** Warning: This chapter contains themes and suggestions of sexual violence **

The Outlander camp was nearly a mile away. Dark, squat tents and makeshift, hodgepodge huts were crowded together in no particular pattern. Heero could see the faint outlines of light suits as they milled around through the densely packed structures. His captor dumped him into a five foot by five foot square, red force field lined cell and reactivated the entry side. Unlike Trowa and Duo, Heero was left unbound, too weak to fight them. He could see Duo in the cell beside him, seated cross-legged on the ground with his arms tied behind his back and glaring at the three Outlanders who stood just on the opposite side of the glimmering, charged barrier.

"Yo boss, where do you wanna put the feisty one?" one of the Outlanders asked as he surveyed the two already occupied force field cells. "Do we get to have fun with 'em, seein' as ya know, he killed several of our men? Or are ya keepin' him for yourself?"

Trowa squirmed against the large Outlander's shoulder, irritated with the hands that kept roaming over his body, treating him like some doll. He felt useless with his limbs tied, but nevertheless tried kneeing the bastard in the side.

The group of Outlanders laughed as they gathered around, watching the pathetic program struggle against their much larger leader.

The leader pinched Trowa's ass to punish him for trying to plant a knee in his torso and laughed with his eager companions.

"Well, I think we should have a little talk, don't you think, Runner?" he asked as he pulled his hood all the way off to expose his long, black hair. It was piled high and look in a knotted bun on the top of his head. Thin, braided wires in various metallic hues were woven through his thick, wavy locks. His short, unevenly trimmed beard framed a sharp, squared jaw. He was ruggedly handsome despite the gashes and scars that lined his chin and temple. Both ears were completely crusted over with mismatched hoops, studs and spikes. He hefted Trowa easily to an empty storage crate and dropped him roughly on the top. His three companion Outlanders inched closer like eager hyenas waiting for the violence to start.

"I have nothing to say to you." Trowa said calmly, straightening his body as he sat there. He was determined to not look defeated, no matter what happened. He wouldn't give the bastard the pleasure of seeing him squirm.

"How about you tell us why you killed our comrades?" One of the shorter Outlanders shouted out. "You pretty programs think you're better than us, huh?"

"We seem to have better hygiene." Trowa shrugged.

The largest Outlander threw his head back and laughed while his companions muttered and growled in anger.

"Jalen, you're just going to let him talk to us like that?" one of the other hooded figures asked angrily.

"He's all high and mighty NOW," Jalen said as he reached out to snatch Trowa's chin with his giant hand. "If he keeps it up, I'll just have to show him how DIRTY we can get. Right?" He leaned down and smothered Trowa's mouth with his own, forcing his tongue across the smaller program's lips, which brought a howling chorus of approval from his comrades.

"Hey, fuckbear! Stop being a disgustin' pervert, will ya?!" Duo yelled at them from his enclosure. "Seriously, you're gonna make me puke."

Heero watched from a crouched position, disgusted. I am going to derez him… he's going to cease to exist… his mind began to race as his eyes frantically searched for a way to deactivate his cell.

Trowa kept his lips sealed tight, refusing to let the Outlander's tongue into his mouth. As soon as the disgusting bastard backed away, he looked up at him defiantly. "You said you wanted to talk," he breathed through his clenched jaw. "So talk." He was going to have to disinfect his lips after this.

Jalen could tell the smaller program wasn't the least bit scared of him. That realization turned him on and he knew he was going to have such much fun breaking the pretty boy in.

"You're the Runner for Elios," Jalen said cooly, his face a mere inches from Trowa's with his mighty hand still tightly grasped against his chin. "You must know what is happening in the city. Word on the Grid is that you were seen at the End of Line Club. The User was spotted there, too… now, tell me you didn't see something. Anything?" He kept his firm grasp on the smaller program's chin while he used his free hand to caress the inside of Trowa's thigh playfully, which got him a happy hoot from his colleagues. "Where is the User?"

"I haven't seen the User," Trowa lied straight to Jalen's face. "Yes, I was at the End of Line Club a few days ago, but that doesn't mean I was there at the same time. Do you believe all the gossip you hear? No one has even proven that there really is a User on the Grid." He tried yanking is chin from the beefy fingers that held it, green eyes still narrowed at the Outlander's dark ones. "Perhaps you should be searching the city. You're wasting time."

