Kitty stumbled up the stairs, gasping from the exertion. Her feet were sore from wearing the high heels for so long and her sides ached with the gasping breaths. She collapsed in the echoey corridor, sobbing heavily. She drew herself up into a ball, sinking her teeth into her arm to try and stem the heavy sobs. He had lied to her. "Oh, and one more thing, are you even planning to tell Kitty what's going on?" No. Kitty moaned again as the images flashed through her fragile mind. "Outer space has gone crazy; I have no choice but to destroy it all!" "No," she whispered, "don't do it." "The five of us have become nothing more than redundant soldiers, Quatre. Now, let's accept it, turn back into the nice guy I once knew." "No!" Kitty screamed, the cold heartless images flooding her brain and body with the agony of betrayal and murder. "Kitty?" a far off voice called. "That's funny. it seems I have tears in my eyes. but I'm not one bit sad." "Stop saying that!" Kitty screamed, covering her ears and rocking to and fro, "you cold heartless beast! How could you?" Kitty was aware of someone grabbing her and pulling her close. Then it hit her. A dull thudding began deep within her as the rushing images clarified. "F.Father?" she stammered. There he was. He was looking right at her. The thudding stopped. Kitty's eyes widened. "No." she whispered. There was a huge explosion, but she heard none of it, she just saw that sad face vanish, and the warmth die all over again. "Father!" she screamed, craning her neck backward in a sorrowful wail. She felt a sudden pressure on the back of her neck, pulling her head forwards and resting it against a silk clad shoulder. "Stop that," a harsh yet calm voice said, "stop that caterwauling this instant!" Kitty blinked frequently, the whiling green disappearing from her eyes. Kitty drew back a little, but was pushed forcefully back against Wu- fei's shoulder. "No," the comforting yet firm voice barked, "you're going to stay there a little longer, until you've calmed down a little." Wu-fei looked at his watch. 08:00 Kitty sniffed gently as she huddled against Wu-fei. "Nataku," she whispered, her eyes flashing an eerie green once more. Wu-fei grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Stop it!" he said, fear and worry plastered across his paling olive face. "Stop behaving like a mad woman, it isn't proper ladylike behaviour. Stop it!" Kitty bit her lip hard as she was shaken, stemming the cries and moans escaping her lips. The images would not fade. She felt as though she would never be calm again. The violent movement of her body halted, and her vision cleared. Although the cruel voices and occurrences still burned in the back of her mind, she could now see that she was sat upon the floor, her legs bent up to one side of her and her arms pinned to her side by a set of strong hands, belonging to a young man she knew very well. Wu-fei lightened his grasp. "There now," he said quietly, "that's better." he was cut off by Kitty flinging her arms round his neck. "Oh Wu-fei!" she cried, "It was so frightening! I was all alone, and I didn't know what to do! How on earth did you find me?" Wu-fei smiled as he felt the soft cheek move against his neck as she spoke. "I heard you wailing a mile off," he said quietly, and then glanced at his watch. 07:02 Kitty smiled weakly, and then glanced up at Wu-fei. "Did he really pull that trigger, Wu-fei?" she whispered, her great blue- black eyes imploring him to deny it. ".Yes," Wu-fei said heavily, "but if he hadn't, I don't know if we would have been able to escape." Kitty shook her head. "That doesn't make any difference," she said meekly, "my brother is a murderer and liar, and there is nothing in this universe that he could do to ever change that. I am a brave woman, Wu-fei, I am not afraid to die. If I had died, and Quatre was still innocent in my eyes then I would have died a happy woman. But I didn't die. And Quatre proved himself to me. He had never told me before what his role in the war was, except that he had been friends with the Gundam Pilots, who I knew nothing about, and that." she paused, "that father had died. That is all I knew. But now I know everything. I have seen everything he has, and I wish it were not true with my very being." Wu-fei shook his head. "Quatre is a good man, Kitty," he whispered, tilting her chin up with a soft caress, "you must believe that. I know he is, and I have fought beside him. He despises the taking of life. you know that, and he never did it unless it was necessary. Anyone else would have just blasted their way through to their goals, but Quatre used his head, and his heart. He cares about you very much Kitty, like." W-fei broke off and looked away. He stood up, leaving Kitty on the floor. Kitty frowned up at him, her blue eyes glittering like moonlit water. What did Quatre tell you, Chang, he said to himself; he'll kill you if he finds you here! This is wrong, and you know it! This is going against everything you've ever been taught about respecting other people! Oh god... I can't help it! Look at her! Look what she's doing... she's purposely enticing me! Goddammit! "Are you Ok?" Kitty asked gently, placing a hand on his arm as she stood up. Wu-fei shuddered and snapped out of his dream. He looked away from Kitty. He couldn't risk seeing those eyes again. "Not really," he whispered. Kitty's grip on his arm increased, making him shiver. "Please," she urged, "tell me what's wrong." Wu-fei slowly turned his head again. Kitty was blinking up at him, worry painted on her face. "I don't think it's my place," he finally said. "Tell me," she whispered softly. 