Disclaimer: HA! You thought I was gonna say "I don't own Gundam Wing" again, didn't you! I showed you, AHAHA! Wait. . .I did just say it. . .curses! smacks herself

Chapter 13

"I can't stand this anymore, I'm going after them!" Chang burst out as Heero and Milliardo were discussing a plan of attack. Everyone stared at him in surprise, it wasn't like him to be impatient. As Chang stalked toward the door, Trowa jumped forward, grabbing his arm.

"Wufei, stop!" Trowa exclaimed in a calm tone. Pulling free, Chang reeled around to stare down the crowd.

"No! All you do is talk when our loved ones could be in grave danger! You're all cowards and I won't stay here while they die!" Chang shouted, turning to leave.

"Wufei." Heero stood, facing his friend's back. Chang paused, his fists clenched at his sides as he seethed with anger. Holding in a sigh, Heero said calmly, "We can't rush in without our heads about us, you'll only be bringing on their deaths yourself by your actions. Be logical, not foolish."

"You're one to talk, you still have what is precious to you by your side! You don't have to worry, but I do!"

"They are still my friends, I care about them as well." Heero frowned indignantly.

"Not as I do." Chang hissed. With that, he whipped around and ran for the door.

"Wufei, don't make me stop you." Heero called out.

"Just try!" He yelled back. With that, he promptly fell to the ground with a thud, unconscious.

"Heero, no!" Relena exclaimed, running over to Chang and kneeling at his side.

"I can't allow him to run in and ruin everything with his rash behavior, Relena. . .it's for the best." Heero said casually.

"Who are you to judge what's best? You need to stop taking control of everything like we're a bunch of ignorant fools!" Rachel exclaimed suddenly. Duo blinked at her and said, "Rachel, what-"

"Heero has been using his powers for unnecessary purposes." Rachel growled, staring at Heero as he glared back at her.

"Heero. . .we made a pact. . ." Relena said, staring at him in shame.

"I only acted on what I felt was necessary, why are you taking this out of proportion?" Heero became defensive.

"It doesn't matter, we could have handled him on our own without taking these steps! I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from your powers or lose them permanently." Relena stated, standing up.

"Relena. . ." Heero's eyes widened in surprise.

"How can you do that?" Duo asked curiously.

"I can't. . .but Rachel can." Everyone stared at Rachel.

"Only assuming so because she gave them to us, perhaps she can't. . ." Trowa commented.

"Then she'll try if she is forced to by people's actions." Relena said, glancing over at Heero who was feeling betrayed.

"How. . .how could you, Relena. . ." Heero muttered.

"How could I what? Try to bring order to this sad excuse of a council! How could you take over the authority that is mine!"

"If you would use it, I wouldn't have to."

"If you'd give me a chance!"

"Stop this!" Quatre stepped in abruptly, "Stop this right now! You two shouldn't be fighting about this! Can't you see that we're wasting precious time arguing while people could be dying! Where are your heads!" Heero turned away, saying, "I'm choosing to step back from this, since my aid is not needed, I have other things to tend to."

"Heero, what is your problem! Why are you being such a jerk all of a sudden!" Duo shouted, getting annoyed by his friend's comments.

"My assistance is unnecessary, why should I ruin everyone's chance of rescuing their loved ones when mine is still here. . .I have no right to tempt fate with their lives." He started to leave the room and everyone seemed utterly confused by his reaction.

"Hee-" Rachel started but he vanished.

"He did it again!" Duo exclaimed in exhaustion. Rachel backed away from the crowd as they began to get riled by the situation, quickly using her powers to hunt Heero down. She teleported to his location and found herself in the dark. Blinking, she tried to adjust to the low light but found it nearly impossible. Up ahead of her she saw a dim light flittering against the black void, slowly growing smaller as it moved away from her position.

That must be Heero. . .but where is he going? Rachel thought as she levitated, silently following him through the darkness. As she closed in on him, she saw him jump up into a hole in the ceiling, disappearing with the light.

Dang. . .what is he up to! She thought as she floated into the hole after him. Down the dark tunnel, she came out into a vast cave lit dimly by lights strung along the walls. Her eyes widened at the sight before her. A giant shuttlecraft sat dormant in the center of the cave, the light barely showing its metal skin. Blinking, she spotted Heero entering the ship and quickly hurried to follow him. Phasing through the hull, she peeked into the ship's inside and saw Heero sitting at a console in the main deck, clicking away on the keys before him. She quietly came up behind him, peering over his shoulder at what he was doing. Suddenly, Heero stopped in mid-type and paused before turning to face Rachel in surprise.

"Rachel! You followed me!" Heero exclaimed, staring at her. As she landed on the floor, she said, "No duh. What is this thing? And why is it here?"

