A/N: I just realized how much I miss this story. Impending sequel is possibly in the works, as this universe is fun to write. I'm currently working on a much shorter (ie 'only' 30-50 thousand words XD) AU that is just about finished, and I'll start posting that once this is finished.

Read and review! And to anyone's review I haven't responded to yet, I'm getting there! Thanks for your support.
-picimadar

When You Run Among Shadows
Chapter 21: Choices

"Hello, everyone. You know I would not make this call if it were not of the utmost importance. If you think you may be compromised, I suggest you leave the call now and ask another about it later. Thank you." Pausing for a few moments, Relena took another deep breath and continued.

"I know that many of you I haven't had the pleasure of speaking to in some time, and for that, I'm quite sorry. I'm sorry to have to ask so much of you all after so long, after promising that the sacrifices were over, that we could all be safe, but so much more than ourselves are at stake. Someone here, on the colony were I was kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured, is trying to end life on Earth and take over the other colonies during the anarchy."

"Holy balls. How does she know this stuff? I swear to god, it's like she's the all-seeing-eye or something!" Middie watched her phone, smiling at the sight of her friend.

"Shh!" Pattie glared at her, watching her screen intently, the two men on either side of her leaning over to watch.

"Several among you have been getting information to me over the years about this situation, and for the risks you've taken and your faithfulness I am extremely grateful. I am afraid I must ask for even more. There are millions of people living on this colony who, unfortunately either believe the lies Lavie has told them and are ignorant to their choices among the free world, or those who see the lie and have decided to fight for the sake of fighting. Those of you in position on the colony, I need you to secure a place where we can gather safely and without drawing attention. Some of you will need to assist me in exposing the truth about Lavie's real plan to his citizens. The last of you will need to fight."

"I can't believe this…." A voice said from the corner, a young man Heero didn't recognize. "She's so serious about this… Relena would never ask us to fight if we didn't have to. What's is really going on here?"

"Be quiet!"

"You know I wouldn't ask you to fight if it wasn't totally necessary. Sometimes we have to fight for what we believe in, and that is what I am asking of you now. Along with the Preventers, we also have… some other assistance in less government-mandated forms. Accept their help, learn from them all, and work with them all. We all need each other if we are to stand a chance.

"It's not just about our beliefs, though, it is about life. These people feel that, instead of fighting, they must simply eliminate anyone who opposes their opinion quickly and silently. We must show them that this is not how we achieved peace. This colony is peopled with warriors, soldiers and spies who watched people give up their lives for what they believed, but Lavie has turned them into spiteful, angry assassins bent on total control. If we can stop them, we can save them all, the pacifists and those living on this colony."

The woman on camera took a deep breath, and for some reason Heero was reminded of the time Relena spent in prison, marveling at her calm ability to forgive the citizens of the colony, including the people responsible for her pain. "All that said, there are a few select men and women whom I can't say I'd mind seeing on the wrong end of a gun, however selfish that may be. Some people, regardless of what they say, are more responsible for this than others. Heero Yuy is not among them."

Middie groaned, physically slapping the screen of her phone against her face.

"I know that he has committed betrayals, but I believe it was for the best. I believe in him, and I ask you, all of you," Heero realized she was addressing Wufei, "to do the same, at least until this insanity is over.

"Wufei Chang is coordinating the effort for those off-colony, please contact him before you fall into orbit or attempt to enter through customs. For those on the colony, please be careful and contact whoever you feel you can trust. And thank you. Thank you for even giving me the choice and opportunity to ask this. Thank you for letting me and the people of Earth and space to put their faiths in you. Be safe."

The connection terminated, and those in the room stared at Heero warily. "Well, we still get to shoot him if he does any stupid shit, right?" Middie asked, glaring at him. "Don't think you're getting out of this that easily. She might be thankful you didn't kill her, but your friends probably aren't gonna be so forgiving… not to mention Wufei totally knows you're here now, and is probably going to bring the others with him."

