Author's Note: Bad news folks, I have gotten a case of writer's block. However, there is some good news: I am ten chapters ahead so you all won't have to wait months on end for the next update. In the meantime, enjoy this latest chapter.

Also, check out Archsage Soren's "Death Wing." Things are picking up in that fic and if you want to kill some time, give it a shot, leave a review for Archsage while you're at it. As a fic, it's one of a kind, at the moment, a unique thing on a site where old gimics are becoming main stream.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Warning: language, shounen ai

The Guilty's Guilt

"Why the hell are we sitting here in this shitty weather?" Sylvia demanded from the passenger seat. "It's not like we'll get a chance to be with Solo anyway. He'll probably just avoid us or something."

"It's just the principle of it," Mueller defended. "This will show that asshole we're serious no matter what, rain or shine, sleet or snow."

"But it's lunchtime!" Hilde whined. "Can't we get something to eat?"

A loud clap of thunder interrupted the solemn conversation.

"Does that answer your question?" Mueller asked.

"How does that answer anything?" Alex inquired. "It's just thunder."

"Hey, something's going on," Sylvia cut in, sitting up in her seat.

Squinting their eyes so as to see better through the thick downpour, the four friends were able to make out school buses pulling in, along with multitudes of cars, taking students out of the school, students fleeing for their lives to their cars all the while.

"Cool, school's out!" Hilde cheered.

"She's right," Sylvia agreed. "Either it's early release or school's canceled.

"Well, looks like we can't go out and meet Solo since it's wet and all," Hilde said brightly. "Let's go and eat something!"

"Like hell!" Mueller snapped, making to get out of the car and into the pouring rain.

"Touch that door handle and I will tear out your eyes, rip off your balls, cut our your tongue, and stick them all up in your ass," Sylvia threatened, the tone in her voice severe.

Mueller paused and looked at her, trying to determine whether or not if she was serious. Finally, after a few tense minutes, Mueller slumped back into the driver's seat, defeated.

"So what do you feel like having for lunch?"

--

"So what was his answer?" Dorothy asked eagerly as the three plotting teens waited within the school building for their rides.

"The shorter Winner came to his rescue but tomorrow morning, he will have no other choice but to give us his answer," Wufei stated smugly.

"Wait, you're giving him more time?!" Heero exclaimed. "I thought we were gonna have an answer today! This isn't part of the plan!"

"Yeah!" Dorothy agreed.

"Would either of you two like to explain that to Mr. Winner?" Wufei asked.

"Hell yeah I would!" Heero snapped.

"I was talking about Quatre's father," Wufei stated coolly.

The wind taken out of their sails, both the dissenters fell silent.

"That's what I thought," Wufei said. "Quatre may have bought him some more time but that's all it is. Time. And unfortunately for him, he is running out of it."

"So, what else do you have on Solo?" Dorothy asked, changing the subject. "You did say that you have more than that lighter to use against him."

"To tell the truth, that's all I have," Wufei replied.

"So you were bluffing?" Dorothy exclaimed.

"I was, but he doesn't know that and the lighter is all we really need for this to work," Wufei answered. "Trust me, nothing can go wrong. The only possible way that dear old Solomon can get out of this is to admit his crimes to someone of authority but I am positive that he is not willing to go to jail. We have him exactly where we want him. He has no choice but to bow down to our wishes."

"But what if he doesn't?" Heero asked.

"Then we follow thru," Wufei stated. "We turn over the proof that he so fears and send him off to jail."

"We can't do that!" Dorothy cried. "I don't want him to go to jail! How else can I truly get him to be mine?"

"The results will ultimately be the same," Wufei continued, ignoring Dorothy's outburst. "Maxwell will be left alone and at our mercy. We'll show that rat where exactly he belongs."

"It better be soon," Heero said. "I can't wait."

--

"Care to explain what the hell Wufei was talking about?" Duo inquired once they were some distance away from the school. "What did he mean by this ultimatum anyway?"

Solo kept quiet, refusing to answer as he gazed at the raging storm just outside of the limo. Seeing the sullen teen in such a mood was quite unnerving since Solo was always in some sort of cool attitude, letting nothing bother him whatsoever. Though he didn't like, Solo forced himself to ignore all attempts to press him for information.

If there was any time that he regretted all the stuff he did when he was younger, now was that time. He never thought that it would catch up to him now of all times, especially when he had just started to get his life all straightened out and whatnot.

