Chapter 31: Gotta escape!
Hey! Here's that new chapter I promised! Sorry about the cliffy last time... Well, here's the rest!
Trowa's P.O.V.
When the youmas dropped down from the roof, Trowa knew they couldn't win. (Even with these new guns, we don't stand a chance against this many.) Even so, Trowa pulled out his gun and fired at as many as he could see. Quatre, Duo and Wufei were backed into a tight circle and the dead youmas around them seemed to be replaced by dozens more. (Where are they coming from?!) Trowa thought frantically as another army dropped from the ceiling.
He gasped as a sharp pain in his side made him almost drop the gun. Trowa spun around to see Duo in the grips of a youma, apparently passed out. Just as everything went blurry, Trowa shot that youma in particular, one clean shot through the head. Then, he collapsed.
When Heero opened his eyes, it was still dark. Something glowed above him. Two neon green orbs. He reached up and felt something take his hand.
"Heero?"
The voice was familiar. Heero frowned and stared hard. Then it came to him. "Jupiter?!"
"Is he awake?" A pair of cerulean orbs turned his way. (Venus.)
"Sounds like it." Red lights responded. (Mars.) Heero almost smiled.
He realized suddenly he was on his back. Leaning up, with the help of a pair of hands, he looked around, his eyes adjusting slowly to the almost pitch black of the small room. Mars was in the corner with Wufei, still in his white coat, in her lap. Mercury was a few feet away, holding Quatre's head as he stirred gently. Laytha leaned over and kissed Trowa's head softly. He made a small sound and she smiled. Duo sat alone in the corner opposite of Mars, staring at the wall. Heero looked up at Jupiter, who smiled sadly down on him.
"What are you doing in here?" Heero asked dully.
"Probably the same reason as you." Jupiter looked up at the looming door a few feet away.
Wufei coughed from his corner and sat up. "Where-"
Mars put her finger against his lips. "Be quiet now. You were pretty beat up. You need to rest."
Wufei snorted at her and stood up. "Get away from me onna."
Mars swelled with anger and stood up to face him. "What's your problem? Just because you were beat-"
"It's not that." Duo interrupted from his corner. "We saw what you've been doing."
"We haven't really been doing that much." Mercury whispered, confused.
"Really?" Trowa said sarcastically and rose from Laytha's lap.
Heero rose and walked towards the door. "We came to help you, but apparently you didn't need much help. We met Relena. She showed us what you were doing all this time." Heero spat, losing his composure for a moment.
Quatre suddenly moved and rolled away from Mercury. "Yes we saw. Traitors." Mercury recoiled as though he had kicked her.
"What do you mean?"
"Yeah, what do you mean?" Mars hissed angrily at Quatre, sending her words through Wufei.
Wufei put his face inches from hers and growled, "Relena showed us how good of a time you were having," He turned his back to her. "Painting your nails."
"Painting her nails?" Laytha almost laughed.
Trowa turned to her. "You were there as well."
Mars let one laugh escape through her nose, then quieted. "You think we were painting our nails? At a time like this?"
Wufei turned on her. "We saw you."
"Where?" Jupiter challenged.
"Relena showed us." Wufei said, just before realizing how foolish that sounded.
Mars shook her head. "You actually believed her."
"She showed us where Venus was, and then she took her there and showed us in person. She was right." Duo almost snarled.
"She was with some man with dark hair, right?" Mercury asked.
Duo looked at her. "Yeah."
Jupiter shook her head. "Well, listen up, all of you. Here is what happened. I can probably guess what Relena showed you of us, but I don't really want to know. We got into this place easy enough, and found the crystal room, but when we got inside, we were attacked. Before they put us out, that dark-haired creep, Sapphire, said enough to inform us that he has a pretty major crush on Venus. Something in this stuff they injected us with almost complete drains our powers, except for the basics."
"We were out for a little bit, and then we woke up in this room." Mars finished.
Wufei turned to her. "How do we know you aren't lying to throw us off guard?"
