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Children of War
By,
Luna Dragon


Yuuchiro drove the motorcycle rapidly through another intersection as the three guards on their motorbikes raced after them. With surprising skill, Yuuchiro turned the motorcycle and they swirled through other cars and trucks, narrowly missing bullets as automatic guns shot at the two teens viciously. With worried eyes, the raven haired former priestess turned her head back, her long hair wiping violently in the strong wind as she cast a nervous glance at their three pursuers. They were armed with automatic rifles, and were riding impressively fast motorcycles, made by the notorious Professor Tomoe no doubt, since the three highly trained specialists were already catching up to them. Yuuchiro made yet another sharp turn, looking accordingly to the directions Rei had handed to him earlier. Though Rei couldn't see it because of the helmet and long brown bangs and hair, Yuuchiro had a look of dread etched against his usually cheerful face. In all truth, he wasn't too certain that himself and Rei were both going to make it out of it alive, and it scared him beyond normality.

He had known Rei was some kind of secret delegate or illegal worker for who knows how long now. At first, when he just found out, he didn't believe it. How could he? A Shinto Priestess that worked at her grandfather's shrine, with him, a secret agent? It didn't add up. At least not in his mind, anyway. But now, it was clear, that the raven haired beauty was in more trouble than she could handle. 'But hey,' he thought hopefully, 'at least the whole world isn't depending on just her, right? Rei's got it covered with those crazy friend's of hers, and if not, then I'll help out to the very end.'

"To the very end," He repeated aloud softly, the words going unheard by Rei over the loud roar of the engine and wind. Not to mention she was too busy paying attention to the gunshots she was avoiding. "How long until we get there?" Yuuchiro suddenly asked loudly, and Rei's head snapped forward.

"No more than five minutes at this rate!" Rei shouted her reply. "But we can't let them know where we're going, or else it will ruin everything they've worked for!"

"Got it Rei!"

Yuuchiro suddenly skidded the motorcycle to a halt, ducking and missing three bullets as they zoomed past his helmet and head, one of which missed him by no more than a centimeter. The guards on the motorbikes rode by quickly, each of which were equally astounded. It wasn't everyday someone just stopped like that in the middle of a busy street. Yuuchiro roared up the engine with a pride-filled laugh, taking off into the other direction, speeding narrowly past automobiles, laughing all the way.

Rei couldn't help but smile slightly, despite the state of shock she was in. Not many people knew someone as wild as Yuuchiro, and by now the former priestess should have been used to his crazy stunts. Should have. But it didn't mean she was. In fact, Rei had a feeling that a person could never get used to Yuuchiro. 'Except maybe Akiko or Duo,' She thought humorously.

Yuuchiro made a u-turn, ending up in the right lane, in his playful mind saying that the honking of the horns were getting on his nerve. He powered up the engine with more force, applying more pressure on the gas. They sped through bushes, ruining property as they fought to get away.

But Rei soon realized their efforts were turning futile, as she looked at their remaining gasoline. The arrow was barely touching the empty sign, and they still had to lose the three guards! More bullets shot passed the two, and Rei cursed. She doubted they'd be able to make it out of this alive. 'People live and die in a war, it sucks that I am going to die like this.' She thought sadly; in the back of her mind wishing she hadn't dragged Yuuchiro into this. But what he said next, surprised her beyond words.

"I'm gonna turn around, get you closer to this place, and you're gonna jump; got it? They'll chase me, and not even know where you've gone!" He concluded, abiding by his words turning the motorcycle forcefully around, trying to ignore the engine that was beginning to sputter.

"Are you insane?" Rei snapped angrily. There was no way she was going to leave and let Yuuchiro take the fall and die. There was no honor in surviving when a friend doesn't, doing it all for you. She wasn't going to have that. Her feelings wouldn't allow it. She wouldn't allow it. Her damn pride wouldn't allow it. "I'm not going unless we both go!"

