Part One:

Again she dreamed.

Correction it was more then a dream, filled with vague memories and sensations, it was a nightmare.

They might start out different, but they would always end the same, with screaming.

As they began she would be somewhere where she had always been comfortable or happy. But then shots would be heard and the men would come….

Ana screamed as she woke from one nightmare to another.

Awkwardly pushing herself into a sitting position she gazed around her cell trying to figure out what it was that had awaken her, then she heard it again.

Gunfire.

Heero Yuy sat at the computer terminal downloading the files they had been sent to get, while Chang rigged explosives to the tower that stored the hard copies as well as their backups.

Neither paid much attention to where Winner sat in front of the security cameras making sure that there were no more Oz soldiers laying in wait as Barton and Maxwell finished with their assigned portion of the mission.

They had come to destroy Oz's newest undertaking, the review and reapplication of all of the Alliances' old military and scientific projects. Everything from fabrics designed for use in space to high-powered weapons. All information must be copied and the originals as well as the projects themselves must be destroyed.

Scanning through the listed files Yuy stopped to examine one that sounded familiar. Opening the file he reviewed the information presented. Carefully making sure he had read the file correctly he pulled up the camera for the location listed. Glancing over to the adjacent computer screen that displayed the room, he blinked.

Without moving he called over to Winner, who was relaying troop movements and locations to the other two pilots, before ordering both he and Chang to evacuate.

"My God!" Duo wasn't sure which of them had said it.

The room Heero had sent them to investigate turned out to be a cell. One that smelled horribly of stale sweat, feces and blood, a lot of blood.

He glanced at Trowa from the corner of his eye and as one they looked at the crude message on the wall, written in a dried brown substance. "Help me." They were not leaving them like this; he didn't care who they were or why they were here. (Nobody deserves this.)

He and Trowa moved to the figure huddled in the far corner. Whoever was being held in the cell had a slight build and black-brown hair that hung in dirty lengths around their shoulders. Slim arms and legs could be seen peeking out from the too large hospital clothes, and what skin was visible was covered in bruises. A few weeks by the coloring of some of them, and their wrists were torn from being bound.

Whoever they were Oz had worked them over good.

Tentatively Duo reached out a hand, trying not to startle them but before he could make contact they moved, and a lot faster then he thought possible for someone in their apparent condition.

Yelping in surprise he fell backwards onto his ass. (Holy Shit! Where did THAT come from?)

Ana had heard the quite explosion that took her door off of its hinges and watched as the two boys came into her cell.

Boys they were.

Both were dressed in Oz uniforms that looked to be a little too big on them. One had long brown hair that hung in a braid down his back, and wide purple eyes. The other was tall with soft brown hair that hung over one green eye, face carefully blank.

(The Mad Hatter and the Church-Mouse have come to rescue me from Wonderland.) She thought, surprised that she had yet to lose all of her sarcasm, some more of her sanity – most definitely; most of her voice - definitely, but never the Most Holy of Holies, her sarcasm.

But to tell the truth she wasn't sure if it really was sarcasm, it could very easily be plain old insanity.

(Oh well.)

When the braided boy had reached out a hand to her and she had reacted, without thinking.

Get away.

Escape.

Don't let them hurt her.

So she had pushed past them scuttling towards the open door.

She hated how she had reacted but she couldn't help it. During her lovely stay at the "Oz Hilton" there had quite a few to come in and try to get her "cooperation".

Some had been gentle, most had not.

She knew her reaction had been a conditioned physical response to the possibility of pain.

However this was an Oz base.

Oz was military.

No one in the military had waist length braids.

Therefore they must not be military, and were not Oz.

Meaning they were not there to hurt her, maybe.

Staring at them from across the length room she saw the shock on their faces, again supporting the idea that they were not part of the base personnel.

Duo and Trowa turned to stare at each other.

Neither of them had expected the person in the room to be a girl, but it was.

Looking barely older then them she had a sort of golden hazel eyes that stared at them blankly from under the dirty hair, black eyebrows arched up. They could see her pain, in the pinched lines around her eyes.

Trowa stared at Duo, and could tell that they had come to the same conclusion.

Do nothing to frighten her even more then she appeared to be.

Lowering his arms Trowa adopted a non-threatening stance and slipped off the jacket from his stolen uniform.

Watching them Ana felt badly for her reaction, it appeared that they really had only meant to help, but her mind and her body had betrayed her, again. (But it's not really my body now is it.)

Still arguing with herself she slowly stood up from her crouch and taking a deep breath, spoke.

"You're letting me out right? You are letting me go? We can leave? Now?" She winced, her voice sounded rough and harsh even to her ears. (Better get used to it, nothing I can do about it now.)

She had screamed so long and so hard she had ruined it, she knew she would be lucky if it turned out husky rather then hoarse and scratchy. Just one more thing she was going to get revenge for.

Oz was dead; they just didn't know it yet.

Nodding Trowa moved closer holding out the jacket to her, and stepping back once she had took it and slipped it on. While the brutality of the apparent beatings didn't bother him, it was something they had all come to expect from Oz, the fact that it was a female for some reason did. There was something nagging at the back of his mind. He pushed the strange feeling away and once again concentrated on their mission.

Moving quickly he turned and led them out the door, Duo brought up the rear putting the girl between them. Just before they reached the stairs that lead to their escape route they heard a shout.

Several Oz soldiers were running down the hall after them.

