It seemed as if they stood there for centuries, Natria crumbled, Relena staring over the confused looks crossing Cathy's face. Hilde had finally given in to the fact that life was not going to be better on the outside. There was no hope left to give this team, except the challenge of giving what little knowledge they had to others who would surely come after them one day. Cathy felt baffled at first, not knowing what to say about any of what was happening in that arena. Then it began to dawn on her. What Relena was doing was giving up the ball, the tournament, their freedom.

"No!" she screamed as loud as possible. The boys' attention were drawn to her. Cathy ignored the looks she was receiving from them and her own team. She glared directly at the man holding the ball. The game had obviously rolled to a stop at this point. She intended to continue. "Set the ball," she ordered quietly. She took up the position of where Relena stood. She faced off against Heero, who seemed not to know what to do. The other team all stood huddled up in the center, not moving, or taking positions. Regardless of the position of the teams, the ball was thrown into the air and once again, Cathy took off after the ball with Heero looking to shove her out of the way. She easily avoided, realizing that the other team was all charging straight for her. No one was going to guard her. She was an open target and no one would be there to assist her. She had managed to grab a hold of the ball, but was soon sprawled out on the ground, staring up at the light fixtures above. Relena? Dorothy? Hilde? Natria? Why aren't any of you helping me? She closed her eyes, biting her lip to keep from screaming her frustration. The boys had stopped by now and stared intently at the other team. Assessing the situation was the only thing they could do. Cathy opened her eyes and saw through the watery film of tears Relena's figure standing above her. Fury and hatred welled up within her and she was up on her feet before anyone knew what was happening. She slapped Relena across the face several times, screaming her frustration and hurt from the betrayal she was dealt. Relena simply allowed her to beat her to her heart's desire. She deserved it and if this was a small price to pay, then so be it. Cathy may have her revenge. Finally, emotionally and physically spent, Cathy stopped hitting her captain, her eyes were shut tightly, leaking tears. Her hands gripped tightly, as if to a lifeline to Relena's jersey. She crumbled in front of Relena, allowing herself to clutch her captain's ankle, weeping. "Please," she sobbed. "Relena, don't do this to us, to me." Relena looked down pityingly on her friend and teammate and laid a small caress on the top of her head leaning against her.

"This game is not for us, Cathy," Relena whispered. Cathy looked up.

"Then what has it all been for?" she said hoarsely in despair. Relena smiled sadly and looked around at the people raging in the stands.

"For those who need hope and have dreams." Cathy's eyes narrowed with the new onslaught of tears. Shaking her head, she stood up and stared into Relena's eyes. With that brief contact, she saw that Relena was not doing this out of spite or anger. She was as badly wounded by this as everyone else. Cathy realized that it was hopeless. The other team had already scored the first point. It was irreversible. If this was the way it was to end, then she would see it through with her team and friends. Wiping viciously at her tears she turned to stare at Trowa who stood bewildered and smiled ironically. A simple gesture of 'you win'.

Throughout this whole exchange, Duo had come to realize the extent of what was happening. The point was played and they were not planning on scoring at all. The girls were giving up. Relena had tricked them into playing at their best only to find they had no competition. His disbelief and shock sank in as slow as molasses. Then his anger and denial began to form from this. Without hesitation, he walked up to Heero, who still held the ball, and took it from his captain's hands. Heero gave no resistance, seeing that this had gone completely out of control. His teeth were grit as he watched Duo make a beeline towards Hilde, his steps deliberate. Hilde tried her best ignoring him, crossing her arms, shifting from one foot to the other, looking down at her feet, as the tears continued to stream down her face. Without a word, he shoved the dirty ball into her resistant hands. She refused to move, only touching the ball as little as possible. A child could have knocked it out of her grasp and with little resistance.

Duo felt his panic rising as he grasped hold of her shoulders, wanting to shake some sense into her thick skull. Instead he shoved her in the direction of her hoop. It was obvious he wanted her to play against him, at least make the effort to fight back. Hilde only stumbled and fell to the ground, leaving the ball to role freely on the open court. Silence reigned, with a few murmurs lacing the edges. Duo stared on at her, his jaw taught and his face set in stone, but his eyes shined with a sheen of tears. His jaw trembled slightly. His eyes pierced hers as she looked up at him, the tears falling like small crystals.

"Get up," he whispered. She did not move. "Get up and play damn you!" Duo's eyes narrowed as he walked around her hunched figure and went to retrieve the ball. Without hesitation, he carried it to the hoop and shot it through, scoring another point for his team. He turned to stare at the others and saw they still made no move to defend themselves. He continued to take the ball and add one point after another. He had scored five times before his eyes spilled over and his mask crumbled into nothing. He gripped the ball tightly, not knowing what he could do. He turned grimly towards Hilde, who sat staring at him. With a cry, he fell to his knees, the ball bouncing away, his hands covering his face as if he was in agony.

