Announcements:

Weeeeee!!!! *cheers! * Another rewritten chapter finished!!! Sorry it took so long!!! I have been soooo busy with so many things that it would take years to write out!!! But here is the rewritten Chapter number 2!!!! Enjoy everyone!!!!

No flames! ^ - ^ Just reviews please!!! Thanky!!!

Disclaimer: I hereby say that I tragically do not possess Gundam Wing or it's characters! Neither do I possess their Gundams (since they wouldn't fit in my closet, nor would they fit in my backyard)!!! But Jan-chan and Li Raeth belong to me me me!!!! *points to trapped people tied and stuffed in my closet * 

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Chapter 2: Race with Time

            Jan-chan had fallen asleep almost as soon as they had drove off, and all was quiet.  Heero had been driving for quite some time now.  Li strained to see her watch in the darkness that surrounded them that was artificial night.  Between the passing light poles, she could make out the digits 12:58 pm.

            "Wow. It's almost 1:00." Li said aloud more to herself.

She looked at the mysterious boy for a response of some sort, nothing.

            "Um, Heero right?"

A short simple "Uh huh" answered her.

            "I was wondering, how long till we get to Cater's house?"

Prussian blue eyes glanced at her.

            "Not long, and his name is Quatre."

Li giggled.

            "Right. I'm so bad with names as you can tell."

She continued to laugh quietly to herself.

            "I'm so sorry for what Jan-chan did back there. She was only trying to help." Her voice turning to that of a serious tone.

The Perfect Soldier didn't answer. 

            "I'll try to watch her from now on." She continued.

            "Just make sure she doesn't touch anything." He paused, his voice turning colder. "Especially in Quatre's place."

            "Are you always like this?" Li's voice changing somewhat angry.

Heero looked at her in silence, still managing to keep one eye on the empty road.

            'Looks like I got his attention finally.  I thought I was talking to a wall!'

            "Are you always like this?" She repeated. "You know cold an-"

            "Quiet." He hissed suddenly.

A humming noise could be heard approaching the small jeep from the distance.  Heero knew what this sound could only be.

            "Hehe…Looks like they found me." He muttered as an OZ mobile doll quickly approached the black jeep from behind. 

A shower of ammunition fell around the small black jeep, narrowly missing it.  Li looked worriedly at the boy.

            "What is that?! Why is it shooting at us?!" She shouted, for the sound of the mobile doll blocked most of the sound.

The young boy did not answer, obviously paying attention to the mobile doll and the ammunition that followed.

Li leaned back and looked at her braided friend in the back seat.  Amazingly she remained asleep.  A small smile crept on Li's face.

            'That girl can sleep through anything.'

A sudden tug on her black shirt broke her focus on her friend.

            "Hold on." Heero replied, as he pulled Li down to her seat.

            "Why?!" Li held onto the metal frame of the jeep.

Just then the jeep gained speed.  Li looked over at the speed dial rising quickly.

            'Amazing! This jeep says it's going 120 mph, but the speed we're going has to be much faster.  We're still able to keep ahead of that giant robot!'

Heero swerved the jeep, as a crater was made just in front of the jeep.  Smoke and dirt rose up as another was made nearby.  Li covered her mouth and nose with one of her hands.  The smoke and heat was unbearable, how could the boy next to her not even flinch.  Her brown eyes stung as more smoke and dirt was flown in their direction.  The jeep swerved as an even larger explosion hit next the black jeep, flinging Li nearly on top of Heero.

            "Oh sorry." She coughed.  Her face became a slight reddish blush tone.

Slowly she made her way back to her empty seat, before another explosion could hit.  A small groan came from behind the two.  The force must have woken up the sleeping Jan-chan.  The braided girl sleepily pulled herself closer to the two in the front.

            "What's happening?" She said sleepily as smoke and ash blew against her thin face.

A smaller explosion hit just behind the speeding black jeep.  Dark brown eyes opened widely and stared at the massive mobile doll above.

            "What the-"

The black jeep made another sharp turn, causing the braided girl's head to hit the hard metal frame behind her.

            "Jan-chan!" Li exclaimed as she heard the thud of something behind her.  Li looked hesitantly behind her, in fear of what she would find.  Her face paled as her eyes fell upon her braided best friend.  She was slumped over, her braid hanging loosely over her shoulder.  Her seat belt was the only thing that held her in at the moment.  Li remembered having to beg Jan-chan to put it on before they left, and it paid off.