Could he let himself be sent to jail or destroy the one piece of stability that he had become in Duo's life and go out with that slut? Every time he began to lean one way, he would immediately turn around and look at his other option with greater scrutiny. Time was running out and he would have to give Wufei his answer soon.

"For the love of God Solo!" Duo exclaimed. "Why won't you answer me? I want to understand what's going on but I can't help if you won't talk to me!"

Sighing, Solo looked at the braided one. Duo stared at him, unable to completely comprehend the sorrowful look that the blond was giving him yet it was more than enough to silence him. Quatre, however, continued to eye him, his eyes narrowing. Solo had no doubt that his cousin was putting two and two together and getting close to four. It was only a matter of time before the smaller Winner would force him to confess.

Then his fate would be sealed.

This was just great. His life, everything, was going down the crapper and at a supersonic rate too. But that was not all, oh no. After the incident at the Homecoming Dance, his uncle had informed him of what was going on. He was on his very last chance before the netting that his family and prestige had given him would be taken away and this fiasco was most likely be the thing that planted him six feet under. The only other people who had known about the arson had been his old friends but they didn't look like they would be helping him out anytime soon due to their recent fights.

Damn it, he was fucked!

Unfortunately, it wasn't in the good way either.

At first he was glad that the limo had pulled into the garage first before they could get out. At least he wouldn't get his hair wet again. Before he could get out, though, he felt his head violently tugged back.

Somebody had grabbed him by his hair.

That somebody, whoever it was, was going to die a slow, horrible death.

"Could you please excuse us Duo?" Quatre asked, his voice cold enough to put frost on the windows. "There's something I would like to talk with Solomon about, in private."

There was no way this could be good.

Duo stared blankly at Quatre for a few minutes before simply nodding and getting out, leaving Solo to deal with his cousin all by his lonesome.

Quatre allowed a few minutes of silence to pass before beginning his inquisition. "I'm only going to ask you this once and I expect you to answer me honestly and truthfully. Tell me what exactly happened today."

"That doesn't sound like a question to me," Solo muttered.

"Solomon!" Quatre snapped, his blue eyes hard, his grip on Solo's hair tightening just a fraction.

"Okay, alright, what do you want?" Solo sighed as he fell back into his seat.

Quatre's eyes scrutinized him, as if expecting him to try and make a run for it. Once he was satisfied, he released his hold on Solo's hair though he made sure to keep his hand close to it just in case.

"I want you to explain what happened at lunch," Quatre demanded. "What did Wufei mean? What was he talking about? Why have you been acting queerly all day?"

"News flash, I am a queer," Solo retorted.

"This is not the time for that," Quatre snapped. "I want you to start telling me what's going on and I want to hear you start talking now."

"You want to know, right?" Solo said sassily. "Well here's the long and short of it. I'm a criminal plain and simple."

Frowning, Quatre said, "And what does this have to do with Wufei? I don't understand."

"Of course you wouldn't," Solo snorted bitterly. "You've never cut in line before just because your daddy wouldn't approve. You've never gotten into any kind of trouble because you're oh so perfect and the rest of us have to live up to your example."

Quatre blinked. He had never heard such bitterness before, especially when it was obviously being aimed at him. But what did it have to do with this? What did it have to do with Solo being a criminal, that is if what he was saying was true.

"It's always 'Why can't you be more like Quatre? He's the finest of the Winner breed.' or 'Why can't you be polite and courteous like your cousin? He would never slurp his soup like that.' Do you know how long I've had to hear that crap?!" Solo pressed on. "So you know what I did? I did my best to do the opposite, just to piss the crap out of everybody. Do you actually think that I could have been friends with a paranoid asshole like Mueller or a emotionless bitch like Sylvia Noventa? No but that's what happened."

"Solo, I—"

"Shut the hell up Quatre," Solo snarled. "You want to know what's up, don't ya? Well, I'll tell ya. Ya remember a few years ago, that abandoned WEI building that they were thinking of tearing down? Well, me and the others snuck in one night to smoke some good weed. Next thing I fucking know, the building's on fire and we're hauling ass out of there like it was the end of the world. I find out later that I dropped my fucking lighter while we were running and I didn't have the fucking balls to go back and try to find it. The police didn't find it and I hoped that it was destroyed in the fire but since my luck is shitty, it wasn't and now that asshole Wufei managed to get a hold of it."

"And he's blackmailing you with it, huh?" Quatre finished.

"You're damn right," Solo stated. "Now he wants me to break up with Duo and go out with out with Dorothy the slut or go to jail for the rest of my teen life. Do you know what the fuck they do to arsonists Quatre?"

