Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W. Don't sue; I'm simply an E-5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

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00:00 Hours --

Trowa punched down on the bike's clutch again, forcing it to lurch down the road more rapidly than before. Engine whining, steam billowed off the bike as the midnight's chill formed gentle dew that hung in the air.

Taking a scant moment to glance down at the gauges, Trowa grunted in frustration. The needle was hovering right by the red. He was going to burn the engine up before the night was through.

It didn't matter. As long as he could reach that base and find Quatre, it didn't matter.

He needed to go faster.

He cranked his hand on the throttle.

'Got to get there. C'mon, you stupid machine! Move it! I've known Fords that can move faster than you…'

Hunkered over the bike, he grumbled and cursed to himself as he tore over the field in the direction he'd seen Deathscythe fly, now well off the beaten path.

07:00 Hours --

Trowa sighed, seated on the couch next to Duo once more, awaiting Quatre's return.

It was like yesterday all over again. The only difference was that this time, Trowa had no idea if the blond was alone or not.

His hands folded as he looked with worry at the door, stoutly ignoring the braided pilot at his side.

Duo's snoring, thrashing, mumbling and crying in his sleep, however, did make it quite hard to ignore him.

Glancing over his shoulder, his face carrying the faintest hint of exasperation with the sleeping boy, he lifted his sock-clad foot and rested it on Duo's knee.

Instantly silenced by the faint bit of human contact, Duo gripped his braid in one hand, hugging it close to his chest and sleeping more soundly.

Turning his attention back to the door, Trowa shrugged. "If you actually stay awake next time we have a few moments, Duo, I'll tell you that Heero's fine."

00:20 Hours --

The bike slid violently along the ground, bouncing along rocks. It careened into a tree, then bounced against the building close to it and landed as a crumpled heap by the structure's base. Then, as two wires connected, a spark flew.

KABOOM.

Trowa staggered to his feet, his eyes focused on the remains that once were the motorcycle he had been straddling that lay a good thirty feet away from him. Glancing up, he stared at the Leo that towered over him. Backing away, he slowly lifted his hands into the air.

And he stared without emotion as the top half of the Leo slid away from its legs and clunked loudly onto the ground before exploding.

Shielding his face with his arm, his hair fluttering wildly with the force of the explosion and his skin singing, Trowa gritted his teeth as he felt his sleeves begin to crackle with flames and his jeans smoke with the heat radiating from the nearby mobile suit.

Lowering his arm as the flames died down, he patted his sleeves free of fire and stared up into Deathscythe's giant green eyes. "Duo."

"Trowa! What the hell! I thought you ditched us, man?" Duo's manic voice cried, flowing from the mobile suit's loud speakers.

"Where's Quatre?"

"Fuck… one and two word… argh, forget it! I'll bitch at you later! He's not here."

"What?"

"He's not here! Now either amscray or get yourself into a suit before you get slaughtered!"

Trowa's thoughts reeled.

Quatre wasn't here.

He nodded to Duo's suggestions and turned to run as Duo swung his Gundam sharply on its heel to swat the three Aires that were descending behind him from the air like bugs with his scythe.

07:30 Hours --

Trowa's eyelids were quite heavy.

Still, he refused to let them shade his eyes and force him into the darkness of sleep his body so fervently desired.

He had to wait for Quatre to get home.

He had to make certain that his Quatre was alright.

Stifling yet another yawn, Trowa turned his attention back to the television. The flashing images were helping, but only a little. Turning the volume up was the next step in his quest for continuing to function in the state of awareness he barely possessed.

Heavy metal music blared from the speakers as the music video played on. Nodding along with it, Trowa barely remembered to thank the servant as the woman returned to the room, bearing with her a bucket of vanilla ice cream and a spoon.

Trowa dug in.

00:25 Hours --

Trowa calmly hefted the M16 in his hands. Turning, that same calm, removed glaze upon his face, he lifted the mighty gun and lined up his sites. And, with the same expressionless calm, he yanked the trigger.

No amounts of glee, joy, sorrow or regret showed upon his face as the Aires tumbled from the sky.

Tossing the empty weapon aside, Trowa lifted one more weapon from a dead soldier.

And, with the same calm he'd displayed while using the previous gun, he loaded the AK47 assault rifle.

Soldiers ran.

He simply shrugged before opening fire. 'Anyone who sees me must die. It's the rules of the attack. I didn't create them.'

08:00 Hours --

Lifting his cup of Java, Trowa sipped slowly.

He'd gotten one heck of a brain freeze from wolfing down all that ice cream.

