Chapter Three

A Surprising Encounter

"I know that voice…" Heero hissed.

"I'm flattered, Heero. You remember me." Out of the darkness along the highest platform stepped Zechs Merquis. He grinned at the five men below him.

"Milardo!" Quatre gasped.

"There is no Milardo here!" Zechs yelled, then he calmed. "Have you forgotten so easily, Mr. Winner?"

"What do you want Zechs?" Heero yelled up to the man he fought with so long ago.

"To complete a job I was hired to complete." He explained calmly.

"What do you mean?" Trowa called.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet, Mr. Barton." Zech mocked.

"You are responsible for this attack!" Quatre accused.

"Indeed, Mr. Winner. And it is a shame that you didn't figure it out sooner." He chuckled as the OZ soldiers moved in slowly. "Because I would have greatly enjoyed one last romp in a mobile suit with you; particularly you, Heero."

"I didn't realize we were on a first name basis." Heero glared.

"Oh, old friends like us? How can we not be?" Zechs laughed.

Heero shot a quick glance over to Wufei who nodded.

"Planning an attack, Heero? That would not be wise."

Heero looked around at the OZ soldiers.

Twenty of them, and only five of us. If only I had my gun…Heero thought.

When Heero looked at his friends again, Wufei had already assumed a fighting stance, Quatre looked like he was ready to pounce – or maybe pass-out – and Duo and Trowa were glaring.

"I certainly hope none of you have lost your edge after so many years." Zechs taunted. "Let's see if the epic Gundam pilots will pull out of this one." He twitched his index finger and the OZ solders moved in.

"Heh," Duo chuckled. "Just like the old days, eh?"

A scream filtered through the armor surrounding them.

"What was that?" Trowa asked.

"Jun…" Wufei breathed.

"Very good, Mr. Chang. You know your wife well." Zechs laughed as a group of OZ soldiers joined him on the platform. Two were holding Jun, who was bleeding from the hip and shoulder.

"Release my wife, Merquis!" Wufei threatened.

"But if I did that, who would take care of the children?"

The group of soldiers parted to reveal three children. Nura and Ryo were crying and Adiana was fighting against her keeper.

Duo clenched his fists. "If you harm one hair on those children, Zechs, I swear you will meet the God of Death face to face!" He yelled.

Heero faced Zechs and glared. "What do you hope to achieve, Zechs? If all you want is to kill us, then why take our loved ones prisoner?"

"I hope it is to return my name and face to me." A new voice said from across the room.

A dark shadow stood behind the soldiers.

"And who are you?" Zechs asked.

The figure stepped forward and brushed away his long blond hair.

Quatre gasped. "But…if you're…then who…"

"I'm surprised to see you have returned." The Zechs imposter laughed. He pulled at his hair and removed his helmet.

"I should have known. Zechs is eccentric but not insane." Heero glared at the new face above them.

"Thank you, Heero." Zechs smirked and then glared at the stranger. "I hope you have a good excuse for taking my face."

The stranger laughed. "I do hope there wasn't a threat attached to that, Mr. Merquis. I would hate for you to live with the weight of four innocent lives on your shoulders." He grinned as knifes were pulled on the children and Jun.

Duo chuckled and looked up at them. "I hope you realize how many enemies your making right now."

The stranger grinned. "Absolutely."

The soldiers moved in quickly.

"Heero!" Zechs called.

Heero looked up and Zechs tossed him two guns. He nodded as thanks and handed one to Quatre. Quatre and Zechs took out three each without blinking. Duo fought three soldiers knocking two out and breaking the others neck. Trowa and Wufei knocked out four each and then Wufei ran to the stairs to retrieve his wife and the children.

Meanwhile, Heero aimed upward at the soldiers holding knives on the loved ones of his friends.

