Boy do I have a great chapter ready for you guys. I fit a lot of shit into this one, so you won't have a really short read. It's more than 8 pages. Anyway, as I said, there's a lot going on. I'll jog your memory from the last episode. Jin basically just skewered a guard that was trying to kill him using his lovely katana. He's stunned and in shock that he could do such a thing, and our story thus continues.

The writer of this fiction does not own the story about which it exists. Wanna fight about it? I have a katana too you know, and though I haven't tried to slay anyone before, I will pull a Jin on anyone's ass that wants a piece... Okay, not really, but it is fun to imagine being some awesome samurai like Kenshin Himura.

After Eve Gundam Wing 2

Chapter Five

Jin seemed totally unaware that anyone was talking to him. He was staring just straight ahead without really focusing his vision on anything in particular. His breathing was very rapid and sharp.

"Jin!" said Rachel urgently. The other pilots were around him. He was totally stunned.

"Jin, buddy, we gotta get outta here fast," said Stephen. "Deathscythe is gonna blow in less than ninety seconds. Jin suddenly looked up at them; his eyes were wide, holding so much terror and confusion. He couldn't believe what he had just done. The corpse of the man he had killed still lay right in front of him.

"Jin," said Rachel. "Come on. We can't do anything just staying here. We're going to get blown up."

Jin slowly and shakily stood up, still gripping his katana. He was trembling it seemed. "I'm... I'm okay... I think. Let's just go." He walked over to his guns and picked them placing them in their holsters. He slowly walked away, and the others caught up.

"We've got one minute left," said Stephen as they reached the exit of the hangar and found themselves in the hallway that would lead to the tunnel. "We'd better hurry, or we are going down with this place."

He ran ahead, and Anita followed, closely followed by Kreed and then Rachel. Rachel abruptly stopped after only a second, realizing that Jin wasn't running. He was just slowly walking along, not bothering to try and keep up.

"Jin!" she shouted. "We are going to die! I'm sure there's a lot of shit going through your mind right now, but you have to save it until later. We have to scram now!"

Jin looked up, a look of weariness across his face. "I'm sorry," he muttered. He then collapsed onto the ground, fainting right in the middle of the hallway. The door was only twenty yards ways, and they were running out of time.

"Kreed! Stephen!" shouted Rachel, running towards Jin. "Jin's fainted! Help me!" Kreed and Stephen simultaneously stopped and turned around. They ran at full peed towards the fallen pilot.

"We don't have time for this," said Kreed as he began to lift him. "He's heavy."

"He's my best bud," said Stephen. He effortlessly lifted his dead weight over his shoulders, a feat that no on thought he could do. He was little more well-built than he let on. "There's always time to save his ass, no matter what is going to happen."

He turned and broke into a light run, leaving the stunned siblings to follow. They got in the jet in the large tunnel and closed the hatch.

"Everyone buckle in as fast as possible," said Rachel as she leapt into her cockpit seat. "Get Jin buckled in also. This flight is going to be extremely rough."

The plane lifted off of the ground few feet, barely avoiding the ceiling above them. She maneuvered the jet to turn around in one, swift movement, and accelerated to dangerous speeds. Everyone was still buckling in, but there was no time to wait.

Stephen was looking at his watch. "...Three...Two...One..." The tunnel shook, causing the jet to scrape its right wing along it's wall as they flew faster than 150 miles per hour. The Gundam had exploded, and there was a bright light behind them in the tunnel.

"Rachel, show us some of that funky piloting shit you do and keep us alive," said Kreed, gripping the arm rests of his chair in the cabin. Rachel reached down to the side and found a lever that she pushed forward. The plane accelerated drastically, shooting to three-hundred miles an hour, and it was continuing to gain speed.

The flames of the blast behind them were getting closer. The plane maneuvered through the tight turns violently, barely able to scrape through the tiny tunnel. At their speed, which had increased to just over four-hundred miles per hour, hitting the walls was something they were going to have to accept. There were sparks shooting around as the plane shook from each collision.

"I don't think this plan can take much more damage," said Anita.

"Hey Rachel!" shouted Kreed. "Could you make an effort to not hit every wall!"

"I'm doing the best I can here!" shouted Rachel back to them. "Just hold on everyone! We're almost out!"

They looked ahead out of the cockpit window and saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The flames behind them were too close for comfort. Engine warnings were starting to go off as a result of the engines overheating.

