This is my tenth chapter! Hope you like it! Oh yeah, I own Gundam the Dark era, not any of the other Gundams.

Gundam:

The dark era:

Chapter 10:

Paris... city of love, violence, and a computer program:

Fex was poking his food. He wasn't feeling good. He was probably on the edge of a battle he couldn't escape and wasn't getting any more reinforcements than they already had. He was probably going to have to kill again... maybe even his own comrades, if that's what it took...

It sounded like Tina and Firenze were going at it again. Tom hunched over his food to keep dust from falling in it. He was really hungry.

"HEY, GUYS!" Tom shouted. "I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE HAVING FUN, BUT I'M EATING HERE! IT'S MY FIRST DECENT MEAL IN TWO MONTHS! DON'T MAKE ME TAKE AWAY YOUR SEX PRIVILEGES!"

There was an short silence. Everybody who hadn't been eating before started eating to fill the void. There was a quiet rustling noise from one of the rooms. Nobody really paid any mind to it. Then out of nowhere Tom said. "Ramirez?"

"Yes?" Answered a squirrelly voice. The person the voice belonged to had just left Fex's room.

"HEY!" Fex yelled. "WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?"

"Fex, calm down..." Rapter instructed.

"Yeah, calm down, man." Tom seconded. "Ramirez, you're not supposed to go snooping around in other people's stuff."

"But... but..."

"Ramirez, don't worry. These guys are friends of mine."

"Okay..."

"You didn't take any of his stuff, did you?"

Fex glared at Ramirez. "YOU BETTER NOT HAVE!"

"FEX! SHUT UP!" Rapter snapped.

"No... I didn't take any of his stuff..."

"Good. Carry on, soldier." Tom and Ramirez saluted each other and Ramirez left. "Don't worry about him. He's always paranoid. Keeps on saying that double agents are everywhere."

"Damn guy better not have taken any of my stuff..." Fex mumbled. "I'm gonna go check to make sure nothings gone." Fex went into his room.

Rapter picked up the battle map. "Tom, what's our battle plan if the Rebels come back?"

Rapter handed the map to Tom. "Well. We're going to be positioning tandems of snipers and support gunners in strategic sites in the rubble to funnel the enemy where we want them. Open areas, basically. Did you see that clock tower on the way in?"

"Nope."

"Well, we're gonna' put a sniper there to pick off the enemy once they're open. I'm gonna' focus most of my rifle action at the base of this building, just so if the enemy gets this far, we'll have a distraction to evacuate the wounded. They're not gonna' get that far though... And just in case we really have trouble, we should have your mobile suits soon. That should hold against just about anything."

"What did they throw at you last time?"

"Mostly infantry. There was some armor mixed in there."

Fex came out of his room.

"Bastard didn't steal anything."

"Good."

Howie stood up.

"I'm done eating."

"Are you leaving now?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah. I gotta' go do something." Howie left. Tom looked back toward the center of the group.

"I wanna' get back to eating now."

Howie was walking down the Paris streets. He had seen an intact payphone earlier. He needed to call somebody. He passed the entrance to the Underground and sneered. The place looked pathetic to him...

Finally, he found the payphone. But he had no change. It was okay. He could remedy that. He took a knife out and tore the cash machine open. He picked up some euro and put them in. Then he dialed a number...

...And then heard a voice he had not heard in a long time.

"Who the hell is this?" The voice asked. Howie actually smirked at the sound of this voice.

"Hello, Peter."

Peter was silent for a while.

"Howie? Is that you?"

"Glad to hear your voice again, man."

"Ah, FUCK, MAN! It IS you! I could recognize that voice anywhere! Aw, man! You one crazy mother fucker, you know that?"

"You don't need to tell me that."

"Aw, man... Aw, man... Aw, man... Where the fuck are ya', man?"

"In Paris."

"Aw, man... My man, my man... So how you been doin', my man?"

"I've been better..."

"Oh, I know how ya' feelin', brother. We pretty fucked up too, ya' know? You had better times when you was with Rose, right?"

Howie growled. "Peter..."

"Oh! Oh! Sorry, my man, I didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry about it, man."

"How did you escape from Alcatraz, man?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

"We gonna' have to meet some time."

"Yeah. Where are you, Peter?"

"I'm in the Underground."

"THE UNDERGROUND?"

"Aw... Don't worry about it man. I'm planning to leave this fuckin' shit hole anyway. I hope you have some time on your hands."

"Sure. Time is something I've got a lot of."

"That's good. Can you get to a phone every night?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I'll be waiting your call every night. We really need to coordinate this. Later, dawg."

"Wait a second!"

"Huh? What is it?"

"How's Dory?"

"Dory? Ah... You mean... the kid sister?"

"Yes, man. The kid sister."

"Uh... I hate to have to say this, brother... She hates you..."

"Hey, don't worry about it. It seems like everybody close to me who used to love me hates me now. It doesn't hurt my feeling's."

"Well, I feel for ya', brother. Now, don't go and get yourself killed man. That's awfully easy to do nowadays."

"I can take care of myself."

"Alright. Later, brother."

"Yeah. Later, man." He hung up the phone. He started walking back to the building.

When he reached the building, he heard yelling and screaming from inside.

Tom yelled. "RAMIREZ! CALM DOWN!"

Oh, no. Howie had a bad feeling as soon as he heard that. He rushed inside.

