A.N: Hello people. Man I'm sooo sick! I had to go to the doctors
because my tonsils were all swollen (and gross) and I was coughing so hard
my chest felt like a truck ran into it. I hadn't been updating in a while,
so I figured as long as I was sick and not doing anything but lying in bed
anyway, I might as well right a new chapter. Hope you enjoy. Read and
review!
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Usagi stepped over the limp body of an unconscious soldier, warily looking over her shoulder at his four other fallen comrades. There hadn't been too much trouble yet, but then again they hadn't even been in the base for five minutes. So far, they had passed through two doors and successfully gotten past around a dozen soldiers, four of which Usagi had knocked out on her own.
The hall they were currently moving down was definitely longer then the others. It probably circled the entire base, leading into all the major offices. That was how his bases were usually laid out, mainly because he said things ran more simply when all the offices were easily accessible. However, that didn't mean his bases were easy to get into. He had the best security and only the best guards to keep order. Which was why Usagi was getting pretty nervous.
Already five minutes in the base and only a dozen guards? As if! She had been in only one other base, but five minutes inside and she had felt like she was in some kind of maximum security prison. Could it have been because this base was perhaps less important? Somehow, she didn't think any base was unimportant.
Heero's hand clamping around her arm jerked her swiftly out of her thoughts, making her jump in surprise. He pulled her off to the side and bent his head low so his face was close to hers. "What do you know about the layout plans of his bases?" His voice was a low whisper, but his face was close enough for her to hear what he said.
"Not much." She replied quietly, frowning. "He usually has four guards posted at every main door, and two sets of three make rounds every ten minutes." She reconsidered what she had said previously about not knowing much because, if you thought about it, that actually was pretty valuable information. "Umm…other then that, I don't know much about structural layout besides he likes the main offices to be accessible by the main hall."
Heero didn't say anything for a few minutes, so Usagi decided to continue. "We should have run into more guards by now. I…I think he knows we're here." She pointed up to a camera that half hid in the shadows, currently pointing up the hall. "We've been taped by at least twenty of those by now, most better hidden. Even if he doesn't know we're here, his officers do." She lowered her face and began drumming her fingers against the gun she held nervously. "And if he knows we're here, he knows I'm…"
Heero placed an arm on her shoulder and lifted her face with his other hand. "I won't let him get you Usagi. I've never failed a mission." He whispered, releasing her and reloading his gun.
Usagi just looked at him with an unreadable expression, not saying anything in return. *That's all I am to you, aren't I? A mission.* The sound of feet pounding against solid concrete echoed down to them from up the hall. So he was finally sending his troops to capture them, was he? Well, they weren't going without a fight.
Two shadows detached themselves from the wall they had previously occupied, guns raised as they slipped silently down the hall towards the sounds of heavy footsteps followed by just as heavy breathing. It wasn't long before they were in the perfect position to view what was about to come down upon them. Two lines of twelve, in perfectly straight rows, were marching steadily towards them, heavily armed and ready for battle. Usagi unknowingly gripped her gun tighter, knowing that even with a Gundam pilot at her side, there was still a slim chance they could win. In a few seconds, the soldiers would see them, and everything she and Haruka had fought for would have been for nothing.
*No.* She silently admonished, letting a smile curve her lips slightly. *Not for nothing. For a while…I was free.* Letting this give her courage, she crouched into a defensive stance and waited for Heero's signal. As the first two soldiers came within enough distance to be able to discern the two shadows as human, Heero looked over to her and nodded.
Each aimed their guns with deadly precision, and fired. The first nine fell easily, sustaining fatal wounds, before the last fifteen got too close for comfort. Heero put his gun in its usual place while Usagi simply discarded hers, since there was no way she could put it anywhere in the light summer dress she wore.
Usagi flipped the first guard to reach her over her shoulder and kicked the second solidly in the jaw, knocking down both. The third to get to her managed to land a punch to her stomach, which seriously winded her and knocked her to one knee. Black dots danced across her vision and she cursed fluently as she felt the gun she had thrown down under her hand. Closing her fist around it, she clutched it tightly and gave a sharp cry as she pushed herself quickly to her feet, throwing her body weight into the fist she used to return the favour. The guard cried out and slumped to his hands and knees, having no time to react when Usagi's knee came up and slammed into his head, knocking him out cold.
A glance at Heero proved he did little better, even if he had managed to get seven guards out of the way compared to her three, the seventh just now falling to his knees. That left five. Five which had by now surrounded both. Usagi slumped to her knees, Ignoring the sticky, slick wetness her flesh contacted on the floor. How quickly they had lost.