"Come on baby," said Rachel. "Just pull through this for me. Then it's smooth sailing."

The plane rocketed out of the tunnel as it scraped the ceiling, the flames of the blast exiting simultaneously. The plane pulled up into the sky and safely away from the explosion...

The entire factory below had been destroyed by the self-destruct. "So long Deathscythe," said Stephen as he looked out the window. "It was nice knowing you."

The plane screamed away at high speed. "Our destination is the Peace Banquet in Augustia," said Rachel.

"Did you get the word out to the leaders and the base?" asked Kreed.

"No," sighed Rachel. "I couldn't get a signal out, because there was some kind of electro barrier preventing any long range radio waves from escaping."

"So they have no idea?!" exclaimed Anita. "Holy shit!"

"I'm sorry," said Rachel.

"It's not your fault," said Jin. Everyone turned around in their seats to see that he was seated with his arms crossed and awake in his own chair. "There's nothing you could do about it... Besides, by now, it had to have already happened."

There was silence in the cabin of the jet for several long seconds.

"Is there any chance that something may have gone right in this situation?" asked Stephen. "Like, maybe some escaped."

"Hard to say Stephen," said Jin. "It's not likely. From what I saw, that Gundam possesses many of the same specs my own has... It would be easy for it to eliminate anything as simple as a building full of people."

"Dammit," muttered Stephen. "I'm so sorry guys... This is all my fault. I was too weak to fend for myself, and I got you all caught up in this debacle of a mess. If you hadn't come after me, there wouldn't be such a huge problem."

"It comes with the territory man," said Kreed. "You didn't do anything wrong. When any of us are in trouble, I'm sure it's safe to say, the others will be there."

"Always," said Anita. "No matter what happens, we are together, and that means we get in trouble together too."

"Where there's one of us," said Rachel, "there's the other four. We're a team."

Jin stood up from his chair and began to walk away. "I need a moment to think," he said as he walked through a door and it closed. It looked really creepy, seeing him as he walked away with the blood all over his arms and sleeves still.

"I can't believe what just happened," said Anita, looking up at the group.

"It was so fast too," said Stephen. "I've never seen Jin like that. It's like he totally changed."

"But there wasn't really much of a choice though," said Kreed. "He was in a bad situation. He was in a death match, no matter which way you look at it."

"And he was saving our lives at the same time," said Rachel. "But still, the look in his eyes... I've never seen that expression."

"None of us have," said Stephen.

"He looked so terrified," continued Rachel. "He looked as though he thought all life would cease to exist... The thought of Jin being afraid is scary in and of itself."

"It will affect him greatly," said Kreed.

Jin walked over to a sink in the back of the plane and turned on the water. He let it run into the drain as the water began to heat up, leaning over the sink, deep in thought. What the hell happened to me? I totally lost control of myself... I...actually...killed a man... He was...a human being... I screwed up... "I totally screwed UP!"

Jin lashed out with his fist and punched the mirror in front of him. It cracked into a spider web around the impact of his fist. It didn't shatter, but it hurt still...but not a lot. He didn't care.

Have I become weak? Have I lost it? Have I gone over the edge? Jin let the blood rinse off of his hands into the sink, the red mixing with clear to form a transparent pink liquid as it drained into the pipes. The water was hot, but it felt good. He carefully took his bloodied black jacket and blue shirt off and tossed them to the floor. Reaching over behind a shower curtain, he turned on the shower faucet.

The plane was still underway, but he needed a shower, and he would have to deal with any turbulence along the way. He needed to wash the blood off of him. He looked in the mirror. What he saw horrified him. It was like a scary dream, a nightmare.

His chest and arms were covered in blood, it having soaked through his clothes. It was still splattered on his face and even a little in his hair. This isn't me... Is it? I feel so filthy...like I will never know what it's like to feel clean again.

He reached behind the shower curtain and felt that the shower water was heated by that point, so he slipped hastily out of the rest of his clothing and hopped in, allowing the water to cleanse him of the blood and sweat. It was again very hot, but it felt good, good enough to relax him just a little.

He just stood in the shower for minutes, soaking in the thoughts still of what had happened. He was directly responsible for killing someone. It would never go away. He'd always have that in the back of his head, knowing that he had bloodied his hands.