Ramirez had been backed into a corner. The several soldiers that had happened to be on the first floor when it had happened were keeping him at bay with rifles drawn. Not only that, but the J.T.M.S. members were there, too. Ramirez had a hostage. It was Doc.. Ramirez was holding a knife to his throat while keeping a gun pointed at the people who had surrounded him.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL HIM! I SWEAR!"

"Now, let's not be..." Began Doc.. Ramirez tightened his grip.

"SHUT UP! I'LL KILL YA'!"

"TOM!" Howie shouted so he could be heard. "WHAT'S HAPPENING?"

"RAMIREZ HAS GONE INSANE!" Tom answered. Just then, Fex started yelling.

"YOU GO AND DO IT! YOU CRAZY FUCK! THE MOMENT YOU DO, I'LL FILL YOU FULL OF SO MUCH LEAD THAT YOU'LL WISH YOU WERE IN HELL! YOU CRAZY MOTHER FUCKER!"

"FEX! SHUT UP YOU STUPID FUCKING BASTARD!" Rapter yelled.

"RAMIREZ!" Tom called. "CALM DOWN! TELL US WHAT'S GOT YOU THIS WAY!"

Ramirez stared blankly at Tom for a second. Then he laughed insanely. "So, you wanna' know the truth? You wouldn't listen to me before... but you WILL listen to me now! Alright, I'll tell you. I found a spy among us... It's all documented. Go look at my computer if you want. The program is still on there. I left it on for all to see..."

Rapter elbowed Taylor. "Go get it." Taylor ran towards Ramirez's room.

"So?" Asked Garry. "Who is it?"

Ramirez chuckled. "Just who I thought it would be..." He looked up and pointed. "IT'S THAT FEX ANDERSON! I KNEW THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIM! I COULD TELL HE WAS A SPY JUST BY THE WAY HE ACTED WHEN HE REALIZED I HAD BEEN IN HIS ROOM! SO I ACTED LIKE I REALLY HADN'T TAKEN ANYTHING!..."

"So you really DID TAKE SOMETHING! WHAT DID YOU TAKE?"

"WHY THE PRECIOUS DISK DOCUMENTING ALL THE ILLEGAL TRANSACTIONS YOU MADE TO THE REBEL GOVERNMENT! THAT'S WHAT!"

Fex looked confused. Or at least, he acted confused... "Disk...?"

"DON'T PLAY INNOCENT WITH US! YOUR SIGNATURE WAS ON THERE! IT HAD A TOUCH-PAD SIGNATURE THAT MATCHES YOURS! NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THE TRANSACTIONS WERE CARRIED THROUGH YOUR CHANNELS! BANK ACCOUNTS, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS, EVERYTHING! NOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN YOURSELF, MR. ANDERSON?"

Fex lowered his gun and looked down at the floor. Kat asked him. "Fex... Is this true?"

He didn't answer.

Tom tried to calm Ramirez. "Ramirez, we're gonna' talk about this. Calm down. Let Doc. go."

Ramirez had the look of a crazed animal in his eye's. Slowly, he let Doc. out of his death grip. Once that was done, there was still one thing that had to be done.

"Ramirez..." Tom said in a soothing voice. "Let your weapons go..."

You could see the trapped feeling in Ramirez's eyes'. He felt totally screwed.

"Ramirez... Let your weapon's go... They're not gonna' need them right now. Please. You don't need 'em..."

Ramirez gritted his teeth. But it wasn't an angry teeth gritting, it was as if he was scared. He dropped the knife and wiped the sweat off his face.

"Ramirez..." Tom continued. "Your gun. You forgot to..."

Very quickly, Ramirez raised his gun and shot Fex. Fex's world went into slow motion. He fell backwards. His head came lurching back. He saw Tom raising his pistol. A tear ran down his cheek. He didn't hear it, but Tom fired. Poor guy... It must have been hard for him...

Fex felt arms wrapping around his body to break his fall. His back landed on the floor. He felt Kat's chest propping his head up. He could see Ramirez. Dead. Tom had shot him right through the eyeball, and the bullet had gone all the way through his head. His eyeball was on the floor in front of him. Kat was laying her head on Fex's. Fex felt like she was talking to him, but he couldn't hear her.

"Hello? Are you awake?"

The voice swam around in his head, searching for some sort of reaction.

"Doc., are you sure there was a spike in heart rate this morning? We've been here half an hour."

"I'm bloody sure of it! I'm sure I saw a spike!"

"Don't be wasting our time, Doc.."

"I'm not wasting your bloody time!"

"Look! He's right, Taylor! I just saw a spike! Look! There's another!"

"Well, I'll be damned..."

"Fex! Can you hear us?"

Who is that? Fex...

Fex woke up with a splitting headache. He rubbed his head and sat up. Doc., Rapter, and Taylor were sitting in front of him.

"Doc., leave us. We need to chat with him." Doc. left and shut the curtain behind him. Rapter lit a cigarette and grinned. "Do you know how long you've been out, Fex?"

Fex shook his head. "No."

"You've been out for a day and a half. You've had visitors." Rapter informed him, pointing at the pile of cigarette packs. "They have been fruitful and have left many gifts."

"Hah. Somehow, I still don't feel like a god." Fex said, taking a cigarette and lighting it. He took a puff and pointed at Rapter. "Where's my stuff?"

"Don't worry. It's right over there." Rapter pointed into the corner. Fex's backpack was there. "Satisfied?"

Fex nodded. "Yeah. I don't want anyone snooping around in my stuff anymore." Fex looked at Rapter. "So, are you here to beat the living shit out of me?"