            "Heero! Something happened to Jan-chan!" Li exclaimed almost in tears.

He didn't have the time to look back now.  The mobile doll was gaining on them, and its aim was improving.

            "Is that girl alright." Heero finally managed to say while driving.

Li looked frantically back at her friend.

            "I don't know! She's slumped over in her seat!"

            "Can you tell if she is breathing."

Li studied her best friend; the jeep was shaking too violently to tell.

            "I can't tell." Warm tears streaming down her face.

            "Lean over and check her pulse."

Brown teary eyes stared in surprise at the boy.  How could she reach her friend while the jeep was speeding this fast? And with all these explosions, and the sudden jolts, she could be easily thrown out.  The Perfect Soldier noticed the sudden shocked expression.

            "I will steady it as long as I can." He said glancing at the mobile doll up above.

Li nodded, and quickly leaned to the back seat as the jeep sped on.  Heero had been true to his word.  The jeep sped smoothly along the unpaved ground, barely jerking.  Li gently placed her two fingers on the girl's wrist, nothing.  She frantically felt for another pulse, still nothing.  Quickly she put the same fingers on the girl's neck.  A smile of relief spread across her tear stained face as she felt the faint pulse within.  A blast came suddenly from the side of the jeep, followed by a shower of bullets.  Li gasped as her eyes caught site of the ammunition about to rain on her.  Absentmindedly she threw herself over her unconscious friend and watched as sparks and metal surrounded her.  She peeked in time to see something wisp against her bare arm, and land somewhere next to her. 

            When all was quiet, except the roar of the MS that continued to follow, Li slowly pulled herself up.  Her face paled as she found tiny craters had surrounded her, and one seriously close.  Pale and quietly shaken by the ordeal, she quickly examined her friend.  The braided girl had remained untouched and a sigh escaped the shaken Li.

            "Girl. Are you alright." Came a sharp voice.

Prussian eyes stared at her through the rear-view mirror.  Nodding weakly she made herself back to her seat.

Another sigh escaped her.

            "Yes, barely.  I felt a faint pulse, but we better hurry."

Heero's gaze returned to the unpaved road.

Li's brown eyes glanced at the silent boy then to her unconscious friend.  She flinched as a burning pain came from her right arm Hesitantly she touched the burning wound and looked at her hand.  Her brown eyes widened as they spotted the crimson liquid on her fingers.

            "You're injured…" Came a cold voice.

Li turned, slightly startled for her trance. The Perfect Soldier did not turn to face the girl; he seemed more focused on the mobile doll.  The machine had improved its aim greatly over the past few minutes.  It was now more accurate than what it had been before, making it harder to evade the oncoming attacks.  Every time it fired, Li could feel the searing and force after each explosion that continued to surround the jeep.  The boy's hand moving to under the dashboard caught her attention.  She watched as the Prussian eyed boy punch buttons of what seemed like another keypad.  Up ahead, a large, secret door opened from the ground, ready to swallow them. 

            Li looked at Heero with a puzzled look.  The Perfect Soldier just kept his Prussian eyes on the opening in front of them, avoiding the explosions left and right.  About three feet away, a missile hit near the rear of the speeding vehicle, thrusting it forward into the opening.  A thick metal-like door quickly closed behind them as they now sped through an underground tunnel.  Li looked at the unconscious braided girl in the back. The last explosion had nearly reached her best friend, but managed to only twist up the very back end.

            "That last explosion narrowly missed Jan-chan!" She exclaimed, distressed.

            The sound of more ammunition being fired could be heard faintly above them. 

            "Is this tunnel going to collapse?"

            "No. It is layered with a titanium alloy."

Li sighted in relief, then cringed at the burning pain in her arm.

            "You need medical attention."

Li could only nod to what the soldier had said; the pain had gotten somewhat worse even though it was just a deep graze with a bullet.  She tried to get her mind off the pain in her arm.

            "Wow. All this is so amazing.  First I get this job, then I meet a cold-hearted boy, and then I am chased by a huge robot in which I get injured! Then there's…Jan-chan, but she'll be okay…I know it…and now I am going through this large hidden tunnel thing?! This is all to much for me…"

            Silence only answered her outspoken thoughts. She frowned from the lack of conversation.

