~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tapestry, Chapter 28

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunrise over the sea was beautiful.

I was wrapped in a blanket and curled in the large chair in Wufei's room, as much for my sake as for his. Protectively swathed in the comforter I dozed, half in and half out of consciousness, neck relaxed, chin almost on my chest. Odd noises floated in and out of my dreams, noises that flowed and fit and sounded like part of normal, everyday living, nothing alarming at all. And when I opened my eyes and looked at the bed, expecting to see him asleep, there was no Wufei. The sheets were rumpled, as if he had lain there, slept for a time, and disappeared.

I was frantic.

The covers dropped to the floor in a heap as I sprang out of the chair and charged toward the door, oblivious to the pain that sizzled through my neck, across my shoulders, down my back and through my left arm. Before I yanked the door open, though, I happened to glance across the patio to the sea - and there he was, walking along one of the paths to the water, dressed in white, looking serene, calm, and tranquil.

~~Calm down, Sally. No one's abducted him. No one's taken him. He's just out taking a walk. That's all. Just a walk. You can start breathing again.~~

Panting and trembling, I stood in front of the door, one hand on the doorknob, and thought about what a huge mistake I had almost made. Had I not seen Wufei walking on the beach ... gaaaaaaaah. I shivered, not even wanting to dwell on how THAT little fiasco would have played out. Ouch.

I needed to calm down. First, I needed to take a shower and change my clothes; then I needed to go and talk to Wufei. By that time, I should be rational enough to string two coherent sentences together. I hoped.

Putting my thoughts to action, I took a deep breath and plunged into the hallway, escaping quickly to my room. By focusing on one thing at a time, I reasoned, I'd be able to plow through this horrible situation, drag Wufei with me, and escape relatively unscathed.

I hoped. But I was an optimist, and I knew that, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good morning, Sally."

The wind blew gently in my face, and I stared at Wufei's back. That was enough to stop me in my tracks. Wufei never greeted me first - he always waited for me to greet him.

I approached him warily. He continued to stare at the sea, his entire demeanor relaxed and calm, his hands clasped lightly behind his back.

"Good morning, Wufei. Did you sleep well?"

"Mmm ... yes," he said, not looking at me, sounding slightly puzzled. "I did, thank you." He surprised me again by scissoring down onto the sand, smooth and graceful, then sighed, stretched out on the sand and closed his eyes, his hands folded under his head.

"You don't sound sure," I replied, walking up to him then sitting down on the sand.

He hesitated. "I'm just ... I'm not sure how I got to my room," he confided, shifting his position a little. "I feel very good - but I don't remember anything about last night. I especially don't recall asking you to stay with me, either, but when I woke up, there you were."

I blinked and nodded.. "Mmmm. Yes. That's surprising. You're sure you don't remember anything, Wufei?" I paused for a moment, giving him time to think. "Perhaps we can think about this another way. What is the last thing you do remember?"

He frowned a little, his eyes silt against the morning sun. "I guess ... well. I guess the last thing I remember is that I fell asleep on the way home from the press conference. But," he said, blinking, "that doesn't seem right. It doesn't feel right."

I stared at him, not quite believing what I was hearing. "Ah ... well, no, Wufei. There's a little more to it than that. Treize asked you to fight with him - to work off a little tension, he said - and you agreed. You fought with Treize last night." No one in this entire universe will ever know how much it cost me to say that in a normal, everyday voice instead of screaming the way I wanted. No one. But I did it, and I did it well. So well, in fact, that Wufei simply nodded along with me. I felt exhausted at the end of it.

"Did I?" Wufei puckered his brow. "I don't remember fighting with him. Did I hit my head? It doesn't hurt." The fingers of his right hand started to explore his scalp, looking for the telltale bump or scratch of the abrasion causing his amnesia.

Oh gods. That was so ironic it was funny. I thought I was going to lose it right at that point. "I don't think so, Wufei, " I said, swallowing. "You should be fine."

He looked at me expectantly. "What happened next, Sally?"

Beads of perspiration broke out on and around my brow. "You and Treize fought for a very long time, with neither one of you a clear cut winner. Then - then the two of you decided to sit and - talk - for a while." My stomach twisted as I watched him and decided how best to continue. Gads, what was I supposed to do? Tell him what I saw, and what I heard? Would he believe me?

Trowa's voice murmured in my head. ~~No. He would not. Touching the soul of another being is *the* most intimate action possible. It is not wrong in and of itself, but the results are extremely powerful. For a human, the physiological reactions are sexual, and are cumulative in nature. ~~

I tried to keep my face perfectly neutral as Trowa fed this information into my mind. Wufei was still watching me. "Nothing, really, happened after that. And .. and ... then you fell asleep. I brought you back here and decided to stay with you because you wouldn't wake up easily. I was afraid that something did happen during the sparring match that I didn't see," I finished, the explanation lame in my own ears, praying he wouldn't ask me any more questions.

"Oh. Okay," Wufei said, his eyes closing of their own accord. He looked like he was dozing again. I looked down at him, feeling unutterably sad.

~~What is wrong, Sally Po?~~

~~Is that what Treize did - touch his soul?~~

~~Yes.~~

~~Oh.~~ I sighed.

Wufei opened his eyes slowly and stared right at me. "Do you feel all right?"

I was so surprised that I stared at him a full two seconds until I realized he actually was speaking to me. "Oh ... sure. I'm fine." I looked off to the right, down the beach. A little breeze pushed some of my hair out of my face, making it wave in the wind. For all intents and purposes, we were living in a tropical paradise.

Right. If you liked tropical paradises with guns and maniacs, then this was the place for you.

"You don't look well." Wufei sat up, brushing the sand away from his palms, and gave me a closer look. "Maybe you should see a doctor."

Now I was shocked. He was calm and mellow, even slouching a little, but perfectly serious.

"Wufei - really? Why are you saying that?"

"Because you're pale. Your expression is concerned; your hands are trembling; and the bruise on your neck is turning colors." He stood up in one smooth motion and held his hand out to help me to my feet. "Please come. I'll summon a doctor."

I blinked, reached up for his hand and allowed him to pull me up. His behavior mystified me to the point where I couldn't protest; in fact, anything I said now would sound silly and churlish. I followed him back to the mansion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Lie down, Sally. I'll call."

Wufei took me to one of the less used libraries and tucked me away on a leather couch. Draping a blanket over me and fluffing several pillows, he eyed me critically before deciding it was all right to leave me for a few moments to make his call. Frankly, I was surprised he opted to do that at all - he could just as easily have used his cellphone right from couchside, as fussy and maternal as he was being.

He was a great nurse, and I was a lousy patient.

"Can you take aspirin?"

"Oh ... yes, I can. Not a problem."

Wufei disappeared again for a few moments, then reappeared with a glass of water and something in his other hand. He bent down toward me with the glass as I pushed myself up on my elbows, accepting the pills. I swallowed them with the water without incident and handed the glass back to him.

"They said a doctor would come in about an hour. I'll stay with you until then."

"Why - thank you, Wufei." I gave him a small smile, a little bewildered. His behavior tweaked my memory; he reminded me of a tight, stern officer I once knew. That man changed in exactly the same way Wufei changed, but it was after he married and came back from his honeymoon. Steve became a more pleasant person, much easier to talk to and more relaxed about things in general.