Mars rolled her eyes and held up her hand. "Wufei I haven't painted my nails since we left your time. Does this look like I just painted them?" Wufei's eyes looked over chipped red nails, then looked over at Laytha.
She held up her hand. "I don't like to paint my nails. Polish is too distracting when you're doing stunts."
Duo uncrossed his arms and looked over. "So Venus didn't really sleep with that guy?"
Mercury took off her glasses. "What do you think?"
"You've been in this room the whole hour?" Heero asked dubiously from next to the door.
"Hour?!" The girls yelled in unison.
"Has it really been that long?" Laytha said, amazed.
"It only felt like twenty minutes." Jupiter muttered.
Heero exhaled. "You were probably out for longer than you thought." He dropped his head. "Do you have a plan?"
"Do you have anything the others may have given you?" Mercury asked hopefully. The boys checked their pockets for the guns, but shook their heads as they came up empty.
"Wait." Wufei said. He pulled his katana from inside his long coat. "They didn't find this."
Mercury came up to him and inspected the blade. "She put power into here." She frowned. "A lot of power. Definitely enough to slice through that door."
Everyone stood up and concealed their excitement. Heero leaned against the door and motioned for them to be quiet. "Someone's coming."
After a few minutes, he nodded and Wufei approached the door as Heero backed up a couple steps.
Wufei gripped the katana and thrust it into the wall with a terse grunt. The blade slid through easily. Changing his grip, he pulled it upwards and a streak of light shone through. With two more deft movements, a small square fell through, quickly caught by Wufei, before it made a sound.
Once the group was outside, Mars gasped. "I remember this hallway.it was the one just a little bit away from the entrance." She whispered.
"Yes, there's the corner we were at when we saw Relena." Quatre added.
"That would mean the room is this way." Duo said shortly heading down the hall.
"Wait!" Jupiter hissed as loud as she dared. "We can't face Sapphire like this! We're unarmed, and powerless. Venus showed us where she saw their armory. We can look for your weapons there." Jupiter led the way and soon stopped in front of a large door. She put her cheek to it and listened inside. "I don't hear anything, but be quiet, just in case."
The others nodded and followed her inside. Fortunately, the armory was not guarded, save for a few sleeping youmas, who were disposed of by a few well-placed kicks. Finding the boys' guns easily, they continued down the hall.
Soon, soft cries were heard echoing in the hall. "Get.no.that.ow.don't."
Duo gasped. "It's Venus!" He murmured audibly.
Mars glared at him. "Shut up!" She hissed.
Picking up their pace, they reached the door the boys remembered Venus to be behind. The cries were very clear now. "Get off, asshole! Ouch! I mean it!" There was a loud thump, and a man cursed.
"Dammit! That hurt!"
"It was supposed to!"
A malicious laugh resounded from inside. "Watch it, Venus. The sheet is slipping." The sound of tearing cloth reached Duo's ears. He growled and kicked open the door.
"Get off, asshole!"
Sapphire jumped back in surprise and pulled a portion of the sheet around his waist. "Do you mind we're trying to have a private conversation here." He growled.
"Duo." Venus gasped from the bed, holding a torn white blanket around her.
Duo climbed over the bed to her, gun still trained on Sapphire. Jupiter moved at the door, but Trowa stopped her. "This is his fight now, let him take care of it." He muttered.
Silence filled the room. Sapphire began to chuckle softly. "Do you think you can hurt me with that toy? Get off of my woman, boy. We're busy at the moment."
"I'm not your woman!" Venus shrieked and flinched away at the sound of her own voice.
Duo pulled her closer. "She's right. Now get out before I kill you." He said coldly.
"Me?! Get out?!" Sapphire barked. "Don't make me laugh! I'll kill you, boy!" With that, Sapphire pulled power and lunged at Duo. A single gunshot rang through the air. Sapphire dropped like a stone. Scarlet blood flooded through the fresh hole in his head.
Venus grunted softly and kicked a small heap of torn blankets over his body. Duo, as if coming out of a trance, shook himself and looked around. The others were watching him through the open door. Duo blinked slowly and offered a half-hearted grin to Venus. She returned it and squeezed his hand.
