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Dream Keeper: 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: Or at least we hope she will. You never know WHO she's gunna kill!
Dream Keeper: Oh, shut up! I'll be nice. for the most part. Okay folks! This is the last official chapter! If you don't like the ending and you beg hard enough I may just to an epilogue. *evil grin*
Christa: Okay, right now you look freakier than Quatre when he's high on the Zero system! Lets just get this over with so she doesn't end up killing lovable little ME!!!
Dream Keeper: *mutters to herself* Hey, that's not a half bad idea. *runs and borrows Duo's Deathscyth Hell Custom* Die muse!!!!!!!!!
Christa: EEP!!!!!!!! *runs away very quickly*
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"What?" Quatre said, at a loss for any other words.
"He was always calling her Alex!" Alex exclaimed as she struggled to her feet and rushed into Trowa's room. She appeared a moment later looking even more distraught.
"What's wrong now?" Quatre quarried, knowing the emotional hell she must be going through even though he could no longer feel her.
"I don't have a dress."
"What do you need a dress for?"
"I'm going over to see if Jamal's gone home and I can't very well go looking like this? That'd only make his father think he was justified in what he said, and I want to make a good impression."
"What did he say?" Quatre demanded, suddenly feeling overly protective of the young woman in front of him.
"It doesn't matter Quatre. I need to find Jamal." she let the sentence trail off, knowing they were right back where it had started.
Quatre decided to take pity on her. "Why don't you go over and ask Cathy if you can borrow one of hers? You two should be about the same size." He noted that an odd expression crossed Alex's face but he chose to ignore it until he had time to think.
"Thanks Uncle Quatre," Alex said, giving him a quick hug before she flew out the door and over to Cathy's trailer.
"Good luck," Quatre whispered, knowing she wouldn't hear him. "You're going to need it."
~*~
"Cathy!" Alex cried as she burst into her aunt's trailer. She was out of breath from running and the shrillness of her voice brought Catherine from her room as if the hounds of hell were chasing her.
"Alex, what's wrong? Has something happened to Trowa or Happy?!" Cathy demanded, fearing the worst.
"No. they're fine. I. need a. dress," she panted.
"Is that all? What's go you all worked up? You half succeeded in giving me a heart attack." Cathy rolled her eyes, but when Alex didn't laugh she looked at the girl. Her skin was pale, much paler than usual, and her eyes had hardened back into the unnerving gaze she'd had before the circus. "Alex, what's wrong? You don't look so good. Do you want to lie down?"
"No, I'm fine," Alex said off handedly. "About that dress?"
"Alex, are you sure you're okay?" Cathy pried.
"I'm dying Cathy, and will continue to do so until I find Jamal and get this straightened out. Now, can I borrow a dress or not?!" Alex demanded, not bothering to keep the anger from creeping into her voice.
"Dying?!" Cathy demanded. Alex threw her hands up in defeat.
"Look, I'm dying because I'm from the future and the past is trying to throw me out, but it has no where to put me, okay?"
"I knew you were from the future but. why? Isn't there anything we can do?"
"Yes, you can give me a damned dress so I can go find Jamal," Alex said rudely, getting fed up with explanations. Cathy nodded dumbly and beckoned Alex to follow her into the bedroom. There she was allowed to pick out a dress that was her size and a decent color to go with her skin tones.
~*~
When Alex came barging back into the trailer Quatre was so shocked that he actually dropped his book. She looked so totally grown up that it was scary. There was so much conviction in her eyes that they practically blazed. This was a side of her that he'd never seen before.
"What'd you come back for?" he asked, at a loss for anything else to say.
"I need to get my coat," she said.
"What? Its not even hot out-," he started to say but she held up her hand and cut him off.
"Don't ask right now," she said as she walked out the door without so much as a goodbye. Quatre wasn't really hurt. He knew that she was, for once, acting exactly like Heero had and didn't care one bit.
"I just hope she works this out."
~*~
Alex walked the whole way to Jamal's mansion. She didn't want to arrive all sweaty and make a bad impression, but it was hard to oppress the urge to run. It unnerved her to be in the upper district again, but no one gave her a passing glance as she walked by. Evidently she'd done a good job of choosing her outfit because her leather jacket didn't look tacky, and many other people were wearing jackets for a fashion statement also.
Finally she arrived at the large iron gate surrounding the mansion. It was bigger than she remembered, but she didn't let it intimidate her. She had a legitimate reason to be there, so why should she worry?
Yes, why worry? she thought sarcastically as she pushed the button to speak to someone inside. "Hello?" she called.
"Hello. What do you need miss?" a kind voice asked her.
"I was wondering, is Jamal home?" God, I sound like an _idiot!_ she thought. I sound like a little kid!
"Sir? All right sir." the woman said to someone in the background.
"Who are you?" a gruff voice demanded.
"A-Alex," she stammered, for some perverse reason afraid of the man.
"So you're the no good hussy that my son's been running around with!" the man yelled. "I ought to have you arrested just for showing your face around here! All of your lot should be banned from the colonies."
"Technically, sir, you can't have me arrested because I have done nothing against the law. If you don't like circus performers, I'm sorry. We can't help the fact that not everyone agrees with what we do, even though it is quite innocent-,"
"Innocent you say?" Mr. Swift yelled. "You call those costumes you wear innocent? You call the stuff you do innocent? Ha!"
"Sir, if you could just tell me if Jamal is home?" Alex asked, her anger barely concealed.
"No, he's not. He went to live with you! My son, a circus performer! Ha! Its ridiculous!" He went on for some time about exactly how he was going to punish his son when he returned home, his tail tucked between his legs. Finally Alex got tired of hearing it and pushed the button one last time.
"If he does come home, please let him know that I'd like him to come over tonight so we can talk," she snapped before she stalked off down the street. When she had finally tired herself out enough to think about things calmly it was almost five o'clock.
Good thing I actually started back towards the circus by accident, she thought as she continued towards her destination. I've got to remember not to go on autopilot like that. It could get me seriously hurt in the upper district.
~*~
"Hey, where have you been?" Trowa asked when she walked in the front door. He did a double take when he saw exactly what she was wearing.
"Out," she said, refusing to say more. Her temper was frayed and her ego was battered and she knew it. She didn't want to fight with anyone else.
"Okay, sorry I asked," Trowa said, not really one bit surprised. Quatre had already told him what had transpired between Alex and Jamal and what to expect. "Hungry?" he asked instead.
"Starved," she said as she hung her coat up on the back of the bedroom door. "What's for dinner?"
"Soup," he said, with just a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Thank god!" Alex said as she plopped down at the table.
"You're serious?" Trowa asked, surprised that she wasn't complaining like usual. "Are my ears deceiving me or did I just hear you actually say something good about Cathy's soup?"
Alex stared him straight in the eye and gave him Heero's patented Death Glare. "Trowa, I have had an overall rotten day. I am hot, I am sweaty, I'm angry, tired, and I am _in_a_dress_. Give me the soup unless you want to be hurt."
Trowa laughed, knowing she was doing her best to joke, and handed her a bowl of soup which she promptly began to demolish. "You know, you should wear a dress more often," he said after a moment of looking at her.
Alex nearly choked. "What?!"
"You look rather nice in a dress. You should do it more often."
"Do you know how hard it is to move in these things?" she demanded. "You can't even sit comfortably in them. I'd love to see you spend five minutes in one and then tell me how much you like them!"
"No, thank you. I think I'll pass on that gracious offer. I-," he cut off whatever he was saying when someone knocked on the door. Frowning slightly he got up and opened it. "Oh, shit, I totally forgot," Trowa said as he stepped back to permit Heero and his two daughters. Alex quickly turned her back on him and continued eating.
"Sorry, I forgot to call before we left. Did you have anything else planned?" Heero asked, giving Trowa ample time to escape babysitting.
"No, no. It's okay. I'd just forgotten that you were going out _tonight_. Where's Relena?"
"She's going to meet me at the restaurant. She had some paperwork to finish up." Heero rolled his eyes as she stepped into the house and sat down on the couch. Trowa did the same after telling the girls where the toys were kept.
"Can I take your jacket?" a timid voice asked from beside them.
"Thanks," Heero said without really looking at the girl as he handed her his coat. "Sorry, I didn't know you had Cathy over. Are you sure you don't need me to find someone else?"
"Yes, I'm perfectly sure. You and Relena go on your date and have a good time. It's not often you two get to do that anymore," Trowa assured him.
"And I suppose that's why you're still a bachelor?" Heero said skeptically.
Trowa sighed and tried to look remorseful. "Yes. I was smart enough not to get married because I love going out at night and partying." He almost succeeded in keeping his face straight, but Heero snorted and caused him to laugh.
"What's the occasion?" Alex asked as she came back into the room.
"It's our anniversary," Heero said, again not looking at her.
"Well, happy anniversary," she said. She noticed Trowa give her a warning look and flick his glance towards the door, but she chose to ignore it.
"Thanks Cathy."
"My name isn't Cathy."
"Gods, I'm sorry. You looked so much like Cathy. I didn't know Trowa had a girlfriend." Heero said as he looked at her. "ALEX?!"
"Yes, Heero?" she asked.
"She's staying here with you?" He demanded of Trowa.
"Yes. She has been for quite a while," he admitted.
"I'm calling Relena. She'll understand us staying home-," Heero said angrily as he stood up and strode towards the phone.
"What are you worried about, Heero?" Alex asked.
"I can't imagine," he spat. Then he turned to Trowa. "I can't believe you'd harbor this murderer under your own roof! Don't you remember what she' done?"
"Heero, did Kira say anything to Zechs before you two left?" she asked suddenly.
"Not that I know of, why?" he demanded suspiciously.
"Go out on your date. Kira and Daja will be fine here for a few hours. You're just a phone call away. You can call every five minutes if you have to. And Trowa will be here. I know you don't trust me, and you have no reason to, but trust him at least," she told him calmly. "If you need any further proof that they will be okay, then remember that I couldn't hurt her if my life depended on it."
"Heero, you'd better go soon if you're going," Trowa told him, motioning to the clock on the wall. Heero wavered indecisively for a long time before he hung his head in defeat.
"I'll go, as long as you swear on your life that you'll keep an eye on them."
"I will," Trowa promised.
"And if she does anything funny, you'll kill her?" he pressed.
"What?!" Trowa shouted.
"Trowa-"
"Heero, I know there are many rifts that lie between us, especially Quatre's death, but I'd like you to know that I'm sorry. It doesn't help any, especially not with the pain, but know that I am. Here's your one and only shot to say anything and everything you've ever wanted to say to me. I won't correct you and I won't interrupt you. I won't even speak."
"Alex!"
"No, let him Trowa. I can see how much he wants to do it," Alex assured him. Trowa immediately could tell that she'd put her mask back on, and all her walls were going back up.
"Heero don't-" Trowa started to say, but Heero ignored him completely. He plowed ahead and said the many things he'd wanted to say for weeks. All of the hatred that had festered finally came tumbling out and as it did, Trowa could see more and more of the light go out of Alex's eyes.
"You little bitch! I swear on all that is holy that one day I am going to make you suffer just as much as you've made every one of us suffer!" Heero finished.
A moment of empty, tense silence followed his vow and all three of them jumped when the phone rang. Little Kira picked it up from the table she was playing by.
"Hello? Uwncle Zechs? Yeah, daddy's hewe. Is mommy okay? I'm afwaid fowr hewr. Is she going to-,"
"Kira put the phone down!" Alex screamed, running across the room to snatch it from her. She tossed it to a very stunned Heero. Kira, who didn't understand what was wrong, started to cry.
"Shh. Kira, I'm sorry," Alex soothed her. "I didn't mean to yell. You didn't do anything wrong. It's okay." When she wouldn't respond to Alex, Trowa went over and picked her up. Just being in his arms seemed to calm her down and in very little time her sobs subsided to hiccups, then to an occasional sniffle. When Heero got off the phone three minutes later she was playing with her sister again.
"What was that about?" Heero demanded.
"I'd rather not explain," Alex said unsteadily. "Lets just say that it's on old demon of mine that I wanted to kill. Just go Heero."
"If anything happens to her, I'll kill you," He said steadily.
"I wouldn't expect any less from you. I'll get your coat."
As Alex retrieved the troublesome garment Heero leaned forward and whispered to Trowa, "You'd better keep an eye on her if you know what's good for you."
"I will, Heero." he assured him.
"Here you go," Alex said when she returned. Heero reached out and tried to grab the coat from her, but she caught his hand and looked straight into his eyes. "Remember _everything_ I ever told you I hated about you Heero. Remember _everything_. If she dies tonight, I will kill you."
"What?" he exclaimed as fear coarse through him.
"I'm probably just being paranoid, but there's no sense in taking a chance. I can't help you tonight," she admitted.
Heero left immediately to be with his wife. He didn't give any more threats. He just grabbed his coat and walked out of the trailer. When he threw the car in reverse gravel flew and they knew he was scared.
"What did you stop Kira from asking?" Trowa quarried a few minutes after Heero left.
"I didn't want her to ask if Relena was going to die."
"What do you mean?" he demanded, alarmed.
"Quatre knows. Once, right before Relena died, Kira asked Zechs a question. He never forgave her for that question. I didn't want to see her hurt."
"But why would she ask that?"
"I don't know, but I pray Heero remembers."
"Alex, are you-"
"Are you babysitting anyone else tonight?" Alex cut him off.
"Yes, Duo's supposed to bring Matty and Danny over, but-"
"Then I'll make myself scarce until they leave," she said and before he could gainsay her she'd locked herself in the bedroom. He stepped up to the door and listened for a moment before he heard her muffled sobs. His heart nearly broke with the agony of the situation, but he knew that he was powerless to do anything about it. It drove him half-mad.
"I just hope Quatre can't feel her," he muttered to himself.
~*~
An hour later Duo and Hilde had come and gone, leaving their twins with him. Alex came out of the bedroom a few minutes later, looking almost exactly like she had when she'd gone in. Trowa couldn't help but wonder if she'd used makeup to patch herself up.
"So, what's going on?" she asked cheerily.
"Nothing. They're just playing in there," he told her, indicating the children.
"Oh." Another tap on the door made them look at each other curiously.
"Trowa?" a timid voice called out. Immediately Trowa dashed across the room and opened the door.
"Midii, come in!" he said gallantly, though anyone who didn't know him well would have thought him speaking normally.
"Thank you," she said as she stepped inside. It had just started to snow and the small white flakes clung to her hair, giving her an otherworldly quality.
"Uncle Trowa, is she an angle?" Danny asked, coming up to clutch his hand.
Midii laughed and ruffled his hair. "I'm sorry little one. I can't claim that title." She turned back to Trowa then and asked, "So I guess you're busy tonight?"
Trowa looked helplessly at the kids and nodded slowly, unhappily. "Sorry, had I known you were coming over."
"Oh, Trowa, you're hopeless. I'll watch them. You two go do whatever you want," Alex said, smiling at them. Trowa couldn't help but note that the smile didn't reach her eyes. Once glance at Midii told him that she did too. "Just be sure to be back before Heero gets back."
"Are you sure, Alex?" he pressed.
"Yes, I'm sure. You two go have fun. We'll be fine," Alex assured him as she brought him his coat.
"Where to?" Midii asked.
"I know this great little coffee shop just a few blocks from here, if you'd like?" Trowa offered.
"Sure. It sounds great."
"Hey, Alex, don't forget about the potluck tonight. When the kids get hungry, just take them there," Trowa called over his shoulder before he shut the door. Alex vaguely noted that they opted to walk instead of drive.
~*~
At eight o'clock the kids were just starting to get hungry. Alex knew by now that half the circus would be drunk, and not looking where they were going so she didn't want to chance the potluck. "Well, what am I going to feed them?" she wondered aloud.
"Alex, can you play this?" Daja asked, holding up Trowa's prized flute.
"Oh no. That's Trowa's and I don't dare touch it," Alex said hastily as she took the instrument away from her and put the strap over her shoulder.
"Alex, I want mac and cheese," Danny whined. (I don't own that either!)
"Um. okay," Alex said as she went to the cabinet and looked inside to see if they had any. Trowa's flute fell forward and hit her in the side as she bent over, reminding her to put it away.
"Daja, could you boil some water?" Alex asked as she stood up, triumphant in her search.
"Sure!" she said, happy to have something important to do.
"Alex, can I watch TV?" Matty asked, putting on her puppy dog eyes.
