner between the gate and the cabin, the youth ripped open the top and began to toss some of the feed into the back corners of the pen. "There, that should do it. Now just to let them wander in on their own since food seems to be sparse and they don't seem to have a fear of us yet. Now all we really have to do is to go out and take down a good sized stag and we should be ready to go. If we can get another stag or two in the pen, we should be fine for a while." Crouching down and sitting on his heels as he leaned against the cabin wall, Heero felt the last, warm rays of the sun disappear behind the charcoal-gray storm clouds.

Trowa took the bow and an arrow, nocking the bow and aiming quickly at a tree at least a hundred yards off. "Hmph..." Pulling back the bowstring and holding it for a moment, he released and smiled. The sound of the arrow leaving the string and whizzing through the air had sent a smile to his face, and upon hitting the target, a small knot in the tree, his smile widened.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"It's as easy as breathing and natural as fighting has become." Jogging off toward the tree, he retrieved the arrow and returned, heading inside. He found Heero to be questioning Wufei as Duo sat with Quatre, trying to keep his fever from rising and if possible, to get it to go down.

Heero listened to Trowa enter the room, but he stood his ground in his argument with Wufei. "Just lay down and relax, I swear. You know you're still tired and you aren't going to win." Standing, he sent Wufei a warning glare.

Wufei shook his head, for he'd been trying to convince Heero that he was just fine and very capable. "Heero, I'm fine, just stop this...."

"Uh, Wufei? If I were you, man, I'd seriously just lay down and take it easy. He still has a couple of rounds left and I've kinda known him for a bit longer. He will shoot you if you argue too long, don't ask, long story." Duo exited the room and stepped outside with a medium sized bowl of water. Picking up a couple of handfuls of snow and adding them hastily to the warming water, he brushed the remaining snow off of his hands on his pants. Catching Wufei's curious gaze, Duo gave a slight chuckle. "I'm not kidding this time man, he will!"

The young warrior looked at Duo, wondering whether or not the youthful American was lying or telling the truth. He knew that Heero would do something like that, but the question was, would he do it now? Plus, Duo told everything like it was, but he would also do anything to help someone else out, thus the warrior couldn't be for sure. "Fine! As long as you stop treating me like a helpless infant. Yo Kami-sama!" In frustration, Wufei laid down against the comforting cushions of the couch, stifling a groan as it tried to escape his lips.

Trowa watched the three settle the argument as he headed into Quatre's room, finding his young friend to be asleep and finally at peace. Taking a seat at his bedside, Trowa watched his face for a moment. Only the day before Quatre had been enjoying himself and laughing, even in the heat of the moment, so to speak, when they had to hastily leave the previous safe house. And now? Now he was asleep, his pale features depicting discomfort and trouble. At least nightmares weren't invading his sleep, which was something working in their favor. Placing the back of his hand against Quatre's forehead, he found the stubborn fever still there, though it might have gone down some. "Everything's going to be all right, Quatre. You rest and get better." Calling to his sleeping friend, Trowa waited a moment longer, then rose. Leaving, he met Heero at the doorway with one last look at the others before they went out on the hunt.

~*~

The winds swept over the land, bringing a soft snowfall with it from the clouds overhead. The once bright sky was now a deep gray, rather strange for being midday.

Trowa, taking aim and locking onto his target, listened to his breathing as well as his comrade's as he waited for the right moment. With a steady hand, Trowa released the bowstring, watching the arrow fly straight and true, striking a prize buck in the heart. The thing that really sent a smile to the silent youth's face was that the buck was at least sixty yards off and he had never used a bow before in his life. "We have confirmed a hit on the target."

Heero gave a slight chuckle as he leaned against a tree. "You must be a descendant of the great Robin Hood. And here I was thinking that this was going to be a failure." Receiving a warning glare, Heero only widened his smirk at this as the two headed toward the newly deceased stag.

Coming upon the deer, they found that it had not suffered long. Pulling the arrow cleanly from the limp body, Trowa slung the bow over his shoulder and grabbed for the front hooves of the animal. "This should keep Duo quiet for a while."

A gunshot rang through the woodlands, setting both boys on edge.