Rapter shook his head. "No. That gunshot wound will be enough for now. But... we did take a look at that computer program Ramirez took from your room..."

"SO?" Fex snapped. Rapter gave him an odd look.

"Fex, do you really realize how incriminating this document is? Fex, this document could make you eligible for treason!"

Fex spat out his cigarette. "Wh- wh- WHAT?"

Rapter spun a lab top around. "Take a good look at it, Fex. It's exactly as Ramirez had described. There's your signature, Fex... RIGHT THERE! IT MATCHES YOURS PERFECTLY!"

Fex was very confused. "It is..."

"We've traced the channels... They ALL are yours, Fex. Tell me you didn't know about this document!"

"I... don't... I swear, someone planted that!"

"Someone PLANTED it? Highly unlikely! Fex, this whole thing matches perfectly to you. YOU HAD BETTER COME CLEAN!"

Fex shifted to his side. He started enjoying his cigarette again. "I'm not saying any more."

Rapter was left a bit short. "Come on, Taylor. Let's go." They left Fex to his own devices.

That night, Fex came for dinner. Everybody was glad to see him, except for Garry, Kat, and Howie. They all gave him parts of their rations and more cigarettes. They laughed and were merry. Firenze and Tina fed each other. Howie was frowning. He leaned over and whispered something really quick and quiet in Kat's ear, then left. Kat sat with the group for a little while longer, then left and followed Howie.

Howie was sitting in his room with his arm's crossed when Kat came in.

"Well, Howie? What is it you want to talk to me about?"

Howie pounded the floor. "You know what I fucking want to talk to you about! It's Anderson!"

"What about him, Howie?"

"You love him, that's what! I could tell by the way you dove to catch him when Ramirez shot him! But, Kat... just now you seemed like you were indifferent to the fact that he was back! Kat, if you love somebody, you need to show that love! Not all people are as bad as I am! Kat... what I'm trying to say is... go after what you want."

"... Okay. But if I'm going to do something, I want you to do something."

"What?"

"Apologize. Apologize to all the people you hurt... starting with me."

"All right." Howie took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Kat. I'm sorry for hurting you..."

Without warning, Kat slapped him.

"Ouch! Hey! What was THAT for! I apologized, didn't I?"

Kat walked out of the room. "I never said, I'd forgive you, did I?"

That was right. She hadn't mentioned forgiveness. But now Howie knew who he had to apologize to next...

...he had to apologize to Dory... But he wasn't going to do that today... he would have to do that when he met with Peter.

The next day, they were conducting patrols in downtown Paris. Tom led the group to the bell tower.

"This is our main sniping point for our defense against the counter attack. When and if the counter attack comes, we'll put a sniper here to help dwindle down the enemy's numbers."

Garry began filling in the details that they didn't need to know. "On a clear day, the view from up there will easily exceed 5000 meters sight distance. The maximum range of our .50 cal. sniper rifles is 2000 meters, tops. The..."

Firenze started talking to Howie during the lecture.

"Boring, isn't he, man?"

Howie waved his hand. "I don't care."

"Hey, you're the infamous Howie, right? The guy who has escaped Alcatraz and fucked a thousand women? Bet you never fucked a girl like Tina."

Howie took his canteen and took a sip. He took the time to swallow and screwed the cap back on. Then he looked at Firenze and gave him a wry smile.

"I think I fucked Tina..."

"WHAT?"

After the patrol was finished, they returned back to their building and started preparing for dinner early. There was something different about this afternoon's about dinner, though. It felt as if it was the first really good and productive day the J.T.M.S. members had since they had been reassigned here. Everybody was in a good mood. They could see good things happening in the horizon. Tom was actually sharing some of his more amusing incidents in the military. He was a well-liked and respected leader, and it was easy to see why. He had a good attitude, a great sense of humor, and he really cared about the well-being of his men. It was obvious the fact that he had to kill Ramirez affected him...

After dinner, Howie broke away from the comradery that had formed amongst the men. He had to call Peter...

When he dialed in the number, Peter immediately picked up the phone. He didn't even bother with a customary hello, he just immediately said. "Howie, go to the entrance to the Underground. There's someone there to meet you." Then he hung up.

Howie had no choice. He had to meet with this person just as Peter had said. So he went to the tunnel that led to the Underground. Just in front, there was a guy who had the nerve to wear a tie decimated city. He approached Howie.

"You must be Howie. Come. Peter wants to see you." The guy started leading Howie into the Underground.

It was dark in the Underground for a second, then they turned a corner and there were flashing neon lights. It surprised Howie.

"What the...?"

"Huh. Wasn't expecting that, were you? I guess you've never been down here. You see, the only thing we have down here besides slums are casinos and bars. You can anything that would be considered illegal 'up there' down here, in the Underground."

The initial shock of the bright lights wore off for Howie. The neon lights were highlighting a bar.

"People like to party hard down here, don't they?"

"Yep'. That's pretty much all they do."

Howie heard footsteps behind them. He spun around quick and whipped out his .45's. Several assault rifle barrels bunched up in his face. The other guy had kept on walking, but when he heard the rifles clicking he turned around and laughed.

"Don't worry about them, Howie! They're our escort!"

Howie scowled. "I can take care of myself."

"Well deal with it."

"Fine. It doesn't mean I have to like it."

They walked through the Underground and made their way to Peter's hideout. Inside the hideout, the air was thick with smoke. Peter's men were checking and cleaning assault rifles for some reason.