"Wait," Pattie said, looking at the communication screen again. "Did you send this? Is that why she's letting you go?" Holding out the small device to them, it showed a distinct, perfect copy of the blueprints Lavie had so recently given to them.

"I didn't send them… I don't think he did either. How could we, we've been here this whole time?" Neil looked at Heero, as though hoping that he had committed some act of extreme charity or selflessness that would free them from their current status as prisoners of war.

Heero said nothing, staring at his feet. I believe in him, her words echoed in his mind, an answer to an age-old request, one he could hardly believe had stood the test of time.

"Alright everybody, we've got to get this place prepared for the others," Pattie said, and Middie almost immediately brightened.

"Ooh, we get guns!"


Relena closed the computer and settled back against the back of her chair, closing her eyes."How was that, do you think?" she asked, and Liam patted her hand.

"As good as it could be. They know what's going on now, and they don't just have to take your word for it. Someone just sent me a copy of the blueprints and some transcripts from Lavie's meetings. Whoever's got the info is coming from pretty high up." Relena nodded, still not opening her eyes.

"I never wanted this. I never wanted to have to do this. We survived the last war without calling on them."

"This is different, Relena. This isn't some massive thing… Preventer doesn't have the numbers to face this on their own. We're willing, Relena. We're willing to fight for you, all of us." Liam tried to comfort the woman, but she continued to let her head rest on the neck of the chair, her eyes closed, as though using the energy to open them was instead diverted to some inner struggle.

"Relena, we should go," Trowa said, taking the computer and packing it up. "Chances are someone will have traced that, even if we're not sure who. If we get out of here now, we have the chance to get to where Middie and the others are safely. You'd be safe out there. We'll be able to see whoever's coming for miles." Taking her hand, Trowa pulled Relena out of the chair slowly, taking her into his arms. "Come on, now. You're safe. This is almost over. The worst is over."

Relena looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Don't say that." Walking past him, she repacked the few things she had brought in her small bag, sadness showing in her posture. "I don't understand, Trowa. I don't understand."

"Neither do I, Relena, but you've done what you can. It will all come together, I promise you. We'll get answers, and we'll make sure nothing like this happens again."

"Don't, Trowa." Relena had fierceness in her voice now, something he could not identify. "Don't make me those promises. I've heard them all before, and now we're here, again. Nothing has changed. Nothing."

"Stop it, Lena. Don't talk like that." Even Jesse's face looked pinched now.

"I'll talk however I want! This is the truth! I have worked for years for this, gave months of my life in prison being abandoned and hurt over what I believe in, and you want me to believe that somehow this is better than it was? My own brother wanted to destroy the Earth, make it unliveable not five years ago. There is no difference. No progress. Now stop talking to me, and let's go." Opening the door, Relena stepped out, unafraid, angry and hurt.

"What are we going to do with her?" Liam asked, taking his own bag over his shoulder.

"I don't know," Trowa said quietly. "This isn't something that we can fix."


Typing away furiously, Wufei finally let his hands rest, reading over what he had written carefully. The room was full of people doing the same, helping him construct, in a rapidly shortening space of time, a viable plan of infiltration for the colony X-18997. He thought, on at least five occasions, that they had finally finished, but there was always one more weakness, one more situation that needed to be analyzed, and he was exhausted.

"How's it coming, Agent Chang?" Commander Une asked, looking over his shoulder at the simulation running on his screen.

"This is about as good as it will get, I think. There's just no way to ensure that no one escapes. We don't have the numbers, even with all the help. We just have to make sure that Lavie and his closest don't get away."

"Well, if that's the best you can do, that's what we've got to. We're leaving in less than 6 hours, which barely gives us the required time to reach L2. Thankfully we're going to be in the right season to reach them quickly. Alright, everyone, you'll get instructions when you need them. Get to carrier bays and start prepping for takeoff." The other agents scrambled at the Commander's request, excited and trepidations at encountering their first major mission since the founding of the Preventer organization. Wufei wished he could share in their sense of purpose, but all he could think about was the message he had seen from Relena.