"No, scamp. I heard your father say you were grounded." Matty pouted, but when it became apparent that she wasn't going to her way, she went back to play with her "cousins."
"The water's boiling," Daja called, her voice filled with delight.
"Thank you, Daja! You've been such a help!" Alex praised her. She was about to say something more but yet another person knocked at the door. "Kira, get that," she said as she poured the noodles in. She was just walking towards the door when Kira opened it-
And a gun was leveled at the little girl's head.
***
When Heero reached the restaurant he had to restrain himself from jumping out of the car, running inside, and demanding to know where his wife was. He knew it was foolish, but he had to force himself to get out of the car and walk calmly up to the door.
"Do you need a table or are you meeting someone, sir?" the man behind the counter asked.
"Relena Yuy?" he quarried.
"Ah, yes. She's right this way, sir."
Heero squashed the nagging voice inside him that told him to run, but he couldn't. All he knew was that something didn't feel right. He passed it off as Alex trying to scare him, but some part of his mind didn't believe that.
"Heero," Relena greeted him, smiling.
"Relena, happy anniversary," he said to her as he bent down and kissed her, some of his apprehension melting away.
"Happy anniversary, Heero," she whispered against his lips. Suddenly both became aware again that they were in public and immediately put on their political masks.
"May I take your coat from you sir?" a timid voice asked from behind them. Heero turned around, making sure not to look nervous, to see who it was. He half expected Alex to be standing there, but instead it was a beautiful, if young, woman with long, blond hair and blue eyes.
She seemed to shrink under his gaze, though he couldn't imagine for the life of him why. He wasn't intentionally looking cold, but she acted that way. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked, trying to cover up her discomfort.
"May I take your coat, sir?" she repeated. Something in the way she said it tipped Heero off. Something inside him snapped back into the old soldier and he instantly remembered that coats were taken at the door. He also remembered that no one else had given theirs up. In fact, when he looked swiftly around, people had theirs hanging off the backs of their chairs.
"No, thank you," he said, sitting down before she could protest. She merely nodded, tight lipped, and went on her way.
"What was that about?" Relena asked, miffed at her husbands attitude.
"Nothing," Heero said, hoping he was correct.
"Okay," she said dubiously, a hint of unease showing in her eyes. "Shall we order?"
~*~
Their meal was almost over when disaster struck. They'd just started on desert when a brick came flying through the window of the restaurant. It landed right in the middle of their table and Heero knew at once that it was a bomb. "Everybody DOWN!" he shouted as he grabbed Relena and shoved her behind the table as he overturned it. He threw the bomb into an unoccupied corner of the restaurant right as it exploded.
A piece of the shrapnel flew through the air and buried itself in his leg. Heero cursed fluently in any and every language he'd ever learned as he fell to his knees, the pain wracking him in waves. Relena was immediately by his side, binding the wound closed with a scrap of her dress.
"Are you making a habit of this dear?" she asked shakily as she helped _him_ to his feet.
"Not by choice," he growled through clenched teeth. "Shit, this hurts."
"I'm sure it does, but we need to get out of here," Relena said.
"You're not going anywhere!" a harsh voice shouted from the second floor. A masked figure stood there but Heero could swear that he knew the voice from somewhere. if only he could remember where.
One of the people who'd been at the table nearby tried to run but the gunman turned the gun on her and shot her ruthlessly. The woman went down like a ton of bricks, blood spattering everyone liberally. She fell directly at Heero's feet and continued to bleed. The gunman dispatched two others in the time it took to draw a breath.
"Why are you doing this?" Heero demanded, desperate to buy time.
"Because, I'm the bad guy," he said loftily as he raised his gun.
In a split second Heero pushed Relena behind him. and in that split second a memory surfaced.
"You're the cause of her death! You killed her! You're the reason she's dead! You thought you would protect her by pushing her behind you! You stupid fool! You don't even know anymore how to tell just who they shoot at! You pushed her behind you and she took the bullet that was meant for you! It should have been you that died!" Alex had screamed at him.
Quick as lightning Heero shoved Relena to the floor-
Right as someone squeezed the trigger of a gun behind him. Heero spared one minute to wonder if Relena was going to be all right before the bullet thudded into his back.
"Heero!" Relena screamed as he crumbled to the floor. People all around her, who'd been rooted to the spot because of the gunmen, screamed and fled, nearly trampling her husband.
"Heero!" Relena cried again as she rolled him over onto his back. "Heero! Wake up Heero! Come on! Open your eyes! Open your eyes Heero!" she screamed as she shook him.
Her bodyguards were surrounding them. She'd told them to wait outside so she and her husband could have some privacy, but now she regretted it. "God damn you Heero! Open your eyes! You can't do this to me!" Blood covered the ground but Relena didn't know whose it was. It covered Heero too. That's what worried her. Was it his, or the woman's?
A gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality and she realized she was still kneeling next to her husband. "Vice foreign minister, maybe we should go," one of her bodyguards said, moving to help her up, but Relena jerked away from him.
"Come on Heero! You've always been the strong one! Don't leave me! I can't be strong!" she yelled, trying one last time to get a response from him. She closed her eyes and willed herself under control.
A gentle hand touched her again, this time brushing against her cheek to wipe away her tears. Her eyes flew open to stare straight into Heero's. "This fucking hurts," he half laughed, half moaned as he drug himself into a sitting position.
"Heero, you shouldn't move-," Relena started to tell him but he hushed her with a look.
"I'm fine, or mostly," he assured her. "Only my leg."
"But she shot you!" Relena insisted, unable to believe that Heero had gotten away from the gun without a scratch. The woman in question, the waitress from earlier, glared at her defiantly as one of the bodyguards restrained her.
Heero said nothing, just pulled off the coat, and turned it around. Imbedded in the back was the bullet but when he removed it he found a thin layer of something akin to what was inside bullet proof vests.
"Alex," he said, realizing just how much he owed her tonight.
"What about her?!" Relena demanded.
"Alex saved our lives," he admitted, still staring transfixed at the leather jacket.
"Heero," his wife said sharply, grabbing his face in her hands and making him look at her. "What is going on?"
He didn't answer her as he pulled away and stood up. "I want you to get her out of here. Take her to the safe-house," he told the bodyguards in a harsh tone that made them afraid to disobey. They immediately hauled a loudly protesting Relena away just as the paramedics rushed in. Heero waved them off, telling them to tend to the injured and slipped out into the night.
"Alex, if anything has happened to them I'll kill you," Heero whispered to the night as he drove at breakneck speed back towards the circus.
~*~
When Relena was finally dumped unceremoniously at Dorothy's house she was, to say the least, very displeased. Dorothy came rushing out to meet her, asking franticly is she was all right, but Relena ignored her.
"What the hell is going on?!" Relena demanded sternly. One look in her eyes told Dorothy that she wasn't going to be deterred.
"I'm not sure myself, Mrs. Relena," Dorothy admitted grudgingly, beckoning her inside. "I was just let in on this myself. It seems that you have someone besides Heero protecting you from the shadows now. How is it you always manage to snag people like that?"
"Dorothy," Relena said warningly.
"Play a game of chess with me, Mrs. Relena," Dorothy said. Relena looked at her in surprise as she was led into the parlor, but Dorothy seemed entirely serious.
"You can't be serious! Dorothy, we don't have time for stupid games!" Relena exploded.
"Do you want your information or not?" Dorothy said rudely, letting Relena know just what she thought of her at the moment. Defeated, Relena sat down in an overstuffed chair in front of a chessboard. One of Dorothy's servants lit a fire in the nearby hearth before retreating from the room. The bodyguards stationed themselves around the room, trying to give them space.
"Now, what do you know?" Relena asked hotly.
Little bit by bit Dorothy told her all she knew. Somehow Trowa had become aware of a small organization that was gathering the remnant soldiers of all the wars, and banding them together to form a new army. An army to wipe out all political leaders so they could seize control of the ESUN.
"What?!" Relena yelped, letting go of her queen before she was sure of the move. Dorothy tsk'd as she took it with a lowly pawn.
"That's checkmate Mrs. Relena. You should pay more attention if you're going to keep your position as Vice foreign minister. I find that people play politics like they play chess. If this is any indication of how reckless you are, you'd better start picking out your coffin."
"Dorothy!" Relena cried, aghast.
"If your husband can't protect you, you're as good as dead if these guys get their way. There's no guarantee that any of the boys can stop them this time." Dorothy told her as straightforward as she could. Relena sat back in her chair and pondered all that her friend had said. "Oh, and I've got some information for you," she said suddenly, as if just remembering it, though Relena knew she hadn't forgotten it at all.
"Thank you," she said graciously, accepting a small portfolio filled with papers. She flipped through it quickly once, then again as a frown creased her brow. Finally she looked up into Dorothy's eyes. "I don't understand."
"Its mandatory for all people who've died a violent death to undergo an autopsy," Dorothy explained. "It's because of the rash of faked deaths the earth had in A.C. 125. Anyway, read the last paragraph and you will understand."
"Cause of death was determined to be a blow to the head by a piece of shrapnel," Relena read aloud, her voice choking with emotion. "Dorothy-"
"Keep reading," she urged.
"Victim was found to be in perfect health, age thirty, race Irish." she stopped and glanced up sharply. "But this isn't Quatre!"
"No," Dorothy agreed, smiling slightly.
"Then that means. Quatre's alive?"
***
Alex saw the gun and an immense anger roared to life within her. Without pausing to think she let the flute slide down her arm and caught the carrying strap in her hand. Then she swung it forward with all of her strength behind it and caught the man's wrist from underneath. He let out a cry of pain as his wrist broke and dropped the gun. Alex scrambled for it but he was faster.
"RUN!" Alex screamed at the four children as they stood rooted to the floor. "GET OUT OF HERE!" she bellowed as another man came through the door. In a split second the children were nearly forgotten and Alex lowered herself into a defensive crouch. He didn't even have time to register her before she launched herself at him.
She fought like she was back in Queens. It didn't matter that there was no honor in the way she fought. There was no honor in the fight. All she cared about was winning for the sake of her cousins. She bit, scratched, kicked, punched, and broke bones for all she was worth as the occasional shot was let off. It didn't matter that there were five of them now within the small trailer. All that mattered was survival.
And it seems like that's more and more likely, she thought as she broke one's nose. They seem to be on orders not to kill us. That makes the likely hood of us getting away better. But where are the others? Why haven't they come to help? I know they can hear us, she thought desperately as a punch connected with her ribs. She swung around with the flute and caught the man upside the head. The flute connected with a sickening crack and broke in half. but so did his neck. He fell to the floor like a ton of bricks.
Alex looked at the case and realized it was useless as a weapon now. Without hesitating she threw it aside and muttered, "Trowa is going to kill me."
A gunshot was fired in the air, narrowly missing Alex's head and she realized just how dangerous the situation was. What if they had secondary orders to kill everyone if they found their quarries too much trouble to obtain?
She didn't have long to think because the woman who'd fired the shot fired another one directly at Alex. It hit her at almost point blank range and Alex crumbled. "Damn you!" she screamed from the floor as she clutched at her right leg. She tried to stand but another bullet caught her in her other leg, then one in the left arm. Alex screamed with the pain and just as it became unbearable someone hit her on the back of the head with a gun and her world went black.
***
Heero pulled into the circus and screeched to a halt, jumping out of the car the second it stopped. He made straight for Trowa's trailer but stopped when it came into view. The entire circus was completely silent except for the occasional snore. Everyone was passed out exactly where they'd been when the potluck started. Drugged.
The door of the trailer stood wide open, allowing light to flood the ground before it. Blood was spattered on the walls and floor inside and a body or two littered the ground. Heero couldn't get his brain to work properly. For the first time in his life he was so terrified that he couldn't move. Terrified of what he'd find.
A lone shadow moved to block the doorway before it stumbled out of the trailer and straight towards him. He reached for the gun in his coat pocket before he remembered he didn't have it. This wasn't his coat.
"Heero!" a painfully familiar voice called to him, but Heero was certain he'd gone crazy. There was no way.
"Heero!" Quatre yelled again, hysterically, as he grabbed his friend's shoulders and shook him. "They took them Heero! They took them! I don't know where they went!"
"You're alive?" Heero said, then shook his head. "Explanations later. Who took them? Where the hell did they go? And what happened to Trowa?"
"Heero," a cheerful voice called out from behind him. "What are you- Oh, god," Trowa breathed as he dropped Midii's hand and dashed towards them. "What happened?!"
Heero didn't pause to think as he grabbed the front of Trowa's shirt in his hands and pushed him back against a nearby tree. "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" he demanded, not two inches from his face. "Where were you?!"
"I was just down the street," Trowa said brokenly. "I swear to go I wasn't gone more than an hour."
"An hour and forty five minutes," Midii corrected.
"What's going on out here?" someone asked as he came strolling towards them. "Um, sir, I don't know who you are but I'd leave Trowa alone. He can be pretty vicious." he said nervously.
"Stay out of this kid!" Heero spat.
"Is Alex inside?" he asked.
"Who god damned cares where Alex is?!" Heero snarled, looking for anyone to vent his anger on. "I want to know WHO IN GODS NAME HAS MY DAUGHTER!"
"Alex isn't here?" Jamal demanded.
"No, she was kidnapped," Trowa said. He didn't resist when Heero drew back and punched him full in the face time and time again before Quatre, Midii, and Jamal were able to pull him away.
"What do you mean kidnapped?!" Jamal demanded, more urgently this time.
"Someone came here and took her," Quatre said. Jamal's eyes widened when he saw the "ghost" but he said nothing, waiting for him to continue. "They took Alex, Duo's children, and Heero's girls. We don't know where they went."
"And you are just standing here fighting about who's to blame?" Jamal spat. "You're all idiots. If you're so worried about it you'd better get your asses in gear and start looking for some clue as to where they've taken them!" His voice rose to a shout, brining all three of them out of their stupor's. "You're acting as if all three of you are helpless! Two of you are the biggest political powers in the ESUN and I can vouch for Trowa's ability to throw a knife," he continued until Quatre held up a hand to silence him.
"I'm sorry, Jamal. We're not used to things like this happening anymore. We'll find them," he assured the young man, almost as much as he tried to assure himself.
~*~
As they picked through the scene inside the trailer all felt themselves becoming sick. It was evident that a rough fight had ensued, and that the children had tried to flee through the bedroom window and were caught. Bullets were lodged in the floor and walls, making it evident that the people may have had secondary orders.
"Well, we can definitely say that Alex is responsible for at least three of these," Trowa said as he crouched down over a broken body. "I don't know anyone else who could have killed them like this."
"What was she using?" Heero asked.
"This," Trowa said, holding up his broken flute case. He didn't even bother to look inside. He already knew the instrument was beyond repair.
"She did all this with _that_?" Heero demanded.
"She lived in Queens," Trowa replied simply.
"Trowa, come look at this," Quatre called from within the bedroom. Trowa immediately hurried there and found Jamal becoming sick.
"What-" he started to ask before he almost stumbled over a body. It was lying off to one side of the door with a bullet wound in its head. Her eyes were still staring straight ahead, her face a mask of shock.
"One of them must have found my gun," Trowa breathed, looking towards the dresser where the top drawer was open.
"There's another one outside," Heero stated. He walked over to the leather coat lying on the floor and felt in the pocket. "Mine's gone too."
"Trowa! What's going on here?!" Duo bellowed as he came dashing in, Hilde following closely. Trowa couldn't meet his eyes as he surveyed the carnage around them.
"How?"
"I don't know. I wasn't here," he said flatly.
"What do you mean you weren't here?!" Hilde screamed. "Just who was watching my babies?!"
"Alex," Quatre said, coming to stand in the open.
"Quatre?!" Duo yelped. "How?"
"We'll save the explanations for later. What we need to do right now is find out where they were taken," he told him, his voice sounding much calmer than her felt. Duo nodded dumbly and looked around the room.
"Well, where do we start?"
"This one has a call phone on him," Midii said, as she dug around in the corps' pocket. When she stood she handed it to Heero. "I'd better go," she said uncertainly.
"No, Midii, don't go."
"Trowa," Heero spat. "This isn't the time for-"
"Midii used to be a spy, and an excellent one. She may be the one who figures out this blood covered riddle," Trowa shot back tartly, successfully shutting Heero up. Another car pulled in next to the trailer, which was already crowded, and everyone spun to see who it was.