"Howie..." The guide said, trying to get his attention. "Peter is this way." He pointed at the door across the hall.

"Good. I'm going."

"But, Howie, you just can't go..."

Howie had already gone through the door, so it was useless now. Howie was staring at dull, orange light filtering through shades in columns. Was it possible this was the sunset?...

A familiar, raspy voice said. "Typical of you just to barge in like that." Howie looked down, and he saw Peter sitting in his chair, smoking a cigar. It had to be Peter, he had the distinctive dread locks.

"Nice to see you again, Peter."

"How's ya' doin', buddy?"

"You already know that. How about asking something you don't know?"

"Hm. Never thought about that one."

"How's your life going, Peter? You haven't died yet from all the smoking you do, obviously."

"Yeah. I can't die from smoking. It's like a family tradition, ya' know?"

"Yeah, man, I know. Have you found a woman yet?"

"Nah. And from the way things are lookin' right now, it don't look like I'll find one, neither. Love's a one shot deal. You know that all too well, my man."

"Yeah. What are your guys planning on doing, Peter?"

Peter leaned back in his chair. "They're planning to go to their deaths."

"...Uh...Are you serious? Why? Don't you guys still have a lot to live for?"

"Not anymore." Peter said in a solemn voice. "Man, I'm gonna' retire from this trade real soon. When that happens, they won't have anywhere else to go. If they go to fight and die, then they will have no more sorrow..."

"Have you gone insane, Peter? You've gotta'..."

"Wait, Howie. I have another reason."

"Let's hear it."

Peter fisted his hand. "My kid sister... she was murdered... with no apparent reason... by somebody in the Rebel organization... I had sent somebody in there a while ago... he witnessed the murder... when he reported back to me... he reported that her death was unnecessarily cruel and violent... I can't bring myself to go over details... But... the man who murdered her... you know him in the Alliance as general H. H. Ashton senior... or the 'Black Ghost'... it is my wish... to take his life myself..."

"Peter! Don't do it!"

"Howie..."

"Don't you know what this guy is like? There's no possible way you could come out of this fight alive!"

"Howie..." Howie stopped for a second to listen to Peter. "He killed... murdered... my kid sister... Why? Just for the fucking hell of it." Howie realized then that he couldn't stop Peter from going to battle. He lost the momentum. Not only in his argument, but in his whole body...

"Yes..." Peter said, half spoken, half sighed. " I know that face. That's the face you make when you know you've lost an argument. You know that if someone killed one of your kid sister like that, then you'd do the same thing. I know, our mind's are like one." Peter shifted gears. "We've got a private airport down here. We're gonna' send our women and children out that way tomorrow. See if you can speak with Dory before then."

Howie couldn't take it anymore. He knew his friend, Peter, was going to die. Mentally, he was about ready to explode. He couldn't show it physically. He had to get out of there...

As he walked from the room, he heard Peter call to him. "Good bye, my dear friend, Howie. May we meet again in whatever heaven or afterlife we truly call home."

Howie walked out of the hideout. You could tell by his face that something was wrong, but nothing more. Howie felt the urge to stop. He felt that destiny was going to guide him from here...

He felt arms wrapping around his neck. He didn't panic. In fact, the arms wrapping around his neck didn't feel like a chock hold, it felt more like an embrace. It was then that Howie figured out who it was.

"Dory..." He said softly. She turned him to face her. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he did, Dory slapped him.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR MAKING US, THE PEOPLE WHO CARED ABOUT YOU, WATCH YOU DETERIORATE AND LEAVE US LIKE THAT! DO YOU KNOW HOW PAINFUL THAT WAS? IT WAS PAINFUL FOR ME ESPECIALLY! NOT ONLY DID I LOVE YOU AND CARE ABOUT YOU, BUT I KNOW ROSE WOULD NOT LIKE TO SEE YOU DETERIORATE LIKE THAT! SHE WOULD HAVE HATED IT!"

"Well, I DIDN'T CARE! WHEN I LOST YOUR SISTER, DORY, I HAD NOTHING ELSE! I LOST IT! I BECAME AN ANIMAL FOLLOWING MY PRIMAL INSTINCT'S! I DID NOT GIVE A FUCK HOW ANY OF YOU FELT ABOUT THAT!"

Dory got mad and stomped a few feet away. "I hate you now... But... I still want you around tonight."

Howie laughed and walked up behind Dory. "Is that an invitation to have sex with you? You've got it all wrong, Dory. I'M the one who decides that! ME!"

She turned around and faced him. "Why you son-of-a..."

"But..." Howie continued. "I could ask one favor of you. You see the cloths I'm wearing, Dory? They look pretty shitty, don't they, Dory?"

That comment made Dory laugh. "Yes..."

"Good. You can sow them up and get the blood stains out, can't you?"

"Yes..."

"Good. Let's go to your room then."

When they got into her room, Howie started taking his cloth's off. When Howie took off his shirt, Dory noticed scars on his back.

"When did you get those?" She asked.

"A long time ago..." He answered. "Before you even knew me..."

The scars were scary to Dory. They were all jagged and rough. She still got the nerve to touch them. She brushed them with her hand. Howie gave an angry look back at her. She pulled her hand away. Howie removed his suspender and Dory nearly jumped at the fact that he had no underpants on.

"AH! YOU'RE NAKED! I'M SORRY! I'LL LOOK AWAY!"