I won't let him hurt them…

He fired three shots and took out the soldiers holding Adiana and Ryo. The man holding Nura panicked and dropped his knife giving Heero time to end his life as well. The man holding Jun didn't miss a blink. He reached down and slit the woman's throat and began to run before Heero's final bullet soared through his head. When Heero turned to their host he had already disappeared. Heero dispersed of the remaining three soldiers and looked up to see if Wufei had seen to his wife.

"Is she okay, Wufei?" Quatre yelled up.

"She needs medical attention, but she is alive." He replied.

"We need to get to a hospital." Duo said hugging his scared children.

Trowa picked his daughter up and motioned to the door.

"Let's get out of here."

"Come with me." Zechs said and ran to the back end of the hanger.

The others exchanged curious looks and followed. Zechs lead them to a small space craft that looked in disrepair.

"Do not let the appearance fool you. It will fly."

Heero raised a brow. "You better be right, Merquis." He warned before leading everyone onto the shuttle. Zechs and Heero ran for the cockpit while Duo, Trowa and Quatre fastened the children in. Wufei strapped his wife into his own seat and began tearing at his clothing to wrap her neck with the strips to stop the bleeding.

The shuttle ignited and flew through the outer hull of the colony. Zechs and Heero sat in silence, navigating through the cluster and trying not to be seen.

"So…" Zechs said finally, "where too?"

"Earth." Heero and Zechs turned to see Quatre floating behind them, "I have a house we can stay at while things calm down.

Zechs didn't argue, he turned the shuttle and headed down to Earth. Finding a safe place to land didn't take long. Quatre was able to convince the air attendants at the airport to keep this whole thing quiet. They rented a van and Quatre drove them far out into the country. On the way there, Wufei managed to stop Jun's bleeding but she was still in need of a doctor. Quatre finally pulled into the drive of the large mansion and climbed out of the car. He smiled up and the large house and turned to face his friends as they followed him out of the vehicle.

"Welcome back, everyone!" He smiled.

Duo looked up at the building and smiled.

"Been a long time since we've been here."

Heero nodded. "I was hoping that we'd never have to come back."

The others nodded sadly. It wasn't that they didn't enjoy the house and the lush living, but the circumstances that got them there was what they wanted to avoid. The five men unloaded what little belongings they brought with them while Wufei carefully carried a now sleeping Jun into the house. It was the same as they left it, only perhaps a bit cleaner.

"Winner, is there a place that Jun can rest?" Wufei asked.

Quatre nodded and pointed to the stairs. "Yes, just up the stairs. Pick any room you like."

Wufei bowed and quickly carried his wife up the stairs.

"This is one of my smaller mansions so I don't know if there's enough beds for everyone." Quatre said sadly.

Duo laughed. "Don't worry about it, Quat! I can sleep on the couch, or maybe a cot or something."

Quatre smiled. "Wait! I believe there are some cots in the basement!"

"I'll help." Heero said and went with Quatre down to the basement.

"Well," Duo said and fell into the plush cushions of the long couch. "I guess there's nothin to do but relax."

Zechs retreated to his room and Trowa sat down in the large chair opposite of the couch. Nura walked shyly to him and crawled into his lap. Adiana and Ryo laughed and ran into their fathers lap to tackle him. Duo laughed and started a tickle fight with his children.

Down in the basement, Heero and Quatre were digging through piles of boxes and old forgotten objects in search of the cots.

"Heero?" Quatre asked. "May I ask you a question?"

"Hn" Heero replied gruffly.

"Well…You don't have to answer this if you don't want to…but I was wondering…if maybe you could tell me…" Quatre stumbled for the right words.

Heero straightened up and looked at the small blond.

"What is it, Quatre?"

Quatre looked up at Heero and let out a breath. "I was just wondering about Relena. How did she die? Did she get sick? What happened? Do you know?"

Heero stared in silence at his old friend. Then he turned and continued searching.

"The news said she was sick, but I knew that couldn't be true. I had just seen her and she was fine." He continued.