00:30 Hours --

Trowa climbed towards the hatch of the fallen Leo.

After inspecting it for damage and determining that it was still completely operational even after having stepped on the landmine Trowa had found and planted, the wiry boy scrambled to its chest and looked the suit over for the release valves.

Finding the handles, he turned them and wrenched the door open.

The soldier within was soon screaming, holding his bloodied nose with his hands as he was thrown clear of the suit.

Jumping down into the suit, Trowa quickly strapped himself in and yanked the hatch closed. Punching a few buttons, he activated the suit's stabilizers and thrusters, boosting it back onto its feet. And, planting himself in typical Trowa style, he lifted the Leo's beam rifle and opened fire.

Mobile suit after mobile suit fell to the onslaught of ammunition.

However, one slight miscalculation soon had him near panic.

The rate of fire from the beam riffle was considerably slower than from Heavy Arms' gattling gun.

The enemy was soon on top of him. Out of options, Trowa yanked the beam saber from its holster upon the Leo and activated the weapon.

'Well, I haven't practiced hand to hand recently. Looks like this is a great time to catch up.'

08:15 Hours --

The door creaked open.

Instantly, Trowa's green eyes were focused on it, his mind already preparing his speech to scream at the blond boy, his fists already clenching into fists. Heart wildly pumping in his chest, Trowa swung between wanting to run to the door, snatch the boy from the outside world and cradle him to his body and wanting to lambaste him for making him worry so much.

Trowa's world seemed to shatter, his emerald orbs filling with shock and sorrow, as a brown-haired individual that stood nearly a head over what the platinum-haired pilot did entered the living room.

He looked familiar.

'Johnson. OZ soldier. The one who was with us in the interrogation room. The one who met with Quatre in that bar.'

'What the hell is he doing here?'

The man he'd identified as Johnson walked in, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his casual blue jeans, his plain white tee shirt hanging slightly skewed around his thin shoulders. Removing one hand from his pocket and running it through his closely cropped, spiky hair, he flashed a cock-eyed smile at Trowa. "Didn't imagine I'd see you here. Thought you'd have left the area."

Trowa's eyes narrowed.

00:50 Hours --

He'd barely managed to shake the suits that had attacked him off.

Turning towards the nearly leveled remains of the base, Trowa lifted his beam riffle.

Suddenly, he stared as the monitors of his heads-up display became crackling static. Tossing open the hatch, he hurriedly leaped from the Leo and ran as quickly as he could away from it.

It exploded behind him even as its giant mechanical head bounced upon the ground.

Thrown to the ground by the force of the blast, Trowa remained perfectly still even as his clothes once more started to smoke. His arms covering his head were sore and tender from the heat, and burned as more caressed them.

He flinched slightly as he heard the loud footsteps of a giant mobile suit approaching him.

Bracing himself, Trowa attempted to rise and bolt.

He heard a gun click immediately before him.

Pulling immediately to a halt, Trowa got to his feet and stared. The OZ soldier before him narrowed his eyes and slowly began to pull the trigger.

Then the uniformed man screamed as his body was incinerated by the heat of a swiftly striking thermal blade many times his body's size.

Turning, Trowa looked up.

"Gaw! Sorry 'bout that, man. Couldn't tell you from the rest. Good thing I recognized ya when ya hit the ground, neh?"

"Duo."

"Aa."

"Mission completed?"

"Yeppers! Just gotta finish demolishing this base." Deathscythe lifted its scythe.

"But what about the disk?" Trowa asked, his eyes actually widening slightly.

"Quatre said not to worry about it. That he'd get someone else to fetch it."

'He already had an ulterior plan…'

'So why did he want to use me…?'

08:17 Hours --

Trowa watched cautiously as the soldier walked over to the couch.

"Mind if I take a seat?" the man named Johnson asked, his demeanor friendly and open.

'Friendly and open. All the more reason not to trust him. He's hiding himself behind a mask…'

Trowa shrugged. 'I've got a gun in my pocket, buddy. One move, and I'll finish you.'

"Thanks." Plopping down, the man extended his hand. "I'm Xavier. Xavier Johnson."

"Trowa Barton."

Xavier simply closed his hand on empty air as Trowa stared at it. "Already knew that. Quatre told me all about you and Duo here."

"He did?"

"Yeah. He wanted to make certain that if I were to run into you, I didn't accidentally shoot you."

"Where is he?"

"Boy, really the conversationalist, aren't you?"

"Answer my question." Trowa's eyes narrowed into dangerous emerald slits.

"Fine. But I don't believe you're going to like the answer."

tbc...