Pulling another explosive from his pants, Duo threw it down the hall towards the men, and grabbing a slim wrist yanked the girl behind him as he tore down the stairs, cringing as his hand bit into her already torn wrist. Exiting into the hallway they were brought up short by the scene in front of them.

Quatre and Wufei were kneeling on the ground in front of a fair-haired heavyset Oz soldier, while two others were off to the side holding guns on the boys. All had looked up as the trio came to a screeching halt in front of them.

The heavyset man looked surprised then pleased.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. Seems as though we might be able to finish what we started, little one."

Ana cringed, Sergeant Myers.

She remembered how his hands had felt; he had been one of the not-so-gentle. (Not so gentle, Hah! The asshole tried to rape me, and I barely look 15! The sick fucking bastard.)

Trying not to think about her own experience with the man she was curious as to the reaction of two of the others.

The taller boy next to her had stiffened and the blond boy on the floor had gone completely still, wide blue eyes hopeful.

(Ah! Oh! How absolutely adorable! They care!) Her thoughts darkened. (Don't they know that when one is on the battlefield, caring can be more dangerous than the enemy? Why risk that type of hurt?)

Now was not the time to think something like that.

Staring at the two on the floor, thinking of their comrades' reactions, she became lost in her own memories (John! What are you doing? Put me down! No, not the pool! Ahhh! You bastard!) and came to a decision.

If they could get out of here in one piece she'd kiss them all and watch as they kissed each other. Caution and hurt be damned. She just wanted to leave, and she was going to, one way or another.

She tried not to think overly much about what she was going to do and how much it was going to hurt her already strained body. But then again this is what she had been trained for, but what Oz had never known. what they would never imagine she'd use against them.

The Blond stared back and nodded almost unperceptively, as if he somehow understood, the Asian looking boy merely blinked. Gently touching Braid Boy's arm she moved forward even as her stomach turned at the thought of getting closer to the man who had been her worst tormenter.

It was a good thing that there was nothing in her stomach.

Myers, un-aware of her decision, continued to bait her.

"I didn't know that they let the crazy walk free around here. What's wrong? Can't talk, how about scream, can you scream for me again?"

Wufei watched as the girl stopped her forward movement and cringed. As well she should if what the fat and highly obnoxious Oz soldier was implying was true. What she though she was doing, he had no idea. (This is no place for a woman; Maxwell should have taken her another way. She'll just get in the way, maybe even killed.)

Lost in his thoughts he almost missed it when her entire body language changed. Gone was the air of fear and nervousness, the scared prisoner. In its place was an almost surreal sense of calm and acceptance.

Curious he watched, as her muscles tightened then flexed, like a large cat before it attacked.

Taking a deep breath Ana felt herself calm.

She let go of her fear, her pain, and sank into the quiet place within, the white room in her mind.

She dimly remembered how it had once felt to be complete, to be whole in both her body and mind; to be focused and sure of herself and her actions. Drawing upon that memory she pulled strength from that quiet, blank whiteness.

Some things no matter how much one is tortured and beaten cannot be taken from you, not unless you let them, and she had almost let them, almost.

No longer.

She was stronger then they could possibly imagine, and she had warned them. Letting her live as long as they had was their biggest mistake.

"Well I don't know if I'm crazy, but I know I'm not sane." She said smiling brightly up at Myers who stared at her confused, too stupid to realize he should be afraid.

Both Quatre and Wufei however, had seen a nearly identical look on the face of a smiling Shinigami. Wary they looked to each other, then to where Duo and Trowa stood, as they were unable to see her face, and the madness that shone from her gold eyes.

"I'll tell you something else." Ana continued, moving forward with a controlled, almost lazy grace despite her obvious injuries. "Whether I am crazy or not, does not matter. For you see, either way, I am the QUEEN of this condition. I. Am. An. Expert. On making the trip. Don't you know, I promised you'd DIE?"

The whole time she had been talking she had continued moving forward and before her screaming faded away, lunged at the fat soldier.

Taking advantage of her distraction gunshots rang out as Duo and Trowa exchanged fire taking care of the men standing behind their friends.

Wufei watched in amazement as the beaten and bloody girl delivered a hard punch to the man's large stomach, forcing him to bend at the waist from the strength of the blow.

The strength that the move required had appeared to be beyond her body's capabilities and yet she had managed to do it.

Wufei stayed on the floor next to a stunned and wary Quatre.

The two of them could see some of what they called Maxwell's battle craze, Shinigami's madness, in her actions and behavior.

"The ANGEL OF DEATH has come for you Myers, just like I said I would!" She screamed, delivering an uppercut to his face. Ignoring the shocked and horrified understanding that had been there for just a moment, and forcing his body back into an upright position.

Spinning on the ball of one foot, she snapped around with a kick to his head before thrusting a palm forward, shoving his nose into his brain.

All of the pilots watched as his lifeless body toppled to the ground.

"I told you I'd come for you Myers, you sick twisted freak." (And you are just the first. Oz made a Big Mistake thinking they could mess with me.)

Turning around she once again faced her would be rescuers.

Trowa stared at her expressionlessly; Wufei and Quatre were identical expressions of shock while Duo grinned like the idiot he appeared to be. (That was so cool!)

"Can we please leave now?" She asked before her eyes rolled back and she slid lifelessly towards the ground. Quatre who had been the closest made a grab for her before she hit her head.