My mind was making connections between what Trowa whispered to me and what I saw. I looked at Wufei, and my heart sank. Gads.

He pulled an overstuffed armchair over next to my couch and sank into it, sighing. "Maybe I'll sleep a bit," he said, his voice a low, comfortable rumble, closing his eyes.

"Okay, Wufei," I agreed, closing my eyes at the same time, "that's fine. I'm not going anywhere." Funny, indeed. Where would I go?

I silt my eyes and watched him until I was sure he was asleep, watching until his breathing became regular and his aura surged around him comfortably. I believed he didn't remember a thing from last night; there was no way he would have been this calm if he remembered even one tenth of what had happened from the time Treize stopped sparring with him until I rescued him from Treize's arms.

Reaching out, I put my hand on Wufei's knee, something that was comforting for both of us, and looked at his aura again. Purple streaks still threaded their way through his red and black, purple streaks that I now knew were unhealthy blows to his psyche. I took those very personally; I was a doctor, after all, and I should be able to alleviate his pain. I needed to be more vigilant with him, alleviate his pain. My own pain, though, I pushed to another corner of my consciousness. I would deal with that later.

I watched his aura shift toward me, and felt vaguely pleased. It meant that he was comfortable with me touching him, as least when he was unconscious, and that he liked me. I wondered, though, why that happened. It certainly hadn't happened with Seiyruu - he didn't want me touching his soul.

~~You would have died if you had touched Seiyruu's soul; that is not the case with Wufei.~~

I started fully awake, my eyes blinking open. Trowa's internal voice was becoming familiar to me, but still - other thoughts pushing into my head were mildly upsetting.

In for a penny, in for a pound. ~~Why isn't that the case with Wufei? I asked. And while we're on the subject, Trowa, you never did tell me exactly what Treize was, either. I'd like to know what I'm dealing with.~~

His presence was calm. ~~Ah, yes. That is, perhaps, easiest shown. I will try not to overwhelm you.~~

Groaning inwardly, I thought, ~~Good. I'd certainly appreciate that. Thank you.~~ He probably doesn't know his own strength, I figured, sighing. He'd probably leave me a gibbering idiot if he wasn't careful.

~~Very well, Sally. We will begin.~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At least this time - as opposed to the time when he took me to meet Seiyruu - he allowed me enough contact with this world that I was aware of my hand on Wufei's knee the entire time. That was a link with reality, enough of one to pull me back when necessary.

I didn't see Wufei in front of me. What I did see was something that was unfamiliar, yet at that same time resonated deep inside of me, almost as if it was a racial memory. It was a land of barren rocks and red soil, of a sky that was bronzed with an enormous sun - and there was something shining in the sky, something that was too bright to look at, as fiercely bright as the sun.

~~In the beginning,~~ said Trowa, ~~there was Rebellion.~~

Suddenly, the world around me erupted into flame.

~~This is not happening now, Sally. This happened eons ago, at the beginning of the world.~~

Ghastly battles spanned the landscape; that was the only way my mind could describe what was happening. It was beyond anything I could grasp, something totally on a spiritual plane. Horrible things - fire, power, things I couldn't even name, raging across the land, destroying and wiping entities completely out of existence.

I felt it - I felt it all, and it was awful. ~~Why, Trowa, why?~~ I was nearly crying, I felt so much pain.

~~Because of Man. Jouten created Man, and gave to Man the greatest of His gifts - the greatest of His love - even the ability for redemption. There is no other creature in the universe that has those things, Sally.~~

I shook my head, still feeling the war being waged across the land and sea and sky, and it was tearing me apart. Sudden coolness and a calm, serene feeling took me by surprise, damping that horrible feeling; panting, I looked around but couldn't see any difference. Grateful for any small respite from that awful pain, I whispered, ~~who - who's fighting, Trowa?~~

~~The Host of Heaven, Sally. They were told their purpose was to serve Man, a mortal thing - and some of them rebelled.~~

~~Ah. So. They are immortal?~~

~~Yes. They can be destroyed, but they do not die. You are seeing the end of their battle. ~~

As I watched, something so hot and so all-consuming that I almost couldn't stand it came flaming down from the sky. It scorched everything, including the very air I breathed, even though I wasn't in the same time. That flaming wave consumed the world and everything that was fighting; it left nothing but stillness and ash in its wake.

I stared, awestruck.

Trowa's voice echoed in my head. ~~One third of the Host of Heaven rebelled. They were judged. But of those, some - one third - remained. ~~

Everything cleared, and the air was almost shockingly cool. There were a few beings moving in the ash, but just a few. Some of them were rising from the ground and daring to shake their fists at the sky. I could tell, even from this distance, that each and every one of them were astonishingly beautiful winged men.

~~But, Trowa, how - how - those beings were burned - how could they possibly survive?~~

~~Jouten chose some of them to live to tempt and temper the rest of the world. ~~

One by one, those ragged, beautiful survivors took off in roughly the same direction - flying, disappearing, or just walking. All except one.

I blinked, looking at the last one.

~~Look closely, Sally. Look at the one that remains.~~

The last survivor was standing with a simple half-toga wrapped around his waist, his skin and wings completely bronze, a slightly bitter, contemplative look on his face as he stared at the ground.

I looked closer. It was Treize.

~~He cannot go back,~~ Trowa murmured in my mind, ~~because he rebelled. That way is closed to him forever. Only humans are given redemption. He chose to be an outcast - he rebelled against the one who made him, named him, loved him.~~

Treize looked up; and his eyes, rather than his normal clear blue, were the same color as his wings. His brow knit slightly as he looked off to the east. Following his gaze, I saw a small patch of green that appeared to be a forest in the middle of a brick red desert.

~~What's that?~~ I wondered, curious.

~~Sanctuary. Your ancestors knew it as Eden.~~

As I gazed over at Eden, wondering, I heard Treize speaking to himself in a language I'd never heard. However, Trowa translated it for me so that I understood what he was saying.

"And what ... is so special about you ... that you would displace US?"

He flickered, turned in the direction of Eden, and disappeared.

I stared at the spot where Treize stood, assimilating what I just witnessed. ~~He was talking about humans, wasn't he ..? ~~

~~Yes, he was.~~

~~Was he the one who tempted Eve?~~

~~No - that one is another who fell. His purposed was to damn mankind forever. That was never Treize's goal.~~

I blinked, thinking. ~~What is his goal?~~

~~There are three responses among the Fallen ones to mankind, Sally. The first is apathy - they do not care. They ignore. They pretend you do not exist, and they go on with their existence as if you are not even here. The second is hatred. They rage against you, doing all they can to make you fall, to harm and hurt you. And the third - which is Treize's - is fascination.~~

~~He is ... fascinated?~~

~~He is. He plays with you. He loves humans. As pets. As toys. He likes them alive. He likes to take them apart and see what makes them tick. He has spent his entire life among humans, and is always fascinated. He knows of the damnation that awaits him, but he pretends, at times, that he does not know of it.~~

I fumbled, different emotions tightening my chest. ~~But sometimes, Trowa ... sometimes, it feels - cruel. Not like love at all. And - and he will die one day ...? ~~

~~He will be destroyed, or banished - and he is Fallen, Sally. His nature is not meant to be separated from that which created him; because of this, his love is poison. He does not seek redemption - he knows it is beyond his reach.~~

Pity surged through me; pity for him, for his circumstances, for his inability to return to where he needed to go.