"I don't know," Quatre admitted.

"I don't know either and I don't want to know," Solo replied. "I don't want to go to jail but I don't want to…"

"…hurt Duo either?" Quatre finished.

"Yeah," Solo agreed, falling silent at long last.

"You know," Quatre began, "it's going to take more than a lighter to prove that you were one of the ones to start that fire. What other proof does Wufei have that can prove that you were responsible? You can just say that he stole it from you and that it was already in that condition from accidentally dropping it into a fireplace. It's all flimsy really if he just has the lighter."

"Would you take a chance like that?" Solo asked. "It's my life that's at stake here. Not only that, do you think Duo would like it if it turns out that Wufei does have enough proof that could convict me? Then what?"

"You make a good point…" Quatre acknowledged. "You know, you wouldn't be in this situation in the first place if—"

"Don't say another word," Solo growled. "Does that really matter now?"

"Another good point," Quatre admitted. "To tell you the truth, I don't really see much of a way out of this unless you can somehow find out what Wufei has on you and maybe get back your lighter just in case. Otherwise, you're screwed."

"Tell me something I don't know," Solo muttered. "Just…damn! I never wanted this. And now Duo is going to have to…"

"What?" Quatre asked. "Duo's going to have to what?"

"He's gonna be hurt," Solo whispered. "And I'm the one who gonna cause it. I never fucking wanted this to happen! Never!" In renewed angered, he punched his fist into the car seat, his face contorted with fury.

Then it clicked.

Why the hell hadn't he seen this before? Quatre just told him what his best option was. He had to get that lighter back and whatever dirt Wufei may have on him but he had to get it without Wufei finding out. There were only four other people he could trust on this matter and they were also people who had just as much to lose. Sure it was underhanded but hey, if he was going down, he was going to take as many people down with him as possible.

Plus he knew they would do the same exact thing if it was their asses on the line instead of his.

Pulling out his cell phone, he muttered to himself, "I'm going to fix this shit if it's the last thing I do."

"What are you doing?" Quatre asked, frowning once again.

"Just calling up some help," Solo answered as he pressed the phone receiver to his ear just in time to hear the ringing.

--

For once, Dorothy was in a bind. Things were finally looking up but somehow, it just wasn't…right for some reason.

She had Solo where she wanted him, balancing precariously on an edge where he could either choose her or choose a less amiable one. It was only a matter of time until she got what she wanted but still…

Why was she thinking like this? Stuff like this never bothered her before. Hadn't she crushed so many people's hearts before this without a care in the world for them as long as she was happy? What was so different about this that she was beginning to feel funny?

Was it because she was finding out more about the only other two people that she could possibly relate to at this point in time? Was it because she was finding out what scum they were? It was nothing alien to her; she was the granddaughter of Durban Dermail for Christ's sake! She had seen more terrible and criminal things than this paltry blackmail scheme.

But why was this different? Why, why, why?

Currently, she was walking straight towards her grandfather's study. She needed to get her mind back to where it needed to be. She couldn't have any doubts whatsoever in this. What better way to do that than by just sticking by her grandfather's side and pick up the habits that had helped to make her the person she was today.

However, as she approached the doors, they opened and a man came out, one that repulsed her to no end.

"Greetings, Ms. Catalonia," the man said, his gruff voice filling her to the brim with disgust.

What was this worm doing here anyway? Truly, this man's face was one that only a mother could love and even then that was pushing it, he was that ugly.

"Pardon me Mr. Tsubarov," she said, "but is my grandfather in there?"

"Yes, we were just concluding some business," Tsubarov replied. "I think he's free at the moment if you need to speak with him."

"Thank you, it was a pleasure to see you again," she said, passing by the man. As she did so, she felt a sharp sting of pain in her posterior and she shot a glare at the perpetrator. She did not like that look the dark eyed man was giving her, nor that grin that managed to show itself from that poor wrinkled excuse for a face.

It sent shivers up her spine, not because it was creepy but because she was sure she had seen it from somewhere before.

He winked at her and she almost felt her repulsion try to exit her body via vomit. She managed to hold it back in at the last minute and she didn't let her eyes leave him as the man left.

Wait…

That strangeness that she was feeling…it couldn't be…how could a man as disgusting as that manage to help her realize what was wrong with her in such a short amount of time?

This feeling…

It was guilt.

Could it really be possible that she, Dorothy Catalonia, was feeling guilty?