Breathing without a sound, Heero watched his breath rise as he stared at the direction of the sound. "OZ is back...." His words were cold and emotionless once more, but a slight fear came over him. He had his gun with him, but he didn't want to have to waste any of the bullets. If OZ found them, he only had three bullets left, and then he was out. He and Trowa could seek cover in the forest and its shadows, but the other three were still back at the cabin and had no knowledge of the soldiers. They'd be captured easily, and if that happened, they wouldn't even bother to treat Quatre. So many things could happen, could go wrong that Heero couldn't think straight as every possibility entered and clouded his mind.

Trowa nodded, all emotion gone from his eyes as well, but instead was replaced by his normal ice wall. If he showed any emotions, they were certainly a weakness that could be used against them. He didn't want to see any others hurt on his behalf.

A harsh winter wind weaved between the bare trees, bursting the thin seal of the clouds and bringing down an onslaught of snow. The blizzard had come and remained dormant for the time being, but now, it was unleashed.

"If we can get back to the cabin now, the storm will cover our tracks. They won't be able to look for us. We need to get back now." Heero called over the blowing winds, his voice nearly drowned by the winter storms. Taking the buck's back legs, he began to drag the heavy animal, along with Trowa, toward the cabin once more.

When the two boys were about twenty yards from the cabin, they looked at each other and stopped. A sudden exchange of fire echoed in the evening sky, carried by the winds.

Heero knew that OZ was closing in on their location, even if they were just guessing. They would find the cabin, try to seek shelter there and find the pilots, then take them captive and Heero and the others couldn't do anything for fear of risking Quatre's life. With a friend ill, they didn't want to aggravate their enemies any more than necessary, if they were to see Quatre treated well. "Go get Duo and have him help you with this. I'll go back and lead OZ away in the other direction. We can't risk it, with Quatre ill." Yelling over the winds, Heero saw Trowa's reluctant and warning gaze, but they both knew that if they were to remain free, someone had to do something. Besides, Heero was the one with the gun. Receiving a hesitant nod, Heero raced off through the snow, his training aiding him greatly in navigating his way with reduced visibility and ignoring the cold.

Trowa raced the rest of the distance between himself and the cabin. Bursting through the door, he was met with a very surprised look from Duo while Wufei and Quatre slept. "Duo, I need you to come and help me. We've got to hurry." Keeping his voice low, he tried to dispel the cold tone from his voice.

"Trowa, what's wrong? Where's Heero?" Duo recognized that cold tone in no time; it always invaded Trowa's voice when dealing with the enemy. Right now, the same thing was true with Heero, but it used to stay in his voice all the time as a protection to his heart and because he was taught to do so when growing up.

"OZ is closing in and Heero's gone to lead them off in the opposite direction, but if we want to have anything to eat, I need your help with the deer. Come on...." And without awaiting an answer or rebuttal, he bolted back out the door. The storm was getting worse.

Heero stopped by a tree, quickly taking refuge in the shadows of the forest. Sure enough, ten yards off were the OZ soldiers walking in his direction. Silently sneaking around their flank, he pulled his gun with numb fingers out of its holster. He'd fire a shot or two, enough to get OZ moving in the opposite direction, and then he'd run like heck for the cabin because there was sure to be an exchange of fire. Running around the left flank of the soldiers as they marched on, blind to his movements, Heero readied himself for the first shot. Pointing his gun at the vague outline of a soldier, he aimed for the man's calf. It would take him down, but spare his life. "Why me?" Silently, the youth cursed his body for shaking, even if his mind could ignore the cold. Steadying himself, he fired and stood out in the open for a moment, all the while waiting for OZ to catch sight of him.

The group of OZ soldiers combing over the area turned about, finding the hazy form of the gundam pilot known as the 'Perfect Soldier'. "Take him down, he's wanted. Dead or alive! Fire!" The commanding officer of the escapade shouted at his subordinates.

Heero sprinted back into the woods, in the direction he was trying to lead them, but fell to the ground as a searing pain ripped throughout his right shoulder. Intensified by the cold, the gunshot wound bled rather heavily for youth being half frozen. Pushing off of the ground and running into the shadows, Heero ran blindly, clutching at his right shoulder and he didn't stop until he was sure that the soldiers had lost him. Stopping and leaning against a tree, Heero looked about. With a sigh, Heero began to trot against the wind toward the cabin once more.