"Let's finish this mission."
Duo smiled, pulled his arms under her legs and lifted her off the bed. The pile of clothes next to the bed proved to be ripped and torn apart. Wufei hesitated and offered his jacket. Venus smiled shyly and took it.
The group slowly made their way to the crystal room, this time, with guns drawn, and when they got there, the Scouts stopped the boys from opening the door.
"We were ambushed last time." Jupiter shifted from side to side in uncertainty.
Heero nodded and pulled out his second gun and handed it to Jupiter. "Use it if necessary." Jupiter nodded and clicked the safety off.
After pushing the door open and a very tense search of the room, the boys concluded it was empty. Stepping slowly inside, Laytha shut the door behind them with a gentle push.
With another quick inspection, the boys and Jupiter nodded to Venus. She nodded back and stepped up to the tile she remembered. She held her hands out and pulled up the stored black energy orb mercury had given her. She felt the heat between her hands drain away and the tile opened up. It raised out of the floor and a split appeared, dividing the tile in half, and giving away to a small chip, the size of a credit card, but pulsing with black energy.
Mercury stepped up. "Now if they were smart, they would have offered our stolen power to the chip to give to the crystal. I could probably hack into the chip and release our own powers, and perhaps, when we escape, the rest of the energy in it."
She pulled out her pocket laptop and took the chip from Venus. She held it in front of the laptop and typed hurriedly with her other hand. She looked up at the others. "Get ready to feel a surge of power coming towards you; I'm about to release our energy." The Scouts nodded and braced themselves.
As Mercury said, a surge of energy filled each of the Scouts' insides and they stumbled back a few steps. Mercury shut her laptop and rubbed her eyes. "Alright. Let's take this thing and go." She handed the chip back to Venus, who slipped it inside Wufei's coat.
They left quickly and were particularly careful in the halls now that they not only had killed Sapphire, but had a literal beacon of dark energy walking around with them. They were just a few turns away from the exit and Trowa noticed a clicking noise.
"Relena's close."
"Hn." Heero nodded to him and drew closer to Jupiter.
Sure enough, Relena was waiting for them around the next corner. "Well," She spat. "Isn't this a nice sight. Heero, what are you doing with her?"
Heero pulled his gun out. "Leaving."
Relena's eyes suddenly turned pleading. "Please, Heero. I don't want to see you destroyed with the rest of this trash. Please, come back to me." She held out her hands and looked at him with praying eyes. "Please."
Heero held up his gun and took aim. "Move. Now."
Relena's demeanor changed drastically. "Heero. You traitor. You know you'll be destroyed, and yet you choose her over me." He hands clutched at her sides. "Well, if I can't have you." She gritted her teeth and looked up at him. "Then nobody will." At that moment, energy balls appeared in her hands and she lifted one to strike Heero.
Before the gunshot ever reached her ears, she dropped to the ground, dead not by a bullet, but by a lightning shock. Jupiter dropped her hand and looked at Heero. "Finally."
Heero smiled his rare, but distant smile. "Hn."
Jupiter leaned her head against his. "It's not polite to grunt."
"Hn."
A dramatic sigh came from behind them. They turned to see Mars with her hands on her hips, looking slightly impatient. "I've spent too much time in this hell-hole as it is. Can we please move on?"
After a moment of silence, everyone laughed. Even Heero.
The group got out easily after that last encounter, and they didn't meet any youmas or a single mobile suit.
When they arrived at the palace, the group found five relieved Outer Scouts, one worn-out queen, and a very sulky Zechs.
"He is still mad he didn't get to go." Pluto teased. Zechs simply smiled softly and shook his head.
Serenity sighed heavily and stood up amid the laughter. "Scouts.and others.our war is only half over. The enemy is still here." She looked around at the now-fallen faces. "But tonight, you have earned a long rest. I will take the chip and see what energy from it I can destroy. Now, go get some rest. You will need it tomorrow."
The Scouts and boys said goodnight and walked slowly to their rooms. Wufei let Mars in his room, not bothering with appearances anymore. Mars tossed a small fireball into the fireplace and the logs were soon burning brightly.