            'Looks like I'm talking to a wall again. Wait, I know..!'

Her brown eyes gazed at the dimly lit tunnel.

            "Who came up with the idea of an underground tunnel? In the middle of nowhere in a colony no doubt."

Heero was silent for a few minutes, as if deciding if he should actually tell this girl.

            "Quatre…Quatre was the person who thought and designed this tunnel." He finally answered coldly.

            "Oh…"

Li checked on her friend again.  The braided girl had grown slightly pale from the last time she had checked. A small gasp escaped Li's lips.

            "Heero, Jan-chan's gotten pale…" Li said, tears welling up in her eyes.

The Perfect Soldier now had the time to look behind him, and did.  The spirited, young, braided troublemaker had indeed become quite pale.  A barely audible cuss word escaped his lips as he quickly reached for the same hidden keypad under the dashboard, and entered another code.

            "Hello?" A young boy's voice said out of the blue.

Li nearly jumped and looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but only found the jeep's speakers.

            'It must be some kind of high tech phone or something.' She thought. 'Could these guys be some kind of secret service or organization? Naaahhhh…but…'  Her eyes narrowed at the thought.

            "Quatre, you know some medical treatments right." Came Heero's monotonic voice.

            "Yes I do. What is it Heero? Are you injured?" The young boy's voice full of worry.

            "No." Heero paused. "But I do have someone who is.  I am currently in tunnel B56.  I should be there within five minutes."

            "What happened Heero? Was it OZ?"

Prussian eyes glanced at the young girl next to him.

            "I will give you the details when I arrive there.  Do not tell the other pilots that we are having company." His voice was stern.

            "Very well, I will be waiting for you at the entrance then.  See you in a couple of minutes."

A click sound was heard at the other end of the line, ending the conversation.  Li stared at the floor of the jeep in deep confusion.  There were other people there? And this boy did not want them to know about them?  And just what did he mean by "pilots"?  It had grown quite quiet, since the mobile doll must have retreated.  The jeep continued its speed down the endless dim tunnel.

            Sure enough, a couple minutes passed, when they came to a large iron door.  Heero, yet again, punched in another code; opening the large door ever so slowly.

            Behind the large metal door was a garage, similar to the previous one.  Inside, near some large doors, a young, shorthaired blonde boy stood patiently.  Heero drove up and parked the mangled and dirty jeep some distance away.  The young boy ran wide-eyed towards the site. 

            "Heero!"

As soon as the Prussian eyed boy had parked, Li had thrown off her seatbelt and crawled to the backseat. 

            "Jan-chan! Oh Jan-chan answer me!" She pleaded.

Heero stood aside as the blonde Quatre quickly approached the jeep.  His crystal blue eyes soon fell upon the girl and her unconscious friend.

            "Is this the person you were talking about Heero?"

He nodded. "Yes that is the one, the other has a bullet graze, but I can take care of that."

            "Miss, is this your friend?" The blonde asked gently.

            "It's Li, and yes she's my friend. Can you help her?" The distressed girl said in tears.

The blonde smiled gently.

            "I will see what I can do."

The boy hesitated before crawling to the back seat.  He had never expected something like this to happen in the middle of the night.  Slowly and gently he unbuckled the unconscious girl's seat belt.  He quickly examined the girl and glanced at the conditional surroundings of the jeep around her.

            "No broken bones as far as I can tell, but I don't see how she managed not to get shot with all these bullet holes surrounding her."

            Li smiled slightly and pointed to her injured arm.

            "I protected her…"

A sweet smile crossed the boy's face as he quickly examined Li's arm.

            "What a friend you must be by risking your life to save another, but this is only a minor graze, so it should be better in no time with proper care."

            He then turned his attention back to the braided girl.  Quickly he took her pulse and sighed.

            "We need to take her to a room, but we must hurry."

Blue eyes looked worriedly at the silent Perfect Soldier. 

            "Can you carry her, Heero?"

Cold Prussian eyes looked at Li as she held Jan-chan's limp hand.  He gave an inward sigh and approached the back seat.  The blonde moved out of the mangled jeep, gently pulling the shake Li with him.

            "Thank you, Heero." Quatre whispered as he passed by.