Trowa stood by the window, looking anxiously out at the storm. Heero usually didn't take this long in any of his simple missions, and with the cover of the storm, it would make it that much easier for the pilot. "Where the hell is he?"

Duo opened his eyes and looked over at Trowa leaning against the frame of the window. "He's not back yet?"

Trowa shook his head, then stopped. Someone was crossing over to them; it had to be Heero! "Here he comes, finally!" Rushing to the door with anxious strides, he opened it to find Sally, half-frozen, ready to knock.

"Well, you really were anticipating me." Sally stepped into the cozy cabin walls after being waved in by Trowa. "Where is everyone?"

"Duo's sitting over there, Wufei's sleeping on the couch, and Quatre's sleeping in the bedroom." Trowa returned to his position at the window, anxiously awaiting his friend's arrival.

"Where's Heero?"

"He went to lead OZ in the opposite direction, away from the cabin but he hasn't come back yet." With an exasperated sigh, the normally calm pilot began to pace in front of the door.

"He's out there? In this?" Sally looked toward Trowa, then shook her head. "He always did have a strong will and a need to do the right thing for everyone." Smiling, the young woman walked toward Trowa and grabbed his shoulders in her hands. "He'll be fine, he always is. How about we go and see if we can't make Quatre's life a little easier." Sally was gladdened to see Trowa nod, then turned to Duo who had risen and nodded as well. Entering Quatre's room, she looked on in pity at seeing his pale and weak form lying on the bed, discomfort clearly etched on his face.

Heero stumbled in the vague direction of the cabin, his energy down because of the loss of blood and the cold winter winds. Looking around him, something moved in the distance.

A white wolf scavenged around, catching the scent of blood on the wind. Following toward the originating scent, the wolf waited in the shadows as it watched the young man struggle through the winter snows.

Heero caught sight of the wolf and reached for his gun. "Stay back!" He yelled in hopes to scare off the wolf as a dark realization washed over him. His gun must have fallen out when he fell after being hit. Straining to move toward the cabin, Heero collapsed on the snow, his blood seeping out onto the ground as he tried to remain conscious. He was so tired, so utterly tired and cold. "...Help.... me...." With that, the youthful pilot gave into his exhaustion and fell unconscious, his last thoughts of Relena and his friends as he became hypothermic.

The wolf approached the still form, looking on in curiosity at the creature that had invaded her territory. It was a she indeed, for the wolf was a mother of two younger cubs that didn't make it to adolescence. Throwing back her head and thrusting her muzzle into the air, the white wolf released a mournful howl, its sad melody ringing through the woodlands. Bringing her muzzled back down upon finishing her mournful song, she touched the end of her nose to the still creature. It moved slightly, it's blue eyes looking into hers with a desperate plea. In an instant, the mother crossed over to the young man, laying beside him and softly licking his face. He was now one of her children, and with a pitiful whine, she tried to get him to rise to his feet, but he did not move. Nuzzling him again, she tried to rouse him, but to no avail. With frantic eyes, the wolf looked into the face of the youth, searching for any sign that would show her that he was not going to give up. And yet, the life began to fade from his eyes as they closed once more. Panicking at this time, the young mother grabbed the collar of his jacket, pulling his limp body toward her rather large den. It was once a bear den, but the bear had migrated on, leaving her a new home.

Pulling his form into the far corner of the den, the young wolf began to scratch at a fair sized pile of leaves, tossing them onto Heero's body as an earthen blanket. Lying next to him, soft whines emitted from her throat, calling to him in desperation.

Heero still did not answer to any of the calls, his life slipping away.

Jumping up, the white wolf began to pace the small length of the stone floor of the den. Looking out the door with uncertain eyes and then back to the young man, the young mother ran from the den. The spirits of the woods guided her through the storm, her destination unknown but trusted. With light steps, weaving between the trees like a river does between its banks, her form flying over snow like the wind.

Trowa stood at his previous position by the window, knowing that it would be useless to go out and try to find his friend, but he had a feeling that Heero was in trouble.

Duo watched Trowa, knowing that he was angry with himself for letting Heero go back and take care of OZ. "Trowa?"