They sat down together in front of it and Mars leaned on Wufei's shoulder. "I can't believe you fell for Relena's tricks." She teased.
Wufei glowered down at her for a moment, then softened. "I should have seen through it."
Mars nuzzled his bare shoulder then realized he was still in his blue tank top and pants. "You never got your jacket back from Venus."
"I'll get it tomorrow." He looked over at Mars and loosened. "Mars."
She looked up at him. "Yes?"
"Everything is perfect."
Mars sighed gently. "I know."
Mars felt herself being pulled into his large, onyx eyes and felt her face inching closer. Abruptly, he put his hand on the back of her head and pulled Mars into a powerful kiss. Mars twisted her body and pulled her arms around his thin, but firm shoulders. She felt herself leaning forward too far and Wufei landed with a small thump on his back. But the kiss was endless, and they stayed locked together until a long creak at the door a few muffled giggles brought their attention elsewhere. Mars lifted her lips from his with a slight suction sound and looked up.
Venus stood in the doorway with Wufei's coat in hand, and Duo looked over her shoulder at the pair on the floor.
Mars sat back on her heels and Wufei quickly sat up. Both were blushing furiously. Venus smiled slyly. "Well, you two sure move fast." She set the white jacket on the chair by the door. "Hey, I brought your coat back, though you probably won't need it with the heat in this room." A small fireball flickered her way, but she dodged it easily.
She giggled again and moved back out to the hall. Duo grinned mischievously at Wufei. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Go back to your own room, baka." Wufei's eyes narrowed. "Or perhaps you will be going to Venus's."
Duo shrugged. "Hey, at least I admit it." His voice died as he hurried down the hall to avoid another insult.
Wufei shook his head as he closed the door, and latched it this time. He sat down next to Mars. She yawned and covered her mouth not quite fast enough to hide it.
"You're tired." Wufei observed.
"I know." Mars said vaguely as she drifted off in his arms.
So, how was that!! Kind of longer than my last one. But I hope put enough action and romance in this one! Well, R&R. Bye.
Hey! Here's that new chapter I promised! Sorry about the cliffy last time... Well, here's the rest!
Trowa's P.O.V.
When the youmas dropped down from the roof, Trowa knew they couldn't win. (Even with these new guns, we don't stand a chance against this many.) Even so, Trowa pulled out his gun and fired at as many as he could see. Quatre, Duo and Wufei were backed into a tight circle and the dead youmas around them seemed to be replaced by dozens more. (Where are they coming from?!) Trowa thought frantically as another army dropped from the ceiling.
He gasped as a sharp pain in his side made him almost drop the gun. Trowa spun around to see Duo in the grips of a youma, apparently passed out. Just as everything went blurry, Trowa shot that youma in particular, one clean shot through the head. Then, he collapsed.
When Heero opened his eyes, it was still dark. Something glowed above him. Two neon green orbs. He reached up and felt something take his hand.
"Heero?"
The voice was familiar. Heero frowned and stared hard. Then it came to him. "Jupiter?!"
"Is he awake?" A pair of cerulean orbs turned his way. (Venus.)
"Sounds like it." Red lights responded. (Mars.) Heero almost smiled.
He realized suddenly he was on his back. Leaning up, with the help of a pair of hands, he looked around, his eyes adjusting slowly to the almost pitch black of the small room. Mars was in the corner with Wufei, still in his white coat, in her lap. Mercury was a few feet away, holding Quatre's head as he stirred gently. Laytha leaned over and kissed Trowa's head softly. He made a small sound and she smiled. Duo sat alone in the corner opposite of Mars, staring at the wall. Heero looked up at Jupiter, who smiled sadly down on him.
"What are you doing in here?" Heero asked dully.
"Probably the same reason as you." Jupiter looked up at the looming door a few feet away.
Wufei coughed from his corner and sat up. "Where-"
Mars put her finger against his lips. "Be quiet now. You were pretty beat up. You need to rest."
Wufei snorted at her and stood up. "Get away from me onna."
