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Dream Maker: Well folks, standard yada. I do not own Gundam Wing. *Sniffs* I wish I did but I don't. The G-boys and girls belong to their respectable owners. I am just using them for this twisted fic. I promise to return them, only slightly worse for the wear when we're through with them.

Christa: Well, sorry it took so long to get this chapter up but we've been away from a comp for a few days.. *sweatdrop*

Dream Maker: Well, anyway, would still like to hear your ideas about Alex! Well, lets get on with the fic!

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Alex woke the next morning to a soft knock on the door. After waiting for a moment or two for him to answer Pagan walked in.

"I'm sorry to wake you sir but Heero wanted you ready to go in an hour. Do you require assistance?"

"No, thank you Pagan," Alex said as he rubbed a hand across his eyes in a futile attempt at dislodging the crust from them. "I'll be fine on my own." Pagan bowed and exited the room and soon after Alex threw the covers off of himself and stepped onto the carpet. It was rather chilly this morning, even though the sun was shining brightly outside his window. But the chill didn't seem to be in the room itself, but in the feeling of foreboding that something was gone. He searched his bag and immediately knowing what the shadow figure had taken from him.

He dressed quickly, swallowed a little white pill, and went down the hall to the kitchen to get a bite to eat before he was stuck on a plane to somewhere else. When he sat down at the table Heero looked at him over the rim of his coffee cup and Relena smiled at him. He politely smiled back but his attitude frosted over visibly when he looked at Heero.

"Would you like something to eat sir?" a servant asked as he waked toward them.

"Just a glass of milk and an orange please." Alex said. Heero and Relena ordered their breakfasts from him and he went off down a servant's passage to the kitchens. He returned a few moments later with Alex's food and disappeared nearly as quickly as he came.

"Did you sleep well Alex?" Relena asked politely trying to break the ice.

"As well as can be expected Miss Relena. And you?"

"Well rested and ready to face the beautiful day."

"I suppose Heero didn't sleep that well though, did he?"

"Whatever are you talking about Alex?" Relena inquired.

"Oh, nothing. Does Heero sleep walk? Because it seems he ended up in my room sometime last night." Alex said casually as he turned his gaze towards Heero. Heero was nearly as shocked as Relena was.

"You were awake?!" He quarried before he could stop himself. He winced when he realized what he'd said and slowly turned to face Relena.

"Heero, what is this about?" Her voice had an icy, no nonsense tone to it. The same one she used in all her meetings with the delegates over delicate matters. When Heero ignored the question she glared. "Heero?" He tone was warning of conflicts to come.

"Oh it's quite alright Relena. As long as he returns my things to me there will be no problem and I'll forget this ever happened." Alex assured her. If it was possible, Relena's eyes narrowed even more.

"Your things?" She asked tightly.

"Alex, shut up." Heero commanded.

"No Heero. Until I get my things back in my possession I will not leave you alone." Now his voice turned icy and thinly veiled threats clung to every word.

"I will give them back in time."

"No. You _will_ give them back _now_. You have no need nor right to go through my journal and you have no need for that picture. They both hold things you should not know of and if I do not get them back it will cause real problems. Problems with greater consequences than either you or I can imagine."

"Heero-" Relena started to say something but Heero held up his hand to stop her.

Holding up the aforementioned picture he asked, "Are you in this picture?" Relena caught a glimpse of herself, her children, her husband, and all of their friends and their families posing for a picture on some dock.

"Yes. _Give_it_back_now_." Alex moved to grab it but Heero held it just out of his reach.

"Tell me who you are." He commanded.

"Miliardo, Noin, good morning." Relena said cheerfully, trying to cover up the conflict that was going on. Heero's attention wavered for a moment as he looked towards them to bid them a good morning. Alex saw his chance and took it, lunging across the table and tearing the picture from Heero's hands.