"No, don't worry about it. I'm used to people seeing me naked. Not just people I'm having sex with." He said, very unashamedly.

She took his suspenders and set them on the table next the sowing machine. Then she took a look at Howie. He was looking around at his environment. He still had one piece of clothing on. His bandanna. She came up to him and tried to take it off. He stopped her.

"Don't."

"Hey, don't you want to take your bandanna off?"

"I never take my bandanna off."

"Never?"

"Never."

She took a step back, looking puzzled. "I'm gonna' get to the sowing."

"Is that a balcony?" Howie asked, pointing at the area where sunlight was seeping in.

"Yeah, actually it is. It juts out of the earth where a hill is at a ninety degree angle."

"Can go take a look?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, and Dory? I'm sorry for all the problems I caused."

"Sure thing! Don't mention it!"

Dory got to sowing, and Howie went onto the balcony.

Howie was staring at the sunset. It was a black sunset. It was a sign of bad things to come after the good things. If there was to be any good things for Howie, he would have to get to it.

Dory was sowing up the hole in the suspenders. She was kind of pissed off that he was having her do this for him. But... she was glad that she got to see him again. Getting to see him naked was a bonus. She wasn't used to seeing guys naked...

She heard the floors creak behind her. Howie put his arm's around her neck. He began kissing her neck. He worked his hand down and undid the top button on her shirt. Dory blushed when he did this, but she forced herself not to be embarrassed. After all, this was kind of what she wanted...

She put his arm around his stomach and threw him down on the floor. From there she forced her way on top of him. She kissed him on the lips just to seal the fact that this was just for fun. Howie raised an eyebrow.

"Hm... This will not work at all..."

Howie burst upward, catching Dory on his shoulder. "THIS WILL WORK BETTER!" He declared triumphantly. He started running around and finally threw Dory on her bed. When she was about to get back up, Howie jumped on top of her.

At the same time, Fex had snuck into the secret hanger. The mobile suits were covered by giant sheets. Useless, he thought.

"Hello." Said a timid voice from behind him. This surprised Fex and he spun around quickly with his hand on his gun. It was Kat.

"What are you doing? How and why did you follow me?"

"I hid in the back of the jeep. You're really not too surprised that you woke somebody up, are you?"

Fex shook his head. "Why did you follow me?"

"I haven't seen this place yet and I wanted to see it. But I have to say, I'm kind of disappointed."

"Any other reasons?" Fex asked.

Kat came closer. "Yes. I don't feel comfortable at that place. I don't feel like we have enough privacy..."

"What would you want privacy for?"

Kat put her arms around his shoulders. "I love you. Do you need any other reason?"

Fex rested his forehead on hers. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes..."

Fex turned and looked up at the covered mobile suits. "Let's uncover these, shall we?"

"Why?"

Fex looked at Kat and grinned. "It's gonna' come down anyways. Besides, we can use it for other things."

They took up positions on either side of the sheet. Fex started counting down. "3, 2, 1, PULL!"

They both tugged on the sheet. It worked and the sheet came floating down from the top. When it reached the floor, it covered both Fex and Kat where they couldn't see each other. They started crawling around and calling each other's name.

"Fex! Where are you?"

"I'm right here!" He teased.

"Where?" She called. She didn't realize it, but Fex had snuck up behind her. He picked her up and started running around with her under the sheet.

"GOT'CHA'!" He ran out from under the sheet. He ran around in a circle with Kat slung over his shoulder.

"LET ME GO!" She insisted.

"NO! I'M HAVING FUN!" Fex quipped back.

"LET ME GO!" She repeated. "IF YOU DON'T, I'LL TAKE EVERYTHING I SAID TO YOU BACK!"

Fex slowed down and let Kat off his shoulder. "Alright, you win." Kat smiled, hugged Fex and kissed him. But he was not returning the kiss.

"Gonna' need more incentive, are we? Fine." She took a step back and took her shirt off. "How's that?" She kissed him again, and this time he went all the way. This escalated to the point where they started ripping each other's cloth's off.

Howie lay awake in bed. He was watching Dory sleep peacefully. Her tiny body heaving the sheets up and down. He reached out and stroked her hair. Then he turned over on his back and remembered the good old days. They were so much like this...

Fex and Kat were laying under the sheets staring at each other and laughing. They were happy to be with each other. It didn't matter if they were in a war or not. They were together...

"We better keep track of time..." Fex said. "We don't want Rapter to find out what we've been doing."

"Don't worry, we've got a few more hours until sunrise. Besides, we should enjoy the time we have together..."

"Agreed..." Fex crawled over and kissed Kat. Then he reached up and rummaged through his cloths.

"What are you looking for?"

"My watch."

"Oh...

"Ah! There it is!" He held a shiny, silver watch. "It's... 1:13 A.M.."

"That's good. We have time."

"No... actually, we don't..."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I heard Rapter talking to Tom about doing check ups at 2:00 A.M. just to make sure everybody was there. I know he trusts Howie to be gone, but if he finds that we're both gone, he's gonna' be suspicious. He would suspect that we were doing something more serious than what we're actually doing, alright? I wanna' keep us both out of trouble."

"Alright. I understand..."

They started putting their cloths back on. Kat looked up at Fex and said. "Fex? You know when I said that life was just an endless cycle of war and death and insanity and that there was no possible way to end it?"

"Uh-huh. Why?"

She smiled. "Maybe we can end it. At least I feel like we can. We can. You and me together can do this."

Fex smiled in return to Kat. "I love you, girl..."