"Quit being stubborn Rei, you gotta get to your friends -- or whoever they are! You fail this one, you're not only gonna be failing yourself, but them and a whole shit load of other people! Now get off your high horse of a pride and jump when I count to three!"

"Yuuchiro--"

"One!"

"Listen to me damn it--"

"Two!"

More gunshots, the sound of horns, yelling, the gaining engines of motorcycles as the teenage boy Rei had known for so long began to slow down: all these sounds filled her ears as she tried to protest; all the while knowing it was hopeless. More gunshots, then--

"Three!"

And he pushed her. Rei fell from the motorcycle with a cry, hitting the concrete ground. Hard. She could have sworn she saw stars as her reflexes worked before her mind and she began to roll, away from the cars, the noise. Something soft and wet beneath her; grass. Blood. Her blood, she realized. But that didn't matter. The only thing that clicked in her mind that shattered her hopes for her dear friend's survival was the gruesome site her wide and teary eyes saw at that moment.

The motorcycles with three angry guards on them sped after Yuuchiro, and the one leading the miniature pack took something out. It was small; round. Rei recognized it easily and instantly. It was a hand grenade, small and yet so viscously deadly. He shouted orders, Rei guessed, because the other two took out identical weapons. They waited as they counted, and all of a sudden they gained an unimaginable amount of speed, catching up to Yuuchiro in an instant. They sped off into the horizon, and Rei's wide eyes lost site of them. Immediately she searched the horizon for her friend and foes.

A giant explosion accord, sending debris everywhere! Large cars stopped and swirled out of control, unfortunate ones crashing into each other or into something solid enough that the impact killed the people inside them. So many lives lost, and there was no mistaking the pain Rei suddenly felt. And there was no mistaking the other fact, one that Rei blamed herself for.

No questions asked: Yuuchiro was indeed dead. "And he died . . . saving me," Rei whispered softly, unwanted tears of heartfelt and physically felt pain ran down her cheeks and onto the ground. Groggily she sat up, determination set in her eyes. "Kumada Yuuchiro, I swear to you that your death wont be in vain . . . I'll put a stop to these sick bastards, my friend . . ."

~*^*^*~

Sally Po barked orders to various people who were lagging off, warning them of the danger they should be expecting. Earlier there had been an explosion, not too far from where the Pacifist Princess Relena was staying. She had already given the speech, and the dedication to the Gundam boys for everything they had done the past years. 'But,' Sally Po thought with a grimace, 'it doesn't mean the people aren't beginning to see the results of the coming war . . .'

~~~Flashback~~~

The speech had been a success, brought on by Relena Peacecraft. Everything had gone well so far, including the party they were having in honor of the surviving soldiers, and the world's old military. It was all in honor of Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei, Trowa Barton, and Quatre Raberba Winner, but none of the boys had been able to make it. Relena, of course, had been informed of the information on the situation, and she understood clearly, though it didn't mean she wasn't disappointed. She had been hoping they would show up, even if she couldn't publicly acknowledge their presence, for the sake of their identities, and for the sake of them.

Now, however, Relena sat at a table, drinking her cup of tea casually. She enjoyed these public events, being around people made her joyous, more so seeing the fact that they were acting in peace. She knew some of her hard work helped maintain the peace, but she also knew that Wufei and Heero also helped while they worked with the Preventers, putting out 'fires.' Various security guards mingled with guests, dressed in civilian clothes, one of which was Wufei. He found it irritating to come, though he had no choice. In his mind, Wufei didn't completely agree with Ms. Peacecraft. Peace wasn't something a person achieved just by disposing of all weapons, and throwing away soldiers. He knew that, and this coming war would prove it.

Sally didn't know how it started, no one really did. But conversations ranged away from politics, and down to where none of them wanted it to go. Apparently more than a few people knew about the attacks on towns, and pacifists that Akiko and Kaiya used to perform. An argument began on how to handle the information they had gathered, and how to put a stop to it. Several agreed that they should take force before they engaged in another meaningless war. Others argued (mainly Relena) that force would only bring a war, that they should leave it to the qualified. A full out argument broke loose, and soon others that were once on Relena's side began to see that the one's who wanted to take forceful action were right. All until only her guards were left with her.

To Sally's surprise, Wufei had stayed with Relena also. She had always known how he viewed the Pacifist's ways, and for an instant she thought he was going to back away and join forces with the crowd of soldiers. But, she supposed he'd seen that there was no real point into what they were saying, which was true. All the former soldiers were doing was trying to find a way to fight again. It was in their hearts to fight, and she doubted some even wanted peace in the first place. "Down with Peacecraft!" Someone from the large crowd shouted, and other's echoed his words.

"Your peace never lasts, and this time it has brought forth another war!"

"We need a new leader!"

"How can you be certain that others have all of a sudden declared war on us? I know others like the Space Colonies did in the past, but things have changed. People were the ones who helped us achieve peace. Why would they want to bring war?" Relena questioned angrily.

"Explain the rumors of mobile suits! They were destroyed; all weapons of war were destroyed. Now they are going to be attacking Earth!" A man shouted.

"Don't think that Earth is the only place going to be attacked. Space colonies are also going to be attacked, if the rumors are true! They are just as helpless as us," Relena answered in a strict tone. Angrily she looked down at the crowd. She couldn't believe how the people have reacted. In one swift movement they were ready to call for a new leader. If she let them have their way it would be their destruction. She wasn't going to let them win. She wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to allow weapons again. She wanted to fight without them. Deep down she knew that that couldn't be the way. Although it would go against in what she believed in.

Sally glanced at Wufei who was behind a wall of curtains, his face void of a readable expression, even to her, who had worked with him for a long time. Walking over to him, she asked, "And? What do you think?"

"If these people want to fight with force, let them. In time they'll see they're only throwing themselves into another meaningless war." He had answered.