Alex landed on the floor in front of Miliardo and curled up into a tight ball as wave after wave of pain washed over him. He knew everyone in the kitchen was staring at him but all he could think about was the pain. Vaguely he felt some put a hand on his shoulder and started to come back to his senses.

"Alex are you okay?" Zechs asked, every syllable laced with concern. With a groan Alex hauled himself into a sitting position and clutched the picture to his chest. "What is going on here?" Zechs demanded, turning to Heero and Relena.

"Heero, I swear if you ever want to sleep again you will go and get whatever it is that you took and return it _now_!" Relena yelled. It was rare that she got angry enough to yell and everyone in the room, with the exception of Alex, was shocked. Servants were poking their heads into the room now.

"All of you back to work. This isn't a show." Noin snapped at them and they all scurried off to their respectable duties. Heero glared at Relena but when she didn't back down he grudgingly stalked off towards their room. He returned a few minutes later carrying what appeared to be a book. It was hand made, bound with a green velvet cover and a cream colored strip for the backing. On a closer inspection one would have noticed an intricate lock on it. No one in the room failed to notice that.

When Heero held the journal out Alex snatched it out of his hand and winced again as the wound in his side pulled. Zechs helped him to his feet and an even icier chill settled over the room when he said, "I'll be taking your place on the shuttle Heero."

"You most certainly will not!" Heero snapped.

"I'm with Zechs on this one, Heero. Its obvious you can't be trusted with the boy."

"But you're going to China, not L-2." Heero persisted, knowing his chance to find out about the boy was slipping through his fingers.

"That's right, I am. I'm sure no one would object to Sally having a look at him there." Heero and Zechs locked eyes and it was Heero who looked away. He didn't say anything as he left the room and no one lifted a finger to stop him.

~*~

Thank you, Zechs. I appreciate what you're doing for me." Alex said awkwardly.

"I'm related to you in some way. My sense of duty wouldn't have me do otherwise." He answered.

"Oh." Was all he said. 'So that's the only reason he helped me,' Alex thought. 'It was his sense of duty. I should have known that was all.'

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were disappointed." Zechs chided, trying to lighten the mood. At the same time the seatbelt sign came on overhead and the captain announced that they would be landing in a matter of minutes.

"Maybe a little." Alex said without thinking.

"And here I was thinking you were heartless." Zechs's voice was now serious. "Its obvious that you're hiding many secrets Alex, but around us you can let your guard down."

Alex shook his head vigorously and quietly replied, "I did that once and someone very dear to me was killed because of my laps. That will never happen again." Then he turned back towards the window and started at the ground, leaving Zechs to think over what he'd said. That was the closest he'd ever come to telling anyone what had happened to his angel, with the exception of Quatre, but he hadn't told Quatre anything.

When they landed at the airport Zechs quickly hustled him to a waiting car after they'd gotten their luggage. Twenty minutes later they were standing in front of the Chang residence. The cab driver only waited long enough to let them get their stuff out of the trunk before he burned rubber back to the airport.

"What a nice person." Alex muttered sarcastically. Zechs nodded his head in agreement. Sally came out of the house wiping her hands on a dishtowel, which she threw over her shoulder, and greeted them with a cheerful smile and a wave. Wufei appeared a moment later. Maya and her sibling were playing in the yard off to one side of the porch.

"Zechs, nice to see you again." Sally said, extending her hand toward him. "What brings you here today? I thought your business was taking you thirty miles that way." She pointed east. "You're a ways out of your way."

"I also have business to take care of here." Zechs motioned to Alex, who stepped out from behind him where he'd been hiding. Sally's eyes widened and Wufei's eyebrows rose quizzically.

A yowl was heard from where the children were and all of them looked over to see Maya holding onto the cats tail. Alex was the first one to move. He charged across the yard, picked the girl up and tanned her hide before he set her back down on the ground yelling, "You know better than to do that Maya Chang! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Maya started crying then and he stood up, only then aware that he'd overstepped his boundaries again.