Heero watched through the shifting, glowing translucent cell wall as the leader, Jalen, continued to hold Trowa's chin in hand, recoiled the other and slammed his fist into the smaller program's face. As Heero watched Trowa fall back against the crate from the blow he felt a stinging sensation blossom across his own left cheek, the corner of his mouth and the top of his cheekbone. He reflexively pressed his hand to his face and felt the skin under his fingerts burning, hot to the touch. His shoulders started to shake with anger and he bit his lower lip hard to silence himself. If he antagonized the Outlanders now they would simply take more violent action against Trowa. Heero looked to his left at Duo, who was sitting cross-legged in the middle of his enclosure, his violet eyes wide with horror as he watched the vicious Outlander lackeys tighten their circle around Jalen and Trowa.

For a moment Heero considered outing Duo. The thought surfaced quickly and soon took over the forefront of his consciousness. He didn't need the User, but he needed Trowa to get to the Gate. If they were seeking the User, they should just take him. He knew this line of thinking wasn't logical. The Outlanders had already proven that they weren't willing to allow any of them their freedom, and that they intended on stripping and scrapping all three of them.

"You're pretty catty, Runner," Jalen said with a laugh. He snatched Trowa's neck with his hand and pinned him by the throat onto his back against the crate, climbed up onto it over him and straddled his waist.

"Yeah, show that prissy null-bit program," the boyish cloaked figure hissed from the sidelines.

Trowa struggled under the weight of the heavy program, arching his back off the rough crate as his arms became trapped below. The position was uncomfortable and his head was swimming from the blow. Thick fingers laced around his neck and shoved the back of his skull against the crate, causing spasms of pain to course through his system. He could feel himself glitch ever so slightly, shoulders twitching as a soft groan pushed against his clenched teeth.

Jalen seemed to get off by the sound, smirking and squeezing the program's throat tighter. He wanted to hear the pretty boy scream. So long as he didn't permanently damage the goods, anything was fair game. "I'm going to ask you again. Where is the User?" Everyone knew the User would fetch a much higher bounty. He let up on Trowa's windpipes so the smaller program could answer.

"I don't…. know…" Trowa gasped out, his voice sounding raw and irritated. He looked up at the Outlander defiantly.

"Well, you seem to act like you know everything, mister megalodatabase," one of the cloaked figured snarled from nearby. Heero's line of sight soon became obstructed by two of the Outlanders as they watched on while their leader smashed his fist against Trowa's face again. Heero felt the same explosive pain seep up from under his flesh as the other program received the blow. He flinched and tried to stand up but the small confines forced him to remain in an uncomfortable crouch.

"Shit, listen, hey!" Duo tried to get their attention.

Heero shot a warning look at Duo and shook his head, his eyes narrowed and jaw clenched to hold back a groan from the strange phantom pains bursting across his cheek as Trowa received yet another strike. The User frowned and seemed to be struggling with keeping quiet. Heero didn't know what to do, but he knew that if the User admitted his identity now that Trowa's abuse would more than likely continue. It was clear that Jalen was enjoying himself. Heero cradled his burning face with one hand and glared through the barrier at the vicious group.

"I think you do know," Jalen said darkly, his nose brushing Trowa's. "Tell us, or we'll just have to start picking off your little friends. Right, guys?"

"Yeah, let's delete that mouthy one, first!" one of his comrades said happily.

"Fuck off, you motherfucking titpigs!" Duo growled angrily from his cell. Unfortunately his threat was received by a chorus of unintimidated laughter.

"In the… c-city…" Trowa struggled to answer, voice barely audible. "He –he's in the city…" He closed his eyes and tried to silence the loud ringing in his head caused by multiple blows to his system. Not answering was getting them nowhere, and the last thing Trowa wanted was for Jalen's attention to leave him. Maybe if he pretended to submit the Outlanders would leave Duo and Heero alone. His head rolled to the side in a weak attempt to put distance between their faces.

"We know that much," Jalen said sourly. He dropped his weight against Trowa and began to lean harder into him, his fingers tightening around his throat again. "Where was the User in the city? End of Line Club and where else? You know people there. I know you do… who has it?"