~~So - he wants Wufei ... to play with? Or to be with - another soul like his, outside - what did you call it before - the 'written?'~~

~~Not simply for that, I'm afraid. He does not look for companionship. I did not show you his presence in China in times past. He has loved the children of Seiyruu to their deaths many, many times.~~

Bone chilling cold seeped into my body. I stared, unseeing, in front of me. ~~What do you mean, 'loved them to their deaths?' Do you mean he killed them on purpose?~~

~~He has loved them to death. Stripped their souls. Mutilated their bodies. But only at times. Others he kept until they grew old and died. He knows how to wake them up. He fought with Seiyruu about this. He does NOT wish to kill Wufei, or he would have awakened the dragon and taken him already. He wishes to keep him.~~

Fear - pure, cold fear - plunged my stomach into my toes. ~~He wants to do that to Wufei - I heard him talking about it. He wants to 'wake him up.' Gads, he could kill him. Why? Why would he do that?~~

~~Many reasons.~~ Trowa sounded terribly calm. I blinked, and found myself laying back in the room with Wufei, my hand on his knee, Wufei still asleep.

~~Treize loves beauty in all its forms; he loves the beauty of man most of all. Wufei is a very beautiful human, and he is unique in appearance because of the homogenization of earth. This alone makes him 'special' in Treize's eyes. The fact that he is an offspring of Seiyruu, the only god to have created a workable hybrid with humans, makes him even more fascinating. That, plus the fact that Seiyruu's children have not been this balanced in thousands of years. Normally, they burn up. They have a strong connection with the element of fire; it consumes them. ~~

~~So - Wufei is desirable to him?~~

~~To say the least. Sally, combine this with a quick mind, a strong body, talents which he has not even begun to tap, and finally, his innocence, and ... well. There is a package that Treize would not be able to resist.~~

I sighed, feeling totally defeated. ~~Is there nothing I can do? I cannot stand against Treize for Wufei - I'm not strong enough. And Wufei cannot stand on his own - he doesn't even know what's happening to him.~~

~~No, he does not. According to the written, Treize will have him. You are the balance for Wufei. You protect him.~~

I was extremely still, not moving a muscle. ~~Trowa - what? Wufei will ... what? what are you saying? What do you mean?~~

~~You must do all you can, even after the fact. The written shows ... his building up will strengthen you all.~~

Bone crushing sadness dropped over me. I looked at Wufei, sleeping soundly in the chair next to me, completely unaware, and felt totally defeated. The fight was already lost. There was no fight anymore - not really -

~~No, Sally. If you had lost the fight, I would not be speaking to you. I do not speak to humans. It is normally forbidden, on pain of destruction. You are not even anankha.~~

I swallowed my grief, pushing it back to another part of my mind. ~~Then - what are you saying? I don't understand.~~

~~It is not the end.~~

Of course it is. I closed my eyes against the storm that threatened to beat against my eyelids. ~~Treize is going to have him. You've already said that.~~

~~Yes. And that is not the end.~~

~~....No...?~~ Tiny, tiny hope flared.

~~No.~~

~~But ... why not? And what is anankha?~~

I had the feeling he was consulting something again, as he did the last time he spoke to me.

~~Anankha is the classification for those who have fallen outside the written ... for various reasons. Those who are anankha can be claimed by anyone.~~

And suddenly, an image of Quatre flashed through my mind - not Quatre as I knew him, though. This was Quatre with a pure, golden light and a sense of longing surrounding him. I blinked and shook my head a little, not understanding where that came from.

Trowa continued. ~~Those still in the written follow the written, but those outside it are outside my power. They follow only the Written, and are unpredictable - at least to some extent. ~~

I considered carefully. ~~So. Because of what you told me before, about Treize - both Treize and Wufei are anankha, and are outside the written - but I am inside, and will follow it. Is that correct?~~

~~Yes. And the actions of anankha can only be surmised by the reactions of those around them, those that follow the written.~~

~~Is Quatre outside the written, too?~~

~~No.~~ Trowa did not sound happy about that, which was odd. I changed the subject.

~~So - in order to see Wufei's actions, you need to watch someone close to him, someone in the written ... and that means you want to watch me, right? ~~

~~Yes. And even that is not enough to be completely predictable.~~

~~Is that why the fight is not over?~~

~~Yes and no. Even when Treize has him, it will not be enough - it will not be the end. Wufei is the child of Seiyruu, as none have been for millennia. Anankha are dangerous because they change the written. I can see your life, until the moment you are supposed to die - therefore, I see your responses to what becomes.~~

~~But you cannot see Wufei, can you?~~

~~No, I cannot. His actions could alter everything I now see. The Written is the only thing which may not be changed. That is why I exist; because the written can differ from the Written, and I try to keep them in synch. ~~

I felt his displeasure through our link; not at me, per se, but at events in general. Treize has already changed the written. ~~You were originally still in the hospital at this time. He has altered the written too far, which is why I am now directly involved, and he knows it, too.~~

~~He knows it?~~ I blinked, shuddering under my blanket, remembering Treize as he was last night, wings unfurled, eyes boring into mine.

~~Of course he knows.~~ Trowa sounded disgusted, not afraid at all. ~~He thinks it's funny. He does what he wants.~~

~~...but ... but ... if he knows you're involved ... then he knows you're simply trying to balance the system ....~~

The equivalent of a snort echoed in my head. ~~He has known me for millennia. I am the only one of my kind to remain in this world, and what I do now jeopardizes that.~~

~~You - you mean, talking to me?~~

~~No, Sally Po.~~ He was silent for a moment. ~~I have made a mistake. I have looked on one upon whom I should not have looked.~~

I sighed, shifting under the blanket. ~~Trowa, you are speaking in riddles. You are a Fate. You keep the balance between the written and the Written, meaning you can see everything. How can there possibly be one you should not have seen?~~

More emotion - intensity, perhaps - colored his tone than I had ever felt. ~~You saw her whom Seiyruu loved. She was beautiful, and so is this.~~

Without warning, I was surrounded by that same, shining glory. Golden white light, pure and perfect, streamed around me, almost hurting my eyes with its brilliance - and at its center was not Seiyruu's Lily, but Quatre's smiling face.

~~Quatre? This is - this is Quatre's aura?~~

~~Yes, Sally. I have become human for his sake, and so ... damned myself.~~

The image faded, and I was back in my blanket cocoon, hand on Wufei's knee, listening to his deep, even breathing.