"You should check on him," said Kreed, back in the cockpit. Rachel was seated in the seat alone, piloting the aircraft. Kreed had just walked in.

"What?" asked Rachel.

"Jin," replied Kreed. "You should go check on him."

"He probably wants to be alone right now," sighed Rachel, looking ahead again out the window.

"It's not a question on what he wants," said Kreed. "He needs someone now probably more than he has in a very long time. He won't send you away. We all know that you're the one he connects to, the one he can be around and not feel up tight. It's obvious that he's able to relax more when he's around you."

"Kreed, we haven't seen each other for over two years," said Rachel impatiently. "I'm just another Gundam Pilot."

"Sis, you're lying to yourself, and you know it," said Kreed. "There just might be a reason that he hasn't seen anyone at all for a long time. He's been trying to avoid contact with anyone at all since the end of the last war. It's not just you. It's been three years since the war we all fought in... Something tells me he has a damn good reason he didn't want to be found."

"Hell, it took me forever to find his phone number so I could call him," said Rachel. She was subconsciously beginning to realize that Kreed might be right.

"I'll take the controls," said Kreed, stepping up to her chair. Rachel got up and walked out of the cockpit, leaving Kreed to pilot the jet, and she passed through the cabin in which Stephen and Anita sat. Stephen's minor wounds were mostly healed and bandaged properly by now. He was just a little sore.

Anita was seated looking out the window, apparently also in deep thought. Rachel decided to just not pry into her thoughts. She told herself it wasn't her business to ask about it.

She walked to the door that led to the room in the back, knocking lightly so as to not surprise him. She heard no reply. She couldn't hear anything at all through the door. Nothing was moving.

She slowly opened the door and walked in, shutting it behind her. There were just a couple beds in this room, and there was a door that was mostly shut at the back, the bathroom door. She walked towards it, but it suddenly opened, and Jin stood in the doorway with only the blue towel around his waist.

"Oh, hi Rachel," he said, putting on a horribly pained smile. "I didn't hear you come in. I just got out of the shower." His hair was dripping wet. Usually wildly spiked and bright blonde, it now hung flat over his head and face, dripping water on the carpet. He had at least dried the rest of his body off, mostly.

"Sorry," she said, thoroughly blushing red. "I'll leave."

"Did you want something?" asked Jin, before she could turn around. She stopped in half-turn.

"It was nothing," she said, continuing to turn.

Jin cleared the ten feet between them without her noticing a single sound or movement, and he lightly grabbed her wrist. "Rachel," he said. "You are a bad liar. Excuse the cliché."

She turned around. "I was just coming in...to check on you...That's all... I wanted...to see if you were okay...you know, with the whole..." Rachel didn't finish her sentence, realizing that it was a stupid idea to have begun to bring up the recent memory. She looked down.

"Thank you Rachel," said Jin, pulling him into his chest, allowing her head to rest against his exposed skin. She closed her eyes and relaxed in his arms, wrapping her own around his waist while his arms rested around her shoulders. "To tell you the truth...I don't believe I will ever be alright again... I'm...so afraid."

Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. Jin never doubted himself or showed any signs of fear. "I have never felt so dead inside," he continued. "I killed him Rachel... I killed someone with my own hands."

"You had to Jin," replied Rachel soothingly, trying to ease his mind. "You were saving your life as well as our own."

"But did I really?" asked Jin. "Was it really necessary to kill him? There's so much going through my head right now I feel it's about to burst. I'm so confused... I'm so lost." Jin inhaled sharply, a single sob escaping his lungs. Rachel dared not part to look up, but Jin was crying... She'd seen bad times near Jin...but he had never cried.

This is torturing him so bad, she thought. His conscience won't let him get away with what he's done. He shouldn't have to feel this bad... Why must he be tortured so?

"You don't have to beat yourself up over this," she whispered.

"Will I ever be able to atone for my sins?" he asked no one in particular. "Will I ever be able to repent? How did my father get over this? How could he do this so easily and then change? Did he have a way to repent?"

Jin remembered then what he had been subjected to hearing the previous night from the girl, and his pain grew even worse. He didn't know if the thought of his parents comforted him or disgusted him.

"And now with this woman who showed up," he continued.

"Who?" asked Rachel. "What woman?" It occurred to Jin then also that Rachel hadn't heard anything about Ana, Jin's supposed older sister. He shut his eyes tight as another tear escaped his eye and he bit his lip. It was so painful to think about.