The next morning, Dory woke up to the sound of chirping birds. And the morning sun coming in through the shades...

...And Howie laying in the bed beside her. His eyes were wide open, staring right at her.

"Hey..." Dory started, playing with Howie's bandanna. "What's a handsome guy like you doing in my bed?"

"Stalking you." He answered. Dory laughed.

"Well, then, I don't mind you stalking me. But you do have to go soon. Our plane leaves at noon."

"You mean... the plane Peter scheduled for the women and children?"

"Yes! Now get going!"

"No! I won't!" Howie jumped on top of Dory.

"Ah! Howie! Get off of me!"

"No! I won't let you go!"

"Howie, I have to go. It's not an option for me. Now get off of me. It's not funny anymore."

"Yes, it is!" He started tickling Dory. "Stay with me! I command you!"

"Now you just sound completely stupid. Let me go." She tried to get out from under him, but he just jumped onto her back. "Howie..."

"Stay..."

"...I can't..."

"Okay... Let me take you to the airport then."

"Hmm... I don't know... Should I or should I not?..."

"Come on, Dory! Don't torture me!"

"OH! But it's FUN!"

"PLEASE?... I love you..."

"Alright! I'll let you walk me to the airport! No problem!" Dory hopped off the bed and towards the closet. "But we should get dressed first, agreed? I finished sowing up your cloths." She said, pointing towards the table. The cloths that Howie had stolen from the pirate were there, now completely intact. But Howie could feel something in his bone's. He could feel something coming. And coming soon...

They had gotten dressed and had gone to the Underground airport. Howie and Dory said their goodbyes'. Dory gave Howie a new bandanna. It was red...

"Use this to remember me by... and to remember last night..."

"Dory..."

"Living in the past with Rose's death isn't going to get you anywhere, Howie. You need to..."

"Let me guess... forget about Rose..."

"No, don't forget about her. Just don't let her death dictate your life from here on. You need to start a clean slate... With newer, happier experiences. You can use this to mark a merrier era in your life and to put away the sadness in you. Tell you what..." Dory ripped Howie's old bandanna from off of his head.

"HEY!" Dory lit his old bandanna on fire with a lighter and threw it away. Then she closed Howie's hands on the new one.

"Put it on. Don't forget me, and don't forget that I love you..." She kissed Howie and walked toward the airplane. "Good-bye..."

Howie stood there, staring at his new bandanna. Maybe Dory was right...

Then something flashed in his mind. Something... some memory was trying to make it's way back to him. The memory flashed in his mind again. It was too quick to make it out though. He had some idea that it had relevance now. It flashed again. This time the interval between flashes was shorter. The image then began flashing rapidly, then forming a solid image. And he remembered where it was from. It was when he had escaped from Alcatraz and had seen that vision...

Dory got onto the plane...

Now Howie understood...

"DORY! NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!"

"KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

A massive explosion enveloped the plane and threw Howie up against a wall. Howie then hit the ground. His back was hurting. Debris came and hit him in the chest. His chest started hurting...

...And so was his heart...

"...No..."

...He started crying...

"Get your rations! Get your nice, tasty, rations here!" Tom called, ringing the proverbial dinner bell. "Get 'em here!"

There was a line of good spirited soldiers lining up for a good meal. Though there were the occasional Rapters, exclaiming. "This tastes like shit..."

But, for the most part, people were happy to be fed that day. In fact, most of the men there were just plain happy. Probably the happiest of them all were Fex and Kat, who were standing the back, holding hands...

Fex looked out the window. To his surprise, he saw Howie approaching. He looked somewhat changed. He had a new bandanna. It was an even longer one, and it was bright red. He looked pissed off, but for some new, different reason. His cloth's were like new. Strange, because Fex remembered the last time he had seen Howie, those cloths looked like shit. Howie had the old dark look in his eye's that he had always had, but it was darker now...

He walked in through the front door. Kat noticed him.

"Howie!" She whispered to him, trying to get his attention. He wasn't paying attention to her. He shot a quick, dark glance at Fex. Somehow Fex knew that Howie was gesturing to follow him. Howie walked towards one of the side rooms. Fex started to follow him. Kat grabbed his arm, though.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm sorry Kat. I wanna' see what Howie is up to." He slipped away from Kat's grasp and followed Howie into the room.

At first, Howie was facing away from Fex.

"What happened, Howie?" Fex asked.

Howie shook his head. "The end of my humanity..." Howie answered. "I lost something very dear to me, sergeant Anderson. Do you know how that feels? Don't answer that. I already know that you have. But I knew it was going to happen, and what did I do? I let it happen." Howie turned and faced Fex. "And you know what else? Though I fortunately am unable to witness it, a dear friend of mine is surely going to die soon. THAT I also could have prevented. So, guess what I'm gonna' do?"

Fex had no idea. Thinking of the possibilities scared him.

Howie ripped his knife out of it's sheath. "Now, I want you to watch this, Fex, no matter how difficult it is..." Howie took his knife and dug it into his own arm. "Fex, I want you to swear over this blood that the next time I let something terrible happen to one of my friends, I will die..." Howie started dragging the blade across his arm. "Kill me if you have to..." Fex could barely hear him. He was just concentrating on the scraping noise of the blade and the blood coming out of his arm...

One week later...

Fex, Rapter, and Tom were coming back from a patrol. The clouds had come back again and it was overcast above Paris.