"Er, I'm sorry. I was out of line." He said, bowing his head in a proper display of remorse.

"Its fine. I'd have done the same thing if I'd gotten to her first." Sally said, then turned to Maya. "Turn off the tear factory or I'll give you something to cry about." Maya sniffled and hiccuped twice before her sobs subsided.

"Shall we go inside?" Wufei asked as he opened the door for them.

A few minutes later all of them were seated in the living room and all had a glass of lemonade in their hands. "Why did you bring Alex here today? I thought we wouldn't be expecting him for another three days." Wufei started. "Not that I'm sorry to see you, but we just weren't expecting you." He was quick to assure them.

"I brought him here because I was traveling this way and Heero was.. indisposed." No one said anything for a few minutes.

"Well, I'm sorry to have to rush off like this but I've got a meeting to get to. Lady Une will have my hide if I'm not there on time. It was nice seeing you again." Zechs said as he set his glass aside and stood up to leave. After everyone said their goodbyes he left.

"We've still got work to do outside. You should change into some work clothes before you join us." Wufei said as he turned towards the door, a smile gently caressing his lips.

"Yes sir." Alex replied. 'I don't think I ever saw him this happy in my time. I'm glad he got to enjoy happiness before Sally died.' Alex thought as he turned towards Sally. "May I inquire as to where I'll be sleeping tonight?"

"This way." Sally led him to the back of the house to a room just opposite her children's rooms. Alex thanked her and walked into the room. The door closed after he was through it and he started to remove his shirt.

"Alex, may I please look at that wound?" Sally asked. He was so surprised he jumped a mile high and spun around to face her. "I'm sorry, I thought you knew I was in here."

"Obviously not." He evaded Sally when she reached for his shirt hem and caught her hand between his. "I'm afraid I can't let you see."

"Alex, I'm a doctor. I am qualified to look at it. You've no reason to be afraid I'll hurt you."

"I'd just rather no one did."

"If you don't let me see that wound I'll bring Wufei in here to hold you down while I look at it. So do you want to do it the easy way or the hard way, either way I win." She removed her hand from his hand took a step back. "It's your choice Alex."

"If you put it that way how can I refuse?" he stated ruefully. Sally reached for his shirt hem again and again he avoided her. "I will let you look at me on one condition."

"And that is?" Sally asked impatiently.

"Not a word of what you see may you speak, write, or mime. Nothing Sally."

"You have my word of honor." She assured him as she pulled his shirt over his head.

~*~

"Where have you been Sally?" Wufei asked as he tromped in the backdoor covered in dirt. His children followed in his wake.

"I've been playing doctor that's what. I cannot believe the stupidity of some people!" She ranted as she paced the room with the phone stuck to her ear. She ignored the warning look Alex gave her and continued, "Can you believe they didn't even bother to stitch his wound closed? All they did was apply a bandage! No wonder its been reopening and bleeding!"

"How many stitches?" Wufei asked. He could gage how bad a mood she was in by that.

"Thirty. Thirty! Darn it Quatre, pick up the darn phone! Its Sally!" She half yelled into the receiver. Everyone edged out of the room to avoid the storm of her temper.

"Sally, you don't have to shout." Quatre told her as he picked up the phone. "I'm not deaf you know."

Sally visibly made a bid to control her temper. When she had herself under control enough not to yell she said, "I know that Quatre. Its not you I'm mad at so I shouldn't be yelling at you. My apology."

"Apology accepted, now what's going on over there? Did Wufei kill one of your prize roses again?" he joked. It was an ongoing joke. The year Sally and Wufei had gotten married Quatre had given them a rose to plant. It was one of the best out of his personal garden and Sally had treasured it. One day Wufei had gone into the garden to dig it up and move it and he got distracted. He accidentally chopped off half the route system and when Sally came to the garden three days later it was just lying forgotten on the grass, stone dead. She hadn't spoke to her husband for a week after that.

"No he didn't kill one of my roses. I'm calling in regards to Alex."

