I arrived to chaos. Oh, it was a quiet chaos, but chaos none the less. The slave's quarters were completely packed, along with everything in the slave's bathroom, but the master bedroom still had personal items scattered haphazardly everywhere, and the master bathroom was untouched. No one person's belongings were in any of the suitcases, and it was impossible to tell which room any suitcase came out of. Quatre and Trowa, meanwhile, were debating whether it was more important to pack, to find Zechs' clothes, which had all accidentally been packed, to wake Zechs, or to make flight arrangements themselves.

I took things in hand. It wasn't a hard decision to make, not with Quatre and Trowa looking so worried and strained. With precious few hours left before the station closed, I knew we had to move quickly.

I put Quatre to the task of reorganizing the suitcases so that we could find something if need be. Trowa I sent to round up all the stray items that had been left behind. Which is when I realized that we were missing two of four slaves that had previously been in residence.

"Where are Heero and Duo?" I wondered. Quatre stopped in his packing, his hands hovering over the items he had so swiftly been arranging.

"Haven't you heard?" he asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Heard what?"

"They... They got hurt. The guards that were watching Duo... They tried to do something, and there was a fight. They're both in the hospital. Duo's in critical condition."

An icy rage stole through me at the thought of two of my companions at the hands of merciless bruits, but, as many times before, I could only let it run it's course. There was nothing I could do about it, even if I had been there. I had taught myself, out of necessity, to let the rage course through me and then to release it. To keep from feeling it would deaden me inside, and to hold it within would probably kill me. I had to let it go.

Taking a few breaths to steady myself, I asked fairly calmly, "What steps has Master Zechs taken in retribution?"

"I know he ran them off when he found them. He probably hurt the guards pretty badly, knowing how upset he gets when one of us is hurt."

"No, I mean what grievances did he file? Did he not take legal action?"

"I... I don't know. I don't think so," Quatre admitted quietly.

"He hasn't had time for any of that," Trowa informed me, bringing an armful of items for Quatre to pack away. "With Heero and Duo in such states Master hasn't done anything but worry about them and consult with doctors and technicians about getting Duo to the ground."

"I will have to speak to him of this matter," I told them.

"Oh, Wufei, don't!" Quatre implored, taking my wrist in his small hand. "He only just got to sleep a few hours ago and he's had such a terribly hard day. Can't we let him sleep just a little longer?"

"I wish we could, but if the grievance isn't filed before the guards leave the station we will probably never find them."

"Someone should have told me this earlier," Master Zechs said, leaning against the kitchen doorframe and still rubbing his eyes from sleep. It was obvious from his unkept hair and unshaven face that he had just awakened, probably from the sounds of our voices. "I have to check on the flight arrangements anyway, so I'll just make the call when I do it. I think I need a shower first, though, and a cup of coffee would be insanely appreciated," he said, before trudging back toward master bedroom for his shower. I could see why Quatre didn't want me to wake him, for the man looked like hell. I could barely imagine what strain the last two days must have put on him to sink him to this level.

But, even in such a weakened state, Zechs was still formidable, and I had to swallow hard before I could dig up the courage to face him in private. It didn't help that I could hear him taking his clothes off in the other room. I was grateful that neither of the other slaves questioned me as I followed Zechs into the bedroom.

But Zechs was not in the bedroom, and I was again grateful to hear the sound of running water, meaning he had already gotten into the shower. Thus, when I followed him into the bathroom, there was a solid wall of glass between us, and the fog impaired my vision of what would otherwise be a very nude master. I cleared my throat, and Zechs looked up, surprised, from washing his hair.

"Wufei? What in the world are you doing in here? Is something wrong?"

"No, of course not. I merely wanted to..."

"Yes?"

"I wanted to tell you the Owner's response."

"Response?"

"Yes, to your inquiry. Your inquiry about me."

"Oh, about having you play for us at Collar. Did he turn me down?"

"N-not exactly."

"What then?"

"Well... he cited his earlier promise. The promise that said any master who could bed me could have me as their own."

"Oh. I see," he said, becoming very still within the bath. He seemed to deeply consider his options, and it was a long time before he spoke again. "We have six months before anything must actually be... consummated. We can worry about this more at a later date. For now... For now we will run under the assumption that you will belong to me at the beginning of Collar, understand?"

"Yes, sir," I replied, greatly relieved. I had been almost sure Zechs wouldn't try anything right away, and he hadn't looked like he had the energy for anything of that nature, but somehow I had still been worried that he would want... immediate consummation. I was not a very... consumptive person, I suppose.

"Oh, Wufei?"

"Yes?"

"If you're not too busy, could you call the shuttle for me and find out if everything's finished? I'm terribly busy at the moment, and it would be a big help. The number is on the refrigerator."

"Of course," I said, then bowed and left. Even though that was off my chest, there was really no time to slow down. There were still many things to do, and I would have plenty of time to rest on the ground.