AN: Well... good news and bad news. Good news... quicker than usual on this update. Good news. We finally reach the action/climax of the story. Bad news... this story is starting to wrap up, which means it won't be much longer. Bad news... I'm killing of a few characters. Okay... I'm killing off more than few. ^_^ So yeah... warnings for this chapter include character deaths.

#

Waking Up In Vegas

Chapter Fifty-Seven

#

"All I ever wanted was to be loved!" She told the man sitting in the chair. Tears sparkled in her eyes as she held the gun, pointed straight towards him.

"All I wanted was to be CEO, to have your love. I'm a good business-woman! I could do it. So why... WHY... was it always about him. Quatre this, Quatre that. All you ever had to do was let me take over. But no, even when he completely shoves away this family's beliefs, you can't let him go. I was the prodigy. I was the best. Until he came along."

"Ninnette," Sayid Winner said. "Daughter, just..."

"Don't talk to me like that," she screamed, shaking her hand at him. "All I wanted was WEI. That's all. To have you admit I was good enough to take over. But no. You couldn't do even that. So now, I'm taking it all by force. Not just WEI. I'm taking Sandrock as well. And after that, who knows. I'll probably be able to create a monopoly when the war starts. Stupid Dermail went and got himself killed. But not me. I'm not a fool. I mean, come on. No-one even thought to suspect me for Iria's death!"

Sayid's mouth dropped open. Iria... Ninnette had... Ninette killed her? No...

"Yes, daddy," she sneered. "I killed her. It was me. All I have to do now is get you to re-write that stupid will. By then, Quatre and that redneck husband of his will be dead."

"Husband?" Sayid blinked. God above, would the bombshells never stop dropping?

Ninnette smirked, her full lips twisting up. "Yes, Indeed, daddy. Husband. Didn't know your precious son was bi-sexual, did you? Or that he could get drunk and get married on a whim. Well, actually he didn't get drunk. Such a goody-two-shoes, that boy. We had to spike his drinks, else he'd have never lost inhibitions like that!"

"Ninnette..." Sayid couldn't believe his ears. She's drugged Quatre, she's killed Iria... what kind of game was this?

"Ninnette!"

Nette looked up as the door swung wide open. There Quatre stood, aqua eyes blazing.

"So those incompetents didn't get the job done. Hn. That's fine. I can take care of it myself, now that you're here. Both of you at once! I can see it now. Murder-suicide, brought on by family grief and trauma. Yes, very nicely done.

"We won't let you get away with this!"

"Mina?" Nette looked up to see her older sister in the doorway, beside Quatre.

"Ninny, please stop and reconsider all of this." Thayet, with the same brown hair and brown eyes as Nette herself, flanked his other side. "We're all here. Could you kill us all in such cold blood? And get away with it?"

Nette looked on. Her plan... it didn't include this. There was no way she could pass off an entire family of deaths all at once. Mass murder wasn't something she had planned on.

"Thayet, you can't agree with what they've all done..."

"No," the woman shook her head. "I don't. Father should have let you become CEO. You were good at it. Nobody is contesting that. But why couldn't you sit down and talk this over? Why did... why did you have to kill Iria? She was our sister. How could you?"

"I..."

"I never even wanted WEI," Quatre shook his head. If you would have asked, I never wanted it. I had no intention of ever taking over. I am content with Sandrock. Besides... my beliefs and the beliefs WEI was founded on are different. It wouldn't be right."

"But... I..."

"No," Mina said. "This ends here and now, Ninnette. This is over. The cops are coming. It's over."

Ninnette's eyes widened. Cops. It was over. She would go to prison. Oh, God. She'd killed her sister and now...

"No," she said. "I'm not giving in. This isn't over until I say it is!" She pulled the trigger, once, twice in quick succession, then swung the gun up and away from her lifeless father, towards Quatre.

"It's not over!" she screamed.

She fired, and a moment later, someone else fired.

The second shot rang on the echoes of the first one, and Ninnette could only stare down at her chest, the pain that ebbed within her.

"It's over?" she questioned, confused, as she felt herself slip to her knees, then to the floor.

"Ninnette!" Thayet screamed, running to her side. "Ninny! Ninny!"

Marina watched in horror at the scene unfolding before her. Thayet screamed over Ninny's lifeless body, Maureen and Rebekah had rushed to their father's side. And Quatre, Quatre had sank to his knees, cradling Trowa in his arms as bright crimson blossomed across his shirt. Trowa'd jumped in front of him...

"Trowa! Trowa! Please, no. Trowa!" Quatre's voice was loud, breaking and sobbing. "Trowa..."

Marina watched the scene, then stared down at the gun in her hands. It slipped from shaking fingers.

Oh, God. What had she done?

#

"There's a helicopter just landed on the roof," M warned, pulling up a video feed onto a computer. "And a team of at least five coming through the front doors."

"Looks like this is it," Duo said, looking at Wufei.

Wufei leaned in and kissed his husband, a short, chaste kiss that conveyed all of his love. "We'll make it home, Duo," he said, leaning his forehead against Duo's, brushing a strand of chestnut hair away.

"Damn," M cursed. "There's at least three others that I can't find. Damn, damn, damn." She whirled away from the computer, snatching open a drawer on another desk and pulling out a handgun. She tossed one to her grandfather, then pulled out another for her.

"I hope everyone is armed," she said. "Because I think we're going to have to get a little down and dirty."

"We should split up," Emily said, retrieving a gun from Heero's almost limitless supplied backpack. "I'll take the team on the roof."

"I'm with you," Dorothy nodded, clicking the safety off of her own handgun.

"Treize?" Midii asked, glancing at the man.

"Yes?"

"Take care of my sister, okay?" With that, she turned and raced after the other two women.