"What is going on? Are they missing too?" Wufei asked brokenly as he stood in the doorway. No one said anything. They didn't have to. The answer was clear from the look on their faces.
Heero turned to Duo and said, "Call Zechs."
***
Alex woke slowly, finding that her whole body hurt, and wondered what exactly she had done to it. Then she realized that she was sitting up, tied to a chair; not at the circus. Her head came up and her eyes snapped open but she immediately regretted the decision because the pain in her head increased ten fold and the light only made it worse. Quickly she remedied the situation.
"Ah, so the little dove finally awakens," a harsh voice said. She didn't have to look up to know who it was.
"Brad Rajda," she stated flatly.
"Ah, I'm honored that you know my name, sweetling," he said as he took her chin in his grasp and roughly made her look at him. "You've caused me nothing but trouble."
Alex didn't hesitate to spit in his face. She was rewarded for her efforts with a backhanded blow to her face. His knuckles caught her right across the cheekbone and she could have sworn in that moment that her head was going to explode.
"Don't you _ever_ do _anything_ like that again, do you hear me?" he yelled.
"I'll do whatever I want," she told him firmly. "I've already told them about you. It won't be long until they come barging in here and kill you." She knew it was a bluff, but it was all she had. "And then Heero can tell them that it was you who tried to kill them tonight."
"On the contrary my dear," someone said mockingly. "I don't believe that is possible. You see, I have a very strong alibi as to where I was tonight. They can't lay a finger on me." The cold chill of fear crept up her spine and Alex knew that it had to show on her face because Brad smiled.
"I forgot that there were two of you," she said, glancing towards the older Brad.
"Oh, yes. My younger self needed some guidance before he could set about taking over the E-sun, so I felt obligated to give it to him. It's a good thing I did too or else he wouldn't have made it this far. I knew those crazy koots would send someone to undo what we did, but I never expected them to send a woman. Don't they know how stupid that is?"
"Yes," the younger one agreed. "They're nothing but an emotional wreck. All they do is weep and cry and they're too bound up in their own wants to let anybody die. Oh, don't look so surprised," he told her. "I've known who you are since that last rescue you pulled."
"We have been wondering. Why didn't you let Heero die? You know he's the one we want. The others are just bonuses in our game."
"For now," Alex spat. "The second the strongest is out of the way you'll start picking off the so called weaker prey. Don't you know how to fight like men?"
The older Brad tsk'd at her and shook his head. "You see there? That only proves what we were saying. Women are nothing but an emotional wreck. They're always jumping to conclusions even when they should keep their mouth shut."
"And the way you're talking only proves that you're total morons who have too much time on their hands and nothing better to do than hear themselves speak!" Alex shot back tartly. She was rewarded with another blow to her face. Both men laughed as she hung her head and whimpered involuntarily.
"Why don't we let the boys have some fun with her before we start?" the younger Brad suggested, an evil glint in his eye.
"Oh, I think we should," the elder agreed readily. "We just have to make sure they don't damage her _too_ much."
"I don't think they're that stupid. They know how much we need her." the former said as they walked out the door together. The rest of his words were lost as the door banged shut behind him but Alex hurt too much to worry about words. Instead she forced herself to look around her room.
It was unremarkable. She could have been any number of places. It was a white room, like a hospital room, without any identifying traits. The only thing that made it different was there were no windows and the door was made out of very thick steel. Alex didn't get concentrate long because five men came in then and she was sure that she was going to die.
***
"Quatre's really alive?" Relena asked again, allowing a little hope to creep into her eyes.
"Yes, Relena, Quatre is alive. I don't know where, or why, he's been hiding but he has. This much is for certain though. When this leaks out the press are going to have a field day and he won't be able to hide anymore."
"I know that," Relena said as she studied the paper. "But why wold he fake his own death?"
"Most likely someone was trying to kill him and whoever was helping him thought it would be better if everyone thought he _was_ dead."
"Alex," Relena breathed as she remembered exactly what had happened that night at the mansion. "Oh, god."
"So you see your mistake?" Dorothy inquired. "You should never have sent her away."
"How do you know about her?"
"Heero has told me a great deal of things about her, and none of them have been good. But if you look at the things she's done in a new light like this you might be able to understand some of what she was trying to do."
"And we sent her away."
"Yes, you did. I-" Dorothy started to say something more but in that same instant Heero came barging through the doors into the house.
"Heero!" Relena cried happily as she leaped out of the chair and ran to hug him. He pushed her aside impatiently and she glared at him indignantly. "What is going on?" She was momentarily distracted when Quatre walked into the room with the others. She flung her arms around him briefly before she turned back to Heero and posed her question again.
"Dorothy, I need you to start up all the computers you have in this house," Heero told her, his voice leaving no doubt that he would injure anyone who got in his way.
"Oh, are the g-boys back?" she purred.
Heero had to restrain himself from striking the annoying woman before him. "Move your ass before I get angry," he snapped at her.
"Heero!" Relena said impatiantly.
"Relena, I don't have time for you right now so sit down and shut up!" Heero snapped as he rounded on her. His wife fell back a step from him in fright and he made a visible bid for his temper.
"Relena, it's terrible," Hilde sobbed. All of the g-boys and Zechs followed Dorothy out of the room and down the hall quickly. None of them wanted to be around when Relena found out.
"Do you think this room will work for you?" Dorothy asked as she led them into a room filled with computers. Duo's mouth dropped open involuntarily from shock.
"Just what kind of place do you live in?" he asked as he looked around. There was exactly fifteen very high tech computers in the room.
"Well, you're always doing one thing or another that involves hacking and usually you come to me so. When you explained to me what was happening I took the liberty of setting this room up for you. I hope its too your liking."
"You knew this was going to happen?" Wufei bellowed at her.
"No, but I knew something like it _could_ occur if you weren't careful, so I planned ahead," she snapped. "Besides, I've always wanted to open up an Internet Café."
"You know, Hilde should just be getting around to telling Relena," Duo said offhandedly.
Though the situation was serious, Wufei couldn't help himself. "Three. two. one."
"_HEERO!_"
***
When Alex came to she noted that she was till tied to a chair and that it felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to her body. Which they very well could have, she reminded herself.
As she took stock of all the damage they'd done to her she inwardly wept. Most of her ribs were bruised, if not broken, three fingers were broken, they'd knocked a tooth out of her mouth, her lip was split, black eyes, and one ankle was bent at a funny angle. She couldn't feel it but she knew that it was going to hurt like hell.
"Wake her up," someone snapped. I'd dearly love to repay the favor, she thought as she received a hard slap.
"I'm awake," she managed to mutter.
"Then look at me when I'm speaking to you!" he shouted. She forced herself to raise her head and noted that it was the younger one.
"What?"
"Did you enjoy what the boys did to you?" he purred.
"Absolutely. When does round two start?" she said sarcastically, pain coloring her voice.
"If you cooperate there won't have to be a round two," he assured her. "Just tell me which little child is you and I'll let the others go."
"I'll never tell you," Alex growled.
"Would you sentence them all to death, little dove?"
"Better death than living in a world of your making. I've seen what they're going to live through and I won't let it happen. Besides, if they die Heero, Trowa, Duo. even Wufei and Zechs will have nothing to live for but their work. Do you really think you'll be able to take over then?"
"Do you really think that I care what they feel? I'll be able to take over no matter what when Heero is dead."
Alex glared at him, scrutinizing him as she tried to hold onto consciousness. "Do you really think that Heero matters that much to the E- sun? You're wrong. He's just Relena's bodyguard. Everyone knows it. The rest of the Gundam pilots did just fine without him every time they thought he was dead. Why won't they do the same now?"
"Because they all rely on him!" Brad shouted at her.
"I don't think so. He's just a mean tempered, spiteful asshole that's way too head over heals in love with an idiot. They don't rely on him because they know that the ditzy blond means more to him than his life."
"I don't think so," Brad said resolutely. "But we'll test your theory."
"Which one?" Alex challenged.
"Do you really think that you'll let the children die?"
Alex scoffed at him but inside she was screaming. "I don't care a lick about those brats. Kill them if you want to. There's no guarantee that one of them is really me. How do you know I'm even born yet?"
Something flickered behind her captor's eyes and she wondered if she hadn't made a big mistake. "Bring Duo's little brat in," Brad commanded and immediately it was done. One of the men roughly pushed the frightened child inside. Brad withdrew a gun from the waistband of his pants and aimed it at Danny's head. "Now what do you say?"
"Shoot him," Alex told him cruelly. "See if I care. He doesn't mean anything in this little game. H's just a simple pawn."
"As are you," he snapped back. "But even a pawn can checkmate the king." He cocked the gun and started putting pressure on the trigger. "You have three seconds. One."
"Alex!" Danny screamed in terror. "Help me!"
"Two."
"HELP ME!" he begged her, his voice going shrill.
"Three!" Brad yelled. Danny shut his eyes and flinched when the gun went off.
"You see?" Alex taunted. "He meant nothing to the game and you knew it. He didn't have any stake in this game at all so I don't see why you bothered to bring him in here anyway." Inside Alex screamed and cried and cursed Brad for all she was worth. How could he even _think_ about hurting a child as innocent as Danny?
"Take this trash out of here," Brad snapped at one of the guards as he kicked Danny in the side. Carefully he slipped the gun back into his pocket. "And do be sure its taken care of properly."
"Yes sir," the guard said as he gathered the child up in his arms.
"Don't get the wrong idea now, little dove," Brad told her. "The only reason I didn't shoot him is because I didn't want to get blood all over my nice clothes."
"Yes, certainly," Alex agreed noncommittally. She didn't want to push him at all but she needed to keep him thinking that she was heartless. She knew he was insane, but she had to make sure she lived through this.
"You know, I have a lot of time on my hands right now. Don't you think it'd be fun if we played a game?"
"How about go fish?" she suggested and was rewarded with another slap. Angrily she spit the blood out of her mouth, right onto his shoe. "I'm really getting tired of that."
"Really? I thought you liked it," he told her as he did it again. "Maybe if I beat some sense into you you'll just admit who you are!"
"Sir, Chang Wufei and Zechs Marquise's children have just arrived," someone informed him.
A slow smile crawled across the politician's face and Alex couldn't stop herself from shivering. There was no sanity in his eyes at all, nothing but cruel madness. He knew she was his captive, subject to his every whim. He didn't have to prove it to her. She already knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but there was still hope. There was always hope where her uncles were concerned.
"Do you really want to see how long you can last before you break, little dove? Do you really want to see how long it will take before you beg for death? Before you beg for release from the pain?"
"There hasn't been a day in the last four years of my life that I haven't longed to be embraced in strong arms and held lovingly there," Alex began.
"Oh, I hadn't realized you loved me so much, sweetling."
She glared at him and continued, "Held lovingly when I finally kiss the sweet angel of death."
Brad froze and stared at her. "You'd rather die then live?"
"I'm saying that I don't fear death. It holds no power over me. If I happen to die then so be it. It'd be one less person clogging up outer space."
"And if I killed you now?" he demanded.
"But you can't. You can't kill me before you're sure of exactly who I am. I know it as well as you do. I can't die, because if I die, then you die with me. They'll just forewarn me about you. You won't be able to move two steps before you get a bullet in the back of your head."
"So why don't you just slip back into the time-stream now?"
"Do you think I'm entirely stupid?" Alex spat. "I did pay attention when they explained how this worked. I know that one streaming device cancels another."
"Then you _are_ smarter than I gave you credit for," Brad agreed as he walked forward towards her. Before she could blink he drew a knife from his back pocket opened it, pressing its blade against her throat hard enough that it tasted her blood. "But you are stupid to toy with me. What do you have to gain?"
"Everything," she told him fearlessly.
"But think about all you have to loose," he warned her.
"A person who has nothing to live for, has nothing to loose," she retorted. The knife bit deeper but she refused to cry out in pain, knowing that was what he wanted.
"We're playing for your life, sweetling."
"And a person with nothing to loose, but everything to gain, will risk their life to obtain what they want."
"God, you're impossible!" he shouted as he buried his hand in her hand and jerked her head backwards, exposing her neck more invitingly to him. "I could kill you right now!"
"And it wouldn't matter," Alex reminded him.
"Boss!"
"What is it?!" Brad shouted as he turned to face his employee. "Can you not see that I am busy?!"
"But boss, the little brat go away!"
"He what?! Then go after him!"
The man shifted uncomfortably on his feet, refusing to meet his boss's eye. "We did sir, but he gave us the slip."
"Do you realize just what you might have done?!" Brad screamed, his voice loosing almost all of its masculinity.
"I'm sorry sir, I really am!" the man tried to apologize. It was futile and he knew it as brad took the gun from his back pocket and shot him with it. Blood spattered over the walls, liberally drenching both of the occupants in the room.
Alex screamed involuntarily as some of the blood got into her eyes. She blinked rapidly trying to clear it away, but it only made it worse. Her contacts became coated with it and became nearly useless. Brad rounded on her and she closed her eyes, lest he see.
"Oh, I'm sorry sweetling. I hadn't realized that you disliked killing so much. You wouldn't have thought since you did take out five of my best people. But here, let me clean you up some." He sent someone after a bottle of clean water and a sponge. They returned quickly and Brad gently wiped the worst of the gore off of her face.
"Now open your eyes, little dove, so I can take care of them too," he said gently.
I can't let him know! I can't let him see! Never! He'll know exactly who I am! I can't let him see! Her mind screamed as she refused to open her eyes. Brad finally got tired of waiting and pried one open. His intake of breath signaled that he'd seen how the blood gathered around the outside of the contacts.
"Contacts? How ingenious, I never would have thought to look," he told her as he poured some of the water over her eyes. As the blood washed away her vision became clearer again. "Why don't we look and see what color your eyes are under those?" He reached out and carefully took them out of her eyes, not wanting to blind her.
Ha! Like her could blind me anyway. I don't have any sight as it is! she thought as she sat perfectly still. She could still see his face because of the way he was holding his hand open.
"Blue eyes? Hmm. that narrows it down to three."
"But retina is changed easily enough," Alex reminded him. Just because my eyes are blue doesn't mean that that was their original color."
She saw his face go red in anger and he closed her hand into a fist, crushing her contacts. She let out a cry of dismay but cut it off immediately. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her too discomforted.
"You may be correct, but you were very wrong to test me right now. I am not in the mood, sweetling. I know now that you are blind. Without these, I'm assuming that you can't see. I'm sorry if they were important to you, but you k now, the E-sun is very important to me also. Now you're going to suffer for interfering with me."
"Oh, and how is that, Brad? Are you going to talk me to death?" She wasn't prepared when he took his knife and slit her wrist.
"No, I think that you'll understand when you feel what I'm doing." He kissed her roughly before she felt him move away. She spit, trying to rid herself of some of her shame.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way, little dove," Brad called to her from the door.
"Really? Do you want to save me the trouble of killing you and just surrender now?"
Brad just laughed at her, a cruel, evil laugh and said, "Break her legs."
***
"Heero, you've been at this computer for twelve hours straight. You need to rest," Quatre urged his friend as he peered over his shoulder. "Nothing is coming of this track anyway. It's just a dead end like all the others."
"I don't care if I'm at this computer for twelve days, Quatre. My children are missing and I am going to find them!" he snapped as he continued typing.
"Just what are you looking up anyway, Heero?" Zechs said, coming to peer over his shoulder. Hacking was _not_ his specialty so he was almost entirely useless.
"I'm looking up any and all information on recent terrorist activities."
"You broke into the Preventers main computer?!" Sally yelped, coming to look. She'd arrived a few hours after Wufei and hadn't slept, just like the rest of them. Sure enough, Heero was cruising though the Preventers mainframe. "You do realize that Lady Une is going to kill you?"
"And make you redesign the system," Wufei muttered to himself.
"I don't care. Duo, how's that damned phone coming?"
"Still no good, Heero buddy," his friend told him angrily. "It's got better locks on it than your laptop and that's saying something. I haven't been able to find a way in at all!"
"Is that what you've been working on?" Midii asked, her tone clearly conveying how stupid she thought he was. "You know maybe this is a little to simplistic, or maybe I'm just lazy, but did you ever think to call up the maker and see who the phone was sold do?"
Everyone in the room stopped dead and stared at her. All of them had been so wrapped up in doing everything the way they used to that they'd totally forgotten to look for all of the _easy_ stuff. All of them had missed the serial number on the back of the phone. They hadn't believed that a terrorist would be stupid enough to use a traceable phone.