05:59 Wu-fei sighed again. "I... I have to leave," he blurted out. Kitty gasped. "Leave!" she squealed, "but... why? Where are you going?" Wu-fei turned his face away again. He had to make something up! "I'm... joining my Uncle's Dojo," he stammered, "as an instructor. I'm quite good at the martial arts, I'm told." He almost kicked himself for sounding like such a prick. Kitty snorted. "I'll show you what good at Martial arts is if you dare leave me, Chang," she spat. Wu-fei turned in shock at the sudden outburst. "I beg your pardon?" he laughed. Kitty glared at him viciously. "Fei, you are one of my best friends, and I know you think of me as more than that," Wu-fei almost had a nosebleed, "and maybe so do I. You've always been caring and charming to me, whereas many others haven't. They've only pretended to care when something they wanted was involved. You actually care, and that's what I need. So," she thumped her hand with a balled fist, emphasising her words, "if you think you are going to walk out on me to become some wrinkly old guy who sits around all say smoking pot and whispering 'Grasshopper says' you are sorely mistaken!" Wu-fei could feel his cheeks going pink. "One," he sighed, "don't insult my culture, and two," he almost choked on the words, "I'm not staying, not for anything you could say. I HAVE to go. There's no two ways about it." Kitty's eyes began to well up, making Wu- fei's heart protest at him. "Wu-fei," she said quietly, "you're breaking my heart." Kitty turned away from him and began to walk away, head bowed slightly. What happened next remained as a blur in Wu-fei's memory. He didn't really understand what happened, but before he knew it, he had spun Kitty round, taken her in his arms and pressed his lips against her own. Kitty's eyes flew open in shock, but she did not resist the gesture. Delicate, pale arms enveloped the boy's neck as the kiss grew more passionate. Suddenly Wu-fei snapped back to reality and broke away, face mere millimetres from hers, yet that distance was clear. Kitty sighed heavily, her warm breath tingling against Wu-fei's lips. "Why did you do that?" she asked quietly. Wu-fei smiled. "Because it's what I've dreamed about for the past four months, and I won't get another chance to do it." Kitty laughed and leant back into a second kiss, this time briefer and sweeter than before. Finally the pair broke apart, smiling shyly at each other, blushes clear on both pale and tanned skin. Wu-fei gasped and looked at his watch. 3:32 "Shit!" he hissed and stumbled back. Kitty frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked gently. Wu-fei swallowed hard, catching one final tender glimpse of the girl, before turning away. "Kitty, get out of the building!" he cried as he ran, "I have to check for any remaining guests!" Kitty jogged forward. "But Wu-fei." she began. "RUN!" came the desperate cry as the boy disappeared form view. Kitty sighed and pressed her fingers to her lips. "Thank you," she whispered, before running away towards the nearest exit.

"Fucking hell!" Duo exclaimed as he ran down the corridor. A few passing diplomats glared at him. "Get out of the building!" he bellowed, "NOW!" The startled guests picked up their skirts and ran. Duo glanced at his watch as he sprinted. 04:38 "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" Duo cried as he carried on running. This was the final stretch of his check, and then he could get out of here. He pulled a cardkey from his pocket. He had pinched it from Kitty when they were dancing. Yes, he knew that was low, but he had to have get away jet. He couldn't just walk up to the aircraft carrier and yell "Hey, I'm ready for my gundam now!" There were civilians around! Heero jogged out of an archway, smacking straight into Duo. The pair wiped each other out and law sprawled on the floor for a while. Duo eased himself up, groaning in pain. Heero growled and struck Duo hard over the head. Duo squealed. "Sorry sorry sorry!" he screeched, "but, hey, maybe this clash was fated, coz we're up shit creek!" Heero frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked. Duo sighed, rubbing his head. "Well, I'll try to tell you, but I think I'm getting amnesia from that bloody concussion you just gave me!" "Don't screw with me Duo, I'm really not in the mood," Heero threatened. Duo groaned. "Look, have you heard from either Trowa or Wu-fei?" "No." "Exactly!" Duo cried, "we dunno if they've completed their check or where they are. And does any one have a clue where angel-boys got to?" Heero smirked, "If you're talking about Quatre, I'm sure he's outside calming the dignitaries." "Yeah," Duo hissed, "Quatre and his blessed crowd." Duo suddenly stared at heero. "Hey Heero," he said lightly. "Yeah?" "Where did ya dump the bomb?" "I didn't dump the bomb." "WHAT!" "Some guy took it from me, and the detonator. The female is out in the gardens." Duo groaned. "Great, so we have absolutely no chance of stopping the bombs going off?" "Not really." Duo sighed and checked his watch. 