I was silent for a moment. ~~You are not entirely human. But you could die.~~

~~Yes. I am now vulnerable. And I would not die - I would simply cease to exist.~~

That sounded more gruesome than simply dying. I shuddered again. Could Treize destroy you?~~

~~Yes, unless I break the rules, and I would never do that.~~

I blinked, thinking. ~~Trowa - I cannot help Wufei - I cannot prevent Treize from taking him. And if I couldn't stand against Treize for Wufei, I'm not sure I would be able to help you against him, either.~~

~~I did not ask you to help me.~~ He paused, and it felt as if he was thinking about something. ~~He said you would be like this. It is, indeed, your nature. Concentrate on helping Wufei, Sally. You will find that the mere fact of your existence gives him something he wouldn't normally have.~~

Depression dropped over me like a blanket. ~~It is ... very hard for me to understand that. There is nothing I can offer.~~

~~An escape - and hope, Sally Po. You offer him hope. Were you not here, he would be alone in his hardship. Protect him. Protect him as best you can.~~

I sighed, turning my head into the pillow. ~~Very well. Then - that is what I will do. Once Treize takes him, Trowa, will he - will he reject me?~~ I had visions of that, too. Not pleasant. Not pleasant at all.

~~No. He will reject himself. ~~

Horror at his words moved through me. ~~Wait - what? Then how can Treize do it? Doesn't he know what will happen?~~

~~Of course he knows. He intends to build Wufei back up, into the image he believes he should be. It can be done.~~

That was such a shockingly outrageous, vile action that I could hardly respond for a few moments. ~~No! That's not right! Trowa, what am I supposed to do? If he's going to do that, he isn't going to allow me anywhere NEAR Wufei. Why would he permit an outside influence, especially someone like me, near his Project? That's- ~~

~~Because you are amusing, and special, and you remind him of another.~~

That stopped me cold. ~~ I ... what? ~~

~~You remind him of another whom he enjoyed. Under normal circumstances, Sally, you would be his focus. However, the presence of the dragon precludes that. ~~

I was silent for a few moments, absorbing what he said. Okay. Now I had to know. ~~Who do I remind him of, Trowa?~~

~~Joan of Arc.~~

~~I remind him ... of Saint Joan?~~ Gods. That's insane. Talk about uncomfortable ... I stared over at Wufei, still sleeping soundly. ~~She never wavered in her convictions - and for her efforts, she was burned at the stake.~~

~~She was - and you might be. But not before you complete your purpose. Treize was with her as she died, Sally. He kissed her as she burned. You should be glad his attention is not on you.~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A brisk knock on the door interrupted our conversation. Wufei, far from being completely asleep, was out of the chair and over at the door before I could even sit up.

"Who is it?" he snapped, sharp and protective, through the door.

"Doctor," came the muffled reply.

Wufei blinked. "Oh," he said, and pulled the door open to reveal a smallish woman, blinking behind large glasses.

"Nan?" I breathed, not believing what I saw. "Is that you?"

"Sally?" She paused for a long moment, taking her bearings, them bustled into the room, completely professional, taking in the situation in one glance. "So," she said, raising one eyebrow, "hurt yourself, eh? Well, I'll take care of it."

I sat up, sweeping the blanket away with one arm, wincing a little as I did. "I suppose you could say that, yes ..."

"Let's see -"

Wufei closed the door behind Nan and was eyeing us with such protective suspicion that it was cute; his arms were folded across his chest and he was glowering. Of course, he didn't know that, and I wasn't about to tell him that.

"Wufei - this is Nan. She and I were roommates in med school for a while -"

Wufei sized her up and nodded, his glare not subsiding one bit. Nan glanced back at him and gave him the briefest of nods, then returned her attention to me.

"Now, Sally, where does it hurt?"

"Ah .. here ... along my neck, and down my spine." I pointed out the injured area to her, turning my back at the same time.

She was quiet for a long moment, her cool fingers at the nape of my neck, opening my shirt, exposing my neck and back. "Training exercise, hm?"

I felt my cheeks burn. 'Training exercise,' for doctors in the military, could mean several things; it could actually mean an accident that occurred in a true training exercise, or it could mean discipline meted out to unruly soldiers in the field. She had no reason to suspect anything but the former. I was glad I faced the opposite wall. "Yes, I suppose so. I can't see the problem, just feel it - it only feels muscular, though -"

"It looks like something tried to rip out your spinal cord and forgot to make an incision," Nan commented casually. "Have you iced it yet?"

"Um ... no ..." Now all the blood rushed away from my face, leaving my cheeks pale.

She snorted. I knew that sound, the "you know BETTER than that" sound she used to make when I forgot to study for tests and quizzes. Gently applying an icepack from my neck to the middle of my back, which did bring a lot of relief, she rummaged in her bag as I twisted around to watch her.

"Um ... is there anything else going on with it?"

Nan was very carefully NOT looking at me; instead, she was terribly interested in what was in her bag. "I wouldn't know without a more thorough look. How long have you had this? It's discolored, so I'd say a while."

I turned back, feeling discouraged. "Since - Friday night," I sighed. No help there. There's nothing wrong, I told myself. If there was, Treize would have taken care of it. I would have been in the hospital.

Nan sighed. "Sally, did you lose your mind completely when you left OZ?"

I blinked and stared at her. Wufei narrowed his eyes and took a step forward.

"Sorry," Nan apologized, shrugging. "I wasn't supposed to say that."

"No - that's all right," I said, waving Wufei back and turning around again at her direction. "I made the best decision I could, given the circumstances."

She snorted again, pressing both her hands into my neck. "Let me guess. You have more important things to think about." She was prodding my back gently now, moving her fingers slowly down my spine.

"More important than - ow," I complained, my eyes scrunching in pain. "More important than what? You mean .... oh. Well." I nodded, smiling a little.

"You always had more important things, Sally. How many times do I have to TELL you - if you're in sucky shape, you can't help anybody else?"

"I know - I know, Nan. You've told me before - but I suppose it's just my nature. It's hard -" I sucked in my breath quickly as she hit a particularly sensitive spot - "hard for me to figure out when I need help and when I don't, and when it's time to quit -"

"Looks like someone's figured that one out for you," Nan said calmly, finishing the exam.

She didn't miss a trick. 'Training exercise,' indeed.

"Yes. Well." I looked away, my face coloring again.

Nan sighed again. "Any nerve damage has already been done. Any numbness? Vision problems? Dizziness?"

"No, I haven't felt any tingling anywhere. And as for vision problems or dizziness - well ... none that I can tell."

"It looks like you're just really, really, bruised. I don't see anything here that indicates permanent damage. You're lucky as hell, Sally. You had one hell of a lucky accident."

I rolled my neck carefully, feeling it stretch. "That's - good. That's very good."

"I'm leaving you some painkillers. Strong stuff. I'll make you sleep. If you need more, you can ask."

Turning, I nodded stiffly and gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Nan. I really appreciate it."

Nan didn't smile back, though. She was looking back at me with a pensive, heavy expression. "Whatever possessed you, Sally Po," she murmured softly, pulling a thermometer from her kit. "Of the two of us, you always were the brighter one, the one with more sense." Shaking her head, she put the thermal probe in my ear and checked my eyes, her mouth a thin line.

"I had to, Nan," I said, answering when I could. "I just had to. I couldn't live a lie any more." I glanced over her shoulder. "Blood pressure okay?"

"For someone who hasn't been sleeping or taking good care of herself, this looks fine." An acerbic stare in my direction softened the longer she looked at me. "Your blood pressure is low, Sally. You haven't been eating again. I'm putting orders on your chart to make sure you eat." She looked over in Wufei's direction, then down at her chart. "I'm sure someone will see to it that you will."