Mars swelled with anger and stood up to face him. "What's your problem? Just because you were beat-"
"It's not that." Duo interrupted from his corner. "We saw what you've been doing."
"We haven't really been doing that much." Mercury whispered, confused.
"Really?" Trowa said sarcastically and rose from Laytha's lap.
Heero rose and walked towards the door. "We came to help you, but apparently you didn't need much help. We met Relena. She showed us what you were doing all this time." Heero spat, losing his composure for a moment.
Quatre suddenly moved and rolled away from Mercury. "Yes we saw. Traitors." Mercury recoiled as though he had kicked her.
"What do you mean?"
"Yeah, what do you mean?" Mars hissed angrily at Quatre, sending her words through Wufei.
Wufei put his face inches from hers and growled, "Relena showed us how good of a time you were having," He turned his back to her. "Painting your nails."
"Painting her nails?" Laytha almost laughed.
Trowa turned to her. "You were there as well."
Mars let one laugh escape through her nose, then quieted. "You think we were painting our nails? At a time like this?"
Wufei turned on her. "We saw you."
"Where?" Jupiter challenged.
"Relena showed us." Wufei said, just before realizing how foolish that sounded.
Mars shook her head. "You actually believed her."
"She showed us where Venus was, and then she took her there and showed us in person. She was right." Duo almost snarled.
"She was with some man with dark hair, right?" Mercury asked.
Duo looked at her. "Yeah."
Jupiter shook her head. "Well, listen up, all of you. Here is what happened. I can probably guess what Relena showed you of us, but I don't really want to know. We got into this place easy enough, and found the crystal room, but when we got inside, we were attacked. Before they put us out, that dark-haired creep, Sapphire, said enough to inform us that he has a pretty major crush on Venus. Something in this stuff they injected us with almost complete drains our powers, except for the basics."
"We were out for a little bit, and then we woke up in this room." Mars finished.
Wufei turned to her. "How do we know you aren't lying to throw us off guard?"
Mars rolled her eyes and held up her hand. "Wufei I haven't painted my nails since we left your time. Does this look like I just painted them?" Wufei's eyes looked over chipped red nails, then looked over at Laytha.
She held up her hand. "I don't like to paint my nails. Polish is too distracting when you're doing stunts."
Duo uncrossed his arms and looked over. "So Venus didn't really sleep with that guy?"
Mercury took off her glasses. "What do you think?"
"You've been in this room the whole hour?" Heero asked dubiously from next to the door.
"Hour?!" The girls yelled in unison.
"Has it really been that long?" Laytha said, amazed.
"It only felt like twenty minutes." Jupiter muttered.
Heero exhaled. "You were probably out for longer than you thought." He dropped his head. "Do you have a plan?"
"Do you have anything the others may have given you?" Mercury asked hopefully. The boys checked their pockets for the guns, but shook their heads as they came up empty.
"Wait." Wufei said. He pulled his katana from inside his long coat. "They didn't find this."
Mercury came up to him and inspected the blade. "She put power into here." She frowned. "A lot of power. Definitely enough to slice through that door."
Everyone stood up and concealed their excitement. Heero leaned against the door and motioned for them to be quiet. "Someone's coming."
After a few minutes, he nodded and Wufei approached the door as Heero backed up a couple steps.
Wufei gripped the katana and thrust it into the wall with a terse grunt. The blade slid through easily. Changing his grip, he pulled it upwards and a streak of light shone through. With two more deft movements, a small square fell through, quickly caught by Wufei, before it made a sound.
Once the group was outside, Mars gasped. "I remember this hallway.it was the one just a little bit away from the entrance." She whispered.
"Yes, there's the corner we were at when we saw Relena." Quatre added.
"That would mean the room is this way." Duo said shortly heading down the hall.
"Wait!" Jupiter hissed as loud as she dared. "We can't face Sapphire like this! We're unarmed, and powerless. Venus showed us where she saw their armory. We can look for your weapons there." Jupiter led the way and soon stopped in front of a large door. She put her cheek to it and listened inside. "I don't hear anything, but be quiet, just in case."