~~~End Flashback~~~

The blonde colonel sighed loudly; the people had acted strangely that night. She didn't know how they figured out all the information, but she guessed it was from the Professor Tomoe she had heard so much about. He was up to a lot, and spreading terror by revealing just parts of his plan to the public might cause the resistance to Relena Peacecraft that he needed. It made sense, and Sally was sure that that was the objective. All he needed to do was give the people what they wanted to hear, and he'd pry his way in the political way.

The alarms suddenly ignited, and shocked Sally away from her thoughts. She raced down the hall, going to Wufei's post to find out the security breach.

~*^*^*~

Wufei awoke to the insistent beeping of the early warning system. Feeling a bit disoriented from his snooze, he almost fell out of his chair as the alarm shoved him back into consciousness. After regaining his balance, Wufei looked around in confusion. He was kicked back into the here and now when two other men ran into the room. Each were wearing the standard Preventers uniform -- much like his own. Wufei instantly straightened. He couldn't let them know he had fallen asleep during his watch. He mentally cursed himself for letting his guard down like that. Weak. Just another thing to add to his unbearably long list of weaknesses. "What's going on?" One of the men asked.

Wufei shut off the alarm as he turned to the surveillance screen. He switched through all the cameras stationed around the parameter of the Preventers base. "Something's outside, I'm checking the satellite." His nimble fingers punched in a number of codes as the satellite was accessed. A grid appeared on the large screen, displaying several locations both on Relena's mansion and in the space around it. A large blinking dot blipped slowly across the screen. "What?" Wufei wondered to himself.

By this time, another person had entered the room. A tall woman with golden hair and full red lips. Her deep blue eyes held a bit of fatigue -- it was obvious she had been deprived of some well needed sleeping. But she pushed her tiredness aside as she pressed passed the two men and sidled up to the Chinese man at the controls. "What have you found Wufei?" Sally Po asked as she eyed the dot curiously.

"Looks like someone's gotten through the entrance, and they're on their way here," Wufei replied as he continued to type furiously. "Some sort of automobile's my first guess, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. If it doesn't, it's going to crash."

Sally pressed her lips in a firm line. "Where will it impact?"