"Yes. I'm sure they will," I replied, a rueful look at him. "I do the best I can, given the circumstances. I just regained consciousness last Monday."

"Consciousness?" Nan echoed, blinking.

We were interrupted by incessant rapping on the door, with a muffled voice that sounded familiar calling through it: "Routine checkup."

Before anyone had a chance to answer, the door was opened, and who was there but Trowa, looking calm and severe in an OZ Specials uniform.

"All's well," Nan responded, nodding toward him.

"Check. Estimated time of completion?"

"I'm all but done. Another three minutes, perhaps."

"I will be right outside the door. Please knock when you are finished."

Trowa nodded smartly, left and closed the door quietly behind him. Wufei gave no sign of recognition, and I knew that he knew Trowa. I wondered if he actually saw him, or if he was so much in control of himself that he wouldn't give himself away at all, not even in front of me.

"I don't approve, you know."

My attention snapped around to Nan. Her voice was smooth and even but her shoulders drooped as she continued, "Just in case ... you thought I did. I don't. I just - don't know what happened to you, Sally."

Something inside me snapped. "I was ordered to exterminate an entire colony of innocent people, Nan. Hundreds of thousands of them. Men, women and children - all of them. I couldn't do it. It was monstrous."

"Were they, Sally? Were they innocent? Do you know for sure?"

I stared at her. "I'm a healer, Nan. I didn't sign on to annihilate colonies of defenseless people, people with no weapons ..."

"There was probably a good reason for the order -"

Trowa's voice interrupted us again. "Check?"

"Check!" Nan snapped, annoyed, probably louder than she intended.

"I'm sure someone had a good reason for the order, Nan, but I couldn't justify it to myself. You don't kill noncombatants." I shrugged, and then winced. "At least I couldn't. And I may not be sleeping much now, but when I can sleep, I do."

She sighed, looking at me. "Well, you need more. AND a better diet. As I said, I'll let them know. But Sally - if killing is so wrong, why did you join the Resistance?"

I looked at her. "That's easy," I said quietly. "I believed in the basic principles. Defending your life and your liberty. Defending the rights of those who can't fight for themselves. Fighting to insure that justice reaches everyone, not simply the chosen few."

Nan didn't look convinced. I wasn't surprised. She was right - between the two of us, I had always been the idealist, and she had been the person who was grounded in the "but they SAID it should be done THIS way, Sally ..." way of doing things. When I finally looked at her aura, I noticed it was autumn red, pale and wispy, and not more than an inch in width around her entire body.

"REST, Sally. You need it." Knocking on the door, she summoned Trowa, nodded at me and left, without so much as a backward glance at Wufei.

I watched her go, feeling melancholy, realizing that another section of my life had just closed as she walked out that door.

Glancing up at Wufei, I heard Trowa's prediction ringing in my ears. The only thing I didn't know, I realized bleakly, was when.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hardest part of any surveillance job is waiting.

Waiting for the target to make his or her move. Waiting for the shipment to be delivered. Waiting for contact to arrive with the information. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Waiting drove me crazy.

That's what happened for the next two and a half weeks. Nothing. But. Waiting.

There was news from the outside. That's how I classified the world - Inside, which was the world on the island, and Outside, which was the world off the island. Outside, the rebellion was far from over. The colonies were acquiescing, according to the news, but the fighting continued. If the fighting continued, I reasoned, then the colonies weren't really rolling over for Treize, were they? So no, the rebellion wasn't dead. Good, good, good.

Inside, though ... inside, there was nothing going on. Nothing. In the space of two weeks, the size of the island had shrunk from something substantial to something less than the size of a postage stamp. Oh, I had my favorite places to go - places to sun, places to swim, places to run, places to read - but after a while, I ran out of places to go and things to do. And I was bored.

Wufei didn't seem to have problems with the size of the island. In fact, he didn't seem to have problems with anything right now. For Wufei, this was heaven. Even Treize had left him alone, relatively speaking. They sparred in the morning; they ate together and had some classes together; but it seemed as if Treize wasn't pushing things any farther for now.

Trowa was there, too. He was part of Treize's Specials, and as such, was now part of the group. It was a strange sensation, seeing him around all the time; and what was even stranger was seeing him manifest a normal aura, one that changed when he was in Treize's proximity.

~~Why, Trowa?~~ I asked him when we were alone once. ~~Why are you doing that?~~

~~Because otherwise Treize will know I'm here, and he will know which human body I've taken. Please remember - I'm vulnerable. That would not be good. At all.~~

I swallowed and nodded, understanding his point completely. It occurred to me that Trowa was taking huge risks that really weren't in his original game plan.

Trowa blended in quite well with the Elite forces on the island, too. In fact, I had been keeping tabs on all the island forces. My memory was excellent for names and faces as well as schedules and routines; I had used it many times in the Resistance to save my life and the lives of others from the enemy.

Routines and schedules changed often enough, but I did see the same faces again and again, doing the same type of things. They claimed that everyone was a generalist - that they could all do each others' jobs - but there really were specialists within the company. I kept my eyes open for the communication specialist within the group. Plus, I knew there were research and communication labs beneath the house proper; I just hadn't been 'invited' down to see them as yet.

Hmmm. Imagine that.

Treize, on the other hand, had been a perfect host to this point. In fact, he had gone into his contemplative 'I-agree-with-you' mode with me more than once, which was thoroughly annoying. I hated that. I wanted to disagree with him, just to be perverse.

I couldn't, of course. Because when I tried, it was horrid. Either he agreed with whatever I said and elaborated as if it was JUST what he meant, or else he disagreed and took me apart so cleanly I had no choice BUT to agree with him or look like a churlish idiot.

He did it on purpose, of course, and he thought it was funny. I hated him even more for that, if it was possible. Plus, he always did it in front of Wufei.

I found myself swallowing a lot of what I wanted to say and just glaring at him most of the time. Retreating into silence wasn't something I was used to and it wasn't something I enjoyed. At this point, though, there wasn't much else I could do. I needed to maintain some dignity, some sense of self.

When I was alone with him, though, it was an entirely different matter. Either he totally ignored me or he seriously invaded my personal space, crowding me to the point where I would be pushed against a table or flattened near a bookshelf. When I finally did push back or say something, he gave me Looks that had me weak in the knees and made it impossible to concentrate. However, when I saw how amused he was, my temper gave way; I noticed my anger made it easier to focus.

I noticed that before. Whenever I became terribly angry, that emotion seemed to push away Treize's influence and helped me think clearly. It left me exhausted, though, mentally and physically. I knew I couldn't be angry twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Treize was so understanding. I found books on anger management and one entitled "Dealing with Everyday Stress in Your Life" sitting on my nightstand, with a handwritten note from him, hoping that I'd enjoy this addition to the library. I was so enraged I threw them across the room; then I pictured him laughing at me, so I picked them up, sulking, and tossed them on the round table near the patio. I made myself thank him graciously for his gift that night, too. My hatred for him now knew no bounds. He gravely accepted my thanks, but I swore his eyes were twinkling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I made it my business to be as pleasant as possible to all the soldiers in the house, chatting away with those that liked to chat, sitting quietly with those who were obviously shy and reticent, getting coffee and such for those who couldn't leave their posts for one reason or another, and so on. The regular soldiers, those who were communication specialists and such, were certainly more amiable toward me than Treize's Specials; in fact, they were the ones that appeared to have difficulty recalling why on earth I was there.