"I feel so helpless! God I swear, nothing better have happened to him or...." Trowa caught sight of something moving between the trees with grace and agility. Squinting, he couldn't recognize it but strode over to the door quickly in case this was Heero. "What the...."

A white form bounded in, shaking and sending snow flying into the air, a blur around the creature.

Trowa looked down to find a white wolf, standing nearly as high as his waist. It did not appear frightened nor protective, but rather pleading. Their eyes locked, an unspoken message being passed between the two.

Duo stood back, afraid of angering the wolf as he motioned for Sally to halter her gun and do the same. "Trowa? Trowa, what's wrong?" Cautious as to keep his movements slow, he looked over at his friend.

The white wolf raised her head once more, emitting a mournful howl into the cabin walls. Her song, once more, held a feeling of sadness, helplessness, and fear. She called to the spirits on the wind to be gentle with her "child", to the spirits of the earth to give him warmth, and to the spirits of the earth to let the young man live.

"Heero's in trouble, he needs help." Trowa spoke up at last; his voice soft and calm, but it held fear. Watching the wolf run to the door and look back at him, he knew that he had to follow her. "I'll be back, get a warm bed ready, he's gonna need it." And with that, Trowa tore out of the cabin, keeping his sight on the wolf that blended so easily with the snow.

~*~

Following her to an inlet in the side of a rock face, Trowa crouched down and peered inside. "Heero!" He could see his friend's ashen face, it was unresponsive. Looking at the wolf, she walked over to Heero and laid her head and paws upon his chest, whining and calling in a pitiful voice. Slowly reaching for Heero, the silent youth kept his eyes upon the young wolf as she backed away from his friend.

The anxious mother watched but held her poise as she watched the other creature reach for her new cub. The spirits of the wind spoke to her, whispering in her keen ears that everything was going to be all right, he was going to help the wounded, young man. Giving a soft whine, she watched Trowa stop his movements, his actions hesitant. Crossing over to the newcomer, she softly gripped his hand between her teeth as she would her cubs, and put it on her "child's" shoulder.

Trowa watched the wolf lead his hand in wonder, surprised by her actions and her gentleness. With a small nod of understanding, he brushed the leaves off of Heero, his breath catching momentarily in his throat upon seeing a bullet wound in his right shoulder. "Oh God..." Grabbing Heero and cradling him in his arms, Trowa was almost shocked at Heero's frozen skin. His lips were a pale blue and his breathing was extremely shallow. Crawling out of the cave, Trowa stood and looked around, the snow still falling in blankets and making it nearly impossible to see any further than five feet in front of you. "I...I don't know where the cabin is!" Whispering the harsh words to the wind, he barely even heard them, they were drowned out by the storm. Looking down at Heero, then back in front of him, he found the wolf waiting just within his sight, ready to lead him back to safety. "Thank you...." He called softly, running after her as they headed back toward the cabin.

~*~

Duo rummaged around the rest of the cabin, looking for any extra blankets and other possibly warm clothes. If Heero had been out there that long and was in trouble, something was definitely wrong. He just hoped that Heero had possibly lost his way and that he wasn't hurt. "Do you see anything Sally?"

Sally shook her head. "Nope."

Wufei had woken up and now sat at the kitchen table, cleaning the meat off of the deer. He was glad to do something without having to argue with the others, he wasn't helpless after all! But still, he felt that something was wrong, just as he knew the others did. He just hoped that Heero was all right, that guy could really get himself into a mess quite a bit of the time.

Sally looked out the window, catching sight of something running swiftly along the ground, then the dark form of someone else. "They're back!" Seeing Trowa's vague form holding onto Heero, her breath caught in her throat as her eyes widened in worry. "Oh no...."

Duo didn't need to hear anything else, but rushed to the door and helped Trowa in, taking Heero's frozen and limp form from his friend. Looking into Heero's pale face, he felt like crying out. His skin was freezing to touch and his lips were a light shade of blue, purple starting around the edges. "C'mon, Heero. Don't give up on us now...."