When Trowa didn't reply the Outlander scowled, bent down and bit hard into the side of his neck. Heero flinched as the bite transferred to his own neck. He couldn't see what Jalen had done, but he could feel it.

From Duo's vantage point he could see the program laying on Trowa. He pushed himself up to a low crouch and hissed angrily through the barrier. "You are all fucking cowards! Disgusting pieces of shit, yellow-bellied, asswipes!"

"Duo… shut up…" Heero groaned softly as his hand slid down his neck to press against its side.

Trowa couldn't hold it in anymore. A loud cry of pain burst through his lips and rose into the cold air as sharp teeth sank into his flesh. He could feel jolts of electricity stinging through the gash on his neck. His knees bucked in response and he lifted his legs off the crate, bringing his knees into Jalen's sides with as much force as he could muster.

Jalen grunted but barely budged. "Answer me!" He demanded, lips moving from the smaller program's neck as he stared down at him with a crazed expression.

"I-I last saw him at the club! I don't know who-who has him.. he was… by himself…" Trowa threw his head back and bit his lip as another round of pain terrorized his system. He wasn't religious by any means, but right now Trowa silently prayed Duo would keep quiet and not draw any attention away from him.

The sound of desperation in Trowa's voice forced Heero's chest to tighten. His arms were numb and his mind was swimming. He couldn't see anything at this point, but he didn't need to. He could tell Trowa was losing control. He looked over at Duo. The User was tense, his expression filled with conflict and worry.

I have to get out of here, Heero thought frantically as he studied the corners of his container. Nobody was paying him any attention so he inched closer to the right corner of his cell and ran his fingertip across the beveled inside of the joint and studied it. He didn't know what else to do. He couldn't think straight, but he needed something to focus on. He was weak, glitchy and couldn't bring his eyes to clarity, but none of that mattered. He didn't know what he would do after he got out, only that he needed to.

Duo was watching Heero fumble with something in the corner of his cell. He wanted to call them off of Trowa. He couldn't stand watching them torture him anymore. He was disgusted, and pissed off. He wanted to go home. He hated the Grid, and he was beginning to wish he had never built that damn cabinet up in the first place. None of this was anything like he had expected and now his presence there was causing not only chaos on the system, but also pain to a program. He didn't know what to do.

"You DO know." Jalen pulled back, irritated that he wasn't getting any answers from the attractive, but extremely frustrating program. The noise of the other Outlanders surrounding them was deafening as they cheered. In his sudden rage Jalen wasn't able to focus. He scowled, clearly out of patience.

The big program roughly slid off Trowa and then grabbed him, slinging the limp body back over his shoulder. "I'm going to question him in private. Get me his disc!" Jalen waited for one of his lackeys to fetch the blue and black disc. "You three, keep an eye on the other prisoners, will you?" The leader pointed at the force field cages with a dark frown.

Duo watched in horror as the enormous Outlander began hauling Trowa off towards a line of black makeshift huts and tents. His hands balled into fists and before Heero could silence him again he stood up. He knocked his head against the top of his cage. He bent over and yelled, "IT'S ME! It's me! I'm the User!"

Heero pulled away from his inspection of his cell as the User made his admission and scowled. "Idiot," he seethed angrily. Now they were all as good as derezzed.

Trowa raised his head when he heard Duo's voice pierce the air. "N-no… no… " He murmured before wincing in pain. Dammit, Duo. No! If anything happened to the User he was to blame. He would have failed his directive.

Everyone stopped and turned to stare at the braided program. "What was that?" Jalen looked over his shoulder, his grip on Trowa tightening with every second that passed by. He sank his fingers cruelly into the program's thigh when he realized the other had been lying to him this entire time.

His lackey ran up to him with Trowa's disc, holding it out with both hands. Jalen snatched it up, noticing the hairline crack running along the left side. "So you've been lying to me, huh?" His voice was low as he spoke to the program slung over his shoulder. "I don't like liars."

"He's n-n-not a User. I told you, I don't know where the User is, if there is even a User on the grid!" Trowa struggled.

Jalen struck Trowa hard on the back of his legs, using the program's own disc to inflect the pain. "Shut up!" His dark eyes shot back at one of the other Outlanders standing next to the holding cells. "Check the braided one."