There was a lot of commotion on the first floor when they came back. All three of the returning patrollers took their patrol gear off and put the stuff where it was supposed to be. When Fex took a look, he found out that, surprisingly, Kat was the center of attention. It appeared as if she was trading something with the soldiers. Fex edged his way up to her. She seemed surprised to see him.

"Fex! I thought you were on patrol!"

"We came back early. The weather isn't looking to great, so we're going to sit back and see what it does... By the way, Kat, what are you doing?"

"I'm, uh... trading with these soldiers."

"Um-hum. And what are you trading?"

"I'm... ah, don't get mad at me..."

"You're being silly. Why would I be mad at you? What are you trading?"

"I'm trading cigarettes."

"Ha! I thought you didn't have any cigarettes!"

"Well... they're your cigarettes..."

It was then that Fex's demeanor changed completely.

"WHY? WHAT COULD POSSESS YOU TO TRADE MY CIGARETTE'S FOR SOMETHING ELSE?"

"Fex, calm down..."

"HOW COULD I? YOU'RE TRADING MY CIGARETTE'S! HAVE YOU BEEN SLEEPING WITH ME JUST TO GET MY CIGARETTE'S? YOU WHORE!"

"Fex, you're being unreasonable..."

"THE FUCK I AM! NO! NO! I JUST FIGURED OUT WHY YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH ME!" Fex grabbed Kat's arm and grabbed it hard enough to make it hurt. Then he whispered harshly into her ear. "Rapter's making you sleep with me to catch me make a wrong move. The fact that you get to have sex is just the icing on the cake. You're trying to catch me do something wrong so that Rapter will let you off the hook for a little while."

"Fex, you're hurting my arm..."

"You know something else? You'd probably go on and have sex with Rapter right after that, too."

"No... Fex, I slept with you because I love you..."

"LIAR!" Fex let go of her arm and slapped her. She fell to the floor and looked up at Fex, shocked. Fex looked down on her for a second, unforgiving, unsympathetic. Then he noticed that he had created a scene. He headed for the door. Just as he was leaving, he turned around, put both of his middle finger's up and screamed. "FUCK ALL OF YOU!" Then he walked out the door. He left everybody in the room staring after him.

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?" Howie asked, exploding out of one of the rooms. He saw that Kat was on the floor. "What happened to her?"

Rapter shrugged. "Fex started yelling at her for some reason and then he slapped her. I don't know why."

Howie knelt down next to Kat. "Are you okay?" Kat looked up at him and nodded, but Howie could see a big red mark on her cheek where he had slapped her.

"That son-of-a-bitch... I'M GONNA' KILL HIM!" Howie stormed towards the front door, but Rapter and Taylor held him back.

"NO! HOWIE, HE'S NOT MENTALLY STABILE RIGHT NOW! IF YOU GO AFTER HIM RIGHT NOW, ONE OF YOU MIGHT KILL THE OTHER!"

"SO-FUCKIN'-WHAT? THAT'S WHAT I WANT!"

"NO! HOWIE! STAY HERE! WE NEED YOU HERE! LET FEX HAVE FEW HOURS TO BLOW IT OFF!"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I WON'T GO AFTER HIM! JUST LET ME GO!" Rapter and Taylor let go of him. They were staring tensely at each other until Howie went to his room.

Still, regardless of what he had done to her, Kat was worried about Fex...

As she should have. Fex was going into the Underground...

The members of the J.T.M.S. got together with Firenze, Garry, Tom, and Tina at dinner to discuss what they should do about Fex.

"Where do you think he has gone?" Rapter asked.

"Who knows?" Said Tom. "He could be anywhere in the city right now."

"The fact that the city is bloody rubble doesn't help any." Doc. contributed.

"Maybe he just decided to quit." Chris said. "Maybe he just up and left."

"NO!" Kat denied. "HE WOULDN'T DO THAT! HOW COULD YOU EVEN SUGGEST THAT?"

"Yeah, Chris..." Said Lee, mockingly. "How could you?"

"I'm just thinking..." Continued Howie. "That he might have gone into the Underground..."

"What makes you think that, Howie?" Asked Taylor.

"I don't know, I just have a hunch. I never told you guys this, but the night that I was gone, I was in the Underground..."

"Really? What were you doing down there?"

Howie hesitated. "I was checking things out." Howie leaned back. "My idea is that if we patrol in groups down there, then we should be fine."

"What kind of group were you in when you were in there?"

"I have my sources..."

"YEAH, MAN!" Firenze shouted. "THAT MAN HAS SOURCES!"

"Firenze..." Howie said through his teeth. "Shut up..."

Firenze couldn't hear him. "I'LL VOUCH FOR THE GUY! HE HAS SOURCES!"

"OH, YEAH, BABY!" Tina joined in. "TELL 'EM LIKE IT IS!"

"Firenze..." Kat said, really quiet. "Have you been on drugs?"

A fan... a fan... moving the shadows... driving the nightmare forward...

Fex had a hangover... that was the only thing he could remember... Visiting a bar in the Underground... They didn't care who he was or how old he was... He was business...

Fex's vision was blurry. He couldn't make anything out. He was laying on the floor somewhere... No, he was laying on someone's bed. Why would he be laying in someone's bed?

He looked next to him. There was girl there... a naked girl, no less. She had dyed blue hair as well as purple jewels in her hair. Fex took into account the fact that he was drunk last night and asked himself the question... Did he have sex with this girl? Fex decided that his charade against Kat had gotten a little out of hand. Fex very carefully edged himself out of the bed...

