Chapter Two: Don't Die
"Dance with me?" Chase didn't know what had come over her as the words left her mouth. She did not want to be involved with anyone while in that place. She wanted to be as detached as possible. She would have to leave someday, and if she were emotionally attached to someone. Heero had not missed a beat as he took her to the dance floor. She wasn't sure when she had learned to waltz, but she did so. Her memory flashed to Dr. J's words. "I brought you in so that you have the information you will need right here. You know what to do in the situations you shall be put in." Was even this one of the situations? He knew what he was doing, didn't he? Chase felt the boy beside her pull her closer as he whispered into her ear, "What will happen next?" "What makes you think I know?" the young girl replied, turning her face so her blushed cheeks were hidden from his view. "Dr. J said you were not from this place and you would know what was in store for us. The Gundam pilots, I mean." He was stumbling over his words. That was a first, from what she had heard. He pulled her chin so her eyes met his. "What will happen next?" "OZ will attack this place. Be ready. As disgusting as it is, Dorlian has to live. Part of the building will fall towards her, but never hit her, because you will be there to save her. Do so and do so quickly, but don't do any more for her. She's a bother." "Then why save her?" "She's important to our future." "I won't kill her, then, will I?" "Iie. A real shame, though." Heero smirked and pulled her closer than he needed to for the dance. She allowed herself to fall with his steps. He stopped, looking into her eyes for a moment. She cleared her throat. "We should get going." "Hai." The two pilots rushed off for the two Gundams hidden in the thick brush behind the school. Heero heard Relena call his name, but ignored the girl. "I hope you're ready to leave after this," Chase called over the comm. "I'll be more than ready," the other pilot said flatly. "Let's go." Chase started the Gundam up and let her fingers fly over the keys in it. They systems came alive as she looked toward the oncoming OZ MSs that were on their way toward the school. "Not your lucky day, boyo," she muttered as she flew up out of the brush, pausing behind him. She let the machine gun on the left arm of her Gundam loose, causing the MS to drop. A smirk crossed her pale features as she turned her Gundam into another one, igniting the saber and driving it through the other MS. "Dorlian's safe," Heero's voice reached her ears. "Good. They'll pull out. ima. Let's get lost, ne, Yuy?" "Hai."

Chase placed her black leather bag on one of the two beds in the hotel room. She pulled her tank top and jeans from it and gave Heero a look. "You don't get to watch," she deadpanned. "Then use the bathroom." "Baka. Why don't you go change in the bathroom?" He shrugged, taking his own clothes with him and did just that. Chase glared after him as she slipped out of the uncomfortable skirt and uniform shirt and into her jeans and tank top. She rummaged around the black bag that Dr. J had stowed for her in her Gundam. She pulled a computer in it. She cocked her head as she looked from it to the bag and back to it again. It shouldn't have fit in that small of a bag along with her clothes and everything. "Hammer space," the girl muttered as she opened the laptop. 'Have fun, Chase. Anna has one of he own as well. This is the devise I used to bring you here. You know how to use it. I warn you, though, dimension hopping is dangerous and a gamble each time you try it. I have not worked all the bugs out of the system. Use at your own risk, as with all my inventions. Dr. J.' Chase smiled as she closed the laptop again and slipped it back into the bag. She pulled a pair of black, fingerless gloves from the bag next, and slipped them on her thin hands. A magnum was the next item she pulled out. Various other explosives and assassination tools were in the bottomless pit as well, but Chase slipped the magnum between her belt and her jeans in the back. "What is that?" Heero asked as he pointed at the black bag. His hair was damp. Chase frowned. She hadn't heard the water running. Her eyes flickered over to the window. Raindrops fell against it in steady waves. "My bottomless pit of arsenal," she said with a smirk. "Were you planning on going out again?" "Iie." "Don't lie. It's not nice." Heero frowned. This girl was becoming an annoyance. "Unless you open windows for the heck of it in the pouring rain." The frown deepened. "Stay here. I'll be back in two hours tops." "And if you're not?" "I will." That said, he disappeared out of the room via the door. At least he left like a normal human being, the girl thought as she lay back on the bed, sleep claiming her tired mind.