01:59 Duo screamed. "We gotta go, we gotta go!" Heero grabbed Duo's arm and checked the watch. "The nearest exit is this way. Come on!" The pair ran off. "What about Trowa and Wu-fei?" Duo asked. "Someone say my name?" a voice said behind Duo's ear. Duo laughed. "You're supposed to say over, over," he said with a grin. Trowa laughed. "Look, I'm outside right now and Wu-fei's here too. We've both finished out checks and we're making our way to the carrier, over." "Good," Heero said calmly as he flung open the fire exit and fled from the building with Duo in tow, "Have you seen Quatre?" There was a pause. "Rashid just turned up with Abdul and Auda, but they look just as confused as the other dignitaries. He's. vanished!" "You're supposed. what dya mean vanished?" Duo screeched as he and Heero vaulted the back garden wall. "Is Relena out alright?" Heero asked. "Oh trust you!" Duo groaned. "Be quiet!" Heero barked as they ran. "Affirmative. She's back with the first wave of evacuees." "Are they all suitably well back?" "Affirmative, Heero, and you've got 30 seconds till the first bomb goes off." There was a huge blast of energy and light and Heero and Duo were thrown forwards. The sound hit them soon after. Boom. A great, thudding, earthshaking noise erupted which penetrated their very souls. "How the fuck did that happen?" Duo yelled. Heero heard a gun load nearby and look up. There stood the heavyset man with the exhausted the detonator. "Long live earth," he whispered, before pulling the trigger. He fell to the floor, his eyes blank and lifeless. Heero growled. "Are all accounted for, Trowa?" he asked. "How the heck did that happen?" Wu-fei bellowed. "Detonator. Some guy had it. Look, at least everyone's alright. How's the building looking to you guys?" Trowa tutted at the end of the line. "Complete wreck," he hissed, "it's still standing, just about, but there's no salvage job for this one." Heero nodded. "I see," he said quietly and got to his feet, helping Duo up too, "proceed to the carrier. Now we can make our escape." "Roger that," two voices chorused, "over and out."

The patter of small feet echoed as she ran down the corridor. It had been almost two minutes, and now she was hopelessly lost. Kitty sighed as she glanced around. How much time did she have left? Where were the others? Kitty picked up her pace again as she headed west. She knew the main entrance was to the west, and she knew she was on the ground floor. Her legs were beginning to ache, and although there was no weight upon it, her wrist hurt form the deep bruising as from leaning on it so much when she fell upstairs. But she didn't want to think about. She had to focus on getting out. She had to find the others. If Wu-fei was leaving, maybe the others were too. She knew Wu-fei had lied about the Dojo, and she had seen that Gundam on the lawn of her house. And now she had seen all of what Quatre had hidden from her after she had awoken. Maybe they were going to war again. Maybe this bomb scare was really a terrorist attack on the building. And she was all alone, lost in its catacombs. Alone that is, except for the little explosive devices. She knew where they were. They had been posted all around the building, on almost every corner of every room and corridor, covered with bunches of lilies and such. It was a stupid place to hide them. They were in such an obvious place. However, that didn't matter now. She couldn't do anything about them. This building was a death trap that she had to get out of, and fast.

The vast main hall opened up before her. Kitty sighed happily. It was such a welcoming sight to know where she was. However, this happy place was tainted with blood. There were droops and flashes where Wu-fei had been gashed. Now that she thought about it, it must have hurt him greatly to have to shake her upstairs. And to hold her tightly. no! She had to concentrate. There was a small pool of the disgusting red stuff on the floor, followed by smatters and smears going back the way she had come. The boy wasn't dead. He had gotten up and run away! What if he was still in the building? No, he wasn't that stupid. He knew the building was going to blow up; he was responsible for it, after all. Kitty ran over to where she had left her shoes and slipped them onto her dainty feet, before trotting up the stairs. She pulled open the heavy doors and trotted into the entrance hall. It was strange to see such a welcoming place so empty and drab now that the brightly coloured dresses and suits had gone. Kitty dashed down the corridor, and was about halfway down when something hit her. She froze. A man clarified in her minds eye. He was the large man with the gun. He was loading it again. Heero and Duo were coming. He held out an object, and clicked it lightly. Kitty's eyes widened in terror, and she turned to look behind her. Three bombs were located in her view, and their little green lights flashed red. There was a scream. There was an explosion. Then it all went black.