Well, here's a little present for anyone who reads my story. An update TWO whole days early. Enjoy!

Note: This is where I actually get somewhat serious with my rating so, you've been forewarned.

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Chapter 4: A World turned Upside-Down

When Teolyn awoke again he found himself lying on a soft bed with linen sheets placed over him. He still hurt. Not surprising really. He did notice that his pain was eased somewhat. Either that or he was just becoming accustomed to it.

Teolyn didn't immediately open his eyes and was sure to keep his breathing fairly steady. He wanted to understand his surroundings before he let anyone in the room know he was awake. There was absolute silence in the room, which Teolyn sensed was a small one. When he'd first awakened he thought he'd heard at least one other in the room though, but now he was doubting that.

"Although your attempt at feigning sleep was amusing for a while, I've grown quite tired of this game," came a voice from a short distance away. Teolyn didn't immediately recognize it so he hesitated a moment before opening his eyes, which were remarkably heavy, and regarded the one who had spoken. He was the same age as the other three that Teolyn had seen before with black hair and eyes. Teolyn was quite confidant as placing him as Chinese or of Chinese descent.

The other merely raised an eyebrow as Teolyn observed him.

"Weakling," he stated while standing.

"Who are you to call me weak?" Teolyn retorted somewhat shocked by the blunt statement. He made the mistake of trying to sit up then. The result was him falling back into the sheets moments later. "Damn…"

Teo's counterpart did all he could to contain a smile. Even then his lips moved slightly as he watched.

Teolyn gave him a defiant look, not ready to give in yet.

"I demand for you to explain yourself!"

"You may not command me Prince of Earth," was the reaction he got.

That had not been expected. The young man now had an open smirk upon his face, daring Teolyn to try again. Teolyn didn't like this boy, not one bit. Slowly Teolyn lowered his gaze and gave a brief nod. He was in no position to demand anything and was at the mercy of this person. It was then that Teolyn realized just how hungry he was. The idea of asking this kid for something to eat died immediately though. That would only make a bad situation worse.

On the other hand he heard something that disturbed him quite a bit.

"You don't deserve to be the ruler of Earth," the boy said with disdain. That said he left.

Teolyn was silent a moment, listening as he heard the boys footsteps grow softer.

"Well Damn You Asshole!" He yelled, making sure his voice would carry as far as it could. Teolyn was sure the boy hadn't heard though. He'd been too far away by then.

As hunger began to bother him in the form of severe stomach rumblings Teolyn made the decision that he had to find food on his own, however necessary. So he reluctantly pushed the sheets off of him and moved to slide off of the bed… and fell flat out on the floor.

"Crap…" He'd forgotten the fact that that knee had been dislocated…

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"You what!"

"I merely stated an obvious fact," Wufei countered defensively. He believed he'd been entirely right in his observations of the Prince and he wasn't going to budge on that notion…not an inch.

Quatre shook his head, mulling over what this may do to the Prince psychologically.

"What were your exact words?"

"It doesn't matter. He dared to command me. Me!"

Knowing the matter needed quick resolving Quatre pushed past Wufei and to the room where Teolyn was, hoping that no permanent damage had been done. They needed him; needed him to resume his role as Prince Protector of the Earth Sphere when the time came. And Wufei's words had a history of producing damaging affects. That's what had ended Duo and Heero…

Quatre knocked on the door, but when there was no response he opened the door and stepped in… and was dumbfounded when he didn't see Teolyn in the bed, where he was suppose to be.

"Prince Teolyn?"

Teolyn was on the other side of the bed, out of sight of Quatre, but Teolyn could actually see him quite well as he looked up from under the bed. He was debating whether or not to make his presence known. He needed help though, no matter how little he wanted to admit it.

"Who are you? And who was the guy with the bad attitude?"

Quatre heard the voice, but had to take a moment to realize that it came from under the bed. Slowly he bent and came down, practically eye level with Teolyn.

"What are you doing there?" Quatre asked apprehensively.

"I asked first," Teolyn pointed out, really wanting an answer to who these people were and whether they would do him harm.

"I'm Quatre Winner and the guy who just left was Wufei. Please pardon any harsh words he said. He didn't mean them," Quatre replied, hoping Teolyn wouldn't use Wufei's example to judge them all.

"What's his problem anyway?" Teolyn asked as he pushed himself out from under the bed and into a somewhat sitting position on the floor, using the nearest wall for support so at lest this one wouldn't see how weak he really was.

Likewise Quatre got back to his feet and walked over to Prince Teolyn, holding out his hand to help him.

"He judges people too quickly. You really shouldn't be out of bed," with that Quatre reached down, grabbed Teolyn's wrist, and gently helped him to his feet. That was a brief venture for moments later another dizzy spell hit Teolyn and he swayed.

"Damn…"

His legs felt like jelly, pain reliever probably. Those things had a tendency to make your head spin. Besides Teolyn had specifically recalled acute pain there before. He fell, but didn't quite make it to the floor because Quatre caught him somewhere in the middle, forcing him to sit back down on the bed.