Heero felt the pain from the blow to Trowa's leg manifest within his own. He glowered back through the force field at Duo, who continued to stand hunched over but determined in his cell as the four Outlanders approached him. One deactivated his force field while the other reached inside to grab him by the back of the neck. With his hands still bound behind his back Duo could do nothing but lunge forward to headbutt the nearest one. Soon all three collapsed to the ground in a pile of flailing limbs as they wrestled to gain control of him. After a minute of struggle the three programs managed to pin Duo prone on the ground. As they hauled him up to his feet a bright red trickle of blood slipped from his mouth and spattered on the ground at his feet.

The pair of Outlanders holding him startled at the sight of it. "Uh, Jalen… this program's got plasma coming out of his mouth."

"Shit, you hurt him, he's not gonna sell for anything if he deactivates!" one of the other Outlanders pointed out.

"I didn't hurt him! I barely touched him!"

"Quiet!" Jalen snarled. He took a few steps closer with Trowa still firmly hung on his shoulder and peered down at Duo. The corner of his grotesque mouth twitched up into a grin. "Users. Users bleed. He IS a User. Take him," he gestured at Duo with his free hand and chuckled. "Verify and scan an image of him. Send it to Tron Security, D-FILE and BEING. We'll see who will pay the highest price. Boys, we've got our meal ticket for the next ten cycles right here."

Heero watched as Duo struggled against his captors. It took all three of the remaining Outlanders to haul him away. They dragged him past the tents and huts out of sight.

"Lie to me, will you?" Jalen snarled at Trowa as he watched the other Outlanders vanish. He turned and lumbered off in the direction of a large makeshift hut and vanished beneath the flap. Heero heard a loud slam, a muffled cry and felt the entire right side of his body sting with pain.

Trowa's right side hit the wall with brute force. He stumbled, unable to hold himself up due to his bound ankles, and slid slowly down to the filthy floor. Jalen was instantly on top of him, grabbing him by the hair and yanking him back up the wall. The rogue had him pinned and was pressing his beefy body against Trowa's lithe form. Fingers wrapped around his sore neck and tilt his head up so that he was at level with the Outlander leader's face.

"I want you in so much pain that you'll beg me to derez you." Trowa felt the harsh voice against his face and closed his eyes, uncomfortably aware of the growing hardness that was pressed firmly against his thigh. "And then I'll take you. Again and again until you can't feel your lower half." A calloused hand snuck down his side, gripping his hip hard enough to leave a bruise. "I'll let my men have you when I'm done."

Jalen brought his hand up to trace a rough finger along the smaller program's smooth cheek. "I don't like liars. Even if they are stunning..." His dirty finger moved to Trowa's lips and he forcefully shoved it into the hot mouth. He proceeded to move the digit in and out in a provocative motion, finger fucking that delicious mouth until teeth grazed his skin before biting down. Jalen pulled back in surprise, but then chuckled at the bold move. "Feisty." He backhanded Trowa, the sound of the slap vibrated off the walls.

Before Trowa knew what was happening next, he felt his body fly through the air as he was tossed onto a lumpy mattress. He landed face first into a pillow and was momentarily pleased that his involuntary groan was muffled. He began struggling against his restraints, furious that all he could do was lie there. He could do nothing to defend himself.

Jalen picked the discarded identity disc up off the table and flipped it on its side. He waited for the web of data and code to illuminate before fiddling with it. Trowa was turning himself over on the mattress when his light suit started to pixelate and disappear from his body, leaving him fully exposed.

"Can't run now, can ya, Runner?"

Heero had never been so beside himself with emotion in his existence. He couldn't feel his hands and feet. His vision kept shifting in and out of focus. His directive kept blaring across his thoughts. I must find the Gate. I must destroy it, but there was a thin, variant thread that wove through those words. He knew he needed to get to the Gate and that Trowa was the program who could lead him there, but overall concern for the program flooded and overwhelmed that thought. And possession. A raw, powerful sense of possession. Had he unconsciously claimed Trowa as his own?

He fumbled with the small field generator in the corner of his cell, his dull and senseless fingertips clumsily manipulating it. His back burned with pain, and he felt a pinching sensation forming against the insides of his thighs.