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Duo swore rather loudly when he tripped over a tree root, scraping his knee on a sharp rock that happened to break his fall. He glared at Wufei, daring him to make absolutely any comment that may give him an excuse to hurt him. He was itching for an excuse to use his gun. Any excuse.
Since they had left, he had fallen, tripped, and run into absolutely anything and everything, and it had severely soured his temper. Quatre coloured at the string of curses that left the boys mouth each time, giving up after the first few tries of telling him to calm down and count to ten.
It hadn't been that long since they had started on their journey to find the base, but they were already almost through the forest. Trowa had been scouting ahead and now came back from somewhere off to their left. He motioned for Wufei to come forward and whispered something to him before once again running off to where he had once been. Wufei turned to Quatre and Duo and gave a slight smile.
"Trowa says the openings up this direction, in a clearing a few dozen feet ahead." He said, motioning behind him with one hand. The others nodded and began following after their comrade, Duo stubbing his toe on a small boulder and letting out another heavy string of curses.
They reached Trowa in a short amount of time, standing in the centre of a clearing waiting patiently for them to come. When they were beside him, he kneeled down and picked up a dime, placing it in his pocket before placing his foot over where it had lain. There was a soft click followed by a low rumble and soon a whole section of earth rose to reveal stairs leading down into a dark passageway.
"Well, time to save our wandering soldiers butt." Duo sighed, pulling out a gun and throwing his braid over his shoulder. They shared a glance before starting down the stairs, Quatre in the lead.
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Rei swore in frustration and slammed the drawer she had been looking through closed, opening the next one down and beginning to rummage through it as well. "I'm not finding anything Haruka!" She stopped what she was doing and stood, leaning a hip against the dresser as she faced the other two girls in the room. " This is pointless. He's obviously not dumb enough to leave incriminating evidence in his dorm room.
"Perhaps he stores it somewhere less obvious?" Relena suggested, placing down a school book she had been looking through.
Haruka just grunted in response, flipping over a rug to study the floor. Near the centre, the planks of wood had been dug at, loosened so you could stick something between them and pry them open. She took out a pocket knife and removed as many as she could, finding a sheet of paper underneath. Rei and Relena came to stand beside her as she lifted it out, the other two listening as she began to read out loud.
"Tsk, tsk tsk." She looked up at Rei and Relena, a frown on her face. "Was it worth it? I didn't think so. Haruka, I know it's you reading this. As for whoever's with you, find anything useful? I know Usako is here. I knew the moment she stepped on school grounds. That's the funny thing about me and her Haruka. We can tell when the other is near. By the time you read this, I probably already have Usako in my possession. Don't worry, I'd never hurt Usako. I hope you're as quick on your feet as your reputed to be Haruka, cause if you haven't guessed already…tick, tock, tick, tock."
Haruka studied the last line, then swore loudly, grabbing Rei and Relena and pulling them behind her out into the hall. As they ran, she yelled at the students in the area to get down, only having time to throw Rei and Relena a few feet ahead of her before there was a large explosion behind her and they were all knocked off their feet.
When the smoke cleared, Haruka was just struggling to her feet, holding a badly wounded arm. Debris was scattered everywhere, a bloody shard laying by Haruka, but luckily Rei and Relena had been thrown clear. Students moaned on the ground, but no one was dead and only two or three had any real bad wounds to worry about, so Haruka ignored them and went directly to the two girls.
"Are you okay?" She asked, helping both up. Rei nodded, dusting off her uniform and straightening her hair.
"Fine." Relena answered.
"Good." Haruka sat down, leaning against a wall and letting Rei look at her arm to see how bad it was. "Damn." Rei pulled her hand away, mumbling an apology. "I can't believe this!" She pounded a fist against the floor. "He has Koneko!" Rei frowned, her eyes shimmering suspiciously.
"Ya well, right now we hafta sort out this mess and find the boys." She bit out harshly, ripping off a chunk of her skirt to wrap around Haruka's wound.
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Usagi glared at the soldier as he shoved her to the front of the group, sticking out her tongue seeing as how she couldn't really do anything else. The soldier just shoved her again, ignoring her glares. She glanced behind her, looking at Heero. They had knocked him out so he couldn't cause any trouble, and were now dragging him none too gently in back of the group.
They reached a door and stopped just outside, waiting for it to open. Usagi sucked in a deep breath. This was it. This was her fate. As soon as she stepped through this door, she would be face to face with the one person she had risked everything to run from.
