(Disclaimer: All gundam characters are property of their creator, any interwoven plotline and unknown characters are similar based on my own muse and creation.)

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Night came sooner and cut the days in half, even the silent stars blocked on the darker side of town, blotted out by thick storm clouds heavy with snow and ice like a bad prank just waiting for you to turn your back on. Still, the night was far from quiet, in all its mischief.

"...Can't you see that I'm the one! It took six long hours and five long days.."

It was probably for the best that the girls had a large yard, keeping their neighbors at a distance from the smaller apartment. For Zoe's better luck, anyway.

Music was what life was, heart and soul, running the blood through their veins, their own outlet of emotions, their understood world. And as often times it was good music, not only was it heard, but it was all too well felt. The windows shook with each rumbling break of the bass line, hiding any sound of the girl's duet with the CD if she were off by just a bit or quite a lot more. The cheap surround sound speakers shook in their faithful mounts on the walls or in the room corner, but never fell to everyone's amazement, from an earlier time when both girls had the money to spend with excitement and laughter and without the weighing thoughts of bills. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could ALL find those days back?

For now, the driving punk rock moved the tired muscles of the young woman, making the normal household chores seem a little more exciting and not nearly as redundant. A swing broke into Zoe's step, the uncaring groove making each mopping stroke a bit reckless, an absent hand reaching out to dust the top of a picture or to straighten the shifted books on their huge, homemade shelving. "You birds are more trouble than you're worth," she finally called as she scrubbed the wooden floors of her best friend's room, waiting for the next song as the last one faded and left an odd silence in the halls. "Andi better be enjoying the hell out of herself for this," slipped out to no one but herself and the two parakeets, "especially if the landlord lets her keep you freaks and won't let me have a dog."

Again, a small chirp or two came to her as if in response, but filled into a series of chirps as if to mock her. 'Great, birds are out to get me too,' was all she could think of for the moment, shifting the birds and cage back to their tall stand before moving on. One more day of this, and Andi would be back to keep her company, and hopefully, with a little extra cash to help or they'd never have groceries.

Meanwhile, the small mountain of china and tupper ware sat content in a hot, soapy water filled sink, calling out that they couldn't be forgotten, or else!

"...It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life."

Trowa focused again, concentrating hard enough to give himself a headache but it couldn't be helped. On an odd twist, the infirmary doctors did as they were ordered and treated him at bare minimum, stitching up the bullet wound and wrapping it tight, before giving him a one over to make sure he wouldn't take up room there again before trying to send him off. However, before they did, a smirking female doctor had one final gift for him. He knew he'd remember her coy face, her Chesire cat grin before giving him a good dose of morphine.

And now, between his hazy and drifting thoughts, he could understand why. They didn't care to use painkillers on an enemy who was better off dead to them anyway. It was the side effects, leaving him on an odd high as he struggled pathetically to center and focus himself, but his thoughts were like clouds that slipped through his fingers, his vision unstable and flighty, toppling and twisting with any moderate movement of his gaze.

'Damn it, I've gotta think! If they come again,' but again, the train of thought disappeared into a tunnel with no path, no end, and now way back it appeared.

The shadows, were actually quite interesting. If he turned just right or quickly enough, they bounced round in their shades with the small slits of light from the door, tripping over themselves like a kaleidoscope. Sometimes they even reminded him of animals wrestling in play...

'They'll kill me,' he attempted again, ' they want me dead and I don't want to die yet...'

Yet. Why hadn't he slept yet? So tired, sleeping would be wonderful, there was a spacious corner just off to his right, below a vent that blew in a little warm air, so he could stretch out and dream about that warmth.

Like the summer, like last summer, but it was so hot and the animals were bad tempered for it and Cathy was upset the air condition had broken. He teased her about it in private as he fixed the wiring for her.

'Nosleep! No...I have to get out. Outside, it was cold out, the snow... I have to get out now and live!'

Even more than struggling with his thoughts was struggling to keep his eyes open. The darkness called to him and it was hard to tell the difference as to whether his eyes were even open or not. And unknowingly, he'd let them slip shut, telling himself unconsciously that it was the same and he'd manage to stay awake just the same. It made things so much harder though, coaxing him to rest, to give into his content feeling and take that nap in the heated corner, stretch out and laze around for once. Relax.

A stubborn will pushed back into his mind and deciding on it quickly, he shifted and pulled his knee up, moving the stiff, sprained ankle. 'That's it,' he coached himself on, wincing and locking his jaw tight at the pain that ran through his leg. 'It'll clear my head up, focus on the pain, No name, just focus.'

As the pain began to ebb away, a good kick with the same leg at the wall off to his near side shook everything from the wounded ankle clear up his spine, running a gruff howl of partial surprise and hateful torment past his vocal chords and from his thin lips. A new presence overtook him, but it wasn't the easy high he'd been given. This one was heavy and crushing, making it hard to breath again for a few moments as heat overtook him, too much heat, and his eyes stung from the strain of his body's attempt to express itself.