He edged himself too much...

He fell hard off the bed, but something broke his fall. He stood up and looked. Naked lesbians were everywhere, having sex with each other. Fex wondered what kind of sick-o place this was, but it kind of scared him.

"AHHHHH! AHHHHHHHH!AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Fex felt someone come up behind him and grab his genital's. It hurt, too. Fex spun around.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

It was the girl from the bed. She was smiling...

"Why are you so nervous? Don't you like what you see?" Fex could tell she wanted him to make a comment about her body, but he wasn't about to.

"Where am I? What kind of place is this? What kind of monster are you?"

The girl's smile disappeared. "That's kind of rude. My name is Olivia, and all I ever wanted to do is make people happy! But... last night, I got some pleasure off my own." She walked up to Fex and leaned on him. She started talking in a sexual way. "You're the best. I want more of you... I want you to be all mine..."

Fex got away from her. "You're wrong. I wouldn't ever... have sex with someone like you..."

"I'm sorry, but it's the truth. I have it all on tape..."

"You RECORDED us? God, YOU ARE A FUCKING SICK-O!"

"No, I just prefer to be called the best at what I do... You're in 'The House of Male Pleasure', my dear sex kitten..."

Fex's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe this place.

"I need to get out of here... now..." He said aloud. But she refused.

"I won't allow it. Didn't you hear what I said before? You're all mine..."

"Sorry... already taken..."

"We'll see about that..." She jumped on him and knocked him back onto the bed. She was surprisingly strong. "Now, DO ME! MAKE ME HAVE THE LOUDEST AND LONGEST ORGASM EVER!" She physically took his hand's and placed them on her breast's. "YES! YOU'RE THE MAN I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!"

They were about embark on their first patrol into the Underground. Rapter and Tom were briefing the soldiers.

"We're searching for Fex Anderson!" Rapter started. "If you find him, call us on the radio and let us know. Then take him with you and finish your sweep."

Tom continued. "We're gonna' need you guys to go in groups of at least two. Make sure you don't lose each other. If you do, go find the lost party member, or members, immediately. This is important. All right, men?"

The men nodded.

"Alright, move out!"

Fex finally got his chance. Olivia had gotten tired and had fallen asleep. So Fex snuck out in that moment. But it wasn't to long until he started hearing. "Hey! Where are you, Sex Kitten?"

Kat had gotten separated from her group. So she started calling out.

"Howie! Chris! Lee! Anybody? Where are you? Fex! Where are you? I'm worried about you!" She stopped in the middle of an alleyway and started sobbing. "Anyone. Help..."

Unfortunately, the only person that could hear her was Olivia...

"Hello..." Olivia said, striding up to Kat. "What are you doing here?"

Kat started pleading with her. "Please! Have you seen a blonde haired guy? He's about 5'9", so he's pretty tall. He goes by the name Fex..."

"Hm... I don't know... Could you perhaps be speaking of Sex Kitten?"

"Excuse me?"

"I don't know if I can help you..." Olivia reached out and stroked Kat's hair. "...But there's something you can do for me..." Olivia kissed Kat, passionately.

In her mind, Kat was cursing and she was scared of being raped again. But then Olivia put her tongue in Kat's mouth, and that' when she decided that she'd had enough. Kat bit her tongue off. Olivia yelped and staggered back. Kat spat her tongue out, then whipped out her gun and her knife and pointed them at Olivia.

"You BITCH!" Olivia cried. Olivia bounded back at Kat and grabbed her arm's. She forced the gun and the knife upward. Kat fired a shot from her gun and it ricocheted off the top of the building. Olivia twisted the arm Kat was using to hold her own knife to behind her back. Olivia got behind Kat, too. Then she worked on the gun.

"I'll teach you a lesson..." She said, forcing Kat to point her own gun down at her knee. Olivia made her pull the trigger and shoot herself in the knee. Kat let out a loud cry. And the cry was heard...

"Olivia..."

Both Olivia and Kat looked up. There, where Olivia was standing when Kat first saw her, was Fex.

"Fex!" Kat called out to him.

"Fex? So that's your name is it? I prefer Sex Kitten, though... So it was you that this pathetic girl was searching for."

"Olivia..." Fex continued. "Let Kat go..."

"I think not... Oh, my Sex Kitten... Why did you have to go and put your cloth's back on? You've got a great body. Why don't you show it off?"

"Olivia..." Fex pulled out his gun. "You've got three seconds..."

"You wouldn't kill me, Sex Kitten. We're destined to be together. You can't rewrite the threads of fate. Can't you see? We're destined to..."

Blood splattered over the building walls. Olivia's body lost it's life force and released it's grip over Kat as it fell over backwards. When it let go of Kat, Kat broke out into a limp run and fell into the arm's of Fex.

"I'm sorry..." Fex whispered to Kat.

"I...I don't wanna' hear what happened between you and her... I just don't. I don't care..."

"Okay. I'm sorry for my outburst yesterday. I was overreacting. But I still want to know something. Don't worry. I won't get mad."

"What is it? I'll tell you anything."

"My cigarette's..." Fex smirked. "What were you trading them for?"

Kat put on an act for Fex and laughed. But she was really scared because of the situation she had just been in. "Peanuts..." She answered. "I was trading them for peanuts..."

"Good trade..." Fex complimented. "Good girl..."

Wow! This chapter actually beat the record recently held by chapter 4 for being the longest chapter in my story! Anyway, that's not important. Review it, that's what is important!