"Well, it was just a suggestion," Midii said, breaking their paralysis. Everyone flew back to their computers and started working again. Wufei and Sally were both on the phone yelling at the phone company in seconds, demanding things done in regards to the Preventers.
"Duo! Hilde!" Relena yelled from outside the door. Everyone in the room flinched and tried to block out her noise. She was a wonderful politician, but when it came to dangerous matters she was best left on the sidelines. She'd almost gotten _all_ of them killed too many times for them to risk letting her in on a mission like this one.
"Duo! Hilde! Open up!" she yelled again, banging on the door.
"Go away! Get us more coffee!" Duo called back irritably and he looked into his empty cup.
"Daddy!" someone screamed from outside the door. Hilde and Duo were out of their chairs and running towards the door before the scream even died away. It was a wonder they didn't tear the door off its hinges in their haste to exit the room.
"Danny!" Hilde screamed as she enveloped her son in her arms. She hugged and kissed him many times as tears streamed down her face. Duo wasn't much different as he clung to his son, who in turn clung to him. Finally Duo held Danny at arms length and surveyed him critically.
Danny was a royal mess. Blood and gore clung to him and stank. His hair was disheveled from his attempted escape and dirt clung to him everywhere. He had a deep gouge in his forearm from the broken window, but overall he was unharmed.
"Danny, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Duo demanded, not quite sure that he wasn't dreaming.
"Watashiwa Shinigami," Danny cried as he buried his head in his father's shoulder. Duo's face froze into a mask of emotional pain as he held his son.
"No, not you Danny," he whispered, trying to deny it even as he knew that it was true. He'd taught Danny how to shoot himself, not trusting anyone else to do a proper job. Only his son could have pulled off the shot between the eyes while he was running.
"Duo, this has to wait until later," Zechs said gently, placing a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder. "We need to find out what Danny knows."
Duo nodded numbly and let go of his son. The others questioned him at some length as he and Hilde prayed that their other child was unharmed.
***
Alex tried not to cry but the pain was unbearable. She'd tried to prepare herself for the shock, but knowing intellectually that it was going to happen was one thing. Feeling her legs broken was another matter entirely. The second they'd brought the bat down she'd known that her façade of strength was gone. She'd screamed bloody murder, cursing them, their mothers, and their families. Then she'd told them to go and do some very anatomically impossible things. They'd only laughed at her.
Now she lay on her floor of the room, completely helpless. They'd stripped her down to her undergarments either to humiliate her or to make absolutely certain that nothing diminished the pain. She didn't think anything could now. Her whole body was one throbbing ache and all she wanted to do was giver herself back over to the void but it was impossible. Any time she even came close to unconsciousness she was rudely awakened by a harsh slap.
God, now I know why he said I'd beg for death, Alex reflected as she lay in her miserable heap on the floor. They'd untied her from the chair when they were done, knowing she wouldn't be able to escape.
Death would be better than the pain. Nothing hurt in death. Death was forgiving. It was like a comforting blanket thrown over a child after they'd had a nightmare. It wouldn't be so bad to just go to sleep and not wake up, she thought but roughly jerked her mind away from that path. Her mission wasn't finished.
"Little dove, are you ready for round three?" Brad asked her from the doorway. She whimpered pitifully and tried to scoot away from where she knew he'd be standing. "Now, now, you don't need to be frightened of me, sweetling. All you need to do to end the pain is tell me who you are."
"My name is Alex," she whimpered. "Just. Alex." She felt the knife sear her skin with its cold metal kiss and flinched. He'd cut her deep on her upper arm.
"Tell me who you are," he said again.
"Alex." This time he stabbed her instead of just cutting her. The knife went home within her biceps and he twisted the knife as he drew it out, wringing a scream from her. Again and again he asked her, demanded to know who she was, but again and again she replied that her name was Alex.
"You're really trying my patience!" he bellowed at her as he sank his knife into her thigh. Blood welled up beneath his hand and he wondered just how much more she could stand before she broke. "Just tell me and I'll end it!"
"Yea though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I shall fear no evil, for God is with me," she quoted, having long ago learned that passage from Duo.
"Answer me!" Brad screamed again. This time the knife bit into her other wrist. It bit deep, deeper than he meant it to and he cursed himself for it. "What are you trying to prove?"
"I will. never. let you hurt. E-sun." Alex whimpered, her blank eyes boring holes in him.
"So you won't respond to the knife? Then we'll resort to other torture," he told her firmly. "Bring me a whip!"
***
"Heero, I've got the owner!" Sally called out an hour later. They'd had to work nonstop after Danny had arrived but it had still taken them much too long to find their evidence. The owner had done one hell of a job covering his trail after all.
"Good. Is it Brad?"
"Of course. Who else would it be?" Wufei snapped. Everyone in the room was tense with stress. All of them knew how badly things were deteriorating. Danny had given them a very good description of what Alex had looked like, but they'd been much less concerned when they'd heard what she'd said.
"I'm gunna kill her myself," Duo kept muttering. "No one plays games with my child's life as the bet."
"Danny," Trowa said softly, being the only one with a half-decent temper in the room. "Can you lead us back to where you escaped from? We need to go rescue your cousins and your sister."
Danny nodded, fear making his movements jerky. "I think so."
"Good," Trowa said, ruffling his nephew's hair. He'd been bathed by Relena and now looked much better.
"Okay, so here's the plan-," Heero started to say.
"Let me guess," Duo interrupted. "We go in, shoot everyone in sight, grab our kids, and get out?"
"Pretty much, though we'd better kill as few people as possible. Shoot to wound, not to kill," Heero replied.
"What about Alex?" Quatre asked sharply.
"What about her?" Wufei scoffed. "She's the one who got us into this whole mess in the first place!"
"She's nothing but trouble!" Duo agreed. "I'm going to kill her myself for what she's done." Most everyone murmured an agreement in varying degrees of intensity.
"You most certainly will not!" Trowa snapped, causing everyone to look at him in shock.
"That girl is the only reason all of you are still alive!" Quatre added, throwing his lot in with Trowa.
"And she is the reason that Trowa left and the reason that our kids are in danger right now!" Hilde snapped at him.
"Do you think she did thin intentionally? She loves them more than she loves her own life!" Trowa argued with her. "She'd do anything she could to keep them safe! You saw how many people she killed! She was trying to protect them!"
"Protect herself you mean!" Noin shot back.
"Noin, she is your niece!" he yelled. "She is Heero's daughter! If all of her deeds are to count against her, at least remember that!"
"She is not my daughter," Heero said coldly.
"Heero! Don't try to deny something that is so clear!" Quatre argued with him. "Alex loves you!"
"If that is what you call love, then I want nothing of it. I washed my hands of her weeks ago."
"She saved your life tonight!" he reminded his friend.
"So? Why should that matter? She's just some worthless piece of trash that's off the street now."
Trowa lost all of his patience with his friend. He didn't even think as he grabbed the front of his shirt and forced him back against a wall. His voice became low and deadly. "Don't you ever, _EVER_ say something like that about her again! Alex is a wonderful child! You don't know how much hell she's gone through for you! You haven't had to watch her every time she's come back from saving you and see how shaken she is! You haven't had to listen to her degrade herself because she didn't think she could live up to your expectations!
"You didn't hear her crying her eyes out after all that you said to her tonight! You half killed her, Heero! She is not worthless! She is your daughter and she loves you! If you can't see that then you don't deserve her! If you won't care for her the way a _father_ should then I will! I actually think she could become someone everyone will be proud of, but you won't give her a chance! Everything she's done here has been for you!"
"Trowa," Quatre said, placing a steadying hand on his friend's arm. Slowly Trowa let go of Heero and backed away. Everyone else in the room was stunned into silence. They never seen him angry enough to yell before and it was scary. It was almost as scary as Quatre high on the Z system, but not quite.
"I think they're right, Heero," Zechs said from the chair he'd been sitting in. "That little girl does think you hung the stars in the sky. Think about everything she's ever said to you. Think about everything she _hasn't_ said."
Heero stared at the three of them for a long drawn out moment before he shrugged them off and said, "Lets go."
***
Brad finally dropped the whip and surveyed his handiwork. Her back was a bloody mess and there was no doubt that it was going to be a mess of ugly scars if it ever healed. But he knew what he had to do. He needed his information quickly. The Preventers had already been caught trying to find out everything they could about him through the cell phone.
"Why didn't they have the sense to take the damned thing with them?" Brat muttered to himself as he signaled to the guards to release his prisoner. Without them holding her up she collapsed into a sobbing heap on the floor.
"Does it hurt?" he asked sarcastically as he kicked her in the side. She whimpered but didn't have the strength to move. "You need only tell me who you are and I'll end it," he reminded her.
"Alex," she said again.
"Your name isn't not _ALEX_!" Brad screamed as he jerked her off of the ground by her hair.
"What's going on, mini-me?" the elder Brad asked as he walked into the room. Alex couldn't see but she could tell that he was displeased by the tone of his voice. "This is much more drastic than we originally discussed. You know I don't like hurting children."
"But the Preventers are coming," the younger warned him as he let go of Alex's hair. She crumbled to the ground, clutching her hands to her chest.
"Then maybe you do have the right of it. Carry on then," the elder said. Alex didn't want to know what else they had in store for her. She could hardly move already and it wasn't going to get any better. She was surprised that she was even still conscious. She'd taken more of a beating than four normal people could live through and was still awake, if not functioning.
"Little dove, just tell me your name and I'll end it," he repeated, squatting down next to her. She took her opportunity, the only one she might get, and struck out at him. He hadn't noticed that he'd dropped his knife, but she had. She'd grabbed it up quickly and now she aimed for his throat.
"No!" someone yelled and she felt her prey knocked out of her reach. Someone delivered a very harsh kick to her side and she curled up in a ball. She wasn't fast enough though, to avoid the shoe that stepped directly on her hand. She dropped the knife and tried to pull her hand back, but the person put all their weight on it, causing the bones to snap.
Alex screamed as a new pain bloomed in her body. This time she did loose consciousness for one blessed moment, but then someone rudely poured water over her. "Don't you even think about doing that, little wench!" one of the Brad's said angrily.
"Boss! Preventers!" someone yelled outside the door. Both of them cursed fluently in several different languages as they hurried to escape. Alex heard the door open and shut, only to open again a moment later after a gun fired.
"Do you know what you have done?" the younger Brad demanded. "I'm dead now because of you! I'm dead and with me has gone the time streaming device!" Angrily he aimed a savage kick at her chest and struck. Alex cried out in pain but was too exhausted to move away from the attack.
"Brad! Open up! We know you're in there!" A female voice said from outside the door.
"I'll kill her!" Brad screamed and Alex heard him cock his gun. "I'll kill her if you come in here!"
"Go ahead!" the voice replied steadily and Alex was able to place it as Sally's.
Thank you so much, Aunt Sally, she thought as she gathered up her energy. She threw herself to one side and kicked Brad in the side of the knee with her left foot. He screamed and the gun went off as it flew from his hands. It was all Sally needed to come running into the room.
"Don't move or I'll shoot!" Sally yelled.
"Sally!" Alex cried softly. "The kids! Are they okay?"
"They're perfectly fine, no thanks to you!" Sally snapped.
"Gods, what about Danny? What happened to Danny? Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay!" she begged.
"He's fine," Sally confirmed, her voice softening.
"Thank god," Alex breathed as she closed her eyes, mostly out of habit. "I was so afraid for them. Gods, I was so afraid."
"You were afraid for them?" Brad demanded, sanity gone from his voice. "You were afraid for them? I could have killed them? You would have told me your name?!" he shrieked.
"Yes. I would rather have seen myself killed than let you hurt them, you monster!" Alex spat from the floor. "Sally! MOVE!" Alex screamed suddenly. She heard the sound of a body crumbling and knew she was too late. She hadn't heard the man behind Sally soon enough. "Sally!" she yelled, hoping for an answer but was not surprised when she didn't receive one.
"Now you are going to tell me who you are before I kill this woman!" Brad told her.
"I can't!" Alex sobbed. "I can't tell you!"
"Then you sentence her to death!"
"It is better that the elders die so that the new generation may live," Alex said brokenly as she waited for the gunshot. She'd heard him pick the gun up when Sally fell. She couldn't understand why he was waiting.
"Brad Rajda," a painfully familiar voice said coldly.
"Heero Yuy," Brad replied. "At last we meet on the battlefield.
"You were right, Brad," Heero said. "There was a war coming. Our own personal war."
"I never meant anything different," Brat taunted and Alex could almost see the smile on his face. She got a very good idea of where they were in the room because they were both circling each other warily.
"Heero, is the older Brad dead?" she demanded through the fog that was beginning to overtake her.
"Yes," her father replied curtly as he cocked his weapon.
"There are only two of you in the room, right?" she questioned. Sounds were becoming muffled to her as gunshots rang out in the hall, mixing with the sound of screaming.
"Yes."
"What are you planning?" Brad sneered at her as he passed her.
"Absolutely nothing," Heero said. Then he cried out as he stumbled over Sally's prone body and landed on his butt on the floor, his gun spinning away from him. Brad crowed triumphantly and Alex felt fear course through her, holding her immobile, but only for a split second. She used up the last of her strength to pick up Brad's gun, launch herself off the floor to protect Heero, and fire. Brad fired at the same time. The bullet from the gun whizzed so close to her head that it actually clipped off a lock of her hair, but hers didn't miss. It went home, right between his eyes.
Alex landed hard, not able to make her body obey her any longer. She didn't care. The pain was overwhelming. She'd never felt anything to its likeness and never wanted to again. The room retreated from her awareness and she felt herself floating. She was warm and safe, wrapped in strong arms of someone who loved her. Just as that person sought to kiss her she felt her body being shaken and was brought back into awareness.
"Alex! Alex! Wake up!" Trowa yelled as he shook her.
"Don't touch me," she whimpered. "Just kill me. Please, just kill me."
"Alex!" Quatre gasped as he ran into the room. He saw her injuries and a rage boiled up within him. "I'll kill him."
"He's already dead," Duo informed him. "She killed him. And she saved Heero's life."
People, too many people, she thought as she sought to identify which one was her father. Everyone seemed to be talking at once, their voices muted the fog that was overtaking her again.
"Heero," she whimpered. "Is he okay? Is daddy okay? Please, tell me he's not hurt," she begged as she clutched at someone's sleeve. "I can't see."
"He's fine, damn it!" Zechs growled. "Thanks to you. Come one, we need to get her out of here," he said to the others.
"Right," Heero said from somewhere.
"Daddy?" Alex asked, tears coursing down her face. She tried to move but failed. She did notice that she was lying on the floor with her head propped up in someone's lap. "Daddy?" she whimpered again as she raised her hand above her head.
"Alex, don't move," Trowa told her, trying to force her to be still but she didn't listen. She moved her hand to where she thought the person's face was.
"Watch it," Duo warned.
"It's fine," Heero said curtly as he reached out and took her hand, placing it against is face so she could tell who he was. "It's me, Alex."
"Daddy," she sobbed as she clutched at his hand though she was so weak she had to lower hers back down to her side. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to make you mad. I just couldn't trust you. I didn't want to find out you weren't what you seemed to be. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to protect you. All of you. I never wanted it to go this far. I just wanted you to be proud of me. I didn't want anyone to get hurt." Her voice grew softer with every word she uttered.
"Alex!" he yelled, squeezing her hand. "Kira, hold on. Sally's coming around, she'll be able to help you. Hold on, Kira."
"Angel," she whispered, her sightless eyes fixed on something she couldn't see. "Love you, daddy," she whispered before she sighed, letting go the fight. Her hand went limp and her chest stilled.
"No!" Heero, Quatre, and Trowa cried at the same time.
"Alex!" Jamal yelled as he came tearing into the room and stopped dead in his tracks. "No."
Heero looked up at him, tears making trails in the dust on his face. He'd just realized how much he'd had to loose by denying who she was. Now he'd lost it. "She's dead."
"No!" Jamal yelled, wising to deny it even as Sally labored to save her he knew it was hopeless. "NO!!!!!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~
Dream Keeper: So, what do you think? Should I give you an epilogue? You've got to review and tell me! I do have a few loose ends to tie up, but if you don't want them.
Christa: *evil laughter* We don't really care if you want the rest of it. No reviews, no ending. And believe us, the ending is tearful! You really do want it! Review! Review! REVIEW!!!!!!!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~
Dream Keeper: 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: Or at least we hope she will. You never know WHO she's gunna kill!