Quatre watched on, not knowing what to do. They were going to win their freedom, the thought disgusted him. His stomach turned in ten different directions all at once. As he turned his gaze over to Dorothy, he saw that she was clenching her fists. Her eyes were alert, watching as things began to unravel. Quatre stocked towards her, not even realizing he had moved. He felt a growl growing on his lips. Dorothy felt her arm nearly being yanked from its socket. She turned to stare bewildered into ocean blue eyes. Her heart shattered at the deep pain that was filling this person's soul.

"Quatre," she whispered, not in surprise, more in a plea for him to understand. His grip tightened.

"What are you doing? What are you hoping to accomplish," he growled. She had never seen him angry before. It was frightening, yet invigorating at the same time.

"You will live your life out in freedom. That is what I want for you," she whispered. Her eyes beginning to sting sharply at the edges.

"What about what I want?" he demanded quietly, dangerously. She initially felt as if she had to back away from him, but she forced herself not to move.

"This is what you want," she whispered hoarsely. He shook her almost violently.

"This is not what I want!" he nearly yelled. "I wanted you! I still want you! Damn it Dorothy! I love you! At least defend yourself!" Dorothy felt herself collapsing with every thought. She felt his hand gently caressing her face. She leaned into his hand, her eyes never leaving his.

"You love me?" she asked in wonder. No one had ever said those words to her before; no one. She shook herself from her daze. It was all the more reason for her to lose this tournament. He had to give this love to someone who deserved it. She would disappear after this into another district. Away from him, so he was left with no reminders. This had to end now or else she would crumble and admit everything to him. The way she felt for him from the moment they met. She would tell him who she really was and why she was there in that damned arena. Everything would be over. It all had to end or else there would be no way out. Dorothy leaned forward and gently kissed Quatre. Her lips were soft and felt like feathers. She felt her head swirl in different directions. Quatre clung to her as if she was the only person left in the entire universe. He poured all the passion he could muster into that fleeting moment. Quatre clutched desperately to her as she tried to pull away. Not yet, just another moment. He had a terrible sensation that this might be the end for him and his love for this woman. Dorothy finally gathered the strength to shove Quatre away with enough force to cause him to stumble backwards. He stared up at her in confusion. She felt the tears running in rivulets down her cheeks. She stared up at the announcers, who had long since shut their gaping jaws. Her eyes hardened into hatred.

"TEAM 135 FORFEITS THIS GAME. TEAM 59 WINS BY DEFAULT!" A roar went up in the crowds. This was impossible. At this point they were supposed to be ripping each other's throats out. What happened? Quatre had shot forward immediately as if he was able to stop what she was saying. It was all over! She had ended it.

Wufei's eyes widened with shock. The team had forfeited. He was officially a free man, but he despised the thought. He stared openly at Natria, who still sat crumbled on the ground. He shot forward, as if he was suddenly being pulled away from her and it was his last chance in a mad dash to grab a hold of her. He didn't even look at her face. He forced her to bury herself in his shoulder. She wept quietly, her shoulders shuddering. He felt his heart splitting into a thousand pieces. This was a nightmare. It couldn't be happening.

Trowa stood not far from Cathy. He watched as the last bit of hope for her freedom slid away. She let it go willingly as if she was sacrificing it for a good cause. She didn't seem to understand that the freedom didn't mean anything to him if she wasn't there. Now it was impossible. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered in his eyes. He was in shock. That could be the only explanation that could be given as in to why he turned away, and walked several paces away from the two teams. He turned to look over his shoulder as he saw Duo shaking Hilde violently, trying to make her move, fight, anything! He felt his eyes slide shut, trying to shut out the terrible agony building in his heart.

Heero glared at Relena, not bothering to look at Dorothy. For some reason, he had a hunch that she was the cause of all of this. He walked slowly, steadily towards her relaxed figure. She had planned this all out. Their earlier conversations came rushing back into his mind. How she seemed dead set on giving hope to others. He felt his mind curl with indignation and fury.

"Tell her to withdraw that statement," he ordered coldly. Relena simply raised her head another degree, her jaw shaking slightly, showing what kind of wreck she was in.

"No." It was a simple answer, but it was all the defiance that anyone could have thrown at Heero at that moment.

"Do it!" he growled more forcefully.

"You're a free man now Heero. Take your freedom and go. Leave us be and don't ever think of us again."

"You don't know what you're asking of me." She smiled sadly, looking at Duo who now was holding Hilde tightly, his face portraying his torture.

"I know what I'm asking of you. You can do it. It's simple. Now go." Now it was his turn to be defiant.

"No." They stared at each other, not knowing what to do. The game was officially over. The men were free to go. The women were left to stay in servitude.