No… He gritted his teeth and tried to focus on his task despite the distraction of what could only be described as phantom, projected pains. He groaned as his fingertips burned while he tried to deactivate the hot, powerful generators. He could hear a low and distant, grumbling laugh that seemed to coincide with the random blasts of pain that spread across his body. Finally Heero's frustrations got the best of him and he pulled his hand back, fist clenched and diverted all of his energy to his arm and struck the generator with a perfectly aimed punch.

The force field generator deactivated and interrupted the circuit, causing the power that coursed through his small cell to vanish. He jumped to his feet and stumbled as he ran as fast as he could across the barren encampment to the hut Jalen had vanished into.

Heero wasn't thinking. He couldn't focus. He should have found a weapon, or looked for where the Outlanders hid his disc, but he couldn't divert himself. He had to find the Runner. I have to get to Trowa…

He slid to a stop just inside the cluttered hut and immediately spotted Trowa's disc lying on a table on its side and glowing faintly blue. He heard a muffled cry and saw movement from the rear of the hut. It was Jalen, naked from the waist down, lying face-down. He couldn't see Trowa beneath the program's hulking frame. He didn't have to. He knew he was there.

Heero's entire body exploded with stored energy and his eyes began to burn. He felt something within him shift, as if a small packet of information had been decoded and unlocked. His eyes shifted from their deep blue hue to a radiant, luminous red. He felt strangely revived. He couldn't feel his body, but he could feel the river of fresh energy ebb and flow through his limbs, lending him newfound power.

He broke into a run, and within four wide bounding strides he was upon them. He jumped onto Jalen's back, straddled his torso, grabbed his head with both hands with shocking force twisted it off.

Jalen never saw Heero coming, and as his head came free from his shoulders the body he had been using to assault Trowa burst into a shower of black bits. It faded away into a mist of evaporating energy, leaving Heero crouched on his hands and knees over the battered body of his companion program. He stared down at Trowa, his own hands and shoulders still trembling from his sudden violent outburst. The Runner was lying flat on his back with his hands still bound behind him. His long, muscular legs had been untied and forced open. He was covered in black and blue pixelated surface flaws.

Heero felt a sharp pain rip at his chest as if his inner code was breaking. His expression fixed into a frown and hardened. He reached behind Trowa to carefully untied his wrists and pulled him by his arms to force him to sit up, and before he could stop himself from intruding upon the other program's battered body he wrapped his arms protectively around his shoulders and held him firmly against his chest.

Trowa was in a state of shock which had blocked out most of Jalen's abuse. He stared with blank eyes over Heero's shoulder, oblivious to what had just happened. At first everything was numb: no beat of his digital pulse, no electric currents of touch across his nerve endings, just the utter absence of any feeling. His body slumped forward like a broken toy, resting heavily against Heero's frame. Eyes closed as his face sought shelter on the curve of the other program's shoulder and neck as the shock started to dissipate. When the numbness subsided it left him to drown in an overwhelming pool of raw emotions. A comfortable silence filled the room.

A sudden jolt passed between their chests as a warm, tingling feeling spread across their bodies. Trowa's hands lethargically made their way up to Heero's shoulder blades, palms pressing firmly against the smooth light suit stretched across them. A startled sigh brushed past his lips and brought with it warm liquid that seeped from his eyelids and ran down his cheeks. Suddenly the taller program was holding tightly to the shorter one with desperate strength, afraid to let go.

Heero's shaking body finally calmed as a peculiar, comforting energy passed between their pressed figures. He didn't move nor did he speak. No words. He kept his arms firmly fixed around Trowa and squeezed him tightly against himself as the other program latched onto him. For a moment he felt sharp twinges of foreign emotions, as if the line that connected their bodies was permeable. It felt as if he could feel the other program's pain, anguish, and confusion. The sensation only motivated Heero to pull him closer, despite the fact that they couldn't physically BE any closer. He buried his own face into Trowa's soft auburn hair.

"We have to go," Heero finally murmured reluctantly. "If we leave now we can outrun them." They were busy with the User, it was a good time to escape.

"Where's Duo?" Trowa lifted his face off Heero's shoulder, unable to look the other in the eyes. Not because he was ungrateful for being saved, but because he was embarrassed by his weakness to defend himself against Jalen's attacks. He brought the back of his hand up to wipe the remaining liquid from his face, and carefully pulled his bruised and battered body away from the other program. "We have to get Duo…and your discs."