Dream Keeper: Oh, shut up! I'll be nice. for the most part. Okay folks! This is the last official chapter! If you don't like the ending and you beg hard enough I may just to an epilogue. *evil grin*
Christa: Okay, right now you look freakier than Quatre when he's high on the Zero system! Lets just get this over with so she doesn't end up killing lovable little ME!!!
Dream Keeper: *mutters to herself* Hey, that's not a half bad idea. *runs and borrows Duo's Deathscyth Hell Custom* Die muse!!!!!!!!!
Christa: EEP!!!!!!!! *runs away very quickly*
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"What?" Quatre said, at a loss for any other words.
"He was always calling her Alex!" Alex exclaimed as she struggled to her feet and rushed into Trowa's room. She appeared a moment later looking even more distraught.
"What's wrong now?" Quatre quarried, knowing the emotional hell she must be going through even though he could no longer feel her.
"I don't have a dress."
"What do you need a dress for?"
"I'm going over to see if Jamal's gone home and I can't very well go looking like this? That'd only make his father think he was justified in what he said, and I want to make a good impression."
"What did he say?" Quatre demanded, suddenly feeling overly protective of the young woman in front of him.
"It doesn't matter Quatre. I need to find Jamal." she let the sentence trail off, knowing they were right back where it had started.
Quatre decided to take pity on her. "Why don't you go over and ask Cathy if you can borrow one of hers? You two should be about the same size." He noted that an odd expression crossed Alex's face but he chose to ignore it until he had time to think.
"Thanks Uncle Quatre," Alex said, giving him a quick hug before she flew out the door and over to Cathy's trailer.
"Good luck," Quatre whispered, knowing she wouldn't hear him. "You're going to need it."
~*~
"Cathy!" Alex cried as she burst into her aunt's trailer. She was out of breath from running and the shrillness of her voice brought Catherine from her room as if the hounds of hell were chasing her.
"Alex, what's wrong? Has something happened to Trowa or Happy?!" Cathy demanded, fearing the worst.
"No. they're fine. I. need a. dress," she panted.
"Is that all? What's go you all worked up? You half succeeded in giving me a heart attack." Cathy rolled her eyes, but when Alex didn't laugh she looked at the girl. Her skin was pale, much paler than usual, and her eyes had hardened back into the unnerving gaze she'd had before the circus. "Alex, what's wrong? You don't look so good. Do you want to lie down?"
"No, I'm fine," Alex said off handedly. "About that dress?"
"Alex, are you sure you're okay?" Cathy pried.
"I'm dying Cathy, and will continue to do so until I find Jamal and get this straightened out. Now, can I borrow a dress or not?!" Alex demanded, not bothering to keep the anger from creeping into her voice.
"Dying?!" Cathy demanded. Alex threw her hands up in defeat.
"Look, I'm dying because I'm from the future and the past is trying to throw me out, but it has no where to put me, okay?"
"I knew you were from the future but. why? Isn't there anything we can do?"
"Yes, you can give me a damned dress so I can go find Jamal," Alex said rudely, getting fed up with explanations. Cathy nodded dumbly and beckoned Alex to follow her into the bedroom. There she was allowed to pick out a dress that was her size and a decent color to go with her skin tones.
~*~
When Alex came barging back into the trailer Quatre was so shocked that he actually dropped his book. She looked so totally grown up that it was scary. There was so much conviction in her eyes that they practically blazed. This was a side of her that he'd never seen before.
"What'd you come back for?" he asked, at a loss for anything else to say.
"I need to get my coat," she said.
"What? Its not even hot out-," he started to say but she held up her hand and cut him off.
"Don't ask right now," she said as she walked out the door without so much as a goodbye. Quatre wasn't really hurt. He knew that she was, for once, acting exactly like Heero had and didn't care one bit.
"I just hope she works this out."
~*~
Alex walked the whole way to Jamal's mansion. She didn't want to arrive all sweaty and make a bad impression, but it was hard to oppress the urge to run. It unnerved her to be in the upper district again, but no one gave her a passing glance as she walked by. Evidently she'd done a good job of choosing her outfit because her leather jacket didn't look tacky, and many other people were wearing jackets for a fashion statement also.
Finally she arrived at the large iron gate surrounding the mansion. It was bigger than she remembered, but she didn't let it intimidate her. She had a legitimate reason to be there, so why should she worry?
Yes, why worry? she thought sarcastically as she pushed the button to speak to someone inside. "Hello?" she called.
"Hello. What do you need miss?" a kind voice asked her.
"I was wondering, is Jamal home?" God, I sound like an _idiot!_ she thought. I sound like a little kid!
"Sir? All right sir." the woman said to someone in the background.
"Who are you?" a gruff voice demanded.
"A-Alex," she stammered, for some perverse reason afraid of the man.
"So you're the no good hussy that my son's been running around with!" the man yelled. "I ought to have you arrested just for showing your face around here! All of your lot should be banned from the colonies."
"Technically, sir, you can't have me arrested because I have done nothing against the law. If you don't like circus performers, I'm sorry. We can't help the fact that not everyone agrees with what we do, even though it is quite innocent-,"
"Innocent you say?" Mr. Swift yelled. "You call those costumes you wear innocent? You call the stuff you do innocent? Ha!"
"Sir, if you could just tell me if Jamal is home?" Alex asked, her anger barely concealed.
"No, he's not. He went to live with you! My son, a circus performer! Ha! Its ridiculous!" He went on for some time about exactly how he was going to punish his son when he returned home, his tail tucked between his legs. Finally Alex got tired of hearing it and pushed the button one last time.
"If he does come home, please let him know that I'd like him to come over tonight so we can talk," she snapped before she stalked off down the street. When she had finally tired herself out enough to think about things calmly it was almost five o'clock.
Good thing I actually started back towards the circus by accident, she thought as she continued towards her destination. I've got to remember not to go on autopilot like that. It could get me seriously hurt in the upper district.
~*~
"Hey, where have you been?" Trowa asked when she walked in the front door. He did a double take when he saw exactly what she was wearing.
"Out," she said, refusing to say more. Her temper was frayed and her ego was battered and she knew it. She didn't want to fight with anyone else.
"Okay, sorry I asked," Trowa said, not really one bit surprised. Quatre had already told him what had transpired between Alex and Jamal and what to expect. "Hungry?" he asked instead.
"Starved," she said as she hung her coat up on the back of the bedroom door. "What's for dinner?"
"Soup," he said, with just a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Thank god!" Alex said as she plopped down at the table.
"You're serious?" Trowa asked, surprised that she wasn't complaining like usual. "Are my ears deceiving me or did I just hear you actually say something good about Cathy's soup?"
Alex stared him straight in the eye and gave him Heero's patented Death Glare. "Trowa, I have had an overall rotten day. I am hot, I am sweaty, I'm angry, tired, and I am _in_a_dress_. Give me the soup unless you want to be hurt."
Trowa laughed, knowing she was doing her best to joke, and handed her a bowl of soup which she promptly began to demolish. "You know, you should wear a dress more often," he said after a moment of looking at her.
Alex nearly choked. "What?!"
"You look rather nice in a dress. You should do it more often."
"Do you know how hard it is to move in these things?" she demanded. "You can't even sit comfortably in them. I'd love to see you spend five minutes in one and then tell me how much you like them!"
"No, thank you. I think I'll pass on that gracious offer. I-," he cut off whatever he was saying when someone knocked on the door. Frowning slightly he got up and opened it. "Oh, shit, I totally forgot," Trowa said as he stepped back to permit Heero and his two daughters. Alex quickly turned her back on him and continued eating.
"Sorry, I forgot to call before we left. Did you have anything else planned?" Heero asked, giving Trowa ample time to escape babysitting.
"No, no. It's okay. I'd just forgotten that you were going out _tonight_. Where's Relena?"
"She's going to meet me at the restaurant. She had some paperwork to finish up." Heero rolled his eyes as she stepped into the house and sat down on the couch. Trowa did the same after telling the girls where the toys were kept.
"Can I take your jacket?" a timid voice asked from beside them.
"Thanks," Heero said without really looking at the girl as he handed her his coat. "Sorry, I didn't know you had Cathy over. Are you sure you don't need me to find someone else?"
"Yes, I'm perfectly sure. You and Relena go on your date and have a good time. It's not often you two get to do that anymore," Trowa assured him.
"And I suppose that's why you're still a bachelor?" Heero said skeptically.
Trowa sighed and tried to look remorseful. "Yes. I was smart enough not to get married because I love going out at night and partying." He almost succeeded in keeping his face straight, but Heero snorted and caused him to laugh.
"What's the occasion?" Alex asked as she came back into the room.
"It's our anniversary," Heero said, again not looking at her.
"Well, happy anniversary," she said. She noticed Trowa give her a warning look and flick his glance towards the door, but she chose to ignore it.
"Thanks Cathy."
"My name isn't Cathy."
"Gods, I'm sorry. You looked so much like Cathy. I didn't know Trowa had a girlfriend." Heero said as he looked at her. "ALEX?!"
"Yes, Heero?" she asked.
"She's staying here with you?" He demanded of Trowa.
"Yes. She has been for quite a while," he admitted.
"I'm calling Relena. She'll understand us staying home-," Heero said angrily as he stood up and strode towards the phone.
"What are you worried about, Heero?" Alex asked.
"I can't imagine," he spat. Then he turned to Trowa. "I can't believe you'd harbor this murderer under your own roof! Don't you remember what she' done?"
"Heero, did Kira say anything to Zechs before you two left?" she asked suddenly.
"Not that I know of, why?" he demanded suspiciously.
"Go out on your date. Kira and Daja will be fine here for a few hours. You're just a phone call away. You can call every five minutes if you have to. And Trowa will be here. I know you don't trust me, and you have no reason to, but trust him at least," she told him calmly. "If you need any further proof that they will be okay, then remember that I couldn't hurt her if my life depended on it."
"Heero, you'd better go soon if you're going," Trowa told him, motioning to the clock on the wall. Heero wavered indecisively for a long time before he hung his head in defeat.
"I'll go, as long as you swear on your life that you'll keep an eye on them."
"I will," Trowa promised.
"And if she does anything funny, you'll kill her?" he pressed.
"What?!" Trowa shouted.
"Trowa-"
"Heero, I know there are many rifts that lie between us, especially Quatre's death, but I'd like you to know that I'm sorry. It doesn't help any, especially not with the pain, but know that I am. Here's your one and only shot to say anything and everything you've ever wanted to say to me. I won't correct you and I won't interrupt you. I won't even speak."
"Alex!"
"No, let him Trowa. I can see how much he wants to do it," Alex assured him. Trowa immediately could tell that she'd put her mask back on, and all her walls were going back up.
"Heero don't-" Trowa started to say, but Heero ignored him completely. He plowed ahead and said the many things he'd wanted to say for weeks. All of the hatred that had festered finally came tumbling out and as it did, Trowa could see more and more of the light go out of Alex's eyes.
"You little bitch! I swear on all that is holy that one day I am going to make you suffer just as much as you've made every one of us suffer!" Heero finished.
A moment of empty, tense silence followed his vow and all three of them jumped when the phone rang. Little Kira picked it up from the table she was playing by.
"Hello? Uwncle Zechs? Yeah, daddy's hewe. Is mommy okay? I'm afwaid fowr hewr. Is she going to-,"
"Kira put the phone down!" Alex screamed, running across the room to snatch it from her. She tossed it to a very stunned Heero. Kira, who didn't understand what was wrong, started to cry.
"Shh. Kira, I'm sorry," Alex soothed her. "I didn't mean to yell. You didn't do anything wrong. It's okay." When she wouldn't respond to Alex, Trowa went over and picked her up. Just being in his arms seemed to calm her down and in very little time her sobs subsided to hiccups, then to an occasional sniffle. When Heero got off the phone three minutes later she was playing with her sister again.
"What was that about?" Heero demanded.
"I'd rather not explain," Alex said unsteadily. "Lets just say that it's on old demon of mine that I wanted to kill. Just go Heero."
"If anything happens to her, I'll kill you," He said steadily.
"I wouldn't expect any less from you. I'll get your coat."
As Alex retrieved the troublesome garment Heero leaned forward and whispered to Trowa, "You'd better keep an eye on her if you know what's good for you."
"I will, Heero." he assured him.
"Here you go," Alex said when she returned. Heero reached out and tried to grab the coat from her, but she caught his hand and looked straight into his eyes. "Remember _everything_ I ever told you I hated about you Heero. Remember _everything_. If she dies tonight, I will kill you."
"What?" he exclaimed as fear coarse through him.
"I'm probably just being paranoid, but there's no sense in taking a chance. I can't help you tonight," she admitted.
Heero left immediately to be with his wife. He didn't give any more threats. He just grabbed his coat and walked out of the trailer. When he threw the car in reverse gravel flew and they knew he was scared.
"What did you stop Kira from asking?" Trowa quarried a few minutes after Heero left.
"I didn't want her to ask if Relena was going to die."
"What do you mean?" he demanded, alarmed.
"Quatre knows. Once, right before Relena died, Kira asked Zechs a question. He never forgave her for that question. I didn't want to see her hurt."
"But why would she ask that?"
"I don't know, but I pray Heero remembers."
"Alex, are you-"
"Are you babysitting anyone else tonight?" Alex cut him off.
"Yes, Duo's supposed to bring Matty and Danny over, but-"
"Then I'll make myself scarce until they leave," she said and before he could gainsay her she'd locked herself in the bedroom. He stepped up to the door and listened for a moment before he heard her muffled sobs. His heart nearly broke with the agony of the situation, but he knew that he was powerless to do anything about it. It drove him half-mad.
"I just hope Quatre can't feel her," he muttered to himself.
~*~
An hour later Duo and Hilde had come and gone, leaving their twins with him. Alex came out of the bedroom a few minutes later, looking almost exactly like she had when she'd gone in. Trowa couldn't help but wonder if she'd used makeup to patch herself up.
"So, what's going on?" she asked cheerily.
"Nothing. They're just playing in there," he told her, indicating the children.
"Oh." Another tap on the door made them look at each other curiously.
"Trowa?" a timid voice called out. Immediately Trowa dashed across the room and opened the door.
"Midii, come in!" he said gallantly, though anyone who didn't know him well would have thought him speaking normally.
"Thank you," she said as she stepped inside. It had just started to snow and the small white flakes clung to her hair, giving her an otherworldly quality.
"Uncle Trowa, is she an angle?" Danny asked, coming up to clutch his hand.
Midii laughed and ruffled his hair. "I'm sorry little one. I can't claim that title." She turned back to Trowa then and asked, "So I guess you're busy tonight?"
Trowa looked helplessly at the kids and nodded slowly, unhappily. "Sorry, had I known you were coming over."
"Oh, Trowa, you're hopeless. I'll watch them. You two go do whatever you want," Alex said, smiling at them. Trowa couldn't help but note that the smile didn't reach her eyes. Once glance at Midii told him that she did too. "Just be sure to be back before Heero gets back."
"Are you sure, Alex?" he pressed.
"Yes, I'm sure. You two go have fun. We'll be fine," Alex assured him as she brought him his coat.
"Where to?" Midii asked.
"I know this great little coffee shop just a few blocks from here, if you'd like?" Trowa offered.
"Sure. It sounds great."
"Hey, Alex, don't forget about the potluck tonight. When the kids get hungry, just take them there," Trowa called over his shoulder before he shut the door. Alex vaguely noted that they opted to walk instead of drive.
~*~
At eight o'clock the kids were just starting to get hungry. Alex knew by now that half the circus would be drunk, and not looking where they were going so she didn't want to chance the potluck. "Well, what am I going to feed them?" she wondered aloud.
"Alex, can you play this?" Daja asked, holding up Trowa's prized flute.
"Oh no. That's Trowa's and I don't dare touch it," Alex said hastily as she took the instrument away from her and put the strap over her shoulder.
"Alex, I want mac and cheese," Danny whined. (I don't own that either!)
"Um. okay," Alex said as she went to the cabinet and looked inside to see if they had any. Trowa's flute fell forward and hit her in the side as she bent over, reminding her to put it away.
"Daja, could you boil some water?" Alex asked as she stood up, triumphant in her search.
"Sure!" she said, happy to have something important to do.
"Alex, can I watch TV?" Matty asked, putting on her puppy dog eyes.