"You shouldn't be here, leave and forget you saw it." Heero said, trying to regain his cool.

"Yeah right! Heero, what are you doing! This is a weapon of some sort, isn't it? You know Relena's banning all production of war devices!"

"It's not a weapon. . .persay. . ." Heero commented, turning halfway back to the control panel.

"But a weapon no less! Heero, why! Don't you have faith in Relena?" Rachel asked.

"I do. . .I don't have faith in this world. . ." Heero looked down at the panel, tracing his finger over the keys as a distraction.

"What do you mean?"

"Relena may hope and believe that they will turn to peace, become wonderful and obedient people that will follow her every command but they aren't. . .this planet has been swallowed by fear and anger far too long to give up on their aggressions this easily. I knew that all along, because I felt it in my own heart. . .I still do, whether I want to or not. . .war is part of who I am and I can't changed that, no matter how much I want to." Heero said, sounding torn over what he said. Rachel softened her approach, stepping toward him as she said, "Heero. . .then how can you marry a pacifist when you'd rather the world still be in turmoil?"

"I don't want it to be!" Heero exclaimed suddenly, hitting the desk with his fist as he grit his teeth. Jumping, Rachel backed up a step in precaution. Bowing his head, Heero said quietly, "I don't want the world to be in ruin. . .it's just how it is. If you let your guard down for one second, they'll turn on you and you won't be ready for them. I trust Relena but I'm not going to be caught off guard by anyone and let them destroy her dream. . ."

"Heero. . .but why hide this?"

"You know Relena would never approve of this, she already proved that by her actions today regarding my abilities. . ." Heero said, sounding upset by what she had said. Rachel began to approach him again, saying, "I'm sorry, it's my fault she acted that way. . ."

"No, I acted out of turn, she's right. . ."

"Heero, listen to me, please. . .I understand why you did what you did, I only said what I did out of anger because of everything else we had discussed that day. Relena's under a lot of stress with this peace treaty and missing persons and pending war, she just felt her power being undermined by the very person she leans on for strength. . ."

"I never meant to, I just. . ."

"I know you meant well, but you need to think about how you make people feel sometimes. . ."

"It's not that easy for me. . ." Heero said, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. With a sigh, she leaned against the panel and rested her hand on it, saying, "I know. . .but that doesn't mean you can't try. Think about how you would feel in their position. Consider this: what would you do if Relena were in the place of Asuka right now? Would you sit around for boundless hours discussing strategies or would you do as Chang did and try to save her on your own?" Heero was silent for a minute as he thought about it.

"I would save her. . .with or without help."

"Exactly. . .you would do the same. So don't blame him for being rash, it's only natural for him to feel this way about the one he loves most."

"I can't just go back now like nothing happened. . .and besides, I can't sit around while others plan this. . ."

"You don't have to let them do it all, your opinion is as needed as everyone else's! You just can't take complete control of the operation, this isn't a dictatorship, it's a republic where everyone has an opinion and a say in what happens. This has affected all of us thus we all should have a say in what's done, we should work together and not let our personal feelings take over our logic. . .remember? 'be logical, not foolish'. You really ought to listen to yourself sometimes, you might learn a thing or two. . ."

"Listen to myself, huh. . .sounds crazy to me. . ."

"Only if what you're saying isn't really worth it, but when you say things you don't even believe yourself then who's to believe you?" Heero looked up at her and nodded in understanding, saying, "You have a good point."

"Exactly! So. . .can we go back and sort out this little misunderstanding?"

"There's still the issue of my powers. . ."

"I know, I'll talk to Relena about that."

"No. . .she's my wife. . .let me talk to her."

"Are you sure?" Heero just stared at her and she shrugged.

"Okay, it's your choice. . .can't make you do something you don't want to. . ." She winked. As she stood, Heero said, "Rachel. . ."

"What?"

"Don't tell anyone about this. . ."

"I won't. . .unless I absolutely have to." He joined her and they teleported back to the capitol building, appearing in the lobby. Quatre was sitting on the stairs looking frustrated for a minute before he noticed their presence and leapt to his feet.

"Heero, Rachel! You-" Quatre started.

"It's alright, Quatre, everything's okay now." Rachel said, walking over to him to distract him while Heero went to find Relena.

"But-"

"Come on, let's find the others and work on our strategy." Rachel dragged Quatre along with her as he led her to the group in the lobby talking amongst themselves. Heero journeyed down the hallway past his office to Relena's where he found her at her computer looking at files intently. She looked up when he knocked on the door and gave him a disgruntled frown, saying, "Whatever it is, keep it to yourself, I've had enough of you for today."

"Relena, please let me explain." Heero pleaded, closing the door behind him as he walked in. She stood abruptly and said, "Why should I! You undermined my authority like I was too stupid to do my job and told me off about it!"