Trowa slipped off the dirty mattress and stumbled to the front of the room in search of his own disc. His coordination was off after all the blows he had received to his head, and he had to stop and steady himself against a random piece of furniture. Trowa kept his back turned turned to Heero, feeling ashamed, weak, and vulnerable. Three emotions he despised. Have to get out of here… have to find Duo… Compose yourself.

When he had the energy to move again, Trowa made his way to the table and grabbed his disc. The code was still out, glowing in the air. He made quick work of selecting his light suit and covering his body.

Heero mentally sighed. Of course he'd want to find the User. At this point Heero could have cared less whether the User was with them or not. If it were up to him he would leave him there. The Outlanders would probably be less motivated to come after them if they had a guaranteed sale anyway.

He watched Trowa stumble for his disc. He was in no state to fight, and Heero wasn't either. At least not without his disc or a weapon. The effect of his temporary rectification unlock was beginning to fade out of him, and the red hue his eyes had shifted to was gradually dissipating. He blinked his eyes a few times and followed Trowa to the entrance of the hut.

"One of them grabbed your disc from what looked like a storage area," Heero explained, having recalled seeing the boyish-sounding cloaked figure run for a closed off tent nearby. He watched Trowa's body gradually blacken as his light suit crawled across his injured body. Without thinking he casually grabbed the Runner's cracked disc from his hand and gently placed it against his back for him.

"I'll get my disc," Heero replied confidently. "Three Outlanders are left. One seems like a fresh program, unable to follow his own order or directive. They may be confused without their leader. We should ambush them and strike quickly." He hovered close to him but didn't make contact. "You're in no condition for disc or sword battle. If you wait here I can get my disc and acquire one of their rifles for you. You should use that." He waited for Trowa's affirmation.

Trowa nodded weakly. "You are right…" His energy reserves were nearly drained, sucked from his body by the leader of the Outlanders, leaving him depleted like a battery reaching the end of its charge. "I'll wait here." He leaned against the wall, eyes downcast and hand cupping the bite wound on his neck. "Hurry." They needed to get the User before it was too late.

Heero gave Trowa an appraising once over and hesitated before he left. At Trowa's insistence to be quick he darted out of the hut and made his way to the tent that he had seen the small Outlander enter when he had retrieved Trowa's disc. Inside were sealed, grey crates with various types of markings. Heero recognized D-FILE's D-shaped logo immediately. He wondered if those items were stolen from his parent organization, or if they had been readily supplied to the Outlanders in payment for favors. The latter wouldn't be too terribly unusual.

He found a set of thin, orange cylinders with the battery symbol printed on the side of them. Booster drinks. He was starting to feel somewhat laggy from all of the action, and these energy boosts would be helpful for their escape. He grabbed four cans and tucked them under his arm while he continued looking for the discs. Finally he found them resting atop a crate at the far end. He snatched his and fixed it to his back, and tucked Duo's under his arm with the booster drinks. The familiar faint hum of the disc sync connection filled his ears momentarily as all of his recent action and memory transferred to the disc storage.

He found a spare disruption gun leaning against the wall by the door, but then noticed a few feet away a larger cartridge-fed laser rifle was nearby with a few spare cartridges littering the floor beneath it. The laser rifle was much more powerful, and capable of derez as opposed to its stunning counterpart. He slung the rifle by the strap over his shoulder, tucked the cartridges under his arm and crept back to the main hut. When he entered he saw Trowa struggling to stand against the support beam. He set the items on the table, opened an energy drink and handed it to him.

Trowa took the can and began chugging the sticky liquid down, hoping to alleviate his lag. He glanced over at the table while he finished the energy drink off and bent down to pick up the laser rifle. "Nice…" Trowa set the empty can aside and started to load the cartridges.

Heero drank two of the drinks, chugging them down his throat as quickly as he could. He could feel the slight harsh sting of energy as it systematically activated his body, forcing extra energy through his slowing system. He picked up Duo's old disc and turned it slowly in his hands. He had never seen one of these up close before. He let his finger trace along the dull, deactivated blue spiral along it's outer curve before speaking.