"No, scamp. I heard your father say you were grounded." Matty pouted, but when it became apparent that she wasn't going to her way, she went back to play with her "cousins."
"The water's boiling," Daja called, her voice filled with delight.
"Thank you, Daja! You've been such a help!" Alex praised her. She was about to say something more but yet another person knocked at the door. "Kira, get that," she said as she poured the noodles in. She was just walking towards the door when Kira opened it-
And a gun was leveled at the little girl's head.
***
When Heero reached the restaurant he had to restrain himself from jumping out of the car, running inside, and demanding to know where his wife was. He knew it was foolish, but he had to force himself to get out of the car and walk calmly up to the door.
"Do you need a table or are you meeting someone, sir?" the man behind the counter asked.
"Relena Yuy?" he quarried.
"Ah, yes. She's right this way, sir."
Heero squashed the nagging voice inside him that told him to run, but he couldn't. All he knew was that something didn't feel right. He passed it off as Alex trying to scare him, but some part of his mind didn't believe that.
"Heero," Relena greeted him, smiling.
"Relena, happy anniversary," he said to her as he bent down and kissed her, some of his apprehension melting away.
"Happy anniversary, Heero," she whispered against his lips. Suddenly both became aware again that they were in public and immediately put on their political masks.
"May I take your coat from you sir?" a timid voice asked from behind them. Heero turned around, making sure not to look nervous, to see who it was. He half expected Alex to be standing there, but instead it was a beautiful, if young, woman with long, blond hair and blue eyes.
She seemed to shrink under his gaze, though he couldn't imagine for the life of him why. He wasn't intentionally looking cold, but she acted that way. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked, trying to cover up her discomfort.
"May I take your coat, sir?" she repeated. Something in the way she said it tipped Heero off. Something inside him snapped back into the old soldier and he instantly remembered that coats were taken at the door. He also remembered that no one else had given theirs up. In fact, when he looked swiftly around, people had theirs hanging off the backs of their chairs.
"No, thank you," he said, sitting down before she could protest. She merely nodded, tight lipped, and went on her way.
"What was that about?" Relena asked, miffed at her husbands attitude.
"Nothing," Heero said, hoping he was correct.
"Okay," she said dubiously, a hint of unease showing in her eyes. "Shall we order?"
~*~
Their meal was almost over when disaster struck. They'd just started on desert when a brick came flying through the window of the restaurant. It landed right in the middle of their table and Heero knew at once that it was a bomb. "Everybody DOWN!" he shouted as he grabbed Relena and shoved her behind the table as he overturned it. He threw the bomb into an unoccupied corner of the restaurant right as it exploded.
A piece of the shrapnel flew through the air and buried itself in his leg. Heero cursed fluently in any and every language he'd ever learned as he fell to his knees, the pain wracking him in waves. Relena was immediately by his side, binding the wound closed with a scrap of her dress.
"Are you making a habit of this dear?" she asked shakily as she helped _him_ to his feet.
"Not by choice," he growled through clenched teeth. "Shit, this hurts."
"I'm sure it does, but we need to get out of here," Relena said.
"You're not going anywhere!" a harsh voice shouted from the second floor. A masked figure stood there but Heero could swear that he knew the voice from somewhere. if only he could remember where.
One of the people who'd been at the table nearby tried to run but the gunman turned the gun on her and shot her ruthlessly. The woman went down like a ton of bricks, blood spattering everyone liberally. She fell directly at Heero's feet and continued to bleed. The gunman dispatched two others in the time it took to draw a breath.
"Why are you doing this?" Heero demanded, desperate to buy time.
"Because, I'm the bad guy," he said loftily as he raised his gun.
In a split second Heero pushed Relena behind him. and in that split second a memory surfaced.
"You're the cause of her death! You killed her! You're the reason she's dead! You thought you would protect her by pushing her behind you! You stupid fool! You don't even know anymore how to tell just who they shoot at! You pushed her behind you and she took the bullet that was meant for you! It should have been you that died!" Alex had screamed at him.
Quick as lightning Heero shoved Relena to the floor-
Right as someone squeezed the trigger of a gun behind him. Heero spared one minute to wonder if Relena was going to be all right before the bullet thudded into his back.
"Heero!" Relena screamed as he crumbled to the floor. People all around her, who'd been rooted to the spot because of the gunmen, screamed and fled, nearly trampling her husband.
"Heero!" Relena cried again as she rolled him over onto his back. "Heero! Wake up Heero! Come on! Open your eyes! Open your eyes Heero!" she screamed as she shook him.
Her bodyguards were surrounding them. She'd told them to wait outside so she and her husband could have some privacy, but now she regretted it. "God damn you Heero! Open your eyes! You can't do this to me!" Blood covered the ground but Relena didn't know whose it was. It covered Heero too. That's what worried her. Was it his, or the woman's?
A gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality and she realized she was still kneeling next to her husband. "Vice foreign minister, maybe we should go," one of her bodyguards said, moving to help her up, but Relena jerked away from him.
"Come on Heero! You've always been the strong one! Don't leave me! I can't be strong!" she yelled, trying one last time to get a response from him. She closed her eyes and willed herself under control.
A gentle hand touched her again, this time brushing against her cheek to wipe away her tears. Her eyes flew open to stare straight into Heero's. "This fucking hurts," he half laughed, half moaned as he drug himself into a sitting position.
"Heero, you shouldn't move-," Relena started to tell him but he hushed her with a look.
"I'm fine, or mostly," he assured her. "Only my leg."
"But she shot you!" Relena insisted, unable to believe that Heero had gotten away from the gun without a scratch. The woman in question, the waitress from earlier, glared at her defiantly as one of the bodyguards restrained her.
Heero said nothing, just pulled off the coat, and turned it around. Imbedded in the back was the bullet but when he removed it he found a thin layer of something akin to what was inside bullet proof vests.
"Alex," he said, realizing just how much he owed her tonight.
"What about her?!" Relena demanded.
"Alex saved our lives," he admitted, still staring transfixed at the leather jacket.
"Heero," his wife said sharply, grabbing his face in her hands and making him look at her. "What is going on?"
He didn't answer her as he pulled away and stood up. "I want you to get her out of here. Take her to the safe-house," he told the bodyguards in a harsh tone that made them afraid to disobey. They immediately hauled a loudly protesting Relena away just as the paramedics rushed in. Heero waved them off, telling them to tend to the injured and slipped out into the night.
"Alex, if anything has happened to them I'll kill you," Heero whispered to the night as he drove at breakneck speed back towards the circus.
~*~
When Relena was finally dumped unceremoniously at Dorothy's house she was, to say the least, very displeased. Dorothy came rushing out to meet her, asking franticly is she was all right, but Relena ignored her.
"What the hell is going on?!" Relena demanded sternly. One look in her eyes told Dorothy that she wasn't going to be deterred.
"I'm not sure myself, Mrs. Relena," Dorothy admitted grudgingly, beckoning her inside. "I was just let in on this myself. It seems that you have someone besides Heero protecting you from the shadows now. How is it you always manage to snag people like that?"
"Dorothy," Relena said warningly.
"Play a game of chess with me, Mrs. Relena," Dorothy said. Relena looked at her in surprise as she was led into the parlor, but Dorothy seemed entirely serious.
"You can't be serious! Dorothy, we don't have time for stupid games!" Relena exploded.
"Do you want your information or not?" Dorothy said rudely, letting Relena know just what she thought of her at the moment. Defeated, Relena sat down in an overstuffed chair in front of a chessboard. One of Dorothy's servants lit a fire in the nearby hearth before retreating from the room. The bodyguards stationed themselves around the room, trying to give them space.
"Now, what do you know?" Relena asked hotly.
Little bit by bit Dorothy told her all she knew. Somehow Trowa had become aware of a small organization that was gathering the remnant soldiers of all the wars, and banding them together to form a new army. An army to wipe out all political leaders so they could seize control of the ESUN.
"What?!" Relena yelped, letting go of her queen before she was sure of the move. Dorothy tsk'd as she took it with a lowly pawn.
"That's checkmate Mrs. Relena. You should pay more attention if you're going to keep your position as Vice foreign minister. I find that people play politics like they play chess. If this is any indication of how reckless you are, you'd better start picking out your coffin."
"Dorothy!" Relena cried, aghast.
"If your husband can't protect you, you're as good as dead if these guys get their way. There's no guarantee that any of the boys can stop them this time." Dorothy told her as straightforward as she could. Relena sat back in her chair and pondered all that her friend had said. "Oh, and I've got some information for you," she said suddenly, as if just remembering it, though Relena knew she hadn't forgotten it at all.
"Thank you," she said graciously, accepting a small portfolio filled with papers. She flipped through it quickly once, then again as a frown creased her brow. Finally she looked up into Dorothy's eyes. "I don't understand."
"Its mandatory for all people who've died a violent death to undergo an autopsy," Dorothy explained. "It's because of the rash of faked deaths the earth had in A.C. 125. Anyway, read the last paragraph and you will understand."
"Cause of death was determined to be a blow to the head by a piece of shrapnel," Relena read aloud, her voice choking with emotion. "Dorothy-"
"Keep reading," she urged.
"Victim was found to be in perfect health, age thirty, race Irish." she stopped and glanced up sharply. "But this isn't Quatre!"
"No," Dorothy agreed, smiling slightly.
"Then that means. Quatre's alive?"
***
Alex saw the gun and an immense anger roared to life within her. Without pausing to think she let the flute slide down her arm and caught the carrying strap in her hand. Then she swung it forward with all of her strength behind it and caught the man's wrist from underneath. He let out a cry of pain as his wrist broke and dropped the gun. Alex scrambled for it but he was faster.
"RUN!" Alex screamed at the four children as they stood rooted to the floor. "GET OUT OF HERE!" she bellowed as another man came through the door. In a split second the children were nearly forgotten and Alex lowered herself into a defensive crouch. He didn't even have time to register her before she launched herself at him.
She fought like she was back in Queens. It didn't matter that there was no honor in the way she fought. There was no honor in the fight. All she cared about was winning for the sake of her cousins. She bit, scratched, kicked, punched, and broke bones for all she was worth as the occasional shot was let off. It didn't matter that there were five of them now within the small trailer. All that mattered was survival.
And it seems like that's more and more likely, she thought as she broke one's nose. They seem to be on orders not to kill us. That makes the likely hood of us getting away better. But where are the others? Why haven't they come to help? I know they can hear us, she thought desperately as a punch connected with her ribs. She swung around with the flute and caught the man upside the head. The flute connected with a sickening crack and broke in half. but so did his neck. He fell to the floor like a ton of bricks.
Alex looked at the case and realized it was useless as a weapon now. Without hesitating she threw it aside and muttered, "Trowa is going to kill me."
A gunshot was fired in the air, narrowly missing Alex's head and she realized just how dangerous the situation was. What if they had secondary orders to kill everyone if they found their quarries too much trouble to obtain?
She didn't have long to think because the woman who'd fired the shot fired another one directly at Alex. It hit her at almost point blank range and Alex crumbled. "Damn you!" she screamed from the floor as she clutched at her right leg. She tried to stand but another bullet caught her in her other leg, then one in the left arm. Alex screamed with the pain and just as it became unbearable someone hit her on the back of the head with a gun and her world went black.
***
Heero pulled into the circus and screeched to a halt, jumping out of the car the second it stopped. He made straight for Trowa's trailer but stopped when it came into view. The entire circus was completely silent except for the occasional snore. Everyone was passed out exactly where they'd been when the potluck started. Drugged.
The door of the trailer stood wide open, allowing light to flood the ground before it. Blood was spattered on the walls and floor inside and a body or two littered the ground. Heero couldn't get his brain to work properly. For the first time in his life he was so terrified that he couldn't move. Terrified of what he'd find.
A lone shadow moved to block the doorway before it stumbled out of the trailer and straight towards him. He reached for the gun in his coat pocket before he remembered he didn't have it. This wasn't his coat.
"Heero!" a painfully familiar voice called to him, but Heero was certain he'd gone crazy. There was no way.
"Heero!" Quatre yelled again, hysterically, as he grabbed his friend's shoulders and shook him. "They took them Heero! They took them! I don't know where they went!"
"You're alive?" Heero said, then shook his head. "Explanations later. Who took them? Where the hell did they go? And what happened to Trowa?"
"Heero," a cheerful voice called out from behind him. "What are you- Oh, god," Trowa breathed as he dropped Midii's hand and dashed towards them. "What happened?!"
Heero didn't pause to think as he grabbed the front of Trowa's shirt in his hands and pushed him back against a nearby tree. "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" he demanded, not two inches from his face. "Where were you?!"
"I was just down the street," Trowa said brokenly. "I swear to go I wasn't gone more than an hour."
"An hour and forty five minutes," Midii corrected.
"What's going on out here?" someone asked as he came strolling towards them. "Um, sir, I don't know who you are but I'd leave Trowa alone. He can be pretty vicious." he said nervously.
"Stay out of this kid!" Heero spat.
"Is Alex inside?" he asked.
"Who god damned cares where Alex is?!" Heero snarled, looking for anyone to vent his anger on. "I want to know WHO IN GODS NAME HAS MY DAUGHTER!"
"Alex isn't here?" Jamal demanded.
"No, she was kidnapped," Trowa said. He didn't resist when Heero drew back and punched him full in the face time and time again before Quatre, Midii, and Jamal were able to pull him away.
"What do you mean kidnapped?!" Jamal demanded, more urgently this time.
"Someone came here and took her," Quatre said. Jamal's eyes widened when he saw the "ghost" but he said nothing, waiting for him to continue. "They took Alex, Duo's children, and Heero's girls. We don't know where they went."
"And you are just standing here fighting about who's to blame?" Jamal spat. "You're all idiots. If you're so worried about it you'd better get your asses in gear and start looking for some clue as to where they've taken them!" His voice rose to a shout, brining all three of them out of their stupor's. "You're acting as if all three of you are helpless! Two of you are the biggest political powers in the ESUN and I can vouch for Trowa's ability to throw a knife," he continued until Quatre held up a hand to silence him.
"I'm sorry, Jamal. We're not used to things like this happening anymore. We'll find them," he assured the young man, almost as much as he tried to assure himself.
~*~
As they picked through the scene inside the trailer all felt themselves becoming sick. It was evident that a rough fight had ensued, and that the children had tried to flee through the bedroom window and were caught. Bullets were lodged in the floor and walls, making it evident that the people may have had secondary orders.
"Well, we can definitely say that Alex is responsible for at least three of these," Trowa said as he crouched down over a broken body. "I don't know anyone else who could have killed them like this."
"What was she using?" Heero asked.
"This," Trowa said, holding up his broken flute case. He didn't even bother to look inside. He already knew the instrument was beyond repair.
"She did all this with _that_?" Heero demanded.
"She lived in Queens," Trowa replied simply.
"Trowa, come look at this," Quatre called from within the bedroom. Trowa immediately hurried there and found Jamal becoming sick.
"What-" he started to ask before he almost stumbled over a body. It was lying off to one side of the door with a bullet wound in its head. Her eyes were still staring straight ahead, her face a mask of shock.
"One of them must have found my gun," Trowa breathed, looking towards the dresser where the top drawer was open.
"There's another one outside," Heero stated. He walked over to the leather coat lying on the floor and felt in the pocket. "Mine's gone too."
"Trowa! What's going on here?!" Duo bellowed as he came dashing in, Hilde following closely. Trowa couldn't meet his eyes as he surveyed the carnage around them.
"How?"
"I don't know. I wasn't here," he said flatly.
"What do you mean you weren't here?!" Hilde screamed. "Just who was watching my babies?!"
"Alex," Quatre said, coming to stand in the open.
"Quatre?!" Duo yelped. "How?"
"We'll save the explanations for later. What we need to do right now is find out where they were taken," he told him, his voice sounding much calmer than her felt. Duo nodded dumbly and looked around the room.
"Well, where do we start?"
"This one has a call phone on him," Midii said, as she dug around in the corps' pocket. When she stood she handed it to Heero. "I'd better go," she said uncertainly.
"No, Midii, don't go."
"Trowa," Heero spat. "This isn't the time for-"
"Midii used to be a spy, and an excellent one. She may be the one who figures out this blood covered riddle," Trowa shot back tartly, successfully shutting Heero up. Another car pulled in next to the trailer, which was already crowded, and everyone spun to see who it was.