Heero only ignored the remark and picked up the limp, pale girl.  He then swiftly jumped out from the back of the jeep, landing softly on the hard concrete pavement.  Li's eyes opened wide in amazement of such strength.  Quatre leaned into Li's ear, whispering with a chuckle.

            "Don't mind him. He likes to show off."

Prussian eyes sent a death glare at the blonde, sending shivers down both Li and him.

            "I was only kidding Heero! Calm down! I apologize!" The blonde said in a rush.

            "Um…is…is she going to be okay?" Li quietly interrupted, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Quatre smiled warmly.

            "Do not worry, Miss Li.  It seems that she only has a mild concussion."

            The group slowly made their way to the doors a couple of feet away from the mangled jeep.

            Li walked closely to Heero, watching as he carried her unfortunate friend.  The long brown braid dangled suddenly caught her eye.  A small smile crept on her face as she gently rested the braid on the girl's shoulder. 

            Heero looked at the neat little braid with the neatly tied black bow at the end.   It reminded him of someone else he knew, someone who also had a long braid.

            Quatre opened the door and gestured for Li to go first.  She smiled slightly and went through nodding at the kind gentleman.  Heero soon followed with Jan-chan.

            Inside, Li could barely see anything. Dim candlelight lit the large area, which was the mansion.  Once Li's brown eyes had adjusted, she looked in aw at the enormous mansion interior.

            Quatre moved behind the girl in aw.

            "I am pleased that you like my mansion, Miss Li." He whispered with a silent chuckle.  "Please be silent, there are other people sleeping in this place."

Quatre then looked sympathetically at the girl in Heero's arms.

            "Let us take care of your friend first." He said leading the way down a dark hall.  "Please follow me."

They finally came to a wooden door at the end of the hall; another similar door was across from it to the right.  The blonde slowly turned the knob of the first door.   The door silently opened revealing a small dark room.

            "Heero please lay her on the bed." Quatre quietly ordered as he turned on a small lamp.

Li closed the door quickly, and then went to her friend's bedside.   Heero had laid Jan-chan in the center of the small bed and had stepped aside into the darkness of a corner. Quatre leaned over the braided girl.  After a few moments of some more examination, the girl's eyes opened slightly.  All she saw were the dimly lit blurred faces and white ceiling.  A painful moan came from the girl as an intense pain surged through her head.

            "It looks like she is regaining some consciousness."  Quatre said relieved.

Li sat up and looked at Jan-chan through teary eyes.

            "Jan-chan, it's going to be okay." She whispered comfortingly.  "We're safe here."

Where was here, the braided girl though through the pain.  She strained to make out the new face, but her clouded mind could not place it.  All she saw was a light haired person.  She managed to smile slightly at the new face before slipping into darkness again.  The last thing she heard was a boy's voice mentioning something about her long brown braid looking like someone else's, but who?

            Li laid her head against the side of the girl's bed, closing her eyes in exhaustion. A searing stinging awoke her, nearly making her scream if it not for the hand that covered her mouth.

            "Thank you once again Heero." Quatre said as he returned the cotton swab from Li's arm.

Li glared somewhat angrily at the blonde.

            "Yof…couldn't haf told me?!" Came her muffled tone.

            "My apologies. I did not expect the graze to be as deep as I had originally thought, and the injury is very dirty, infection is a possibility if I do not do this."

Li sighed heavily.

            "Okayf…" Came another mutter.

            "Owwwwww!!!"

She cringed as Quatre continued to clean her wound, but Heero's hand over her mouth had kept her from screaming bloody murder.  After that was done, the blonde ever so gently bandaged the injury.  When the whole ordeal had finished, Heero had retrieved his hand from Li's mouth.  Her brown eyes looked at the bandage. 

            "Ow. That hurt a lot!"

Quatre smiled.

            "You may now get some rest if you wish.  Your friend should only have a strong headache once she fully awakens."

Li smiled at the kind boy, rubbing her puffy eyes.

            "Thank you Quatre."

Next on Gundam Wing: A New Destiny ----It's Li's first day with the Gundam boys! All seems quiet as breakfast is a nice and yummy one!!!  Uh oh, but everyone is not too friendly to greet the new stranger! What will Li do when she's accused of being a spy for OZ?!?! Stay tuned to find out!