Dawn was rising from the horizon. Heero's eyes climbed high into the upper zenith and fixed on the last milky shadows of the moon. A hawk rose and fell on the thermals, bowing low before it. The waiting was over. The letters had been sent. He looked out of the cockpit of Wing at the silent graveyard below him with emotionless eyes. His stomach cramped and his knuckles tightened.

'All systems online. Launch in 3… 2… 1.'

Wing soared high into the sky, through the clouds and into the stratosphere. Below him lay the battlefield, and somewhere, his comrades. Above him was the endless space and stars. He had a choice.

He chose to run.

~*~

Duo hardly dared to breathe as he watched the dust settle before him. In the rubble he thought he could make out pools of scarlet blood, so deep that they rippled when the wind licked their surface. He stared unblinking and slowly brought an intercom to his lips.

'Pilot 02 here. Mission… Accomplished. Next report at 03:00. Over.'

Suddenly his hand dug deep in the pocket and brought out a crumpled letter smeared with the blood from his fingertips. Duo fell to his knees and dropped the intercom to one side. He unfolded and flattened the letter on the ground, tracing the sentences with his finger as he read them.

'Oh, Heero. No, don't you dare. Don't you…' He whispered as he finished the letter. 'NO! HEERO!'

Duo let out a cry that echoed through the valley. He let go of the letter. A breeze whipped it up into the sky and let it fall into the rubble below him. He crawled to the edge of the cliff and leant over, ripping out clumps of grass with the little strength left in his hands. The battle had been won- so why did he feel so defeated?

'FUCKING BASTARD! YOU HEAR ME HEERO?! I FUCKING NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR UGLY FACE AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME?!'

…Perhaps it's easier to hate him than to love his shadow. He'd just have to wait and see.

Duo gave in, too weak to fight any longer. He cried, and cried, until he could breathe no more, and the tears he squeezed from his eyes he swore were no longer salt and water, but blood.

~*~

Quatre waited anxiously for a second transmission from Duo. It had been too long. It was too quiet.

'Duo? You there? Duo?' He said anxiously into his intercom.

'Yeah. Hey Q.'

Quatre breathed a sigh of relief. 'You okay?'

'Sure.'

'Want some help?'

'It's okay,' Quatre heard the click of a gun's safety catch. 'I'll clean up here.'

~*~