"Most likely somewhere near the back of the estate."

"Alright, I'll take a small unit to check it out," Sally announced. "Wufei, I want you to come with me. You two," she turned to the other two men, "take his place and keep us informed just in case it changes its course."

"Yes ma'am!" The two men saluted. Wufei only stood and gave a slight nod.

"Let's move!" Sally announced as she ran out the door to rally others. Wufei was hot on her heels.

The two men stood at attention until their superior was gone before they slouched in their seats in front of the screen. "Man," the first one whined, "we never get to go anywhere."

~*^*^*~

Rei cursed loudly, trying to regain control of the small car she had stolen. After she had recuperated her emotions, and had full control over them, she had ran (or limped) to one of the least damaged cars. The police had already showed up, so she had to wrestle her way to one of the automobiles. It was in worse condition than she realized. The breaks weren't working, and it was leaking oil and gas, smoke rising from a sick sounding engine. She was surprised it hadn't caught fire already. Luckily, she had gotten away from the police and the three guards that killed Yuuchiro; much to her displeasure. She had wanted her revenge, despite how wrong it would be. No one killed a friend of hers and lived, even if it went against her morals.

Afterwards, she had made her way to where Wufei was supposed to be: one of Relena Peacecraft's estates. The Preventers at the entrance hadn't understood her yells for them to open the gate because she had no way of stopping; so Rei had no choice but to go through the hard way. Her stolen car, totaled as it was, made it through the gate without shattering itself to pieces, like the gate had been left. Unfortunately, she did lose some important parts of the engine that were now behind her on the road.

The car sharply turned to the right, running over bushes and flowers, destroying the once tidy outside of the estate. Unfortunately, Rei realized, that if she didn't stop soon, she was going to crash. "But I have no way of stopping damn it!" Rei angrily shouted as she swirled to the right, narrowly avoiding hitting one of the giant marble walls. She cursed again as another clank of metal reached her ears, no doubt an important piece of the engine. With her luck, it was probably the whole thing that fell out. The former priestess fought hard with the wheel of the car, swerving to the back of the estate and near where the flowerbeds were. If she was going to have to jump, she wasn't going to get hurt more than she had to like when Yuuchiro pushed her off of the motorcycle. She grimaced inwardly, the pain in her right leg intensifying at the memory.

Forcefully she took her foot off of the gas pedal, ripping open the door. Loosing control of the car, it sped to the left; toward the flowerbed. She jumped out of the car and rolled, instantly covering her head with her hands. She heard the car as it passed over her, just missing her head and legs by a couple of inches. Without uncovering her head, she peeked through her arms and saw as the wrecked car crashed into a gate, flipping on its side and exploding into a mass of flames. "That was a rush, even for me." She mumbled, unwanted tears in her eyes as she thought of the pain Yuuchiro must have felt.

Running footsteps reached her ears, as did shouts and the screeching of wheels. Forcefully, Rei got up from the ground, her leg muscles burning with even the slightest movements. With a sigh, she wiped her tears away, and prepared to face whoever came out. She didn't know how much, but she knew that she was in some sort of trouble.

~*^*^*~

Wufei drove the medical truck toward the crash site as Sally had ordered. He was correct, it was an automobile on a crash collision course. It had crashed near the back of the estate, and someone was obviously inside. It was doubtful that whoever was inside the car was alive now, but there were still possibilities. He cursed softly when they reached the car's impact site, and when he noticed the injured teenage girl with long black hair blowing in the wind. Sally, who was sitting next to him and not noticed the figure, looked at Wufei oddly. "What is it?"

"Rei." The Chinese man answered almost angrily. Why did that woman have to be here? And why did she cause so much damage? Didn't she know how tight their security was? All this and more ran through his head as he pushed open the door.