Sally was set immediately, throwing back the blankets on the couch and motioning for Duo to bring Heero over as Trowa stood near the fire, slowly trying to warm himself. Undoing the buttons on his light, long-sleeve dress-shirt, Sally immediately took her things and began to look at the wound in his shoulder. "Duo, grab the blankets and cover him up, you can go ahead and give Trowa one. And Trowa, don't refuse it, just take the thing and warm yourself up." Hearing him mumble she smiled slightly, but continued in her examination of his shoulder. The bullet had gone through cleanly, but he'd lost a bit of blood by the looks of it.

Trowa stood with Duo at his side, Wufei looking on from a seat at the table. He watched silently as Sally stitched up Heero's shoulder, only requiring Duo's assistance when she had to stitch the back of his right arm. "Is he going to be okay?"

"If he makes it through the night, he will be fine, but right now it's hard to tell. He's hypothermic and lost a bit of blood. I'll have to watch him like a hawk for a while." Slowly injecting some adrenaline into his arm, she hoped this would return his heart rate to normal. Covering the youth up and snuggly wrapping the blankets around his shoulders, though she was sure to be careful around his injury, Sally turned to face the three boys with a solemn look. "We were lucky to get him in when we did. He's very lucky, very." Hearing a soft whine at the door, Sally stood with a quizzical look on her face.

Trowa had forgotten about the wolf, she must be waiting outside. "Don't get jumpy guys; she's not going to hurt anyone...." And opening the door but forcing it so that it didn't slam open, he watched the wolf scurry in like a frightened puppy.

Sally watched the white wolf as before appear, shaking her thick coat clean of the melting snowflakes. With wonder, she watched the poor creature scamper toward Heero, her tail between her legs at seeing everyone but she sat by his side, whining softly and licking his cheek. "Oh...."

Wufei wouldn't have believed it if he didn't see it, the furious wolf, probably never having come in contact with humans before, was now cowering and sitting by Heero's side. "What's it doing?"

Duo sat in wonder and confusion. "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle...."

"She's the one that found Heero, she must think he's her child or something. She seemed to have drug him into her den, from what I could tell when I reached it. She'd already covered him with a pile of leaves, probably to keep him warm, and when I came, she went right to his side and laid next to him, then on his chest and started whining." Trowa smiled and shook his head slightly, but upon hearing Quatre's violent coughs, he walked quietly into his other friend's room.

The young mother called to her "cub", trying to rouse any response out of him. Fear filled her eyes when she didn't get one, and instead called louder, giving soft howls and barks. Nuzzling him and licking his face, she tried again, but still to no avail. So instead, she laid her head upon the vacant area of the couch, watching him with deep brown eyes filled with sorrow.

Trowa entered the main room once more, having quelled his friend's fit of coughs. Looking at the others, he gave an innocent gaze as he returned their looks. "What?"

"She staying here?" Duo motioned toward the wolf.

"I don't think we can persuade her otherwise, she's bound to stay with Heero in her mind." Trowa crossed over to Heero, crouching by his side and looking back into the eyes of the young wolf. She returned his gaze, proving that there was no way of changing her mind, for Heero was now, to her, one of her children. Slowly reaching his hand up and smoothing down the fur on the wolf's cheeks, he began to pet her as if she was a domesticated animal. He knew she was wild, but she seemed to enjoy it and didn't rebel. "Have a fun time trying to tell her that she has to leave if you don't want her here, because she's as stubborn as Heero." Letting his smirk fade, he looked back at his friend as he wrapped the blanket tighter around his shoulders. One night, that's all he had to survive before he was out of the danger zone. "Just one night Heero, just one more...."

~Lady Stardancer

Author's Note:

So, is Heero strong enough to make it through one night in his condition? Maybe, but then again...and the storm that's hit seems pretty bad, things could always get worse... ~ominous grin~ Please review, hope you liked this chapter. If you've got any questions, feel free to e-mail me. Just put "Mercy's Sacrifice" in the subject area, then we'll be cool. Don't forget to look for my other stories! ~waves and hugs~ You guys have all been great, thanks for all the support! ~*~ I THANK THEE A THOUSAND TIMES O'ER AND MAY GOOD FORTUNE BEFALL THEE MY GOOD LADIES AND SIRS!! MAY MANY A GOOD MORROW BEFALL YOU IN THY FUTURE! ~*~