She knew, he thought. They all knew. She knows I want to murder him. She knows he tried to kill us and she still loves him. Stupid woman.

"Anytime today, Chang," Une said pointedly, and Wufei followed, sullen. You won't get away this time, Yuy.


Back in space, dozens of people were arriving at the pseudo-ranch, some staying outside, discussing strategy, some staying in, catching up on rest or monitoring, waiting for Relena's arrival. Heero and Neil were, for the most part, ignored, having played their parts in the grand scheme of things.

"So, you tried to kill your friends, huh?"

"Yeah."

"You gonna kill me?"

"No."

"Oh, okay. Cool." Neil stayed quiet a few more moments, staying seated on the couch as though he were afraid of disturbing anyone by leaving. "Well. What do you think's gonna happen? Relena seemed pretty confident they're gonna kick ass. You think they can take Lavie?"

"Yes."

Neil sighed. "But how do you know? They could just kill us now, save themselves the trouble of figuring out whether or not we're trustworthy later."

"You sent them the information, they know you're trustworthy enough."

Neil practically laughed. "Only because she put a gun to my head! If she doesn't kill me herself know I'll be practically shocked."

"They're not going to kill you. You're only here because Relena wants to make sure you're safe and don't end up getting murdered by Lavie for basically giving away all his secrets." Heero looked at him now, tiring of the man's incessant worrying. "They likely won't even kill me, but it'll only be because she tells them not to. I deserve whatever comes."

"But when you explain, surely they'll understand. I mean, we all do some crazy things for the people we love, and you guys must love the Earth and space to have done what you did. I'm pretty sure they'll understand." Their uncomfortable silence once again pervaded until Neil spoke up. "So, you really love her, huh?"

"Yes."

"She loves you, too. A lot. I loved her, once. Probably still do, but admitting it now would just be insult to injury, you know? We were pretty close, but she ignored me for you."

"What?" Heero looked at him, honestly surprised.

"Yeah, we went to the same school you started up at. When you showed up, she just became kinda obsessed, you know? It was like… you made the whole war real to her, and she couldn't let that go. I couldn't stand watching her like that so I left a little while after you transferred."

"I'm sorry," Heero said, and Neil looked at him, puzzled.

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong. It was her choice, always has been."

Heero shook his head, staring at the floor. "I took that choice from her. She would have been happy with you. Safe. Ever since I walked into her life I've done nothing but hurt her. She'd throw herself in front of a bus if she thought it would make me happier. I just couldn't stand seeing it happen anymore."

"So you left her because of that?" Middie asked, clearly eavesdropping from her perch across the room. "That's got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Approaching them, she put her hands on her hips. "Relena would jump in front of a bus for a starving kitten if she thought her final moments would make it purr. She's a born martyr, always has been. People try to say she's so tough, but it's really just a brave face she puts on for all of us to make us feel like we're doing a good job. One day, it's gonna just fall off her and she'll have no idea what to do with herself."

Neil looked over her shoulder, dark eyes wide. "I think it's already come to that." Trowa Barton walked into the small house, carrying Relena in his arms. Heero was already on his feet, approaching them, when Trowa practically snarled at him.

"You get away from her." Heero backed away, slowly, watching Heero carry her in and lay her down on the couch carefully. "We had to put her under in the car. I don't know what happened, but she just lost it." Looking over his shoulder at Middie, the others could see the worry clearly in his eyes. "It's been this bad before, Mid, but I still don't know what to do for her."

Middie smiled, sadly, patting him on the shoulder. "You've done all you can. The best we can do now is just let her sleep. An identity crisis is the least I'd expect to see after something like this. You don't just walk away from two dead families, being forced to live with your long lost lover crazy killer boyfriend for a month, being locked up in prison, living through two wars and being forced into a job you don't want without a few scars." Thinking momentarily, Middie looked at Heero. "Sorry, 'bout the 'crazy' part, I guess. The rest is still pretty much true." Sighing, Heero sat down on the couch across from Relena, never taking his eyes off her face as he watched her sleep.