"What did you give me?" Teolyn asked as he lied back, throwing his arm over his face to shield his eyes from the light. The light just made him dizzier.

"A high dosage of a mild analgesic some hours ago," Quatre replied. "Could you answer some questions before you go back to sleep?"

Teolyn thought the question through, he did need help and this kid was at least decently concerned. A fair trade would be optimal in this situation.

"Only if I can eat afterwards," he replied much to Quatre's astonishment.

"I suppose Wufei didn't bring you anything to eat then," he said quietly, more to himself in return. Quatre gave a nod to Teolyn then began his questions.

"Who betrayed you?"

Teolyn moved his arm just enough so he could look at Quatre clearly.

"How did you…" Teolyn stopped himself before he could go further with that thought. "Who are you exactly?" At the moment he was prepared for practically any answer that Quatre could possibly give.

Quatre knew exactly what Teolyn meant by the question, but chose to see if he couldn't avoid giving an answer entirely. He wouldn't lie if it came to it though.

"My name is Quatre Winner," Quatre replied simply.

"You said that," was Teolyn's response. He wasn't fooled to Quatre's dismay. "I don't expect the Head of the Winner family to just know I was betrayed,"

"Well, I suppose your going to find out anyway once you can move around again," Quatre reasoned. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet if you don't mind me saying so,"

"I have my guesses."

"I don't doubt that. I'm a Gundam Pilot Prince Teolyn," Quatre answered finally. He was waiting to see how the Prince would react. Surprise was the reaction he expected.

But Teolyn was far from surprised. He was looking up at his hand and was counting.

"Five, yep, sounds right. All of you are then," Teolyn said after a moment. "Fine, I'll tell you who the traitor is."

Quatre gave a soft smile.

"I'm glad you trust us Majesty,"

"My High Consul Jarin was the traitor," Teolyn said in almost a whisper.

"Jarin? But I thought he was picked for that job because he had no affiliation with the former OZ organization," Quatre replied, trying to think this new revelation through.

Teolyn nodded to that, he was thinking it as well.

"He wasn't alone either. He was working under somebody. I only saw him for a moment. He's the real threat."

"One thing is obvious Prince Teolyn; you will not be able to resume your position until we figure out what this new threat's plans are and why they want you dead. I hope you don't mind staying here indefinitely, I'm afraid it's your only choice," Quatre explained while standing. "Now you need some rest. I'll come back with something to eat." That said Quatre left to carry out his end of the deal.

Indefinitely… Teolyn really didn't like that word. He had no choice though. What Quatre has said had been nothing but the simple truth. Unlikely that the traitors would give up on him so easily. He could and would come back to haunt them, in due time of course. Now all he needed was some food and sleep to get better. So he covered his eyes again and slipped back into the depths of his thoughts.

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And not far away, just down the hall to be precise, another development was about to unfold. It began when Trowa muttered something about realigning the weight distribution of Heavyarm's left arm and left to go fix it, leaving Heero and Duo alone together, something that hadn't been done in months.

"I've been thinking,"

"Oh really? That's something new," Duo answered very sarcastically. He put down the gun he was pretending to be interested in to look Heero square in his cobalt eyes.

Heero merely looked back at him, dead serious, somewhat unnerving Duo.

"Did you say it?" Duo asked quickly, trying to regain what little calm he'd had before. It was a question that had been eating at him for awhile, ever since the last time he'd seen Heero to be precise.

Heero's reply was only silence. He was thinking.

"Damn it Heero, did you say it!"

Finally Heero gave a response, but not anything Duo had been prepared for. Before he knew it Heero was on him, literally on him, hand at the base of his neck pulling him into what Duo was positive would be a kiss. A kiss he would gladly accept. But he was wrong. Their lips just brushed the other's for but a moment before Heero jerked Duo's head to the side, holding Duo still with a strength that still baffled Duo, his mouth next to his ear.

"You know better," Heero whispered.

"Do I now?" was Duo's reply once he'd reestablished a decent hold on the situation. This could go one of two ways… it just depended on how he played it. He did like this position though. "I thought you'd never think of me that way again?"

"I've been thinking,"

That said Heero dropped Duo back into the chair he'd been sitting in, heading for the door.

"You know what you've started right?" Duo asked while turning in his chair to regard Heero, a look of pure amusement upon his face.

"You started it, remember." And so Heero was gone, out and down the hall.

Quite pleased with the outcome of that confrontation Duo settled back comfortably into the chair he was currently inhabiting.

"We'll just see who finishes it this time," Duo whispered into the empty room as he pushed his hat down to shadow his eyes. "We'll just see."

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Well? What'd you think? Please, anyone, everyone review. They're so helpful!

Thank you again Silver Cateyes for the review! You'll find out next time how he knows Heero, and he won't be so bed ridden then either. Oh, and how'd you like the Duo/Heero thing? I thought it fit.