Which, after all, was kinda the point.

The Specials, on the other hand, were under no such illusions. For all I knew, they had my photograph in their locker room, stuck up on a board, with the words DANGEROUS CRIMINAL written across it in black felt marker. At least, that's how they acted. They pointedly ignored any friendly overtures I made to any of them, instead paying more attention to their beeping equipment than to me. In fact, they made it very clear that one of their jobs was to Keep An Eye On Po, and yes, that was in large capital letters. They weren't interested in small talk, they could care less if I stood next to them, they politely escorted me out of any location they didn't want me near, and they made it very clear they would lock me into my room if they felt it was necessary.

Sheesh.

Life on the postage stamp were getting very ... close. People were getting on my nerves, and I wanted some action. Obviously, my objective was to get into the basement, to the communication equipment, and the Specials' objective was to keep me out. That should have been Treize's objective, as well - to keep me out, that is - but he started to act strangely after we had been together for several weeks.

He knew something. Even if he didn't know details, he knew something. He knew me well enough to realize that something was going on, and he made it very clear - at least to me - that was was going to let it happen.

Never look a gift horse in the mouth. That was my motto.

Treize even went so far as to tell me the dates and times he would be out of town. Smiling and nodding as he showed me his calendar, I felt like it was a test; that he was giving me the rope, just to see what I would do with it.

~~Of course. It's much more amusing this way.~~

I stopped thinking about voices in my head. They came and went; and I could tell them apart. I didn't even question how I could do that, but I could.

Procuring a long coil of rope from an unused closet was no problem. Trowa secured the house blueprints for me, which I had been pouring over for days until I found what I thought was a foolproof way in and out of the lower levels. One that would NOT require Wufei.

Wufei, I felt, was compromised - a liability - because of that absurd promise he made to Treize and that weird honor code of his. I realized, of course, that a large part of his sanity hinged on that honor code, so I wasn't about to force him into giving it up; but I certainly wasn't about to have him choose between me or it. I knew I'd lose in the end, and I hated to lose.

Everything was in place. Treize was gone, and had casually mentioned he wasn't coming back tonight; the house was quiet, all had gone to sleep; and it was time to strike.

I slipped into my regular pants and sweatshirt, walked out of my room and closed the door, and headed down the corridor for the first floor library.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once I was there, I closed the door behind me, then lowered the lights to the dimmest setting and walked behind the large, green leather wingchair next to the fireplace. I had the nylon rope inside my sweatshirt, along with a flashlight and a few other tools. Dropping to my knees, I quickly unscrewed the nuts on the transom, stuck the flashlight in my teeth, slithered into the vent and pulled the plate closed after me.

The vent was tall enough for me to kneel at that point, just as it had indicated on the drawing. I fastened one end of the rope to the transom grate, and payed it out behind me.

It wasn't hard to find my way to the lab. When I kicked the last transom open, though, I felt as though I was taking my life in my hands. The metal clattering on the hard tile sounded as loud as a gong. My feet dangled above the floor; holding my flashlight in my mouth, I looked around and realized I was in a closet. I jumped to the ground and reprieved the transom grate, put it back, then moved over to the door, listening for activity.

If I was where I hoped, this was Lab 2 - and Lab 2 was Satellite Communications. I knew the island's security features were on a different power grid, and frankly, that didn't interest me half as much as this room. The machinery in the room was silent; servers transferring information faster than I could understand were here, controlling OZ's information network around the world.

I smiled. Good, good. This was going to be fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the pluses of being a doctor was talking with people - that, and people trusted you. I became friendly with Steve, one of the non-Elite soldiers on the island, a communications type. Simply by being there when he needed a sympathetic ear and a friendly smile, I was able to memorize his access code and password. He, of course, had no idea what I was doing; poor guy probably figured I couldn't read upside down and sideways. I could also memorize where someone's fingers fell on a keyboard.

I tapped away, using his access code and his password. When I saw what spread across the screen after I hit the enter key, I had to keep myself from whistling aloud. Steve hadn't been kidding about his access; he really DID have high security clearance.

Wow. This was wonderful. I was practically drooling over the keys as the entire map of Europe and North Africa glowed green and blue in front of me, thin yellow stripes of yellow marking OZ's lines of communication across the continents. It was tempting, just so tempting, to take down as much of the grid as possible - but that would be extreme, and I probably wouldn't be able to get back into the lab again if I did that. My primary goal was to get as much information for the resistance as I possibly could and get out without detection. As I studied the grid, a pattern emerged. I smiled. There was a way - a very simple way, in fact - to disable Italy and Greece.

For some odd reason, OZ routed all communications for those countries through just one satellite. Pretty damn stupid of them.

I carefully disabled the satellite, making it look like a relay burnt out on the satellite and nothing rerouted around the fault. It certainly wouldn't do to have the malfunction traced back to this terminal, especially if the glitch was found to have occurred when no one was scheduled near this machine. While I was poking around, I also found the current ground codes used by OZ personnel. Grinning, I stared at the display and committed the codes to memory, thinking that Duo would certainly enjoy using them.

Hah. I was feeling better by the moment. Good, good, good.

Then my sixth sense kicked in - that crawling, unsettled feeling I had when it was time to leave. Quietly, efficiently, I put everything back exactly as I found it, slipped away from the console and back into the closet as silently as I arrived. I stacked small boxes on each other, slid the vent cover inside the vent and pulled myself up, holding my breath until my feet were in the duct.

Gently replacing the transom grate, I crawled forward through the vent, pulling with my arms and pushing with my legs until I reached the end of the rope. I felt for the transom grate, pushed it to one side and pulled myself through the opening, congratulating myself on a job well done.

Gads. I don't know why I do that, because every time - and yes, I do mean every time I do that - something goes wrong. It wasn't a moment after I replaced the transom grate and screwed it on tight, recoiled the rope, dusted off my pants and reached for the doorknob that I heard a low, throaty growl directly behind me.

I froze in place, terrified. I knew what animal made that sound. It was one of Treize's dogs, one of the hounds from hell. This wasn't good - it wasn't good at all.

My hands were shaking. I was at the door, after all, so I decided to see how far I could push my luck. Experimentally, I opened the door a little, just a crack -

- and the growl became a louder rumble.

Okay. Now I knew what happened. I closed the door. The noise went back down to a growl.

Panic time. I thought the dogs were supposed to be OUTside, not inside; and what was I supposed to do? because Treize was gone and they only responded to him? My heart was beating loudly in my chest, and it hard to breathe.

One low, threatening woof rumbled from the back of the room. It spurred me to action.

~~Trowa. Trowa, can you hear me?~~

~~Yes, Sally, I can.~~

Relief. Extreme, heartfelt relief ran across my nerves when I heard his thoughts. ~~I - I'm stuck in one of the libraries with one of the dogs ... can you help me get out?~~

~~I can.~~

Several moments passed. Nothing happened. I was beside myself, completely distraught.