"What is going on? Are they missing too?" Wufei asked brokenly as he stood in the doorway. No one said anything. They didn't have to. The answer was clear from the look on their faces.
Heero turned to Duo and said, "Call Zechs."
***
Alex woke slowly, finding that her whole body hurt, and wondered what exactly she had done to it. Then she realized that she was sitting up, tied to a chair; not at the circus. Her head came up and her eyes snapped open but she immediately regretted the decision because the pain in her head increased ten fold and the light only made it worse. Quickly she remedied the situation.
"Ah, so the little dove finally awakens," a harsh voice said. She didn't have to look up to know who it was.
"Brad Rajda," she stated flatly.
"Ah, I'm honored that you know my name, sweetling," he said as he took her chin in his grasp and roughly made her look at him. "You've caused me nothing but trouble."
Alex didn't hesitate to spit in his face. She was rewarded for her efforts with a backhanded blow to her face. His knuckles caught her right across the cheekbone and she could have sworn in that moment that her head was going to explode.
"Don't you _ever_ do _anything_ like that again, do you hear me?" he yelled.
"I'll do whatever I want," she told him firmly. "I've already told them about you. It won't be long until they come barging in here and kill you." She knew it was a bluff, but it was all she had. "And then Heero can tell them that it was you who tried to kill them tonight."
"On the contrary my dear," someone said mockingly. "I don't believe that is possible. You see, I have a very strong alibi as to where I was tonight. They can't lay a finger on me." The cold chill of fear crept up her spine and Alex knew that it had to show on her face because Brad smiled.
"I forgot that there were two of you," she said, glancing towards the older Brad.
"Oh, yes. My younger self needed some guidance before he could set about taking over the E-sun, so I felt obligated to give it to him. It's a good thing I did too or else he wouldn't have made it this far. I knew those crazy koots would send someone to undo what we did, but I never expected them to send a woman. Don't they know how stupid that is?"
"Yes," the younger one agreed. "They're nothing but an emotional wreck. All they do is weep and cry and they're too bound up in their own wants to let anybody die. Oh, don't look so surprised," he told her. "I've known who you are since that last rescue you pulled."
"We have been wondering. Why didn't you let Heero die? You know he's the one we want. The others are just bonuses in our game."
"For now," Alex spat. "The second the strongest is out of the way you'll start picking off the so called weaker prey. Don't you know how to fight like men?"
The older Brad tsk'd at her and shook his head. "You see there? That only proves what we were saying. Women are nothing but an emotional wreck. They're always jumping to conclusions even when they should keep their mouth shut."
"And the way you're talking only proves that you're total morons who have too much time on their hands and nothing better to do than hear themselves speak!" Alex shot back tartly. She was rewarded with another blow to her face. Both men laughed as she hung her head and whimpered involuntarily.
"Why don't we let the boys have some fun with her before we start?" the younger Brad suggested, an evil glint in his eye.
"Oh, I think we should," the elder agreed readily. "We just have to make sure they don't damage her _too_ much."
"I don't think they're that stupid. They know how much we need her." the former said as they walked out the door together. The rest of his words were lost as the door banged shut behind him but Alex hurt too much to worry about words. Instead she forced herself to look around her room.
It was unremarkable. She could have been any number of places. It was a white room, like a hospital room, without any identifying traits. The only thing that made it different was there were no windows and the door was made out of very thick steel. Alex didn't get concentrate long because five men came in then and she was sure that she was going to die.
***
"Quatre's really alive?" Relena asked again, allowing a little hope to creep into her eyes.
"Yes, Relena, Quatre is alive. I don't know where, or why, he's been hiding but he has. This much is for certain though. When this leaks out the press are going to have a field day and he won't be able to hide anymore."
"I know that," Relena said as she studied the paper. "But why wold he fake his own death?"
"Most likely someone was trying to kill him and whoever was helping him thought it would be better if everyone thought he _was_ dead."
"Alex," Relena breathed as she remembered exactly what had happened that night at the mansion. "Oh, god."
"So you see your mistake?" Dorothy inquired. "You should never have sent her away."
"How do you know about her?"
"Heero has told me a great deal of things about her, and none of them have been good. But if you look at the things she's done in a new light like this you might be able to understand some of what she was trying to do."
"And we sent her away."
"Yes, you did. I-" Dorothy started to say something more but in that same instant Heero came barging through the doors into the house.
"Heero!" Relena cried happily as she leaped out of the chair and ran to hug him. He pushed her aside impatiently and she glared at him indignantly. "What is going on?" She was momentarily distracted when Quatre walked into the room with the others. She flung her arms around him briefly before she turned back to Heero and posed her question again.
"Dorothy, I need you to start up all the computers you have in this house," Heero told her, his voice leaving no doubt that he would injure anyone who got in his way.
"Oh, are the g-boys back?" she purred.
Heero had to restrain himself from striking the annoying woman before him. "Move your ass before I get angry," he snapped at her.
"Heero!" Relena said impatiantly.
"Relena, I don't have time for you right now so sit down and shut up!" Heero snapped as he rounded on her. His wife fell back a step from him in fright and he made a visible bid for his temper.
"Relena, it's terrible," Hilde sobbed. All of the g-boys and Zechs followed Dorothy out of the room and down the hall quickly. None of them wanted to be around when Relena found out.
"Do you think this room will work for you?" Dorothy asked as she led them into a room filled with computers. Duo's mouth dropped open involuntarily from shock.
"Just what kind of place do you live in?" he asked as he looked around. There was exactly fifteen very high tech computers in the room.
"Well, you're always doing one thing or another that involves hacking and usually you come to me so. When you explained to me what was happening I took the liberty of setting this room up for you. I hope its too your liking."
"You knew this was going to happen?" Wufei bellowed at her.
"No, but I knew something like it _could_ occur if you weren't careful, so I planned ahead," she snapped. "Besides, I've always wanted to open up an Internet Café."
"You know, Hilde should just be getting around to telling Relena," Duo said offhandedly.
Though the situation was serious, Wufei couldn't help himself. "Three. two. one."
"_HEERO!_"
***
When Alex came to she noted that she was till tied to a chair and that it felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to her body. Which they very well could have, she reminded herself.
As she took stock of all the damage they'd done to her she inwardly wept. Most of her ribs were bruised, if not broken, three fingers were broken, they'd knocked a tooth out of her mouth, her lip was split, black eyes, and one ankle was bent at a funny angle. She couldn't feel it but she knew that it was going to hurt like hell.
"Wake her up," someone snapped. I'd dearly love to repay the favor, she thought as she received a hard slap.
"I'm awake," she managed to mutter.
"Then look at me when I'm speaking to you!" he shouted. She forced herself to raise her head and noted that it was the younger one.
"What?"
"Did you enjoy what the boys did to you?" he purred.
"Absolutely. When does round two start?" she said sarcastically, pain coloring her voice.
"If you cooperate there won't have to be a round two," he assured her. "Just tell me which little child is you and I'll let the others go."
"I'll never tell you," Alex growled.
"Would you sentence them all to death, little dove?"
"Better death than living in a world of your making. I've seen what they're going to live through and I won't let it happen. Besides, if they die Heero, Trowa, Duo. even Wufei and Zechs will have nothing to live for but their work. Do you really think you'll be able to take over then?"
"Do you really think that I care what they feel? I'll be able to take over no matter what when Heero is dead."
Alex glared at him, scrutinizing him as she tried to hold onto consciousness. "Do you really think that Heero matters that much to the E- sun? You're wrong. He's just Relena's bodyguard. Everyone knows it. The rest of the Gundam pilots did just fine without him every time they thought he was dead. Why won't they do the same now?"
"Because they all rely on him!" Brad shouted at her.
"I don't think so. He's just a mean tempered, spiteful asshole that's way too head over heals in love with an idiot. They don't rely on him because they know that the ditzy blond means more to him than his life."
"I don't think so," Brad said resolutely. "But we'll test your theory."
"Which one?" Alex challenged.
"Do you really think that you'll let the children die?"
Alex scoffed at him but inside she was screaming. "I don't care a lick about those brats. Kill them if you want to. There's no guarantee that one of them is really me. How do you know I'm even born yet?"
Something flickered behind her captor's eyes and she wondered if she hadn't made a big mistake. "Bring Duo's little brat in," Brad commanded and immediately it was done. One of the men roughly pushed the frightened child inside. Brad withdrew a gun from the waistband of his pants and aimed it at Danny's head. "Now what do you say?"
"Shoot him," Alex told him cruelly. "See if I care. He doesn't mean anything in this little game. H's just a simple pawn."
"As are you," he snapped back. "But even a pawn can checkmate the king." He cocked the gun and started putting pressure on the trigger. "You have three seconds. One."
"Alex!" Danny screamed in terror. "Help me!"
"Two."
"HELP ME!" he begged her, his voice going shrill.
"Three!" Brad yelled. Danny shut his eyes and flinched when the gun went off.
"You see?" Alex taunted. "He meant nothing to the game and you knew it. He didn't have any stake in this game at all so I don't see why you bothered to bring him in here anyway." Inside Alex screamed and cried and cursed Brad for all she was worth. How could he even _think_ about hurting a child as innocent as Danny?
"Take this trash out of here," Brad snapped at one of the guards as he kicked Danny in the side. Carefully he slipped the gun back into his pocket. "And do be sure its taken care of properly."
"Yes sir," the guard said as he gathered the child up in his arms.
"Don't get the wrong idea now, little dove," Brad told her. "The only reason I didn't shoot him is because I didn't want to get blood all over my nice clothes."
"Yes, certainly," Alex agreed noncommittally. She didn't want to push him at all but she needed to keep him thinking that she was heartless. She knew he was insane, but she had to make sure she lived through this.
"You know, I have a lot of time on my hands right now. Don't you think it'd be fun if we played a game?"
"How about go fish?" she suggested and was rewarded with another slap. Angrily she spit the blood out of her mouth, right onto his shoe. "I'm really getting tired of that."
"Really? I thought you liked it," he told her as he did it again. "Maybe if I beat some sense into you you'll just admit who you are!"
"Sir, Chang Wufei and Zechs Marquise's children have just arrived," someone informed him.
A slow smile crawled across the politician's face and Alex couldn't stop herself from shivering. There was no sanity in his eyes at all, nothing but cruel madness. He knew she was his captive, subject to his every whim. He didn't have to prove it to her. She already knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but there was still hope. There was always hope where her uncles were concerned.
"Do you really want to see how long you can last before you break, little dove? Do you really want to see how long it will take before you beg for death? Before you beg for release from the pain?"
"There hasn't been a day in the last four years of my life that I haven't longed to be embraced in strong arms and held lovingly there," Alex began.
"Oh, I hadn't realized you loved me so much, sweetling."
She glared at him and continued, "Held lovingly when I finally kiss the sweet angel of death."
Brad froze and stared at her. "You'd rather die then live?"
"I'm saying that I don't fear death. It holds no power over me. If I happen to die then so be it. It'd be one less person clogging up outer space."
"And if I killed you now?" he demanded.
"But you can't. You can't kill me before you're sure of exactly who I am. I know it as well as you do. I can't die, because if I die, then you die with me. They'll just forewarn me about you. You won't be able to move two steps before you get a bullet in the back of your head."
"So why don't you just slip back into the time-stream now?"
"Do you think I'm entirely stupid?" Alex spat. "I did pay attention when they explained how this worked. I know that one streaming device cancels another."
"Then you _are_ smarter than I gave you credit for," Brad agreed as he walked forward towards her. Before she could blink he drew a knife from his back pocket opened it, pressing its blade against her throat hard enough that it tasted her blood. "But you are stupid to toy with me. What do you have to gain?"
"Everything," she told him fearlessly.
"But think about all you have to loose," he warned her.
"A person who has nothing to live for, has nothing to loose," she retorted. The knife bit deeper but she refused to cry out in pain, knowing that was what he wanted.
"We're playing for your life, sweetling."
"And a person with nothing to loose, but everything to gain, will risk their life to obtain what they want."
"God, you're impossible!" he shouted as he buried his hand in her hand and jerked her head backwards, exposing her neck more invitingly to him. "I could kill you right now!"
"And it wouldn't matter," Alex reminded him.
"Boss!"
"What is it?!" Brad shouted as he turned to face his employee. "Can you not see that I am busy?!"
"But boss, the little brat go away!"
"He what?! Then go after him!"
The man shifted uncomfortably on his feet, refusing to meet his boss's eye. "We did sir, but he gave us the slip."
"Do you realize just what you might have done?!" Brad screamed, his voice loosing almost all of its masculinity.
"I'm sorry sir, I really am!" the man tried to apologize. It was futile and he knew it as brad took the gun from his back pocket and shot him with it. Blood spattered over the walls, liberally drenching both of the occupants in the room.
Alex screamed involuntarily as some of the blood got into her eyes. She blinked rapidly trying to clear it away, but it only made it worse. Her contacts became coated with it and became nearly useless. Brad rounded on her and she closed her eyes, lest he see.
"Oh, I'm sorry sweetling. I hadn't realized that you disliked killing so much. You wouldn't have thought since you did take out five of my best people. But here, let me clean you up some." He sent someone after a bottle of clean water and a sponge. They returned quickly and Brad gently wiped the worst of the gore off of her face.
"Now open your eyes, little dove, so I can take care of them too," he said gently.
I can't let him know! I can't let him see! Never! He'll know exactly who I am! I can't let him see! Her mind screamed as she refused to open her eyes. Brad finally got tired of waiting and pried one open. His intake of breath signaled that he'd seen how the blood gathered around the outside of the contacts.
"Contacts? How ingenious, I never would have thought to look," he told her as he poured some of the water over her eyes. As the blood washed away her vision became clearer again. "Why don't we look and see what color your eyes are under those?" He reached out and carefully took them out of her eyes, not wanting to blind her.
Ha! Like her could blind me anyway. I don't have any sight as it is! she thought as she sat perfectly still. She could still see his face because of the way he was holding his hand open.
"Blue eyes? Hmm. that narrows it down to three."
"But retina is changed easily enough," Alex reminded him. Just because my eyes are blue doesn't mean that that was their original color."
She saw his face go red in anger and he closed her hand into a fist, crushing her contacts. She let out a cry of dismay but cut it off immediately. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her too discomforted.
"You may be correct, but you were very wrong to test me right now. I am not in the mood, sweetling. I know now that you are blind. Without these, I'm assuming that you can't see. I'm sorry if they were important to you, but you k now, the E-sun is very important to me also. Now you're going to suffer for interfering with me."
"Oh, and how is that, Brad? Are you going to talk me to death?" She wasn't prepared when he took his knife and slit her wrist.
"No, I think that you'll understand when you feel what I'm doing." He kissed her roughly before she felt him move away. She spit, trying to rid herself of some of her shame.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way, little dove," Brad called to her from the door.
"Really? Do you want to save me the trouble of killing you and just surrender now?"
Brad just laughed at her, a cruel, evil laugh and said, "Break her legs."
***
"Heero, you've been at this computer for twelve hours straight. You need to rest," Quatre urged his friend as he peered over his shoulder. "Nothing is coming of this track anyway. It's just a dead end like all the others."
"I don't care if I'm at this computer for twelve days, Quatre. My children are missing and I am going to find them!" he snapped as he continued typing.
"Just what are you looking up anyway, Heero?" Zechs said, coming to peer over his shoulder. Hacking was _not_ his specialty so he was almost entirely useless.
"I'm looking up any and all information on recent terrorist activities."
"You broke into the Preventers main computer?!" Sally yelped, coming to look. She'd arrived a few hours after Wufei and hadn't slept, just like the rest of them. Sure enough, Heero was cruising though the Preventers mainframe. "You do realize that Lady Une is going to kill you?"
"And make you redesign the system," Wufei muttered to himself.
"I don't care. Duo, how's that damned phone coming?"
"Still no good, Heero buddy," his friend told him angrily. "It's got better locks on it than your laptop and that's saying something. I haven't been able to find a way in at all!"
"Is that what you've been working on?" Midii asked, her tone clearly conveying how stupid she thought he was. "You know maybe this is a little to simplistic, or maybe I'm just lazy, but did you ever think to call up the maker and see who the phone was sold do?"
Everyone in the room stopped dead and stared at her. All of them had been so wrapped up in doing everything the way they used to that they'd totally forgotten to look for all of the _easy_ stuff. All of them had missed the serial number on the back of the phone. They hadn't believed that a terrorist would be stupid enough to use a traceable phone.
