Title: Shades of Descent
+ second part of the tiles arc +
Author: kc-chan ([email protected])
Rating: PG-13 to R; this part- R
Warning: Language, Violence, yaoi, yuri, angst, AU, possible OOC, lemon.
++SPECIAL WARNING++ real chants are used here folks, I take no responsibility if you happen to use them and you get hurt/injured. I personally don't mess around with things I have no control over. No daemons were summoned during the scripting of this fic. In fact, I don't think I want to test them. Three rules to life- never be around before, during, or after a daemon summoning.
PAIRINGS: 6+5/5+6 ; mentions of 5xM/M+5
++SPOILERS++: to be safe I'll say the entire series especially Blind target, Episode Zero manga, and Endless Waltz.
ARCHIVE www.wired-dna.net ; www.fanfiction.net um... whoever has previous okays take it. anyone else please email me (not like I am going to say no or anything. . .)
DISCLAIMER: not mine. . . please don't sue. Only borrowing them.
Thanks to my beta-ers- Cheshire-san , Lilie-san, and Aya-chan for all their wonderful help and translating help! I love you!!! ::glomps::
COMMENTS: that would be nice.

Dedicated to: Cheshire-san; Aya-chan; Fei-chan; Trixie, Lil Black Cat; necromancer9; Devilicious ; yuta; Kathy; nana-chan and to all those who've taken the time to read. Thank you!

3rd draft completed: 12-31-01 (still needs to be beta-ed and translations)

++ In light of certain recent events I am warning that anyone who does not want to deal with very violent scenes to be advised when reading this part. ++

Shades of Descent
Part 3

By: kc-chan

A resounding screech echoed and ricocheted from one tall apartment complex to the next, gaining in its intensity. The Asian boy never waited for the bike to roll to a stop, and the metal wailed and screeched as it slid on its side along the pavement. The boy barely took note of it as he sprinted towards the building's door, comm in hand cursing the fates that he couldn't get through.

Oh how he wished he had Duo or Heero as his backup right now... Steady black eyes hid the raging turmoil as he stalked towards the elevators, cracking the lock on its controls and overriding the system rendering them disabled. Watching for any movement he dashed past the security guard, merely grunting "Preventers."

The former policeman merely gaped as the boy disappeared towards the stairwell. Hastily he regained his senses and grabbed his phone. "This is Marshall. There's a problem down here over on..."

The metal door shut heavily as Wufei took three steps at a time, blessing himself for only living on the tenth floor and not the thirtieth at the moment. Every floor he stopped, kicking open the door and looking for any perpetrator, finding none he continued his rush upwards.

As the large number eight appeared on the wall, Wufei slowed his approach, carefully watching for any traps that may await him. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he cautiously moved over the wired trap set on the ninth floor door. Black eyes flickered up towards the stairs then back to the door. Biting his lip hard, he blinked back tears and knelt down, wishing he could just get to his partner, but his badge prevented him from moving any further until the trap was disassembled. His duty to the innocents and civilians came before his life, though it wasn't his life at stake, but his partners.

Nimble fingers dexterously unscrewed the top of the box the wires were attached to. Placing his gun back into his holder, he reached into his cargo pant's leg pocket, pulling out pliers, a razor, and a pick. Balancing the razor between his lips, his two other hands worked quickly pushing aside wires.

Eyes narrowed in concentration, sweat trickled down his brow, stinging the corners of his eyes. Every second he stood there his worry that he was too late grew inside him.

A lip twitched in a half hearted smirk as he switched the pick to the hand with the pliers, taking the razor and jamming its edge into one small silver circuit in the chip. Turning his eyes to the side he nodded with relief as the red lights died out. Yanking the razor down he took out the rest of the chip then pocketed his tools.

Removing his silencer again he cautiously approached the steps leading up to the next flight. Staring at the cement steps something didn't settle right with him. Thinking back to the war, he had to remember Maxwell's own tricks and the traps they would set up for OZ.

He leap up onto the bar of the stairwell and slipped his gun away for the moment. Reaching up to the next levels safety guard he flipped himself up onto the tenth floor's bar. Scooting up that bar he glanced at the floor. Deciding that it was safe enough he stepped off the bar and landed on the cement. The door was left ajar.

Drawing his firearm before his person, the Chinese boy ducked back against the wall, peering through the open door. No wires were in sight. He nudged the door with his foot and it opened wider with a slight creak.

After a few deep breaths the Asian boy stepped though. The hall was empty. Then out of the corner of his eyes he saw a movement. Ducking back into the stairwell, he panted and slowly turned around, aiming down the hall.