"They said something about scanning him. If they're going to sell him, I don't think they'll try to hurt him," it was an obvious statement, but he didn't know what else to say. He knew his directive didn't require that he act on anything that concerned the Runner, but after holding him and feeling his pain firsthand he couldn't help but feel concern for him. "Are you alright?"

Trowa slung the gun strap over his shoulder and reached for the last can of energy drink. "I'm fine," he said sharply, popping the tab and chugging as fast as he could.

His body was battered and his mind was addled, but he was fine. Being in such a vulnerable position, something he hadn't experienced before, had overwhelmed him, and then the sudden flood of emotions he felt when Heero held him had pushed Trowa's system overboard. Overstimulation of the senses, he told himself.

His attraction to the other program was starting to become a distraction. Trowa blamed himself for being in this situation in the first place. Had he not been distracted by Heero's advances, he would have seen the cloaked figures sneaking up on them.

"We should find Duo."

"Okay," Heero replied, his voice soft. He grabbed his disc from between his shoulder blades and clutched Duo's white and blue one tightly in hand. With a twist of his wrist it activated with a faint hum, along with his own black and blue disc that pulsed and flickered in his hands. He slipped out of the hut. He saw Trowa padding close behind him with the rifle in both hands at the ready. He led the taller program through the camp in the direction that the Outlanders dragged the User.

They walked through the darkness for a few minutes before he heard the familiar voice of their braided companion speaking angrily from somewhere up ahead.

"First of all, you limpdick pricksores have no idea what you're fuckin' doin'. What kind of negotiations are these? I don't know the currency exchange rate to American dollars, but four million eight hundred creds doesn't sound NEARLY enough!"

Heero's eyes widened and he glanced over his shoulder at Trowa in confusion. Was the User really trying to help them sell him off?

Heero gestured for Trowa to go left with his left hand before he crept off to the right, dropping into a lowered stance as he walked.

Duo had been propped up on a rock. They had scanned him with a flashlight-looking wide angle laser and were on some tablet-sized device talking to someone from Tron Security. These buffoons were stupid, as far as Duo was concerned they were the worst hostage-takers he had ever seen.

Duo's voice sounded like it was coming from the tent up ahead on the left. Trowa lowered his stance to match Heero's and made his way through the camp, ducking into the shadows whenever an Outlander passed by. He crept up to the tent and stopped just outside the back wall, listening to the conversation going on inside. The User was goading his captors. Go figure…

"Are you fucking kidding me, you butthole-hair-follicles?! Come on..."

Heero tried to ignore the irate ranting of the User from within the tent as he crept around the opposite side. He could see a five-foot tall tripod standing just behind it in the darkness, it's long telescopic chrome legs gleaming in the darkness. He recognized it immediately as a core antenna, a long probe that could be drilled down deep into the grid matter of the ground to access the Nexus Stream (check for ver. Of name). When used it allowed programs outside of city communications range to make long-distance connections. He crept closer to it, inspected the long copper-colored cylinder in the center of the tripod and decided that his first order of business would be to cut them off from whoever they were talking to. He pressed the blade of his own disc firmly into the cylinder and watched as it sliced easily through it to sever the antenna.

"Hahaha! Now you can't even make a goddamn phone call correctly? I'm surprised you guys even know how to wipe your own asses. Oh wait, you don't take shits. I forgot…"

"Shut up, will you, you obnoxious block of code!"

"What're ya gonna do? Hit me? Bruise up my girly little face, huh? Go ahead, I'm sure those twats you were talkin' to would be real happy to see you dented the goods!"

"Go check the Nexus connection," a voice said from inside the tent. Heero backed away from the antenna and hid behind a low, raised plateau of black rock. He crouched low to the ground and waited until the smallest of the Outlanders inched his way through the darkness with a headlamp illuminating the patch of ground in front of him. He stopped in front of the antenna and studied the cut closely. Heero slipped around from behind him and before the young program realized he was there he slammed his disc into the center of his back. The Outlander's disc shattered as Heero's connected with it, and then his entire body quaked and burst into a swarm of tiny black and blue blocks as he was derezzed by the blow.

"Alec?! Alec, what is going on out there? Do we need to reset the connection?" the nasally voice from earlier asked loudly from inside the tent.

When there was no response, he irritably opened the flap of the tent and went out into the darkness. "Alec, what the hell? Can't rely on you to do nothin'." The Outlander made his way around the left side of the tent and was immediately stopped in his tracks by the blunt end of a gun to his head.