"I know, if you'll let me-"

"No, leave!"

"Relena! Listen to me!" Heero commanded, getting aggressive. Relena blinked in discomfort by his outburst and he softened, saying, "I. . .I don't want us to be fighting over this. . .not now. . .not ever. If we're going to make it together we have to listen to what we have to say. . ."

"I already heard your opinion." Relena crossed her arms.

"No. . .I was upset, I didn't mean what I said. Can I please explain?" Heero said tiresomely. Relena sighed and sat back down, saying, "Go on." Heero walked over to a chair in front of her desk and sat down, leaning forward to begin his defense.

"Let's go on that ride, Hope! It looks like so much fun!"

"If you're father wants to, you know we've dragged him on every single ride so far! I don't think he's enjoying himself. . ."

"I am. . .let's go."

"If you say so. . .come on!" Hope followed Trowa and Precious into the mirror maze, running through with Precious in front of her and Trowa bringing up the rear. They ventured through the hallways of endless reflections, getting more and more lost as they walked. They eventually came to a fork in the path that went in three different directions.

"What do we do, daddy?"

"Should we split up?"

"We'll all come out eventually, why not."

"Okay, I get the left! Weee!"

"I'll go to the right. . .don't get lost, Hope."

"Wait, Trowa! Precious!. . .what if I do get lost?" Hope walked down the center path, cautiously venturing around each mirrored corner as she felt more and more lost as she went along. Finally, she came to a dead end.

"Oh no. . .I guess I'll have to go back and follow one of the other paths. . .maybe someone else got stuck too and I won't have to get out alone." Hope started back the way she had come, walking faster and faster until she was running back. Finally, after going on for what seemed like forever, she stopped to catch her breath.

"What's going on? It wasn't this long before. . .Precious! Trowa! Anybody!" She stood, walking on and running her hands over the walls looking for any form of way out. She turned a corner and gasped, seeing Trowa at the end of the tunnel.

"Trowa!" she ran to him, only to run smack into a wall.

"What? But. . ." She touched the mirror, turning around and finding herself alone. She turned back and the reflection was staring at her, scaring a scream out of her.

"Why are you following me? Get lost!" The wall quickly turned around and the reflection disappeared.

"Trowa, wait! How can I get lost when I already am!" Hope pushed at the wall, trying to make it move again but found her efforts to be in vain. She turned back around, running down the hallway and back the way she had come, finding the journey to be longer than before. She fell to her knees, gasping in exhaustion as she groaned, "How. . .how do I get out!"

"Look around you, things aren't always what they seem. . ." Hope looked up for the source of the voice but found herself alone again.

"Things. . .aren't as they seem. . .just like you, Trowa?" Hope glanced to her left and noticed that the mirroring seemed different there and reached out to find it was another pathway. Slowly getting to her feet, she walked down the new passage, following the turns until she found herself on the outside edge of the maze, against the glass frame of the ride. She peered out at the world beyond it, seeing Trowa and Precious standing on the sidewalk staring at her. Pressing against the glass wall, she watched as they turned around and began to walk away.

"No, wait! Trowa, Precious, come back! Don't leave me here alone, I can't find my way out! Please. . .don't. . .leave me. . ." Her voice faded into the tears running down her cheeks as she slid down the glass and curled up.

"Don't leave me. . .don't. . .come back. . ." She muttered quietly, hugging herself tightly.

"What's happening to that woman? Mr. Hearn. . ." Sara stared over at Hope's body hanging limply on the cross, tears running down her cheek as she muttered softly.

"I don't know, she should be knocked out!" Mr. Hearn rushed to the control panel, checking her stats.

"Having some. . .trouble?" Asuka commented sarcastically, feeling the strain of her painful questioning.

"If I were you, I'd keep my opinions to myself." Sara spat out fiercely.

"She's. . .just dreaming. . .must be one heck of a dream." Mr. Hearn said finally.

"Looks like a nightmare. . .too bad we can't watch it too, maybe we could get some answers from her subconscious." Sara said with a laugh. Turning back to Asuka, she said, "So. . .where were we?"

"You were futilely trying to get me to reveal information about something. . ." Asuka commented, staring down at her mockingly. Sara growled and mashed a button on the console, sending an electrical pulse through Asuka's body. She cringed, trying to hold in her screams of pain as her body felt like it was exploding from the inside out.

"I hope she holds out forever, this is fun to watch. . ." Mr. Hearn commented with a grin.

"That's one reason I like you, Mr. Hearn. . .you're pure evil."

"Thanks. . .my mom always said I would ruin my own life but I showed her, huh." He laughed and Sara chuckled with him as Asuka suffered in silence.