~~.....Trowa - Trowa, please. This isn't funny. Help me get out of here.~~

~~I cannot. 'May not' would be a better way of phrasing it.~~

Speechless doesn't even cover my condition. I was panicking and slowly passing into a state of controlled hysteria. ~~But .... but .... Trowa, please .... you said you could ....~~

~~I have that ability yes - but that is not what you were asking.~~

~~Trowa - please, please don't leave me here. Help me ...~~

~~I may not. This is in the written.~~

~~Wha- what? WHAT? Trowa, there is a VERY large dog with VERY large teeth in here. I'd really like to leave the room now ....~~

~~You will leave the room, but not until you are injured.~~

Being gut-punched felt like this. ~~........what......? the ... you ... you will allow the dog ... to BITE me..........?~~

~~Yes.~~ Said without hesitation, without thought.

I was five years old again, crying against the inevitable. ~~But I don't want to be bitten ...........~~

~~I know.~~ Surprisingly enough, there was a pause. Then: ~~I am sorry ....~~ as if the thought was new for him, a new concept.~

~~Why can't you help me?~~ Plaintive - heartfelt - I couldn't give up, even though I knew the answer.

~~Because it is not in the written,~~ he said gently, apologetically, ~~and I cannot act outside it.~~

~~But ... but if the dog bites me ... he's not going to let go ... and other people are going to come, and ... and ... I'm going to get into a lot of trouble ... and ...~~ Thinking with him, though, helped me with other ideas. ~~Trowa - can you wake Wufei? Or could you speak to him in a dream?~~

I glanced over to where I thought the dog was - and I couldn't really see the dog, but I thought I saw two round, glowing yellow eyes. I shivered, the tremor running down my arms and into my hands.

~~I don't know.~~ He sounded doubtful.

~~Yes, that's it! You can wake Wufei, and he can come down here and get me out.~~ I was grasping at straws, desperate. ~~That isn't going against the written, because he's not IN the written.~~

~~I ... have never ... done this before ... ~~

Those gleaming eyes moved a little closer. The predator closing in on the prey. I was sweating, shaking.

~~Please ... please do something, Trowa. Anything's worth a try ...~~

They're glowing on their own; just solid, unbroken yellow, and the growling was louder. Oh, gods, it was louder.

~~But if I break the written, I cease to exist. I am not sure if this ... applies ... I am sorry, Sally ...~~

I was breathing faster, my hand on the doorknob, ready to run for my life - what kind of hounds have solid yellow eyes? ~~Trowa ... please ...~~

Without warning, the door was yanked open behind me. I staggered and fell out of the room; at the same time, the dog snarled and leaped at me, a solid 120 pound bullet of muscle and sinew aimed at my throat.

"SALLY!"

Wufei grabbed me around the waist, spun me about and neatly tossed me out of the way. At the same time, he executed a perfect spinning kick into the belly of the hound. Yelping in pain, the dog flew back into the room.

"Come on!"

He slammed the door shut, grabbed my arm and tore off down the hall. I didn't question him - I was happy enough to be away from there - but didn't understand why we were running. One look behind us, though, told the tale.

That dog wasn't the only hellhound up and about. There was an entire PACK of them on our trail, eyes and teeth gleaming in the light.

I screamed and ran.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We reached the safety of Wufei's room, panting and staring at each other, the solid mahogany door now between us and the dogs.

Wufei had thrown me in front of him when the hounds came too close, kicking another into the wall and smashing a third back into the pack. The dog tossed into the pack was only stunned, and was quickly on his feet; the one kicked into the wall, though, wasn't as lucky. That dog whined and growled, blood dripping from its muzzle, and stumbled to its feet. I never looked back to see what happened to it. Now there were sounds of snapping and snarling that filtered through the door, along with other unpleasant sounds I didn't want to think about.

"Are you all right? I had a dream this was happening," Wufei said, holding my shoulders and looking me over from head to toe. "There was no reason for this. The dogs should not have been inside the house. Something is not right."

I nodded, catching my breath. "I - I'm fine. I'm not hurt. But I thought the dogs were supposed to be outside ...?"

"They were," he responded, grim. "I suspect Lady Une."

"Une? You suspect her?" Strange, but even with all her anger and antipathy toward us, I never would have suspected that she would try to kill us in Treize's own home.

"I don't know. I will find out." He gave me a very hard look. "You will sleep here tonight. That's an order."

"But -"

"Don't make me knock you out." It would have been funnier if he didn't mean it.

I looked at him, closed my mouth and nodded, meek. "All right, Wufei. I will."

He looked mollified, nodded as if pleased, then went to shower. Fortunately.

Why did I say that? Because I still had the rope and my other equipment stuffed underneath my sweatshirt from my little adventure. I stowed it under his bed as soon as he was in the spray. And once I got rid of THAT stuff, I flopped back on the bed, took out my cellphone and dialed Duo.

Ring, ring. Come on, come on, answer, dammit.

He finally picked up, sounding sleepy. "...'lo?"

"Duo," I hissed. "Don't have much time. Listen! You wanted information, yes? I have it."

"Wha - wha - Sally? Sally! What's up? Go! I'm writing. "

"Good. First. Here's the ground code OZ uses for communications in Italy and Greece - " - and I rattled of the code for him. I heard him scratching urgently on the other end.

"Second. OZ communications have been disrupted in those two countries for at least the last twenty minutes. It should last the next hour or more. Go have fun."

He was whooping with joy when I snapped the phone closed, grinning. It was nice to make people happy.

I sank into the pillows in Wufei's bed, thinking about the reconnaissance mission tonight.

"Sleep."

I blinked up to find Wufei, looking sterner than usual, frowning down at me. "You're tired. Go to sleep. Now. No arguing."

I was going to say something, but his expression warned me not to. "All right, Wufei. Good night."

He had already pulled several blankets and a pillow from his closet and had arranged them on the large chair. This was becoming a habit with us, I noted wryly. First me, then him.

I snuggled into the covers. I couldn't go to sleep, though, until I checked on someone else. ~~Trowa. Are you all right...?~~

After a few moments hesitation - during which my heart stopped, I swore - he finally replied. ~~Yes, Sally. I'm all right.~~ He certainly didn't sound all right, though, nor did he feel all right, either.

Such relief - I thought I had killed him, and I could NOT have lived with that guilt. ~~Trowa. You didn't change things. One who was outside the written changed things. ~~

~~Yes, I know. If I had ... I would be gone. But ... everything... is CHANGED ...~~

And the way he said that word - changed - was so supercharged and pregnant with meaning that I didn't feel I could rightfully ask anything else about it without him flying apart at the seams.

~~Trowa - did Une release the dogs?~~

~~Yes, she did. Treize ... will be displeased. In response, he will ... he ...~~

Gads, he really wasn't doing well at all. Stammering was not his style, and that's what he was doing.