Boy did fate ever suck.
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A.N: Read and Review! Please? I'm sick, so I demand you do as I say to make me feel better!
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Usagi stepped over the limp body of an unconscious soldier, warily looking over her shoulder at his four other fallen comrades. There hadn't been too much trouble yet, but then again they hadn't even been in the base for five minutes. So far, they had passed through two doors and successfully gotten past around a dozen soldiers, four of which Usagi had knocked out on her own.
The hall they were currently moving down was definitely longer then the others. It probably circled the entire base, leading into all the major offices. That was how his bases were usually laid out, mainly because he said things ran more simply when all the offices were easily accessible. However, that didn't mean his bases were easy to get into. He had the best security and only the best guards to keep order. Which was why Usagi was getting pretty nervous.
Already five minutes in the base and only a dozen guards? As if! She had been in only one other base, but five minutes inside and she had felt like she was in some kind of maximum security prison. Could it have been because this base was perhaps less important? Somehow, she didn't think any base was unimportant.
Heero's hand clamping around her arm jerked her swiftly out of her thoughts, making her jump in surprise. He pulled her off to the side and bent his head low so his face was close to hers. "What do you know about the layout plans of his bases?" His voice was a low whisper, but his face was close enough for her to hear what he said.
"Not much." She replied quietly, frowning. "He usually has four guards posted at every main door, and two sets of three make rounds every ten minutes." She reconsidered what she had said previously about not knowing much because, if you thought about it, that actually was pretty valuable information. "Umm…other then that, I don't know much about structural layout besides he likes the main offices to be accessible by the main hall."
Heero didn't say anything for a few minutes, so Usagi decided to continue. "We should have run into more guards by now. I…I think he knows we're here." She pointed up to a camera that half hid in the shadows, currently pointing up the hall. "We've been taped by at least twenty of those by now, most better hidden. Even if he doesn't know we're here, his officers do." She lowered her face and began drumming her fingers against the gun she held nervously. "And if he knows we're here, he knows I'm…"
Heero placed an arm on her shoulder and lifted her face with his other hand. "I won't let him get you Usagi. I've never failed a mission." He whispered, releasing her and reloading his gun.
Usagi just looked at him with an unreadable expression, not saying anything in return. *That's all I am to you, aren't I? A mission.* The sound of feet pounding against solid concrete echoed down to them from up the hall. So he was finally sending his troops to capture them, was he? Well, they weren't going without a fight.
Two shadows detached themselves from the wall they had previously occupied, guns raised as they slipped silently down the hall towards the sounds of heavy footsteps followed by just as heavy breathing. It wasn't long before they were in the perfect position to view what was about to come down upon them. Two lines of twelve, in perfectly straight rows, were marching steadily towards them, heavily armed and ready for battle. Usagi unknowingly gripped her gun tighter, knowing that even with a Gundam pilot at her side, there was still a slim chance they could win. In a few seconds, the soldiers would see them, and everything she and Haruka had fought for would have been for nothing.
*No.* She silently admonished, letting a smile curve her lips slightly. *Not for nothing. For a while…I was free.* Letting this give her courage, she crouched into a defensive stance and waited for Heero's signal. As the first two soldiers came within enough distance to be able to discern the two shadows as human, Heero looked over to her and nodded.
Each aimed their guns with deadly precision, and fired. The first nine fell easily, sustaining fatal wounds, before the last fifteen got too close for comfort. Heero put his gun in its usual place while Usagi simply discarded hers, since there was no way she could put it anywhere in the light summer dress she wore.
Usagi flipped the first guard to reach her over her shoulder and kicked the second solidly in the jaw, knocking down both. The third to get to her managed to land a punch to her stomach, which seriously winded her and knocked her to one knee. Black dots danced across her vision and she cursed fluently as she felt the gun she had thrown down under her hand. Closing her fist around it, she clutched it tightly and gave a sharp cry as she pushed herself quickly to her feet, throwing her body weight into the fist she used to return the favour. The guard cried out and slumped to his hands and knees, having no time to react when Usagi's knee came up and slammed into his head, knocking him out cold.
A glance at Heero proved he did little better, even if he had managed to get seven guards out of the way compared to her three, the seventh just now falling to his knees. That left five. Five which had by now surrounded both. Usagi slumped to her knees, Ignoring the sticky, slick wetness her flesh contacted on the floor. How quickly they had lost.