Instead, clenched fists shook at his sides, not being able to grab onto anything on the concrete flooring. 'I have to, now,' broke to the front of his mind, leaving all doubts aside. He could already hear the lazy footsteps of soldiers passing by, slowing as he they neared and the ring of keys jangled in a half hearted search for one out of the many.

Trowa could remember vaguely where the infirmary was, and further down the corridor he'd caught sight of an emergency exit sign. "I've got no choice," was his whisper, shaking arms lifting him up on his good leg, the running pangs from his arm keeping the drowsy morphine high away, favoring his bad leg. If he could just take out the soldier or soldiers, confiscate a firearm or two, he could make a half blind dash to where the supposed exit door was in his mind. There was no time to plan, no other opportunity to, and this time it would rest on him, and luck. Hopefully, if he was wrong, he'd have the spare seconds to make up for it and/or "wing it" as Duo often suggested in his lazy teases.

'Oh hell,' was soon all that he could think, propping himself up against the wall as tightly as he could, a small distance from the side of the door but within reach of his enemy he mainly hoped he could overpower. The turn and ring of the keys sliding over metal in the door's lock sounded without much care or urgency, the door slid open from a small distance. This was as opportune as things were gonna get, and Trowa's hand of cards wasn't looking as promising as it could.

It was late into the night before he young woman finally pulled herself onto the worn out mattress, giving a quick half hearted tug at her blankets. It never really mattered to her when she had her "projects" finished or if she just lazed around the house all day like she often did. For Zoe, sleep was always there, pestering her, just within her sights but never in reach. Her insomnia started as a child with an overactive imagination and bad dreams too real seeming to convince herself otherwise. It just became an unconscious habit to sit awake during the night, staring at the ceiling with a reeling mind that couldn't seem to shut itself down.

"One of these days," came a breathless sigh as she put her arm over her eyes, blocking the soft glow of the streetlight shining through her blinds. "I'm gonna get more than four hours of sleep."

It was unlikely, since she'd already tried most everything aside from strong drugs to help her rest since she was little. Drugs were definitely not an option she wanted anything to do with, they were too expensive and too much of a pain already as it was. And any other activities that would normally drain one into exhaustion always pulled at her physical strength, but only ever made her mind run faster with questions or ideas or odd ball thoughts.

It didn't seem too bother either of the girls too much when living together, as they were both similar by very different means. By now, she'd have been helping Andi finish the last of her own homework anyway. Zoe's only problem was that now, she had nothing constructive to do, and the boring process of trying to shut down her active mind was underway.

"At least it's quieted down outside now..."

"Well then, it looks like we've got nothing to worry about!" Came the cheery remark, Duo's tired eyes sparking with mischief at finally being incorporated in the planning. Wufei seemed impassive over everything, Heero only seemed troubled by something more aside from their mess at hand and his confidence as a whole in the plan looked just a little shy of being sure. Quatre was the only one that managed to spare him a playful smile, however half hearted it was.

In all truth, he'd spent the day coming to terms and realization of everything that had happened since the botched escape when he was wounded. His memory had been hazy and hard to hold onto then.

His fever had passed him over after their fourth or fifth day there, letting him regain the strength he needed to be out and about. It's not like he went very far, lounging around the room or the main dining room where their cheery older hostess seemed relieved to be able to fuss over the young men. Heero had spent more time laying in the room than anything, but he didn't blame the guy. Right now, he was sure his comrade was doing all he could not to lose any lungs or any other vital organs with each heavy set of coughs. Compared to those, Duo didn't mind his tender gunshot wound at all, he'd rather keep that than be hacking away worse than any life long smoker ever sounded. Duo was quite surprised it hadn't progressed into pneumonia.

"Sally said," was the quiet response, finally breaking through as the group of four broke apart to their own wanted parts of the room, "that the uniforms should be done tonight. They're putting the last touches and alterations on them. I admit, it'll be easier to get there in disguise than to try and steal the uniforms from the mechanics. But we still don't know for sure if we can steal a transport that's both unguarded and doesn't need maintenance, after all, we are–," but the re-explanation was again cut short.

A weary arm cradled his sore chest lightly, a shaking hand going to cover his mouth as Heero's legs gave way and dropped him onto his own bed for now, heavy, croupy coughs rattled his chest, echoing in the small room. He hated it for what it was, the nasty business of having a cold, and knew it was only going to be more troublesome tomorrow during the mission operation. A flush flew to his face as he gasped for air, stifling off a few more of the hacking coughs that threatened to suffocate him, his sore torso pulsing with the labor of each breath.

It was expected, after all their trudging around only a few days before in the mess of snow and ice and rain. The thought didn't make it any easier.

On an unspoken, helpful cue, Wufei switched from his seat closer to the window and headed towards the small private bathroom, rummaging a moment until he found the medication Sally had left to help the Japanese youth. A careful pour and a quick eyeing of the thick, pastel liquid was all he gave, bringing it back to the main room as if it were his chore. It was almost time for the next dose anyway, within ten minutes or so anyway.

A wince was all the sick young man gave to his offering. It tasted like hell, it sat in the bottom of his stomach, and so far, it did absolutely nothing for his cold except added the nausea to it. "I don't want it."