"Oh no. What has he done?"

"Its nothing he's done. He's passed out on the bed in the guestroom. I just got a look at the shot wound. Not only was the bullet still lodged that but it wasn't stitched or cleaned! It wasn't even dressed properly!" She reined her temper again, took a deep breath and counted to three. "I'd like him to stay here for the remainder of the time he'll be here."

"I wasn't aware that he was that bad off." Quatre said, sincerely concerned.

"He's lucky I caught the infection before it spread. He's fine now but he's going to be hurting for quite a while. He's lucky it didn't hit any vital organs."

"Very lucky. I'm sure no one would mind if he stayed there. I don't think anyone would want to jeopardize his health or their lives if you got hold of them."

"I'm glad we're agreed. Goodbye Quatre."

"Bye."

Sally hung up the phone and brushed a stray hair from her face. 'The things I have to deal with', she thought and smiled wryly.

"Sally?"

"Alex, I thought you were asleep. You shouldn't be moving so soon after what I did!" She went over to him and steered him to a chair, which he sagged down into, giving Sally a small but grateful smile. Then his face turned hard and serious.

"I need the phone and I need Heero and Duo's numbers now."

"Oh, give me a few minutes and I'll have it for you, but after that you rest."

"Sally, I'd be resting now if it wasn't a matter of life or death." The edge to his voice frightened her and her head swirled with the meaning of that simple sentence. Mechanically she gave him the number and watched helplessly as he listened to the rings.

"Hello?"

"Heero?"

"What the heck do you want Alex?" Heero growled into the phone.

"Get the heck out of there. Someone's going to try to-" A gunshot in the background made him stop short. "Don't try to fight them. They're expecting that. Take the. the trapdoor under the kitchen floor. It leads out to the stream behind the mansion. It's partially hidden by the bank so they shouldn't see you leave. Hurry. The trap door is located under the stove." He would have said more but the dial tone started buzzing in his ear. 'I wonder how much of what I said he heard,' Alex thought.

He then had Sally rattle off Duo's number. After five rings Hilde picked the phone up. "Hello?"

"Hilde, its Alex."

"Hi Alex! We were expecting you today. Are you at the airport? Or-"

"Shut up and listen! Don't panic, but get the kids and Duo and get out of there as quickly as you can. You've only got five minutes. Hurry Hilde, please. I don't want anything to happen to any of you." He heard the phone drop from her hands and her yelling Duo's name. Then he heard Duo curse and then the line went dead. "Are we expecting a storm?"

"No, why?"

"The line's dead."

"Try the cell phone." She said, handing Alex the tiny phone.

"Its dead also."

"That's odd. I wonder what happened? Any ideas? Alex?" Alex's eyes were vacant. She shook him and he blinked once before he turned his gaze on her. 'Didn't he have green eyes last time I saw him?' she wondered as she looked into the smoky gray depths.

"Every Preventer has a very well hidden safe house right?"

"Alex you're starting to scare me. What's going on?"

"Answer me!" he yelled at her. Wufei came running into the room.

"What in the devils name is going on in here?" he yelled.

"Wufei, we need to go somewhere where we won't be found. It has to be well hidden, so well hidden that not even a master spy could find it." Alex stated. Wufei didn't ask any questions, he been there when Alex had predicted Relena's assassination and he knew he wasn't kidding.

"This way."

~*~

"Alex, are you sure you weren't just imagining something? We've been down her for three hours and there hasn't been a peep from the house." Sally whispered into the gloom of the underground bunker.

"I'm starting to doubt myself too. I'm not sure anymore. Everything is so jumbled together that its not but one big mess. I can't tell if it was suppose to happen today or next year or in our next lifetimes. I just don't know." He whispered.

"I'm hungry mommy." Maya said.

"I'll go up and get something for us to eat." Wufei whispered to her and moved away from them towards the stairs. He tripped on the first one and before he could move the sound of gattling guns and other weapons were heard upstairs. Everyone in the bunker stayed absolutely still and quiet.