The others nodded and followed her inside. Fortunately, the armory was not guarded, save for a few sleeping youmas, who were disposed of by a few well-placed kicks. Finding the boys' guns easily, they continued down the hall.
Soon, soft cries were heard echoing in the hall. "Get.no.that.ow.don't."
Duo gasped. "It's Venus!" He murmured audibly.
Mars glared at him. "Shut up!" She hissed.
Picking up their pace, they reached the door the boys remembered Venus to be behind. The cries were very clear now. "Get off, asshole! Ouch! I mean it!" There was a loud thump, and a man cursed.
"Dammit! That hurt!"
"It was supposed to!"
A malicious laugh resounded from inside. "Watch it, Venus. The sheet is slipping." The sound of tearing cloth reached Duo's ears. He growled and kicked open the door.
"Get off, asshole!"
Sapphire jumped back in surprise and pulled a portion of the sheet around his waist. "Do you mind we're trying to have a private conversation here." He growled.
"Duo." Venus gasped from the bed, holding a torn white blanket around her.
Duo climbed over the bed to her, gun still trained on Sapphire. Jupiter moved at the door, but Trowa stopped her. "This is his fight now, let him take care of it." He muttered.
Silence filled the room. Sapphire began to chuckle softly. "Do you think you can hurt me with that toy? Get off of my woman, boy. We're busy at the moment."
"I'm not your woman!" Venus shrieked and flinched away at the sound of her own voice.
Duo pulled her closer. "She's right. Now get out before I kill you." He said coldly.
"Me?! Get out?!" Sapphire barked. "Don't make me laugh! I'll kill you, boy!" With that, Sapphire pulled power and lunged at Duo. A single gunshot rang through the air. Sapphire dropped like a stone. Scarlet blood flooded through the fresh hole in his head.
Venus grunted softly and kicked a small heap of torn blankets over his body. Duo, as if coming out of a trance, shook himself and looked around. The others were watching him through the open door. Duo blinked slowly and offered a half-hearted grin to Venus. She returned it and squeezed his hand.
"Let's finish this mission."
Duo smiled, pulled his arms under her legs and lifted her off the bed. The pile of clothes next to the bed proved to be ripped and torn apart. Wufei hesitated and offered his jacket. Venus smiled shyly and took it.
The group slowly made their way to the crystal room, this time, with guns drawn, and when they got there, the Scouts stopped the boys from opening the door.
"We were ambushed last time." Jupiter shifted from side to side in uncertainty.
Heero nodded and pulled out his second gun and handed it to Jupiter. "Use it if necessary." Jupiter nodded and clicked the safety off.
After pushing the door open and a very tense search of the room, the boys concluded it was empty. Stepping slowly inside, Laytha shut the door behind them with a gentle push.
With another quick inspection, the boys and Jupiter nodded to Venus. She nodded back and stepped up to the tile she remembered. She held her hands out and pulled up the stored black energy orb mercury had given her. She felt the heat between her hands drain away and the tile opened up. It raised out of the floor and a split appeared, dividing the tile in half, and giving away to a small chip, the size of a credit card, but pulsing with black energy.
Mercury stepped up. "Now if they were smart, they would have offered our stolen power to the chip to give to the crystal. I could probably hack into the chip and release our own powers, and perhaps, when we escape, the rest of the energy in it."
She pulled out her pocket laptop and took the chip from Venus. She held it in front of the laptop and typed hurriedly with her other hand. She looked up at the others. "Get ready to feel a surge of power coming towards you; I'm about to release our energy." The Scouts nodded and braced themselves.
As Mercury said, a surge of energy filled each of the Scouts' insides and they stumbled back a few steps. Mercury shut her laptop and rubbed her eyes. "Alright. Let's take this thing and go." She handed the chip back to Venus, who slipped it inside Wufei's coat.
They left quickly and were particularly careful in the halls now that they not only had killed Sapphire, but had a literal beacon of dark energy walking around with them. They were just a few turns away from the exit and Trowa noticed a clicking noise.
"Relena's close."
"Hn." Heero nodded to him and drew closer to Jupiter.