Sally, however, stopped him short. "Where?" He only nodded over to the flowerbeds before walking briskly to where she was, the blonde colonel right behind him. As Sally got closer, she inspected Rei's injuries more closely as she and Wufei glared at each other. Her wounds almost made the blonde Preventer sick. Entwined with the frayed edges of Levi cloth was raw flesh, blackened and burned from the explosion no doubt. Sally Po also noticed that her bare arms contained less sever burns and bruises as well. But despite her wounds, the girl was tensed into a semi-defensive stance as she glared at Wufei.

Sally looked back to the four members of security that she had brought with her. Dismissing them over to the crash site, she then turned over to Rei with an exhausted smile. "You're injured pretty bad. Come with me, and I'll help you get cleaned up, okay?" She asked. Rei turned to Sally with a smile. She said nothing, afraid her voice would betray how horrible she felt inside, nodding instead.

Wufei watched them leave, surveying the damage for a while. A severely wrecked car, literally in pieces, was on fire, currently being put out by the team of Preventers. Wheel burns were all over the ground, that led up to the ruined wall that the car had crashed into before exploding, sending pieces of metal crashing into the mansion's walls. He sighed; it would take a while to clean everything up. And the poor Chinese pilot hadn't seen the entrance gate, yet, either. He walked over to where Sally was standing outside the medic truck and watched inside with an amused expression.

Rei was sitting on a crate while a young medic in training was doing the best he could to doctor the horribly dirty, bloody burns on her leg. Rei herself was cursing a blue streak every time he touched her while she hastily bandaged her arm in a very sloppy fashion. Sally pushed him aside as she entered. "I'll take over from here," she told the young medic. He looked grateful to be relieved and quickly excused himself from the truck. Sally knelt down and started attending to the wound with her gentler and more experienced touch. The raven haired teenager hissed through her teeth at the pain but continued to attend to her arm. Sally took note that through this she kept a wary eye on Wufei as he crawled into the truck as well.

"Thank you for your help," Rei finally said, wincing again as Sally finished trying to clean the huge burn on her leg.

"Its not a problem." Sally answered. "You can stay here if you're not sure your leg's going to be okay."

"Thanks for the offer, that'd be great. As for my leg; I've had worse," Rei mumbled, fixing a bandage around her right leg, wincing ever so slightly.

Wufei clenched his fists in disgust. He had met this woman just yesterday! Rei could be a double spy for all he knew and Sally was just welcoming her in with open arms. She was too kind for her own good. Too softhearted and far too weak. Rei sighed and bit her lip as she looked down at the floor. Her eyes watered up, but she would not allow them to spill over, Yuuchiro was gone and he wasn't going to come back even if she cried. Her tears, however, did not go unnoticed by Wufei.

Wufei looked at her scornfully. "The weak shouldn't fight."

Rei raised her head, tear-filled eyes flashing angrily. "The foolish shouldn't scorn those who have been hurt."

Wufei jerked slightly in surprise. "Did you just call me a fool?"

"Only if you called me weak."

"You are a woman. And you are crying. Of course you are weak."

"You're a fool all right. Tears are not a sign of weakness, you idiot. They are the body's way of showing suffering. I'm in a lot of pain right now. I don't even need to answer that bit about being a woman. I am stronger then you in some ways, weaker in some ways, and equal in others. If you think otherwise, you're very stupid, very ignorant, or very narrow-minded. Your choice of which adjective to use." The raven haired priestess turned her head and prepared to get up and leave, but Sally Po stopped her with the shake of her head.

"Wufei," The blonde said in a heated tone as she stood up to face the shorter pilot. "I suggest you get back into that base right now. Nothing going on here concerns you and right now I'd rather not have to put up with you."

Wufei's eyes widened in surprise but then narrowed in challenge. "Woman," he growled dangerously. "I think you are forgetting your place."

Sally only got angrier at the threat. 'Why you little arrogant bastard,' She thought, but kept that little remark to herself. "Wrong Wufei, I remember my place quite well thank you. And as your superior I am ordering you to remove yourself from my truck before I do it for you." Wufei stared her down for a minute more before turning on his heel while letting out a frustrated growl. He stormed out of the truck and marched moodily for the base. He mumbled all things horrible and nasty about women under his breath as he went. Wufei looked mad. And on the inside, this time he truly was.