"There's no one here!" they heard somebody yell.

"I guess they went out for diner or something. We'd better scram before they get home. Retreat!" A dozen of more people were heard fleeing the house above them and all of them breathed a little easier.

It was another hour before they dared to leave the safety of the underground shelter. When they did Sally started crying and everyone else stared wide-eyed at the scene before them. Bullets had ripped through walls and pictures, furniture and curtains, hardly anything in the main room was unscathed. Upstairs was a little better but not by much.

"We should leave." Wufei said, touching his wife's shoulder. Sally didn't speak, just turned to him and nodded. Silently she herded the children to the back of the house to pack a few belongings. Alex followed in their wake and returned to the kitchen a moment later carrying his bag. It hadn't been lucky enough to escape the bullets. The only thing in the bag that hadn't suffered was the journal and the picture.

Alex sagged down into a chair in the kitchen to wait. Wufei joined him five minutes later. "Thank you, for saving our lives. I will be forever in debt to you."

"You shouldn't say that. You'd only be saying you're in debt to Shinigami." Alex muttered. His voice was muffled by his bag, which he'd laid his head on. He didn't see Wufei's eyes widen but he heard his gasp. Alex lifted his head and looked at him. "Death and destruction follows me wherever I go. I told you that when I came. I am the Shinigami."

"Duo's child." Wufei stated more than questioned.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. You'll never know." Sally and the kids returned then so the conversation ended.

They all hurried out to the car and went about leaving in total silence. They turned off the lights and crept out of the driveway. It was so dark that Alex couldn't see who'd sat on which side of him but he knew the kids were there. Gently he bid them to lay down with their heads across his lap. They both fell asleep that way.

"Will someone tell me when we get there?" Alex requested as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Why are you so tired? You've been through worse before this. Its not as bad as when Heero punched you." Sally said. She tried to sound light hearted but her voice came out flat.

"Sally? You remember how I went to sleep in the car afterwards?"

"Yeah. You sleep like a log."

"I didn't fall asleep. I fainted." In spite of herself Sally laughed a little.

"And here I thought you were stronger than Heero." Wufei joked.

"No where near as strong. The only reason I bested him in that fight was because he got careless. Had be been paying more attention to the fight and less to you I would have surely lost. And it was just a simple acrobatics trick with a little twist to it."

"Acrobatics?"

"Yeah."

~*~

"Sally? Wufei? Alex? What are you doing here?" Quatre asked as he caught sight of them from behind Rachide.

"We couldn't think of anywhere else to go so we came to L-4. Oh Quatre, it's terrible! Our house! All of our things." Sally sobbed as if it were just sinking in.

"Come in. To tell the truth I was expecting you. Heero, Duo, and their families are already here. The only person I haven't heard from is Trowa."

"You haven't heard from Trowa?" Alex gasped. Quickly he searched through the jumble of memories in his head. After a moment he let out the breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding and smiled slightly. "No one thought him important enough to attack. He really has no influential power over any of you, or so they think."

"That's good to hear." Quatre answered. "I'm glad he's safe. I was getting worried about him." Quatre heard a car speeding up the driveway and smiled slightly. "Speak of the devil."

"Quatre, what in heavens name is going on?!" Trowa yelled as he brought the car to a screeching halt and jumped out.

"Evidently whoever is trying to do away with us wanted to get them out of the way as quickly as possible." He indicated Wufei and Sally and the others.

"There hasn't been any attempt on your life?"

"None yet." Quatre's turned and beckoned them to follow them as he shut the door. He led them into a sitting room that Alex recognized immediately. A cheery fire was burning in the hearth and the few people gathered there were talking in hushed voices.

"You said yet." Trowa prompted.

"I'm not sure if they left me out on purpose or if they just want to lull us into a false sense of calm."