"Well, it was just a suggestion," Midii said, breaking their paralysis. Everyone flew back to their computers and started working again. Wufei and Sally were both on the phone yelling at the phone company in seconds, demanding things done in regards to the Preventers.
"Duo! Hilde!" Relena yelled from outside the door. Everyone in the room flinched and tried to block out her noise. She was a wonderful politician, but when it came to dangerous matters she was best left on the sidelines. She'd almost gotten _all_ of them killed too many times for them to risk letting her in on a mission like this one.
"Duo! Hilde! Open up!" she yelled again, banging on the door.
"Go away! Get us more coffee!" Duo called back irritably and he looked into his empty cup.
"Daddy!" someone screamed from outside the door. Hilde and Duo were out of their chairs and running towards the door before the scream even died away. It was a wonder they didn't tear the door off its hinges in their haste to exit the room.
"Danny!" Hilde screamed as she enveloped her son in her arms. She hugged and kissed him many times as tears streamed down her face. Duo wasn't much different as he clung to his son, who in turn clung to him. Finally Duo held Danny at arms length and surveyed him critically.
Danny was a royal mess. Blood and gore clung to him and stank. His hair was disheveled from his attempted escape and dirt clung to him everywhere. He had a deep gouge in his forearm from the broken window, but overall he was unharmed.
"Danny, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Duo demanded, not quite sure that he wasn't dreaming.
"Watashiwa Shinigami," Danny cried as he buried his head in his father's shoulder. Duo's face froze into a mask of emotional pain as he held his son.
"No, not you Danny," he whispered, trying to deny it even as he knew that it was true. He'd taught Danny how to shoot himself, not trusting anyone else to do a proper job. Only his son could have pulled off the shot between the eyes while he was running.
"Duo, this has to wait until later," Zechs said gently, placing a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder. "We need to find out what Danny knows."
Duo nodded numbly and let go of his son. The others questioned him at some length as he and Hilde prayed that their other child was unharmed.
***
Alex tried not to cry but the pain was unbearable. She'd tried to prepare herself for the shock, but knowing intellectually that it was going to happen was one thing. Feeling her legs broken was another matter entirely. The second they'd brought the bat down she'd known that her façade of strength was gone. She'd screamed bloody murder, cursing them, their mothers, and their families. Then she'd told them to go and do some very anatomically impossible things. They'd only laughed at her.
Now she lay on her floor of the room, completely helpless. They'd stripped her down to her undergarments either to humiliate her or to make absolutely certain that nothing diminished the pain. She didn't think anything could now. Her whole body was one throbbing ache and all she wanted to do was giver herself back over to the void but it was impossible. Any time she even came close to unconsciousness she was rudely awakened by a harsh slap.
God, now I know why he said I'd beg for death, Alex reflected as she lay in her miserable heap on the floor. They'd untied her from the chair when they were done, knowing she wouldn't be able to escape.
Death would be better than the pain. Nothing hurt in death. Death was forgiving. It was like a comforting blanket thrown over a child after they'd had a nightmare. It wouldn't be so bad to just go to sleep and not wake up, she thought but roughly jerked her mind away from that path. Her mission wasn't finished.
"Little dove, are you ready for round three?" Brad asked her from the doorway. She whimpered pitifully and tried to scoot away from where she knew he'd be standing. "Now, now, you don't need to be frightened of me, sweetling. All you need to do to end the pain is tell me who you are."
"My name is Alex," she whimpered. "Just. Alex." She felt the knife sear her skin with its cold metal kiss and flinched. He'd cut her deep on her upper arm.
"Tell me who you are," he said again.
"Alex." This time he stabbed her instead of just cutting her. The knife went home within her biceps and he twisted the knife as he drew it out, wringing a scream from her. Again and again he asked her, demanded to know who she was, but again and again she replied that her name was Alex.
"You're really trying my patience!" he bellowed at her as he sank his knife into her thigh. Blood welled up beneath his hand and he wondered just how much more she could stand before she broke. "Just tell me and I'll end it!"
"Yea though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I shall fear no evil, for God is with me," she quoted, having long ago learned that passage from Duo.
"Answer me!" Brad screamed again. This time the knife bit into her other wrist. It bit deep, deeper than he meant it to and he cursed himself for it. "What are you trying to prove?"
"I will. never. let you hurt. E-sun." Alex whimpered, her blank eyes boring holes in him.
"So you won't respond to the knife? Then we'll resort to other torture," he told her firmly. "Bring me a whip!"
***
"Heero, I've got the owner!" Sally called out an hour later. They'd had to work nonstop after Danny had arrived but it had still taken them much too long to find their evidence. The owner had done one hell of a job covering his trail after all.
"Good. Is it Brad?"
"Of course. Who else would it be?" Wufei snapped. Everyone in the room was tense with stress. All of them knew how badly things were deteriorating. Danny had given them a very good description of what Alex had looked like, but they'd been much less concerned when they'd heard what she'd said.
"I'm gunna kill her myself," Duo kept muttering. "No one plays games with my child's life as the bet."
"Danny," Trowa said softly, being the only one with a half-decent temper in the room. "Can you lead us back to where you escaped from? We need to go rescue your cousins and your sister."
Danny nodded, fear making his movements jerky. "I think so."
"Good," Trowa said, ruffling his nephew's hair. He'd been bathed by Relena and now looked much better.
"Okay, so here's the plan-," Heero started to say.
"Let me guess," Duo interrupted. "We go in, shoot everyone in sight, grab our kids, and get out?"
"Pretty much, though we'd better kill as few people as possible. Shoot to wound, not to kill," Heero replied.
"What about Alex?" Quatre asked sharply.
"What about her?" Wufei scoffed. "She's the one who got us into this whole mess in the first place!"
"She's nothing but trouble!" Duo agreed. "I'm going to kill her myself for what she's done." Most everyone murmured an agreement in varying degrees of intensity.
"You most certainly will not!" Trowa snapped, causing everyone to look at him in shock.
"That girl is the only reason all of you are still alive!" Quatre added, throwing his lot in with Trowa.
"And she is the reason that Trowa left and the reason that our kids are in danger right now!" Hilde snapped at him.
"Do you think she did thin intentionally? She loves them more than she loves her own life!" Trowa argued with her. "She'd do anything she could to keep them safe! You saw how many people she killed! She was trying to protect them!"
"Protect herself you mean!" Noin shot back.
"Noin, she is your niece!" he yelled. "She is Heero's daughter! If all of her deeds are to count against her, at least remember that!"
"She is not my daughter," Heero said coldly.
"Heero! Don't try to deny something that is so clear!" Quatre argued with him. "Alex loves you!"
"If that is what you call love, then I want nothing of it. I washed my hands of her weeks ago."
"She saved your life tonight!" he reminded his friend.
"So? Why should that matter? She's just some worthless piece of trash that's off the street now."
Trowa lost all of his patience with his friend. He didn't even think as he grabbed the front of his shirt and forced him back against a wall. His voice became low and deadly. "Don't you ever, _EVER_ say something like that about her again! Alex is a wonderful child! You don't know how much hell she's gone through for you! You haven't had to watch her every time she's come back from saving you and see how shaken she is! You haven't had to listen to her degrade herself because she didn't think she could live up to your expectations!
"You didn't hear her crying her eyes out after all that you said to her tonight! You half killed her, Heero! She is not worthless! She is your daughter and she loves you! If you can't see that then you don't deserve her! If you won't care for her the way a _father_ should then I will! I actually think she could become someone everyone will be proud of, but you won't give her a chance! Everything she's done here has been for you!"
"Trowa," Quatre said, placing a steadying hand on his friend's arm. Slowly Trowa let go of Heero and backed away. Everyone else in the room was stunned into silence. They never seen him angry enough to yell before and it was scary. It was almost as scary as Quatre high on the Z system, but not quite.
"I think they're right, Heero," Zechs said from the chair he'd been sitting in. "That little girl does think you hung the stars in the sky. Think about everything she's ever said to you. Think about everything she _hasn't_ said."
Heero stared at the three of them for a long drawn out moment before he shrugged them off and said, "Lets go."
***
Brad finally dropped the whip and surveyed his handiwork. Her back was a bloody mess and there was no doubt that it was going to be a mess of ugly scars if it ever healed. But he knew what he had to do. He needed his information quickly. The Preventers had already been caught trying to find out everything they could about him through the cell phone.
"Why didn't they have the sense to take the damned thing with them?" Brat muttered to himself as he signaled to the guards to release his prisoner. Without them holding her up she collapsed into a sobbing heap on the floor.
"Does it hurt?" he asked sarcastically as he kicked her in the side. She whimpered but didn't have the strength to move. "You need only tell me who you are and I'll end it," he reminded her.
"Alex," she said again.
"Your name isn't not _ALEX_!" Brad screamed as he jerked her off of the ground by her hair.
"What's going on, mini-me?" the elder Brad asked as he walked into the room. Alex couldn't see but she could tell that he was displeased by the tone of his voice. "This is much more drastic than we originally discussed. You know I don't like hurting children."
"But the Preventers are coming," the younger warned him as he let go of Alex's hair. She crumbled to the ground, clutching her hands to her chest.
"Then maybe you do have the right of it. Carry on then," the elder said. Alex didn't want to know what else they had in store for her. She could hardly move already and it wasn't going to get any better. She was surprised that she was even still conscious. She'd taken more of a beating than four normal people could live through and was still awake, if not functioning.
"Little dove, just tell me your name and I'll end it," he repeated, squatting down next to her. She took her opportunity, the only one she might get, and struck out at him. He hadn't noticed that he'd dropped his knife, but she had. She'd grabbed it up quickly and now she aimed for his throat.
"No!" someone yelled and she felt her prey knocked out of her reach. Someone delivered a very harsh kick to her side and she curled up in a ball. She wasn't fast enough though, to avoid the shoe that stepped directly on her hand. She dropped the knife and tried to pull her hand back, but the person put all their weight on it, causing the bones to snap.
Alex screamed as a new pain bloomed in her body. This time she did loose consciousness for one blessed moment, but then someone rudely poured water over her. "Don't you even think about doing that, little wench!" one of the Brad's said angrily.
"Boss! Preventers!" someone yelled outside the door. Both of them cursed fluently in several different languages as they hurried to escape. Alex heard the door open and shut, only to open again a moment later after a gun fired.
"Do you know what you have done?" the younger Brad demanded. "I'm dead now because of you! I'm dead and with me has gone the time streaming device!" Angrily he aimed a savage kick at her chest and struck. Alex cried out in pain but was too exhausted to move away from the attack.
"Brad! Open up! We know you're in there!" A female voice said from outside the door.
"I'll kill her!" Brad screamed and Alex heard him cock his gun. "I'll kill her if you come in here!"
"Go ahead!" the voice replied steadily and Alex was able to place it as Sally's.
Thank you so much, Aunt Sally, she thought as she gathered up her energy. She threw herself to one side and kicked Brad in the side of the knee with her left foot. He screamed and the gun went off as it flew from his hands. It was all Sally needed to come running into the room.
"Don't move or I'll shoot!" Sally yelled.
"Sally!" Alex cried softly. "The kids! Are they okay?"
"They're perfectly fine, no thanks to you!" Sally snapped.
"Gods, what about Danny? What happened to Danny? Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay!" she begged.
"He's fine," Sally confirmed, her voice softening.
"Thank god," Alex breathed as she closed her eyes, mostly out of habit. "I was so afraid for them. Gods, I was so afraid."
"You were afraid for them?" Brad demanded, sanity gone from his voice. "You were afraid for them? I could have killed them? You would have told me your name?!" he shrieked.
"Yes. I would rather have seen myself killed than let you hurt them, you monster!" Alex spat from the floor. "Sally! MOVE!" Alex screamed suddenly. She heard the sound of a body crumbling and knew she was too late. She hadn't heard the man behind Sally soon enough. "Sally!" she yelled, hoping for an answer but was not surprised when she didn't receive one.
"Now you are going to tell me who you are before I kill this woman!" Brad told her.
"I can't!" Alex sobbed. "I can't tell you!"
"Then you sentence her to death!"
"It is better that the elders die so that the new generation may live," Alex said brokenly as she waited for the gunshot. She'd heard him pick the gun up when Sally fell. She couldn't understand why he was waiting.
"Brad Rajda," a painfully familiar voice said coldly.
"Heero Yuy," Brad replied. "At last we meet on the battlefield.
"You were right, Brad," Heero said. "There was a war coming. Our own personal war."
"I never meant anything different," Brat taunted and Alex could almost see the smile on his face. She got a very good idea of where they were in the room because they were both circling each other warily.
"Heero, is the older Brad dead?" she demanded through the fog that was beginning to overtake her.
"Yes," her father replied curtly as he cocked his weapon.
"There are only two of you in the room, right?" she questioned. Sounds were becoming muffled to her as gunshots rang out in the hall, mixing with the sound of screaming.
"Yes."
"What are you planning?" Brad sneered at her as he passed her.
"Absolutely nothing," Heero said. Then he cried out as he stumbled over Sally's prone body and landed on his butt on the floor, his gun spinning away from him. Brad crowed triumphantly and Alex felt fear course through her, holding her immobile, but only for a split second. She used up the last of her strength to pick up Brad's gun, launch herself off the floor to protect Heero, and fire. Brad fired at the same time. The bullet from the gun whizzed so close to her head that it actually clipped off a lock of her hair, but hers didn't miss. It went home, right between his eyes.
Alex landed hard, not able to make her body obey her any longer. She didn't care. The pain was overwhelming. She'd never felt anything to its likeness and never wanted to again. The room retreated from her awareness and she felt herself floating. She was warm and safe, wrapped in strong arms of someone who loved her. Just as that person sought to kiss her she felt her body being shaken and was brought back into awareness.
"Alex! Alex! Wake up!" Trowa yelled as he shook her.
"Don't touch me," she whimpered. "Just kill me. Please, just kill me."
"Alex!" Quatre gasped as he ran into the room. He saw her injuries and a rage boiled up within him. "I'll kill him."
"He's already dead," Duo informed him. "She killed him. And she saved Heero's life."
People, too many people, she thought as she sought to identify which one was her father. Everyone seemed to be talking at once, their voices muted the fog that was overtaking her again.
"Heero," she whimpered. "Is he okay? Is daddy okay? Please, tell me he's not hurt," she begged as she clutched at someone's sleeve. "I can't see."
"He's fine, damn it!" Zechs growled. "Thanks to you. Come one, we need to get her out of here," he said to the others.
"Right," Heero said from somewhere.
"Daddy?" Alex asked, tears coursing down her face. She tried to move but failed. She did notice that she was lying on the floor with her head propped up in someone's lap. "Daddy?" she whimpered again as she raised her hand above her head.
"Alex, don't move," Trowa told her, trying to force her to be still but she didn't listen. She moved her hand to where she thought the person's face was.
"Watch it," Duo warned.
"It's fine," Heero said curtly as he reached out and took her hand, placing it against is face so she could tell who he was. "It's me, Alex."
"Daddy," she sobbed as she clutched at his hand though she was so weak she had to lower hers back down to her side. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to make you mad. I just couldn't trust you. I didn't want to find out you weren't what you seemed to be. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to protect you. All of you. I never wanted it to go this far. I just wanted you to be proud of me. I didn't want anyone to get hurt." Her voice grew softer with every word she uttered.
"Alex!" he yelled, squeezing her hand. "Kira, hold on. Sally's coming around, she'll be able to help you. Hold on, Kira."
"Angel," she whispered, her sightless eyes fixed on something she couldn't see. "Love you, daddy," she whispered before she sighed, letting go the fight. Her hand went limp and her chest stilled.
"No!" Heero, Quatre, and Trowa cried at the same time.
"Alex!" Jamal yelled as he came tearing into the room and stopped dead in his tracks. "No."
Heero looked up at him, tears making trails in the dust on his face. He'd just realized how much he'd had to loose by denying who she was. Now he'd lost it. "She's dead."
"No!" Jamal yelled, wising to deny it even as Sally labored to save her he knew it was hopeless. "NO!!!!!!!"
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Dream Keeper: So, what do you think? Should I give you an epilogue? You've got to review and tell me! I do have a few loose ends to tie up, but if you don't want them.
Christa: *evil laughter* We don't really care if you want the rest of it. No reviews, no ending. And believe us, the ending is tearful! You really do want it! Review! Review! REVIEW!!!!!!!!
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