~~I ... Une ... she ... seems ... in one of the ... futures I see ... to be attempting suicide ... I think .... Wufei replaces her ...~~

~~No - oh no, Trowa -~~

~~It is all in flux now, Sally. It is all unsettled. I cannot ... maintain ... balance ... I cannot see .... all in flux ...~~

Then in a completely different tone, Trowa hissed into my mind: ==Treize is here==

As if things weren't scary enough. He wasn't supposed to come back until tomorrow night, but he came back early for some unknown reason, and ... well. I could FEEL him. Such a sensation of power coming from him - of that same ESSENCE that was in that battle I witnessed. And the emotion coming from him right now was anger, white hot anger. This was not the time to stand up and be counted. In fact, I felt that this was the time for me to become one with my bedcovers, which I did, rather successfully. I felt small, and vulnerable, and very much afraid; I did NOT want to attract his attention, not at all.

He swept by Wufei's room without stopping, and - I don't know how I saw this image, perhaps from Trowa - bent over the animal that was killed by its littermates and looked as though he was grieving. My head peeked out of the bedcovers a little, and I blinked. Something stirred inside me. An unfamiliar emotion to associate with Treize, but now it was there. His grief moved me; and that fact, the simple and tragic death of his pet, brought me a little closer to him.

Then there was a sudden, painful yelping that split the spiritual air - a canine sound - which was cut off, as cleanly as if sliced. A large wave of emotion followed that, sadness and loss, that was just as quickly cauterized. I looked around, confused. Could everyone feel that?

~~No, Sally. You are sensitive - you felt it. No one else did. He killed the dogs.~~

Horrified, I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. ~~He killed them? But why? ~~

~~Because they turned on their own kind. Once they tasted that flesh, their deaths were inevitable. He weeps.~~

I was taken completely by surprise by my own feelings; sorrow and pity for Treize. Not only did he grieve for the dog that died, he had to destroy all his dogs. I remembered the way he looked when he introduced me to his dogs, proud and happy, a man who loved his dogs. It was awful.

~~Save your pity for Une. This would not have happened had she not attempted to harm you both by putting the dogs in the house. She is paranoid. Treize's anger is growing against her. There is little in this world that can make him grieve, but this is one thing that can.~~

~~What - what will he do to her?~~

~~That I cannot see. I can only tell you what IS. Now ... he weeps.~~

I could feel how distraught Trowa was. I was feeling a little frantic and distraught myself. And very guilty, which was something that again took me by surprise. This was my fault, in some weird way.

~~I feel ... I feel it is my fault, Trowa.~~

~~It is done, Sally. Feel no guilt.~~

~~I can't help it. I - I feel this. I feel pity for Treize, and fear for Une, and guilt that it would not have happened save for me ...~~

Oh, and that was right. Had I not been out of my room, sneaking around at night, this would not have happened. I wouldn't have tempted fate by being in that library, and Wufei wouldn't have had to rescue me yet again, meaning that he wouldn't have injured that hound to the point where the others turned on him, killed him and -

~~Sally. Enough.~~

~~Trowa. I put you in danger - and Wufei - and -~~

~~Sally. This happened, which means it is in the Written, over which none of us has control.~~

I tried to listen to him; really, I did. But I was also listening to noises from the hallway, and there were none. It was silent.

~~........he would talk to you, if you went. He is telling me this.~~ Trowa sounded slightly pleased. ~~He does not know where I am.~~

I decided to do it before I changed my mind. Without waking Wufei, I crawled out of bed, padded over to the door and slipped into the hallway. Once in the hallway, I saw a room at the end with a light. Silent, I walked to the doorway of that room and stood there, waiting for him to acknowledge me.

Treize sat at his desk, slightly disheveled, tired, his shirt unbuttoned, fingers combing through his hair, staring straight ahead, not looking at me. He continued to sit and stare for a few moments.

I, on the other hand, watched him, very unsure of what to do next. Following another hunch - another instinct - I slowly walked into his office and put my hand on his shoulder, the first time I voluntarily touched him.

He turned and looked at me, meeting my gaze, unsmiling. I simply looked back at him, offering him sympathy and compassion as best I could. Finally, he attempted a weak smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Ah ... Sally. You even try to soothe the pain of your enemy?"

"I ... cannot do anything else, Treize," I whispered, looking at him. "You have such pain."

He snorted softly and closed his eyes. "And what do you know of it, Sally? You have not even lived a full thirty years in cognizance of your surroundings. You live in a world where creating new life is simply something that happens, even by accident."

I blinked at him, saying nothing. He looked down, his mouth a tight line, gave a slow sigh, then glanced back at me with a wry smile. "And why are you here, Sally? Why did you come?"

I drew a deep breath and looked right at him. "I am sorry, Treize. I - " Suddenly, I became confused and blinked, frowning. "I had to." He gave me a piercing look, as if trying to see to the bottom of my soul. I let him look as I continued. "It was ... I felt something. Pain. I had to help." I certainly wasn't going to tell him it was my fault he had to kill his dogs, but I was honest enough that I couldn't look him in the eye any more.

He laughed bitterly. "Indeed. Well, let me tell you what you 'felt,' Sally. You felt me doing the unpleasant duty of destroying something I helped create, something that I loved very much, simply because it was my duty. That is ... terribly unpleasant, don't you think?"

Now he was frightening. I whispered, "Yes," and waited for him to continue. I knew he wasn't finished; he was lost in thought, staring at the far wall. His eyes weren't even blue anymore - they were bronze. Yep, definitely scary.

"Years of work - gone in one night. Tell me, Sally. What would you do if a soldier under your command disobeyed your orders - specific orders, mind you - in order to harm something you treasured? And in the process, destroyed some very valuable material? Something irreplaceable?"

Okay. This was it. Une's fate hung in the balance. I took a deep breath before beginning. "I don't know. Are there already penalties set up for disobeying direct orders in this situation?"

"Yes - but this officer was considered to be above reproach. It is a very difficult situation."

"Can you think of any mitigating circumstances that would render this officer - ah - not in his or her right mind?" I tried to give him a meaningful look.

Treize seemed to be thinking. "Very little, Sally," he said, low. "Very little that would excuse behavior of this nature."

"Possibly - not excuse the behavior," I pressed, taking a shaky breath, standing next to him, "but rather, mitigate any due punishment...?"

Treize turned to look at me; when he did, his eyes changed from bronze to blue. He was back in control, studying me.

Wow.

"You would ... ask for mercy, ne? You do ... don't you. It's in your nature."

I nodded. "Yes," I said, my voice low. "I... yes. I would."

He looked at me for a long moment, then put his hand on mine. I was startled, but didn't pull away.

"Indeed. How ... interesting ...." he said softly, looking at me. He let go of my hand and stood, looking weary. "You may tell Wufei that walking about at night is certainly no longer a danger ... at least, not at present."

"All right. Good night, Treize." I turned to leave.

"Sally?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like a field trip tomorrow? I've kept you closed up here for weeks now. Perhaps some time off the island would be good for you. Unless you have something else planned ...?"

I blinked. Gads ... time off the postage stamp? I smiled. "No, I have nothing else planned. That would be ... very nice."

"Indeed." His shoulders sagged a little. "Off to bed now, my dear. It is late. And thank you for your compassion. I doubt any but you could have offered it."

"You're welcome, Treize. It is genuine. Good night."

I left the room and walked down the hallway toward Wufei's room; as I looked back, the light went out before I was halfway down the corridor.