When the emerald eyes next opened, it was a good four hours later, and there was a pounding on the door. "Open it, damn it!" Chase stumbled to her feet and fumbled with the lock. She flung open the door and Heero nearly fell into her arms. She held him steady and led him to the bed, closing the door with her foot. After he was lying on the bed, she locked the door and returned. "What happened?" she demanded. The elder pilot said nothing. He simply lay there with his eyes clenched shut and hand covering his side. The emerald-eyed teen knelt down next to the boy and pulled his hand away. She saw his green tank top stained with a dark crimson as it had all ready begun to soak through his shirt. He hissed slightly, growling out another curse as she pulled his shirt away from the wound to examine it. "Stay put," she ordered as she stood and began to rummage through her bag. "What could you possibly have in there?" he demanded, frustrated. "I've found anything I need in here, so just hush. Don't you dare sit up." She turned and pushed gently, but firmly against his shoulders, forcing him to lie back down. He grunted as his back pressed against the bed. Heero closed his eyes and listened as the younger assassin made her way into the bathroom. He heard running water and soon after felt a warm cloth press down against the wound. His eyes reopened when he heard her mumble for him to hold the cloth in place. She found what she was looking for and ordered him to sit up and remove his shirt to make it easier. His dark eyes watched her as she carefully wrapped the wound tightly in order to slow and hopefully stop the bleeding. He winced slightly and leaned forward. Chase's green eyes widened as she squatted down in front of him, placing her hands on either one of his shoulders, steadying him. His hand went to his head as the room seemed to spin out of control and he felt the smaller pilot ease him onto the bed. "Daijoubu ka, Heero?" Chase asked when she had gotten him into a comfortable position. He managed a small nod and sighed deeply. "The room is spinning," he whispered. Chase placed a slender hand on his forehead and frowned with concern. He felt warm to the touch. Not a good sign. "Go to sleep, Chase. Daijoubu." "Iie. You're not." He reached out and took her hand in his. "I am." His blue eyes stared into her green ones and he noted that, even though concern was very evident, she was not crying, as Relena would have been. There was a distinct difference in this young woman before him and the blond that had made her way into his dreams. "Don't worry. Sleep, or you will be no good to either of us." "And what if you need help and can't wake me from across the room? What would happen then?" Heero chuckled lightly, something Chase was surprised to hear. "You are a pessimist, Chase-chan. You seem to fear the worse that could happen," he whispered. She stared for a moment. Chan? Chase-chan? That was either very insulting or very quick. She wasn't quite sure which. "Chan?" she whispered, eyes narrowing. Heero reached a hand up to her face, catching her off her guard. She pulled back, unsure of what to do. "Hai. Chase-chan," he whispered. She relaxed slightly. She wanted this, didn't she? Somehow, she'd always wanted this. This was a dream come true for her. She really shouldn't be turning it away, but then again, it might be the fever doing more of the talking than the young teen that lay there before her. She cringed inwardly. He pulled her in close and she felt her face heat up, the blood rushing to it. She turned her cheek. "Rest, Heero, ne?" She pulled away from him, eyes locking on the bandages around his midsection. "What happened to you, by the way?" "I was too slow and the man with the knife was too fast," he mumbled, seemingly on the edge of sleep. Chase nodded. "I'll see you in the morning, and I'll be right here if you need anything." She leaned against the bed's edge, waiting quietly for sleep to claim her. "You're different." "Eh?" "From Relena." "Let's hope so." "Then why." "Why what, Heero?" "Why do I feel the same way about you that I thought I did about her?" Chase paled. No. Not here. Not now. Onegai, Kami-sama, onegai.. "Go to sleep, Yuy. You'll need your rest." He wasn't thinking clearly. That was it. He was feverish and in pain. He would see things clearly in the morning. "Oyasuminasai," he mumbled, before his eyes drifted close. "Oyasuminasai," the younger pilot responded, before loosing herself in thought, and then, eventually, into sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Chase woke to the sound of a groan in the bed above her. Her neck felt stiff from the awkward position she had slept in all night. She got to her knees slowly, looking back at the bed and the Japanese boy that lay in it. "Ohayo gozaimasu," she said quietly. "Ohayo," he greeted back, equally as quiet. "What happened?" "You don't remember?" "The last thing I remember is a man getting a lucky shot off with his knife, and then throwing me into the building. I must have hit my head." Chase looked down at the floor. So it was just the fever talking. Foolish schoolgirl dreams. What a waste of precious time and effort. "Then you made your way back here and I bandaged you up." She reached a hand up to check his fever. "Ah, yoshi. You're fever seems to have broken some time during the night. A quick healer, ne, Yuy?" "Hn." Chase stood. "We need to get moving as soon as possible." "Ima." "Ima?" "Hai." Chase shrugged and offered him a hand up, in which he gladly accepted. Within an hour, they were set and ready to go. Both showered, and Heero's bandages redone. He held his side lightly and Chase watched him carefully, making sure he wasn't going to push himself too hard.