~*^*^*~

As he had been trained to do, stealthily, slowly, cautiously, Heero slipped into Hotaru's darkened room. As his eyes immediately adjusted to the dimness, he simply stood by his entrance and quickly observed his savior's fate, making sure the medics has done what he asked, or more so, demanded. Hotaru lay motionless on a hospital bed, different wires and heart monitors attached around her.

Curiously, Heero walked across the small room, coming to an abrupt halt at the end of Hotaru's bed. 'I shouldn't be here,' He thought. 'The medics were right . . . I should be resting and leaving to where the others went to get help . . . Help?' Suddenly, his stone hard face mysteriously relaxed. 'When did I start getting help?' Tossing the thought aside, Heero stared at Hotaru's body, his heart pounding so hard in his ears, he thought the unceasing rhythm would echo off the walls and wake Hotaru, shattering the quietness of the room.

Wounds were a normal part of battles and war, but Heero couldn't help but grieving for Hotaru. Dried crimson blood soaked through the bandages she wore, courtesy of the bullet hole that was inches away from her heart. Heero clenched his teeth and ran a hand through his brown hair, raking long bangs through the mess. Sunlight shining through a huge window on the farthest wall of the room dazzled Hotaru's serene face, her shoulder length, damp black hair pressed against her face. "They had to wash your hair Hotaru, It was soaked with too much blood," The eerie illumination drew Heero to the bedside, like a moth drawn to light. He wanted to run . . . to stop himself from opening up the sincere, loving feelings locked inside his cold heart. Perspiration beads threatened to pop out on his forehead, arms, everywhere. Nervously, Heero smoothed out the dark green tank top he was wearing, making sure it was securely tucked into his black spandex shorts. "What's happening to me?" Heero whispered, irritated. He crossed his arms in disgust, determined to look away, but something held him to the spot. "Dammit! What the hell is wrong . . . this feeling? Hotaru got hurt bad, but she'll be fine! Why am I here? Why did I have her moved here? But she looks so . . . so . . . so helpless."

Breaking Heero's thoughts, Hotaru turned on her head to the side, but winced in pain and lay flat again. Heero watched intensely, waiting. His arms fell to his sides as he knelt beside the bed. Cobalt blue pools of warmth stared at Hotaru, watching her chest rise and fall, unlike the usual glass hard, arctic appearance Heero's eyes always had. Perspiration droplets started sliding down Hotaru's forehead, making her already wet bangs stick. Her sweet, peaceful face transformed distraught and tight. Heero stood up and hesitantly reached out a hand for Hotaru's forehead, his hand hovering just above there, shaking. He ached so much to brush aside those bangs. For quiet some time, Heero remained frozen that way, his heart still beating rapidly faster. Soon, he felt his hand getting warmer, but he never touched Hotaru's pale skin. 'Does she have a fever?' he thought, alarmed.

Suddenly, Hotaru screamed. Heero sprang back as her yells pierced the silence of the room and she snapped into a sitting position despite her injuries. Heero had no time to regain his all too familiar gruff, rock-like stance or escape. Hotaru's dark violet eyes fluttered open, wild with rage, and she was gasping for breath. Heero a stood solid two feet from the revived teenage girl.

Once Hotaru realized it was only one of her flashback nightmares, Hotaru systematically regained her regular heart rate by taking in deep breaths, letting to cool air coat and soothe her burning throat and insides, then finally exhaling. 'I . . . remember everything now,' She dazedly thought, realizing that her amnesia . . . was gone.

*****End of Chapter*****

Author's Note: Big cliff hanger, I think. But this is a long enough chapter, and I'm leaving to the air port now.

PLEASE READ A BIG NOTE AT NEXT CHAPTER, JUST CLICK TO VIEW THE NEXT CHAPTER, THERE'S A GIANT, VERY IMPORTANT NOTE THERE!