"Her name is Ana," said Jin. "She's supposedly the one behind this whole operation. She pilots that Wing Zero look-alike. I don't know if she calls it that though..." Jin stopped talking for seconds, unable to say easily what came next. "She said...said that she is my sister..."

"She what?" asked Rachel. "You're sister?"

"Older sister by a couple minutes," said Jin. "Or she tells me so anyway. I don't know whether to believe it or not. But her eyes tell me to. She has his eyes. She has my father's eyes, the same cold stare, the same piercing glare he had."

"How can you possibly have a sibling and not know about it?" asked Rachel. She realized her question sounded extremely rude and accusing. She regretted saying it, but it seemed Jin neither noticed nor cared, because he answered in the way he had been answered when he asked the same thing.

"It's absolutely absurd," he said after he explained what he'd been told by Ana. "My parents wouldn't do that... They aren't like that. There's no way, but it's the only thing that makes sense, even though it really doesn't... if you can make sense of that."

"It's okay," said Rachel. "I think I get what you mean."

Jin held Rachel tighter. She absolutely adored being held so close to him. It was something she wanted to last forever... He hadn't held her like this in so long. She couldn't believe she almost forgot how it felt.

But it killed her that Jin was so sad. "Jin, it doesn't matter," said Rachel. "Whatever she says isn't confirmed as of yet. And even if what she says is true, not that I'm saying she is, you are here right now, and you are your own individual. She can't change that by being your sister."

"Thanks Rachel," whispered Jin. "Thanks a lot." He held her at arms length. It occurred to her that he seemed to have grown several inches over the course of peaceful times. She looked up at him, and he down at her.

"Don't mention it," said Rachel. "I hate to see you suffer. We all do. You shouldn't suffer over this."

"It's not something I can just... get over," said Jin. "But thank you for trying." He was leaning in towards her as he whispered, and she was leaning towards him, their faces growing closer.

"I want to end your pain Jin," sighed Rachel. They were even closer, just seemingly an inch apart.

NO! cried Jin in his head. This is not going to work! Jin pulled away swiftly and opened his eyes as if awaking from a dream and coming harshly back to reality. He held Rachel out again and swiftly let go of her shoulders. She looked extremely disappointed and confused.

You can't do this Jin! He thought. You can't. "I'm...sorry Rachel," he said as he turned around and walked away. "I won't do this."

"But-

"Please Rachel," Jin said urgently. "Please, just, leave me. Forget about me and move on."

Rachel's world shattered around her, her heart crumbling as Jin spoke. It wasn't even so much the words, as the tone he used. He sounded angry, upset with her. He had a tint of anger in his voice that was very noticeable.

"Rachel," said Jin, his back still to her. "You have to move on. You have to get over me and find someone else if you are looking for a relationship. I can't love you."

Rachel just sank deeper and deeper in the shattered pieces of her world. She couldn't have felt more pain if she were stabbed by a sword in the gut, laying bleeding to slowly die.

She quickly turned around and left the room, leaving Jin to stand alone, facing the bathroom door. Tears began to once again fall down his face. I'm sorry Rachel.

End Chapter Five

Yowser! This is a long chapter for me! Hey, I had a lot of time on my hands, so I figured, let's get some work done. I go back to school tomorrow anyway, so I better get it out quick. I really like this chapter, just because of all the mental anguish and pain. It's meant to be a very depressing chapter sort of, but not overly so. I hope you all enjoyed it.

As for the reviews, I'm disappointed. I got a compliment from someone, but nothing else. Oh well, it's only been out for about a day before this one anyway. I'll give you all some time to get your reviews up. Hopefully you all have something contributed that I can reply to at the end of Chapter Six.

As for Chapter Six, well, it will I guess be about what happened at the Preventer Peace Banquet and how all the leaders of the major nations died. Yes, they died, and yes, the damage will be catastrophic. It will turn from bad to worse in the coming chapters. Oh, and I hope you all aren't too disappointed with the spat between Rachel and Jin. However, I'm sure you ca all figure out what's going on, if you've got half a mind anyway. The answer will be revealed for you nincompoops in the next chapter most likely. I dunno. It depends on how nice I feel like being. I may just turn out to decide, "Hey, I think I'll be Satan for a day." I'm told I have a habit of doing that.