"Time to book it, ya'll!" Anna called as she grabbed her jacket from the couch. Duo looked up lazily. "Go? Aww.." She glared down. "Baka. Get up!" He sighed and stood, grabbing his cap from a chair. Quatre came around the corner from the room he shared with Trowa. The Silencer came from the kitchen. Anna glanced at her watch. They were going into something that she would much rather do without, but it was needed in order to set things on the right path. She took a hold of her boyfriend's braid and dragged him along. "Get your lazy butt moving!" (A/N: yes, by this time they are going out. Chase is just thinking about it. so difficult am I!! Who. That was a weird sentence. Yoda talk..)

The Wing and the Galaxy landed at the base that the supposed OZ corporation was. Chase desperately wanted to tell Heero everything. She wanted to tell him to wait for the second ship to come, and not to hit the one with innocent people on it. She growled out a curse. She had to remain strong and allow things to go as they were supposed to. She should not even be here. "Hello, you two!" Duo's voice rang over the comm. His face, all to familiar to the female assassin appeared on the screens. "It's been a while, Chase," he added with a wink. "Your friend's missed ya." Chase allowed a small smile. "The two new suits with you, Maxwell?" Heero demanded. "Hai," the American answered. "Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton." Two new faces appeared on the screen along with his. One belonged to the blond Arabian boy with large aqua eyes. He smiled. The other belonged to the mysterious Trowa Barton. He received his first glance at the equally as mysterious Chase, pilot of the Gundam Galaxy. "Friend of foe incoming?" "That's the Altron," Chase said quietly. "He's friend." Quatre shook his head. "I prefer to hear that with my own ears, Chase- san," he stated. The blond boy made contact with the incoming MS. "Are you on our side?" he asked innocently. Chase sweatdropped. "I fight only for Nataku," the Chinese teen responded. "You fight with us, boyo," Anna's confident voice came over his comm. Her face appeared on his screen and she smiled at him. "If we don't work together, it doesn't matter whom or what we fight for, we will not win. It is as simple as that." Wufei frowned slightly, but nodded. It made him slightly uneasy how quickly he had given into that.onna. No, not even onna, shojo. Trowa's Heavyarms was the first to run out of its ammunition. This caught the young Arabian's attention. "Trowa-san?" he called, slicing through the attacking MS. "Daijoubu ka?" "Hai," the taller boy responded. "Daijoubu. Keep a look out behind you." Chase watched one of the shuttles take off. "I've got that one!" Heero announced over the comm. "Dame, Heero!" Anna called. "Iie, Anna-chan," Chase said quietly. "Let things continue." Anna opened a privet line. "Are you insane, Chase? Lives can be saved. The entire thing with him destroying his Gundam can be spared from our eyes if you just tell him now." "We must allow things to go on as they are," Chase growled out. The words pained her as she said them. "Then why are we here? If they are to go on as before, then why were we brought here? It would be pointless to allow as many people to die while we know what is to come." Chase nodded and started to reach to the line to call Heero back, but stopped in horror as his Gundam's saber sliced through the small shuttle, silencing lives of those that would bring peace to the colonies and earth forever. Her eyes blanked as she watched him land. "Masaka. What have I done?" she whispered. "Listen to the broadcast!" Quatre hollered over the comm. "We were discussing negotiations of peace when the colonies attacked! Field Marshal Noventa was brutally murdered before he had a chance to do anything! The colonies and the Gundams must pay for their treacheries crimes against Earth and all that we stand for." The rest was more of a blur to Heero and Chase, both silently blaming themselves for different reasons. Chase fell back in her seat, eyes blank and dark with emotion. "Snap out of it!" Anna yelled over the privet line. "Zechs is on his way!" "Does it matter?" the younger girl whispered. "Things will not change and bend to our will." "BAKA!" Anna shouted. "Snap out of it, Chase!" No other way but to yell at her. "SNAP OUT OF IT! ZECHS IS HERE!" Chase abruptly sat