"I have the authority to use force, and not just to my own wanting, Heero Yuy." The remark was calm from the young dragon, but just as threatening as the nasty glare he was being given. "It take a while to work and we don't need you dying on us of pneumonia or something more before we're even halfway to space."

"Then I'll wait until we're there before I drop dead, but I'm not taking that right now. I can take care of myself, Chang."

Duo's eyes lingered over the two for a minute with a small shake of the head. Man, those two could both be horribly stubborn. "You'd better go break it up before one of them uses more than words." The tease was meant to be light hearted, but Quatre's solemn nod to it reminded him of just how bad those two could be if they really wanted to.

With a calm hand, Quatre laid one to Wufei's, hesitantly waiting to take the medication and offering up a truce between the two in a cease fire.

"Heero, please...?"

"No," was the curt reply, the young man laying on his side and pulling the pillow up under his head, closing his eyes as if in a final decision. It went down like poison and made him feel like he was on his death bed. He'd rather do it of his own will first.

Taking his own liberty to sit on the bed, he held the small cup in his hands, eyeing the off colored, yellowish liquid himself. "I don't envy you, having to take this, but I don't envy your cough either. A little upset stomach would be better than the fever, delirium, and slowly drowning to death, Heero. Look, in a time like this with everything going on, this is the last thing I really wanna do, let alone ask someone else to do," trailed on softly, defeat evident in his voice, mind still a mess of stresses he just wanted to break under, but knew he didn't have time for that. "But we have to take care of each other, and look out for each other. Please take it?"

He wasn't sure whether it was an annoyance at them or an irritation with himself that finally broke his stubbornness, giving a heavy, struggling sigh that fell into a small fit of coughs, offering out his hand to take the disgusting stuff. Heero could still see the broken heart of the boy before him, fluttering to push on when it was already so worn out, etched in his dulled blue eyes. "This is the last time then, Quatre. The only time."

Quatre gave a small nod, of course he knew they would go through this again until the last of the ten days were over. Heero said it each time, during the morning and the night medication times. He just didn't feel like this anymore, his hand absently waiting on the worn cotton comforter to take back the empty cup. To his mind, most all things seemed out of focus right now. At least the snow had stopped, or did it even start? What did it really matter now? The falling snow calmed him, even if momentarily, the lazy drift of it, pure and simple, lovely, and deadly all at the same time.

"Quatre?" A distant look overtook the young aristocrat, taking him perhaps to another place and time, far from where they sat now. Heero hadn't seen it on his face that often, at least, in the time they knew each other and encountered each other.

With a small shake of his head, sandy blonde hair falling across his eyes before being pushed back into its normal, framing place, Quatre snapped himself back to reality. The calm that had come over him faded away and was replaced again with a tired feeling. "Hmph? Oh, sorry."

The cup was passed from one youth to the next, finally off to Wufei who'd stayed by incase Quatre's reasoning hadn't gotten through on its own, and again, Quatre pushed himself to his feet. "I think I'm just going to go to bed. Dinner doesn't sound appealing to me anymore, guys."

An unspoken concern passed between the three watchers, Wufei giving a soft nod to Duo and Heero as one went to sleep and the other pulled himself out of bed to head down for the prepared dinner. Wufei would keep an eye on Quatre's behavior, as they shared a room together just on the other side of Duo's and Heero's. They had to be their own, and each other's strength through this as times drew on and got harder. He'd see if he couldn't talk Quatre into eating a little if he brought the food up for him. His friend hadn't eaten all day, and the last thing they needed was someone else to be sick.

The continual screech of the alarm sirens rang in his ears, the flash of a passing warning light temporarily blinding his vision off and on, causing him to be disoriented and it made it hard to concentrate.

'Damn, they caught on faster than I hoped,' came the mental growl, a deep wince crossing his face with a nasty outward cuss, his ankle threatening to give out as he skidded across a corner. An enemy soldier and a few shots of gunfire was all he was greeted with, a hasty retreat made before he returned with his own gunfire. 'Just two more corridors, and I should be in the infirmary wing. If I take much longer, I'm never going to make it.'

The first two shots missed, his spinning vision nearly collapsing him and the grazing gunshot wound to his lower side wasn't immediately noticed with the adrenaline rush. The third shot finally hit target, well enough to drop the soldier in his way to the hard concrete floor. As it seemed as good as it was going to get for him, he made the rush past the preoccupied man, clutching at the wall for support with his free hand. He could already hear the footsteps stampeding at a small distance just out of his sight.

"I'm almost there," came the low growl, a frantic shove knocking the surprised soldier and her comrade back into the room they came from long enough for him to get by. The pressure of it sent a surge of agony up his arm, his calm logic long since having left him in his drugged and tired presence. This time, it was all about luck and stubbornness. "And being this close, I refuse to die, I refuse to go back!"

The coach was more to himself, catching sight of the exit sign right in front of him, just 30 yards or so in the distance. 'C'mon, c'mon, move it, No Name!'

The hallway itself left him at a disadvantage, for as long and straight off as it was, it left him an open target.

More shouts and gunfire thundered like the rage of the heavens through the halls, locked on a single target.