"Oh, no, you're not getting off this easily," Trowa said, practically a growl, as he walked over to Heero and hauled him off the couch by his shirt. "What the fuck is wrong with you, huh? After everything we did for you, that's how we get repaid? You almost fucking killed him, Heero." Trowa pushed Heero against the wall hard, throwing a swift punch that barely missed its target as Heero ducked, Trowa's fist hitting the wall.

"I had to," he said, his voice its typical monotone. "They believed I was just hiding, that they could find me whenever they wanted. I had to make them not want to find me, and I didn't have time to explain." Ducking again, Heero forced himself forward, pushing Trowa back onto the ground and scrambling not to fall on top of him. Trowa fell gracefully, rolling and standing back on his feet, his face still contorted with anger.

"And you think that taking care of her redeems you? You knew she was here; she was in prison for a month! What the fuck were you doing for her then, huh? They could have killed her." He stopped advancing now, instead staring at Heero, his green eyes boring into him.

"I didn't find out until after she came to me. Lavie claimed she was safe, and I never saw her until she escaped. It wasn't until after that I found out what they'd done to her."

"Well that's great. So what are you going to do about it? You're going to just sit here and do nothing after everything she's done for you, for both of us? What are you going to do for her?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" Heero was irritated now, feeling useless amongst the strangers in the house. "I'll do whatever I can. It's what I came to do, I just wasn't expecting it to be this…"

"Totally insane?" Neil filled in, and Heero nodded. "We didn't know what was going on. Lavie told us that he wanted to rally, protest, typical stuff like that. Take a few of the other independent colonies, because they're not government protected at the most. When he wanted to kidnap Relena, I just kind of went with it. I figured it was scare tactics like with the Bartons… and then he put her in prison and tried to just ruin her." The man shuddered, his voice breaking momentarily before he cleared his throat. "She got out, but Lavie got whatever he wanted, or decided he didn't really need it. He's planning on poisoning the people on Earth, all of them. That was never what I signed up for."

Trowa looked back and forth between them before rolling his eyes slightly. "Duo may never forgive you. He's never really gotten over it. It might have even affected him more than it did Relena."

Heero hung his head. Seem to be doing more and more of this lately. "I know. I'm not expecting him to. When this is over, I'll find someplace else to stay."

"…. So you're going to leave again, then?" Relena asked, and the dozen people in the room stood at practical attention, surveying her as though making sure she were real. Relena ignored them for the time being, instead staring at Heero questioningly. After a few moments of silence, Relena conceded. "I see." Taking her eyes away from him, she turned and started talking to a few others, exchanging hugs and greetings.

Releasing a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, Heero turned and left the room, Neil and Trowa following after.

"Hey! You can't just walk away from her again! Are you insane?" Trowa pulled at Heero's arm, but the man kept walking, "Do you have any idea what you did to her?"

The dark haired man stopped then, thinking about Relena's scars.

"What did she do?" he asked, his voice unassertive and quiet.

"She almost died. When you left, you really hurt her. She just shut down for a few months. She wouldn't leave the house unless she had to, she stopped fighting things at work. We expected her to be upset, but with what you did to Wufei and Duo… knowing that you'd stayed on the planet long enough to hurt them without changing your mind just made it worse for her. Then her mother died, and she just lost it. I found her in the bathroom one morning half bled out." Closing his eyes, Trowa looked pained, his face paling. When he opened them, Heero flinched away as Trowa pushed him again. "Don't you ever make me have to do that again. I don't care if you feel guilty, or if you're worried about hurting her by staying. She made her goddamn choice. She loves you, and she might hate her job, but she knows someone has to do it, and she does it. She made those choices, Heero. They're done."

"Whatcha doin'?" Middie asked, coming down the corridor. "Don't mean to interrupt, but I wondered if you guys wanted to help upstairs with the planning. Wufei just sent us their info…. They're on their way."