Nothing.

Muffling a curse he broke into a dead sprint towards his door. Finding it opened most of the way he kicked it open completely. "Zechs?"

Warily he stepped through he doorframe and into his foyer. Eyes were acutely alert, dashing back and forth, watching for any sight that something was amiss.

Dodging to his right, Wufei tumbled barely having time to land on his feet before he launched back to avoid the sword's deadly tip. Gasping for air, he glanced up and his jetty black orbs widened in shock. << "You..." >>

A lithe boy stood before him, that same sword that nearly slit his stomach a few seconds before resting in his bronze hand. A snarl was formed upon the boy's face, amber eyes burning in raging hate. A lock of thick black hair covered most of the deformed part of offender's face.

<< "But... But *how* could... you..." >> Wufei stammered out, fingers slackening of their own accord from the weapon in his hand.

The cold tip of the blade's edge faintly touched the nape in the Preventer's neck. << "You sound so surprised." >>

It took the black eyed boy a lot of control to swallow and keep his breathing steady. << "I saw... I *saw* it..." >>

<< "What happened to all your charming rhetoric and eloquence Wufei?" >> the boy sneered, lifting his sword back and lunging forward with a hiss.

Fingers quickly fought and fired the gun, dodging and slipping to a more defensive stance on the other side of the amber eyed boy. "You are under arrest for the attempted murder of myself and for breaking and entering."

<< "So quick to cast us aside, Wufei? Have we been easy to forget?" >> the attacker jested, striking again at great speed.

Wufei leapt into the air, his kick grazing the other Asian boy's face, before he threw forward the planter to place distance between himself and the attacker. "Kuan-Yin."

A fierce growl came from the said boy's lips a furious hand drove the sword forward to slice away the potted plant. "Correct you are Wufei. Correct you are" swiftly rearing his sword to attack the Preventer yet again.

"What purpose is there in attacking me?" Wufei hissed as the blade danced lightly over his forearm. Either he was greatly in sore need of practice or he was getting slow in the age of peace. Dodging to the left, he used that spare moment between attacks to reload his gun.

"A gun? Where's your sense of honour Wufei?" Kuan-Yin growled, amber eyes burning in odium.

"Why attack me? Who sent you?" The black eyed boy demanded, cocking and aiming his loaded weapon.

Lucky for the jetted eyed boy one of his shots plunged into the sword wielding boy's shoulder, not his fighting arm, but something to at least slow the boy down.

"Can't you guess?" The Chinese boy mocked the Preventer.

Fists and legs swung and kicked out, faster and faster as reflexes were sharpened and the shots became more deadly. "How did you survive?" The former Nataku pilot gasped, scooting back to avoid the razor-sharp weapon.

Kuan-Yin grinned as his kick connected, sending the Preventer into the glass coffee table. The young man hissing in acute pain as shards of glass surrounded his body, the impact bruising at least a few ribs. His short hair brushing softly to the side as he prepared to strike again.

His cousin it seemed was still quite fast, despite the growing number of injuries. << "I can see why you were chosen by Master O to be our pilot. Such skill..." >> the boy marveled.

<< "Why did you come here?" >> Wufei gasped, arm circling around his stomach where one of Kuan's hits had landed rather harshly. Glass burrowed itself into his flesh as muscles flexed. Gritting his teeth, determination wrung through his ink eyes.

<< "Why the concern, dear cousin?" >>

"Where is he?" Wufei hissed, eyes flaring to life.

"Who?" the shorthaired boy paused before a knowing smile grew on his lips. "The blonde Preventer."

A warning noise lying somewhere between a hiss and a growl left the former pilot's lips. Kuan's eyes widened briefly at the sight before him. Had his cousin known or not what was happening, he did not know. But his cousin now had the aura of an ancient power mixing into his normal one. In fact, the shorthaired boy noted, his longhaired cousin had begun to bare his fangs, quite literally.

<< "Tell me now Kuan-Yin or I swear tear you limb from limb..." >> the warning came.

Kuan equivocated the swift assault but the second came even faster, with a strength that had not been there before. Sliding down the broken plaster wall, the boy groaned as a kick connected with his stomach. Sharp clawed fingers lifted his body against the wall, the Chinese boy holding him aloft and hissed out ever so slowly, "Tell me now Kuan or this will be your grave."

A slow smile dawned on his lips as he fixed his amber eyes down upon his cousin. "I have already survived one fiery death you sent me to, I dare think I could survive another." With that uttered he shot a knife from his
Hidden pocket into the capture's shoulder. Brining his leg up he kicked it in further, glad as that iron grip released his neck.