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Duo swore rather loudly when he tripped over a tree root, scraping his knee on a sharp rock that happened to break his fall. He glared at Wufei, daring him to make absolutely any comment that may give him an excuse to hurt him. He was itching for an excuse to use his gun. Any excuse.
Since they had left, he had fallen, tripped, and run into absolutely anything and everything, and it had severely soured his temper. Quatre coloured at the string of curses that left the boys mouth each time, giving up after the first few tries of telling him to calm down and count to ten.
It hadn't been that long since they had started on their journey to find the base, but they were already almost through the forest. Trowa had been scouting ahead and now came back from somewhere off to their left. He motioned for Wufei to come forward and whispered something to him before once again running off to where he had once been. Wufei turned to Quatre and Duo and gave a slight smile.
"Trowa says the openings up this direction, in a clearing a few dozen feet ahead." He said, motioning behind him with one hand. The others nodded and began following after their comrade, Duo stubbing his toe on a small boulder and letting out another heavy string of curses.
They reached Trowa in a short amount of time, standing in the centre of a clearing waiting patiently for them to come. When they were beside him, he kneeled down and picked up a dime, placing it in his pocket before placing his foot over where it had lain. There was a soft click followed by a low rumble and soon a whole section of earth rose to reveal stairs leading down into a dark passageway.
"Well, time to save our wandering soldiers butt." Duo sighed, pulling out a gun and throwing his braid over his shoulder. They shared a glance before starting down the stairs, Quatre in the lead.
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Rei swore in frustration and slammed the drawer she had been looking through closed, opening the next one down and beginning to rummage through it as well. "I'm not finding anything Haruka!" She stopped what she was doing and stood, leaning a hip against the dresser as she faced the other two girls in the room. " This is pointless. He's obviously not dumb enough to leave incriminating evidence in his dorm room.
"Perhaps he stores it somewhere less obvious?" Relena suggested, placing down a school book she had been looking through.
Haruka just grunted in response, flipping over a rug to study the floor. Near the centre, the planks of wood had been dug at, loosened so you could stick something between them and pry them open. She took out a pocket knife and removed as many as she could, finding a sheet of paper underneath. Rei and Relena came to stand beside her as she lifted it out, the other two listening as she began to read out loud.
"Tsk, tsk tsk." She looked up at Rei and Relena, a frown on her face. "Was it worth it? I didn't think so. Haruka, I know it's you reading this. As for whoever's with you, find anything useful? I know Usako is here. I knew the moment she stepped on school grounds. That's the funny thing about me and her Haruka. We can tell when the other is near. By the time you read this, I probably already have Usako in my possession. Don't worry, I'd never hurt Usako. I hope you're as quick on your feet as your reputed to be Haruka, cause if you haven't guessed already…tick, tock, tick, tock."
Haruka studied the last line, then swore loudly, grabbing Rei and Relena and pulling them behind her out into the hall. As they ran, she yelled at the students in the area to get down, only having time to throw Rei and Relena a few feet ahead of her before there was a large explosion behind her and they were all knocked off their feet.
When the smoke cleared, Haruka was just struggling to her feet, holding a badly wounded arm. Debris was scattered everywhere, a bloody shard laying by Haruka, but luckily Rei and Relena had been thrown clear. Students moaned on the ground, but no one was dead and only two or three had any real bad wounds to worry about, so Haruka ignored them and went directly to the two girls.
"Are you okay?" She asked, helping both up. Rei nodded, dusting off her uniform and straightening her hair.
"Fine." Relena answered.
"Good." Haruka sat down, leaning against a wall and letting Rei look at her arm to see how bad it was. "Damn." Rei pulled her hand away, mumbling an apology. "I can't believe this!" She pounded a fist against the floor. "He has Koneko!" Rei frowned, her eyes shimmering suspiciously.
"Ya well, right now we hafta sort out this mess and find the boys." She bit out harshly, ripping off a chunk of her skirt to wrap around Haruka's wound.
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Usagi glared at the soldier as he shoved her to the front of the group, sticking out her tongue seeing as how she couldn't really do anything else. The soldier just shoved her again, ignoring her glares. She glanced behind her, looking at Heero. They had knocked him out so he couldn't cause any trouble, and were now dragging him none too gently in back of the group.
They reached a door and stopped just outside, waiting for it to open. Usagi sucked in a deep breath. This was it. This was her fate. As soon as she stepped through this door, she would be face to face with the one person she had risked everything to run from.
Boy did fate ever suck.
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A.N: Read and Review! Please? I'm sick, so I demand you do as I say to make me feel better!