"Treize. Lady. Behind us, please," Wufei said, turning away from Duo. "Unless of course, you know how to shoot?"

"Ready, love?" Wufei asked Duo, looking at his lover. He was quite worried to see a very determined, scary look on his face.

"Always," Duo growled, pulling out another small charge of C4.

M tapped a key on the computer. "Get ready. In three... two..."

The doors slammed open, and before the first man could even make it into the room, Duo'd tossed the C4 charge.

*BOOM*

And with that... all hell broke loose as both sides traded fire. One side hiding behind the doors, the other crouching behind steel tables- and in Treize and Une's case, in the destroyed room beyond.

"ENOUGH!"

The infiltrators fire immediately stopped, and Heero and company's fire stopped a moment or two later.

A man walked into the doorway, with no less than five guns trained on him.

"Quinze," Heero hissed. "I knew you were behind this. Bastard."

"Temper, temper, Heero. Of course I'm behind this. Tsubarov is, too. Only he is too afraid to get his hands dirty. I figured I might want to handle this annoyance on my own. Some things are too fragile to hand to just any moron working for you." He looked around the room.

"Where's that dear sister of yours? She pissed me off something terrible, you know? First ignoring me, then when I realized it was your sister?" He shook his head. "I'm going to make sure she dies a slow terrible death if I ever find her."

"Asshole," Heero stated, taking better aim. "You're never going to kill anyone if I have any say on things."

"On the contrary," Quinze smirked. "I'm going to kill several of you. Perhaps all."

From nowhere, three of the men outside the door stepped into view, a sniper rifle already held up in each of their hands. Before anyone could blink, Quinze drew out a handgun and pointed it. From where they were standing, the people inside the room could see exactly who the rifles were aimed at.

Heero, the most skilled of the group.

Doctor G, as he'd already proven to have deadly aim for such an old man. Besides... if they left M alive, there was no need or use for the old doctor.

Wufei, a rather skilled shooter.

And the arsonist. The one who held the explosives... and the knowledge to use them.

Duo.

Wufei screamed a warning to his lover, but from his position, there was no time to reach him... though he tried.

Two snipers managed to fire, their shots hitting their marks even as the people in the room retaliated.

Heero ducked, fired three shots in quick succession, hitting and downing two of the snipers.

M and G had both fired, both shots hitting the third sniper. That only left Quinze...

Who was dead before anyone in the room had ever fired a single shot, dead the moment Wufei had screamed.

#

Sei couldn't help but think as she and the two girls made their way through the building. Things could turn out very ugly. Her mother was supposed to be here somewhere, and though Louisa Lovecraft rarely did grunt work herself, she was a lethal and dangerous woman.

"This is the top floor," Maia noticed.

"Yes," Sei nodded.

"Wouldn't a top secret lab be on the first floor... or in the basement?" Vanny asked, curious.

"It is," Sei admitted. "But I think there will be some bad guys coming from the roof." She looked down at her two charges.

"I shouldn't have let you come," she shook her head. "It's too dangerous."

"You didn't exactly let us come," Vanny informed her, shaking her bow. It hadn't left her clutches since she'd left Tennessee. And she couldn't see herself parting with it anytime soon. As long as she had it... she had some measure of defense. Besides... who ever thought of two pre-teens as dangerous?

Sei chuckled. "Okay. Just promise to stay behind me if anyone starts shooting, alright? Take cover? I couldn't bear it if you two got killed."

"Awww," Vanny smirked, and wrapped her arm around Sei's waist in a half-hug. "You know, for a bad guy... you're pretty nice."

Sei laughed once more. "Thanks... I think. Now lets go. This door up here should be the roof exit..."

#

"Wake up, Jezebel. Wake up."

"'Ro?" Through the groggy mist of unconsciousness, she could hear a voice calling her. Calling her back.

"Wake up, Jezebel."

"Heero?" She blinked, forcing open her eyes. Pale gray met dark blue.

"You took a pretty nasty fall from that wall," Heero smiled gently, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "You've been out for almost an hour."

"Damn rain," she muttered, remembering things in bits and flashes.

"You shouldn't have tried to climb it on your own, in a thunderstorm, at that! What were you thinking, stupid girl?" He demaned.

"Had... had t' prove I could," she sighed. "Sorry. I guess... I guess I can't do it on my own, after all."

Heero abruptly smiled again. "But you did. We found you on the back side of the wall. And the cameras caught it on tape. You slipped on the top, Jezzy. You made it to the top, and then you fell."

"I... I made it?" She asked groggily, trying to remember.

"You did, Jezzy. You made it."

And then, she was sinking again. Back to the depths of sleep, knowing that she'd given it her all and made it. Knowing that her brother was there, waiting on her.

"Jezzy? Don't go to sleep. Wake up, Jezebel. Wake up, now's not the time to sleep. Wake up. Wake up, Jezzy. Wake up!"

And she did.

Pale gray-blue blinked open... and met with warm brown.

"Heero?" she asked, confused.

"No... Jezzy? It's Jasper. Do you remember me?"

She blinked at the face before her, memories fighting each other for dominance, but none winning. Gunshots, explosions. Laughter, tears. A bird?

"Wing..." she breathed, many memories falling into place. She'd destroyed Wing... Looking up to the man in sitting beside her bed, she stared straight ahead.

"Where's my brother?"

#

AN: ^_^ Just remember... if you kill me, I can't finish! So no killing the authoress, okay? ^_^ Dedication goes to three people... as always. 1. My Duo. My apologies, dearest. 2. My Quatre. I apologize. It had to be done. 3. My Kidi-chan. I know what you didn't want to happen, but come on... Delana would make a good mommy, right? ^_^ Mwahahahahahaha!