Heero remained silent. Taking the hint, Quatre turned back to the work at hand nervously.

"She was killed."

Quatre stopped and looked back at his friend. Heero sighed and sat down with his head in his hands. "She was killed because of me."

Quatre walked over to Heero and sat down next to him. "Heero, what happened?"

The stoic brunette sighed deeply. "I tried…I tried to contain my feelings for her. I tried to keep my mind on my job. I knew that if I let my feelings cloud my judgment that I would falter. I hid my feelings for nine long years. And then…" Heero's voice cracked.

"…And then you gave in." Quatre finished.

Heero looked down at his feet and nodded. "When I woke up the next morning, she wasn't in bed. I could smell food so I assumed she was making breakfast. I walked into the kitchen and I saw her…Dead on the floor, with the bacon still cooking in the skillet."

Quatre heart shattered. Heero may not show it often, but Quatre knew he was kindhearted. To find the woman you love dead in the very house you were sleeping in would break anyone. He reached over and touched Heero's shoulder. "Heero, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known."

Heero slammed his fist into the concrete floor and jumped up glaring at Quatre.

"I was her bodyguard! She would still be alive if I had stayed focused on my job! She is dead because of me!" He yelled.

Quatre sat frozen, staring at his broken friend. "Heero…" The small blond stood up. "You have to look passed what happened. You have to move on."

Heero jerked away. "I will never move on. And I will never forget. No matter what happens," He leaned so close that his nose was hovering against Quatre's, "I will never forget."

Later in the evening things began to settle down into a routine. Trowa and Quatre had gone upstairs to set up all of the cots while Duo and Heero were in the kitchen preparing dinner. Wufei kept a constant vigil at Jun's side while she healed and the children were playing in the living room.

Duo laughed as he watched his children fall over trying to mimic a move they'd seem Wufei do while practicing from the door way of the kitchen.

"You know, kids are really something." Duo said turning back into the kitchen to set the table. "Why didn't you and Relena have kids Heero?"

Heero froze mid-stir. He looked up and glared at Duo.

"Kids are great." Duo continued without noticing Heero's glare. "I mean sure, they may not understand what you're saying half the time, but their great when you want someone to hang with. And then they-"

"Shut up, Duo!" Heero shouted.

Duo froze and turned to face his old friend.

"I will never have children with Relena! No one will! Not ever!" He yelled and stormed out of the kitchen and through the front door.

Duo remained frozen staring at the spot Heero disappeared. Wufei entered the kitchen in search of food for his wife and turned to Duo.

"What happened?"

Duo shrugged. "I don't know. I just asked him a simple question."

Quatre and Trowa came down stairs both with cheery looks on their faces.

"Well, all the cots are set up." Quatre said happily.

Observing all the unhappy faces, Quatre frowned.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Yuy seems to be upset." Wufei explained.

"Upset! That's an understatement! I asked him one question – ONE QUESTION – and he flipped and stormed out!" Duo protested.

"What did you ask him?" Trowa asked.

"I just wanted to know why he and Relena never had kids." Duo shrugged and continued to set the table.

"Oh…" Quatre sighed and looked down. "I think I know why Heero got so upset."

The others turned to him and Trowa placed a hand on the small blonds shoulder. "What is it, Quatre?"

Quatre sighed and looked up at his friends. "Relena was killed and Heero blames himself."

The silence that filled the room was eerie and unsettling. Duo shuffled his feet and Trowa crossed his arms over his chest.

"How long ago did this happen?" Wufei asked.

"A year ago." Quatre replied.

"That would explain Heero's reaction." Trowa said.

The others nodded.

"I wish I could take back my question now. I know how hard it is to loose someone you love. At least I have the pleasure of knowing that there was nothing I could have done. Heero must have felt so helpless." Duo said sadly, stirring the pot of soup.

"Helplessness," Wufei voiced. "…is not an emotion that many warriors can handle."