"So they've crammed us all together again. We're like rats in a trap." Zechs observed from his seat by the fire. Alex noticed that there was a bandage around his arm. Zechs caught him staring at it and said, "I was stupid enough to try and fight them Alex, but I thank you for the warning. You saved our lives tonight."

Everyone else in the room muttered quiet thankyous. Alex just lowered his head so he wouldn't look directly at them and said, "I just wish I could have done more."

"You're only one person. We don't expect you to be able to do everything." Quatre assured him.

"Hilde, were you able to save anything from the fire?" Alex asked hopefully.

"Very little." she answered as her fingers deftly stroked the oaken frame of a picture. Alex knew it was the one of her wedding day.

"And no one else was hurt?" he pushed.

"No. The children are fine, if shaken. I'm the only casualty." Zechs tried his hand at making it into a joke, but it fell flat.

"Bed for you young man." Sally ordered as started to gently push him from the room. "Where's he staying Quatre?"

"Same room as last time." He said absently as he looked out the window, watching the shadows intently. There wasn't anything outside but he still needed to satisfy his fear.

"Sally, you and the kids need some clothes now, don't you?" Hilde asked as Sally left the room.

"Yes. I'm sure Alex does to."

"Shall we go out tomorrow?" Sally saw through the ruse. Hilde didn't want to be trapped at Quatre's the next day. She needed to get out so she could forget what had happened that night, no matter for how long.

"Yes."

~*~

When Sally left Alex flopped down on the bed and curled up into a tight ball. He didn't bother to remove any of his clothes. His stomach was killing him. He'd been suffering for the past hour and it was only getting worse.

'Much worse,' he realized dimly when he saw it was only 10:45. 'Oh god! I wish I would die. Death has to be better than this suffering.' His stomach chose that time to rebel and he was glad he hadn't eaten. 'If I had, I might be in an even worse condition.'

That night was even more miserable than the night before for Alex. His stomach didn't settle down until 12:30. Then he didn't fall asleep until 1:00 because he was still feeling sick. 'Great. I'm going to be like a walking zombie in the morning. I'm not going to be much use to anyone.'

~*~

"Duo, I need to ask you a favor." Alex said the next morning as Duo stepped away from the door. Duo, who'd been reading up until then, gave a frightened yelp and leaped off the bed.

"Don't you make any NOISE?!" He demanded as he tried to get his racing pulse to slow down. "You could give a man a heart attack!"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Next time I'll bang a few pots and pans together before I come in." Duo just rolled his eyes at him.

"What do you need?"

"I need a weapon."

~*~

Cathy, Hilde, and Sally walked down the street in front of him. Both were carrying bags loaded down with clothes for them and their charges. They'd decided to leave the kids home so they wouldn't slow them down.

"It's a nice day out today." Cathy remarked as she shaded her eyes with her hand. "Oh, I do believe we're going to have company." She pointed and everyone looked over to see Duo, Heero, and Relena walking towards them. "Hey Heero! Hey Relena! Hey Duo!" she hailed them. They waved back, smiles on their sad faces.

"How about we get some ice-cream?" Relena suggested. "I know this great little shop just around the corner. I went there on my last official visit."

"Sure." everyone agreed. It wasn't long before everyone was happily munching on ice-cream cones. 'It's impossible to be sad when its this beautiful out and you have ice- cream to boot,' Alex thought as he licked his cone happily. He sighed contentedly, but he remembered it was time for him to check and see if anything having to do with the future had changed.

Just as he stumbled across a painful memory he caught sight of a man taking a gun out from under his coat. To the others it looked like Alex reacted instantly, pushing Cathy in front of the conversing Relena and Hilde. The shot rang out and a crimson red started to flow from Cathy's shoulder. At the same time Alex whipped a gun out from inside the waistband of his jeans. Without thinking, he fired it.