Stumbling to the floor gasping, Kuan grinned ferociously. "I was going to kill him, but unfortunately your boyfriend seemed to pick an opportune time to depart this morning."

A snarl departed from Wufei as claws struck out at his cousin slicing open a fresh wound. "He is not my lover."

Smirking the boy fingered a detonator, delighting in the fear that flickered briefly in the Dragon's eyes. << "Afraid of a little fire, cousin? I dare say that you will only feel a brief feeling of what we went through..." >>

Wufei's world exploded as fire and ash poured from the string of bombs strategically placed around his apartment. How could have he been so blind to that attack?

Glass flew around him as the living room's windows shattered under the pressure of the small bombs. His apartment had slowly become a small inferno, sweltering and cackling about him. "Kuan!" He called out; a cousin was cousin, whether the other boy wanted him dead or not. Frantically he searched through the licking flames, coughing as the smoke invaded his lungs. "KUAN?!"

A rich chuckle resounded though the flames, as the boy seemingly walked through the blaze, the red and yellows licking over his flesh, yet he remained un-singed.

"How?" Wufei gasped before coughing harshly into his sleeve.

Another chuckle was his answer. The flames heat blew away Kuan's hair from the right side of his face, revealing to the stunned boy a crisp set of five red scar lines and a white line encircling his cousin's neck. As amber eyes met the shocked jetted ones, Wufei started back. His cousin's right eye...

A blast caught them both off guard, the explosions finally tagging the gas line and causing a rumble and an explosion that threw them both through the broken window.

A brief whipping of cold Autumn air stunned Wufei back to his senses which was cut short as his slammed through another sheet of reinforced glass.

Hissing, Wufei slowly sat up, noting the blood that ran down his arms and the pile of broken glass he was now kneeling. True enough the explosion of his apartment had thrown him with enough power to clear the twenty-foot courtyard space between his complex and the next. Which also meant his cousin might have survived.

Standing despite his muscles cries not to, Wufei stumbled down the stairwell, taking his sweet time to climb down the ten stories. As he entered the lobby his ears were hit with the blaring sounds of sirens.

Wincing, he stepped out the lobby's glass door before being surrounded by a half a dozen officers. "Hands in the air!" one commanded.

Growling with slight frustration, he lifted his arms painfully above his head and shouted back in a raspy tone, "Chang Wufei, Preventer first class, Detective of the High-European Branch, International Intelligence Department!"

Sensitive ears heard the safeties click on and he lowered his arms as a familiar face rushed though the police. "Chang!"

Weary eyes focused and Wufei replied, "Nathan... Zechs." And leaned back heavily on the buildings brick exterior.

"Damn kid, how the fuck did you survive?" Nathan exclaimed moving over to support the boy.

Zechs screamed out to the nearest officer to grab a med team. The blonde noticed the slight change in his small partners features and pulled off his coat, leaning down and gently wrapping the shocked boy in it. "You okay?"

Blue eyes widened as the Chinese youth leaned forward, tears moistening his light shirt. If Zechs hadn't though better, he swore the boy... was crying. Trembling slightly he brushed numb fingers though the soft black hair. "Wufei?"

"You okay, Chang?" Nathan asked helping his blonde friend pick up the boy. "I think he went into shock..."

"I doubt Wufei knows the meaning of the term." Zechs replied softly. 'More like he is caught up in a flashback. Fuck! What ever happened in there I felt it! And I definitely did not like what I felt.'

Sally rushed forward, pushing through the gathering crowd, "Someone get the bystander's out of the way!" Moving towards the men she quickly ran her eyes over her friend. 'Damn it Wufei. How many times will I have to patch you up?'

Dropping her med bag, she quickly checked the boy's pulse; it was rapid which meant the adrenaline was still pushing him. "Zechs get him over to one of the ambulances."

Nodding silently the blonde complied, with Nathan following him. "Is he okay, Doctor Po?"

Her tired eyes glanced over at the hazel eyed man, "I don't know. Chang can take a lot of things, but it's been a while since he's gone through buildings."

"Gone though..." Nathan paused, blinking, trying to grasp that statement. "Where in the fuck does one go though buildings in academy work?" he murmured, tucking her statement away for another time. Perhaps he should ask Zechs what the hell his partner was. For the boy couldn't certainly be a normal boy like he was informed.