up, eyes focusing again. "Zechs." "Hello, Gundams. It's a pleasure. I suggest you surrender now," Zechs' voice echoed through out the Gundams. "Zechs Marquise," Chase growled out, half irritated that he would show up at this point. "I believe you know my name, but I do not know yours, young lady." "Chase. Pilot of 06, the Gundam Galaxy." Zechs smirked. "I'll deal with you later. Now, 01, I've come for a rematch from our earlier fight. My Leo might not have been much of a match for your Gundam, but the Tallgeese is." "There will be no rematch, Zechs! Stand down!" Lady Une's voice rang over his comm. Her voice spread to each Gundam. "The colonies of L1 have now been destroyed, thanks to the Gundams. If you people had not been so careless this would not have happened, ne? Perhaps, if there were ever going to be a next time, you should do your research better. For now, hand over your Gundams." Heero stared into the screen, pale as a ghost. "You know the future, Chase-chan," he whispered. "And yet you did nothing." "Gomen nasai.." "That makes you just as guilty as me." "I know." "More so." "I know." Chase took a shaky breath. He would not see her cry. "Dr. J is speaking." "-Surprised at your tactics! Even you people, I thought, would have standards above the slaughter of innocents! How dare you? You will never have the Gundams!" "Iie." Heero whispered. "They will not have them. I will destroy the Gundam." Relena appeared on his screen. "No, Heero, don't do it! You have to come kill me first!!" He sweatdropped slightly. Chase facefaulted. "BAKA!! DEAL WITH THAT SOME OTHER TIME!! I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU WANT TO DIE SO BADLY!! CONFOUND IT!!" The girl balled up her fist and slammed it into the controls. "Just shut up all ready!!" Her eyes widened when she watched Heero step out of the Gundam with the explosive. "Heero! Baka! Get back in, you idiot!! DAME! DAME, HEERO! Yuy! Heero no baka!!" "Mission. accepted." he whispered, pressing down on the button. The explosion lit up the area as the Gundam blew up, sending its pilot tumbling to the ground, eyes wide and blood spilling all around him. Chase's green eyes widened as she watched him. "Move. MOVE DAMN IT!" she screamed, knowing he could not hear her. Angry tears streamed down her face. "Move." She vaguely realized that Trowa was reaching down with his Gundam and picking the boy up. Her eyes focused. "Be careful with him," she whispered. "I am," the other pilot reassured her. Anna's face appeared on her screen. "Follow us. We'll head back to the safe house we set up. 05, you can come with us as well." "I have a name." "It would be nice if you would tell us that, Sparky." "Chang Wufei." "Well then, Wufei, we would be happy if you joined us. It would make things much easier." "Hai."

Chase curled into a ball on the sofa, book in her lap unread. She felt someone walk up behind her, but she made no move to see whom it was. Trowa Barton sat on the seat next to her. "It wasn't your fault. No matter what he might have said." "No. He was right. It was. It was also my fault for not stopping him when I knew what he was going to do." "You couldn't have known," Trowa whispered. "I did. Therefore the blood of those people are on my hands," the girl whispered. She balled her fist and slammed it into the cushion. "Damn it." "Chase-san." The tall boy moved around the couch and sat next to her, dark green eyes locked on her still and saddened form. "There was no way to know." A silent tear streamed down Chase's pale face and she glared over to him. "But I did! I did know! I could have saved those people in the shuttle, maybe the people in the colony, and probably save Heero a lot of pain! I knew, Trowa.." "Naze?" Chase took a deep breath. "How much has Anna told you?" The next half hour was spent explaining all that had happened up to that point and the hour after that discussing it. Trowa seemed to believe her, which she found slightly comforting. He listened intently, nodding his understanding every once and a while. "Saa. So will you two go back after this is done and over with?" "I assume so." Trowa nodded, eyes slightly downcast. "I'm sure you have time to right your wrongs, ne? He'll be fine. You said Heero would come out of it, ne?" "Hai." "We'll just wait it out until he does." Chase nodded. "Arigatou, Trowa-kun." "Doutashimashte, Chase-chan," he answered.