The man let out a groan and slumped to the ground. The people on the street screamed and ran for cover, but the fight was already over. Alex dropped the gun like it was a viper waiting to bite him and ran to Cathy. "I'm so sorry Cathy. I couldn't find any other way to save everyone. I'm so sorry. I wish I could have stopped you from getting hurt but I couldn't let it hit Hilde. I just couldn't, I know she would have lived but I couldn't." he babbled as he knelt by her.

"Oh, this hurts." She moaned. Alex felt along his neck to locate something, then he reached out and pressed on hers. Instantly she stilled.

"What did you do to her?!" Heero demanded, pushing him out of the way. He felt for her pulse and relaxed a little when he found it. Duo walked back over to them, already haven examined the body. Heero looked at him in silent question and Duo shook his head.

"Why'd you kill him you imbecile?!" Heero yelled as he stood and grabbed Alex's shirt between his fingers.

"I did what I had to do. Why the hell did you get in my way? Do you know how many times I had to see this? How many times I had to see one of you die? This was the only way Heero, so shut up! Just leave me alone!" Alex yelled back at him as he freed himself from Heero's grip. "If you'd stop trying to play the shining prince all the time none of this would have happened!"

Wailing sirens stopped them from arguing any farther. The cops showed up and took their statements before sending Cathy away to the hospital accompanied by Sally. Quatre came to pick them up, but Duo and Alex opted to walk.

When they were in sight of the house Duo said, "Thank you, for saving Hilde."

"I had to."

Alex said that with so much conviction that Duo couldn't help himself from asking, "Why?"

Alex looked at him like he was crazy before answering, "It would have killed your baby."

"What?!"

Alex looked confused. "You didn't know? Damn it!" he yelled as he ran up the few steps to the door, threw it open, and rushed into the house. Duo cursed silently and ran after him. He was way too young to be taking on the mission that had been given to him. Yeah, he was the same age they'd been, but. he didn't deserve it.

'He may be secretive but he's still a good kid!' Duo thought angrily and wished death on whoever had sent him. He found Alex had collapsed on a heap on the floor crying. "Alex?" Duo asked as he knelt down beside him. Immediately Alex sat up and dried his tears, and managed only to sniffle a few times before he'd regained his composure.

"I'm sorry Duo. I didn't mean to make you worry. Please forgive me." Alex said distantly as he started to move towards the back stairs. "I seem to be doing that to a lot of people right now. You shouldn't be taking care of me. Its suppose to be the other way around."

"Alex," Duo said quietly, "its okay to cry. Everyone does. It's only normal human behavior."

"But I'm not suppose to act normal. I'm suppose to be a cold, emotionless, avenging angel." He said as he retreated up the stairs. His voice sounded different, and choked with emotion. Even as he fought them back tears streamed down his face, leaving tracks that s

'Why could have taught a kid to be like that? He acts almost like Heero did.' he stopped and stood completely still. Dr. J had trained Heero to be a perfect killing machine. Could it also be that he'd trained Alex to be what he was? 'An avenging angel? Dr. J always called Heero a perfect soldier.'

"Duo?"

"Quatre, is Cathy going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine. She's mad about what happened and she hurts but there won't be any perminate injuries. Relena told me that the doctor said there wouldn't be anything to remind her but a scar."

"That's good to hear."

"I know."

"Hey Quatre, do you know if those crazy old scientists are still alive?"

"Maybe, but I'm not sure. You'd be better off asking Heero." Quatre said guardedly. "Why?"

"Never mind. Just wondering."

Quatre looked at him skeptically for a moment before he shrugged. "Like I said. I couldn't tell you. Hey, can you help me fix dinner?"

"Sure!"

"Without eating it in the process." Quatre warned.

"Ah, you're no fun Q-man!"

~*~

"Duo, will you please go get Alex? I'll finish up in here. Oh, and get the others too."

"Sure thing Quatre." Duo left the kitchen reluctantly and headed down the hall to the library. Most of his friends were there. "Hey it's time for dinner, people! Lets put the books down and start moving!" As an afterthought he said, "And find the others. We wouldn't want them to miss a meal."