Trowa knocked him to the ground and raised the gun a second time, bringing it down with enough force to derez the unsuspecting Outlander. The energy drinks had helped raise his stamina, but he was still relatively weak and stumbled back as he regained his composure. Now there was just one program left in the tent with Duo. This seemed too easy…

Heero heard the familiar, mute rushing sound of a derez from the opposite side of the tent. He slid around the back until he spotted the lean, tall outline of the Runner in the darkness. He approached him stealthily from behind and once he was ten feet away he began to take slightly heavier steps to get his attention. The corner of his mouth perked as Trowa spun around and aimed the rifle at his face. Soon the other program's widened green eyes reflected with recognition and the rifle's business end was lowered. Heero slipped carefully up to Trowa with both his and Duo's discs still in hand. They needed to communicate the rest of their plan before they could act. He closed the distance between them so that they were standing toe to toe and he leaned in as close as he could, his voice low and hushed.

"I think there is only one left," he whispered. "Let me take care of him, you grab the User," he added, his lips accidentally brushing against Trowa's ear.

Trowa felt the soft lips against his ear and involuntarily shivered. He tilt his head so that he was facing the other, their lips dangerously close. Through the faint glow of the night sky he could see Heero's handsome facial features, and his lips twitched in anticipation.

They stood close, holding each other's gaze while their bodies longed to connect, neither program moving to close the last bit of air between them. Distraction… liability… Trowa quickly pulled away to a safe distance. "Understood."

"Heh, seems like your friends abandoned you, pal."

"Silence, User!"

"Maybe they're out back givin' each other handy-Js? You're missin' out, bud!"

"I said be quiet!"

"Ooh, did I hurt your feelins?" Duo's voice was dripping with satisfaction as he watched the Outlander guard pace the tent with his fancy disruptor rifle in hand. He shifted his weight on the rock and tried to roll the tension out of his shoulders. He always thought handcuffs had the potential to be pretty kinky, but now he was beginning to have his doubts about whether he would ever willingly let anyone tie him up again. "Hey, cumdumpster! You hear me? Your friends hate you…"

The program spun on his heels and pointed the rifle in Duo's smiling face. "User, I'm warning you…"

Duo saw movement from behind the Outlander. To his surprise he could see a familiar mop of messy brown hair duck through the tent flap and into the small space. His smile broadened once he realized who it was.

"Warnin' me about what, huh? That you're a piece of fucking shit guard? That you're a donkydicked pinhead with the mental capacity of an amoeba?" Duo was thoroughly enjoying himself now.

"Time for you to have a little taste of disruption you cocky, useless User-" the guard's finger began to apply pressure to the trigger but, unfortunately, he never got to finish the motion. The guard exploded into a blast of black pixels. As they fell away Duo spotted Heero's scowling face as it appeared from the opposite side. Behind the glitchy program Duo spotted Trowa as he ducked into the tent with a sweet-looking rifle in hand.

"Boys. It's about time," Duo said calmly, as a shit-eating-grin spread across his face.

Trowa narrowed his eyes. "Sorry. We were a little tied up." He lowered the gun and quickly moved next to Duo's side to untie his restraints. "We need to get out of here. Now." The red bands around the User's wrists fell to the ground, and Trowa bent down to work at the ones around his ankles.

Heero fell back to peek out through the tent flap for any passing Outlander rogues. He could see movement a good distance away, but otherwise the area they currently occupied was abandoned. He glanced over his shoulder at his companions to see if they were ready to go and found his gaze drawn to the particularly fine curve of the Runner's ass. He stared for a fraction of a second before blinking furiously and forcing himself to look away.

Duo rubbed his wrists and nodded gratefully at Trowa. "Thanks, man," he muttered. He hopped off of the rock and walked up to Heero to playfully snatch his disc out of the other program's hand. "Alright, now what?"

"We try to get out of here undetected," Heero said quietly. "Which means you need to keep your big mouth closed."

Duo gawked and looked over at Trowa with widened eyes. "You hearin' this bullshit?"

"He's right. Be quiet." Trowa slung the gun strap over his shoulder and walked over to the tent flap, standing next to Heero. He looked out and noticed at it was clear. "Let's move."