Sure enough, Relena was waiting for them around the next corner. "Well," She spat. "Isn't this a nice sight. Heero, what are you doing with her?"
Heero pulled his gun out. "Leaving."
Relena's eyes suddenly turned pleading. "Please, Heero. I don't want to see you destroyed with the rest of this trash. Please, come back to me." She held out her hands and looked at him with praying eyes. "Please."
Heero held up his gun and took aim. "Move. Now."
Relena's demeanor changed drastically. "Heero. You traitor. You know you'll be destroyed, and yet you choose her over me." He hands clutched at her sides. "Well, if I can't have you." She gritted her teeth and looked up at him. "Then nobody will." At that moment, energy balls appeared in her hands and she lifted one to strike Heero.
Before the gunshot ever reached her ears, she dropped to the ground, dead not by a bullet, but by a lightning shock. Jupiter dropped her hand and looked at Heero. "Finally."
Heero smiled his rare, but distant smile. "Hn."
Jupiter leaned her head against his. "It's not polite to grunt."
"Hn."
A dramatic sigh came from behind them. They turned to see Mars with her hands on her hips, looking slightly impatient. "I've spent too much time in this hell-hole as it is. Can we please move on?"
After a moment of silence, everyone laughed. Even Heero.
The group got out easily after that last encounter, and they didn't meet any youmas or a single mobile suit.
When they arrived at the palace, the group found five relieved Outer Scouts, one worn-out queen, and a very sulky Zechs.
"He is still mad he didn't get to go." Pluto teased. Zechs simply smiled softly and shook his head.
Serenity sighed heavily and stood up amid the laughter. "Scouts.and others.our war is only half over. The enemy is still here." She looked around at the now-fallen faces. "But tonight, you have earned a long rest. I will take the chip and see what energy from it I can destroy. Now, go get some rest. You will need it tomorrow."
The Scouts and boys said goodnight and walked slowly to their rooms. Wufei let Mars in his room, not bothering with appearances anymore. Mars tossed a small fireball into the fireplace and the logs were soon burning brightly.
They sat down together in front of it and Mars leaned on Wufei's shoulder. "I can't believe you fell for Relena's tricks." She teased.
Wufei glowered down at her for a moment, then softened. "I should have seen through it."
Mars nuzzled his bare shoulder then realized he was still in his blue tank top and pants. "You never got your jacket back from Venus."
"I'll get it tomorrow." He looked over at Mars and loosened. "Mars."
She looked up at him. "Yes?"
"Everything is perfect."
Mars sighed gently. "I know."
Mars felt herself being pulled into his large, onyx eyes and felt her face inching closer. Abruptly, he put his hand on the back of her head and pulled Mars into a powerful kiss. Mars twisted her body and pulled her arms around his thin, but firm shoulders. She felt herself leaning forward too far and Wufei landed with a small thump on his back. But the kiss was endless, and they stayed locked together until a long creak at the door a few muffled giggles brought their attention elsewhere. Mars lifted her lips from his with a slight suction sound and looked up.
Venus stood in the doorway with Wufei's coat in hand, and Duo looked over her shoulder at the pair on the floor.
Mars sat back on her heels and Wufei quickly sat up. Both were blushing furiously. Venus smiled slyly. "Well, you two sure move fast." She set the white jacket on the chair by the door. "Hey, I brought your coat back, though you probably won't need it with the heat in this room." A small fireball flickered her way, but she dodged it easily.
She giggled again and moved back out to the hall. Duo grinned mischievously at Wufei. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Go back to your own room, baka." Wufei's eyes narrowed. "Or perhaps you will be going to Venus's."
Duo shrugged. "Hey, at least I admit it." His voice died as he hurried down the hall to avoid another insult.
Wufei shook his head as he closed the door, and latched it this time. He sat down next to Mars. She yawned and covered her mouth not quite fast enough to hide it.
"You're tired." Wufei observed.
"I know." Mars said vaguely as she drifted off in his arms.
So, how was that!! Kind of longer than my last one. But I hope put enough action and romance in this one! Well, R&R. Bye.