He walked back towards the kitchen cheerily, thinking of the mouthwatering food that was sitting on the table. 'Walk past the door,' he mentally coached himself. 'Pass the door. Alex's room is just down the next hall. Then you can eat.'

Once past the kitchen his willpower wasn't tried as much, but his mind was still in the kitchen. He was so distracted by his thoughts of food that he didn't even bother to knock before he opened Alex's door. What he saw inside shocked him.

***

Alex cried himself into an exhausted sleep on his bed when he reached his room. He didn't sleep for long but it was enough for him to feel somewhat less plagued with unwanted emotions. This didn't last long however, because the magnitude of what he'd done came crashing down on him. 'I've killed a man. I killed my friends father. She'll never be borne. I'll be all lone.'

He roughly brushed a tear away. 'Stop that you niny,' he commanded silently to himself. 'You knew that you'd have to protect them at all costs. They're more important than you and you're needs.' He sat up and knew that he'd plunged himself into a vortex of emotional turmoil. 'A shower, that's what I need,' he decided. 'I'll be able to think straight after I take a shower.'

He wasn't feeling any better when he shut off the water and wrapped a towel around himself. If anything, he felt worse. Guilt lay like a stone in his chest. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about what had happened. He'd tried to do things without hurting anyone and someone had ended up dying. He'd had to keep going back and making different choices.

'Damn it. If Heero hadn't gotten in the way he wouldn't have died. Neither would Sally or Wufei. Why does he have to be so stubborn? I will probably have been noticed because of him. One time streamer can't hide from another for long if they use their streaming devices recklessly.' But Alex knew it wouldn't be Heero's fault at all if the person he was searching for found him.

'They told me that it was fine to let them die if I had to. That's what I should have done,' he thought as he started to pull a shirt over his head. A sound from the door made him look up. "Duo!" he cried in surprise. Duo was just staring at him, wide eyed. Quickly he pulled the door shut and started yelling. Alex was left standing there stupidly. When he finally got a grip on himself he finished pulling on his shirt and put his hat on.

***

"Quatre! Heero! Wufei! Get your butts up here!" Duo shouted back down the hall. He heard muttered curses as they all came running. Heero and Wufei both had their guns drawn when they ran around the corner.

"What's going on here?!" Quatre demanded from behind them.

"Duo, I can explain!" Alex said when he jerked his door open. His mouth formed into a silent O and his, now blue eyes, widened as he caught sight of Heero, Wufei, and Quatre standing there. "Uh-oh." he whispered.

"Uh-oh? What is going on?!" Quatre demanded again.

"Why'd you call us back here Maxwell?" Wufei growled at him.

"This is why!" Duo yelled as he reached out and tore Alex's hat off his head. Hair tumbled down his back in a cascading brown waterfall. Alex's eyes widened in shock as he tried to grab his hat back but he knew it was in vain.

"Our he is really a she." Duo said calmly.

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Dream Maker: *evil crazy laughter* How'd ya like it? I bet you weren't expecting that huh? *more laughter*

Christa: *looking at the shocked looks on the fan's faces as they turn to rage* *sweatdrop* Dream? I think we really need to get the next chapter up.

Dream Keeper: Okay, I'm almost done, I promise! But you might have to wait a while. I'm going back to school tomorrow so I won't have nearly enough time to write. *dances around the room with Ayako* Its my first day of High School!

Christa: *tear* Yeah. School's starting so guess what the muse gets to help with? *shudders* Report writing and homework.

Dream Keeper: Just wanted to get this up for you while I had a chance. Okay, I hope I'll have the next chapter up sometime this month but I've got like, 5 other fics going so it may take a while. The next chapter I have to write is claimed by Tragic Blessings, so you people who're reading it should be happy! *beams* Okay, bye!

Christa: Don't forget to R&R which means read AND REVIEW!

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