Zechs gently attempted to lay the boy in the ambulance but fingers were quick to take a firm grasp in the material of his shirt. Sally leaned forward, whispering gently, "Wufei? Come on... Ease up that grip..."

The former Lightning Baron shook his head. "No use Sally. He's got a grip of iron on me."

The Chinese-American woman sighed, tilted back the boy's head from his current position. Turning on her recorder, she spoke into the microphone by her mouth, "Eleven sixteen am, the subject is Chang Wufei. Subject has appeared to suffer minor injuries, eyes are dilated, indicating shock..."

Pausing the woman looked up and asked, "Anyone care to explain what happened?"

Nathan shrugged and ran a hand through his ashy blonde hair. "We got a frantic call from HQ about twenty minutes ago, apparently something happened over there and from the looks of it, was finished here."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sally looked over at the Sankian. "You?"

"Negative. I checked my cell, nothing came up indicating Wufei called me, but then again, cell's aren't always the most reliable things in the world."

Sighing, the blonde haired woman looked at the hurt boy, "I don't suppose you're going to tell me?" Wufei remained silent. "Thought not."

"Nate? Get out my cell and attach it to the vid screen." Zechs asked softly, hand brushing through his partner's hair once again. The boy showed no outward signs of approval, but somehow Zechs felt that Wufei appreciated it on some level.

The English man finished the connection and looked towards his friend. "Now what?"

"Scroll to you hit the initials QW and dial it." The platinum blonde replied.

"Okay."

"What do you plan on doing, Zechs?" Sally whispered.

"Getting help." The man replied, blue eyes watching the screen.

"Hello, Quat- Zechs!" The blonde-haired Arab blinked, stopping mid sentence. Turquoise eyes fastened onto his Asian friend. "What happened?"

"We're not exactly sure, Quatre. All I really know is that Wufei just did an amazing feat of getting blown across a twenty foot spance from his apartment to the next complex, thrown through reinforced glass, walked down presumably ten or eleven flights and is still alive."

"What are you worried about then?" Quatre asked, looking perfectly relived.

Nate blinked, "Um, that he's in shock?"

"Oh! Hello!" The Arab boy greeted, and then turned back to Zechs. "He's done at least twenty stories a few times. He just needs some rest." Grinning at the look of disbelief on the British man's face, the young Winner boy's smile widened, "We did some strange things as children."

Sally coughed at that statement.

"No, I mean-"

Sally stood and grabbed Nathan, "I want you to come with me and help me figure out what the hell happened."

"Um... sure..." the English man nodded, shooting one last glance back at the blonde Sankian man and the Asian boy before following the doctor.

"Listen Quatre, Wufei saw me and looked as if he, well, he cried."

Turquoise eyes narrowed as if trying to read his fallen friend. Blinking a few moments later, he absently rubbed his hand over his heart. "My apologies, you're right." He paused as if in thought, then in a tone the prince had never heard from the sweet L4 pilot, Quatre Winner commanded Wufei to report.

The tall man felt the boy stir, eyes blinked, widening to normal size and in a dead toned voice replied to the Arab's command. Zechs shuttered as a rough, stern voice he had not heard since the Mariemaia affair answer questions as they were ticked off.

The events of the morning unfolded rapidly, and a prick seized the prince's heart to think he caused some of Wufei's grief. There were obvious gaps were the Chinese boy dolefully avoided saying any concrete information. It was a strange feeling watching the boy convey him in terms of subject and civilian. 'You forget that they were terrorists. They tore through Oz defense lines with barely breaking a sweat.' His mind gently reminded him. The sound of the Arab's voice shook him from his mental reprieve.

"Zechs? I am getting Rashid to get a helicopter ready. I'll be there with Trowa in about an hour."

"I'm sure that-"

"You'll be staying with me, Zechs. I have security, you'll have two former terrorists watching you two, what could be more safe than that?" Zechs nodded in reply, nothing in Quatre's tone left anything open to dispute.

~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~~

A pale hand carefully brushed a loose strand from the Asian boy's face, curled up in distraught. The nightmares did not remove their claim from his thoughts. Aqua orbs slowly scanned the injuries that his friend had gathered a few short hours ago. He had convinced Sally that his sister could handle Wufei's wounds and he would have the information faxed to her at a later time.

There were small nicks and scratches that ran along the Chinese boy's arms and stretched onto that muscled back. There had been a few slight burn marks, nothing that could scar too badly. What was troubling the Winner heir was the fact that it was the first time since he had met the boy that he was able to bear witness to his friend's troubled dreams.

Trowa had mentioned that the Asian boy never slept decently, but none of the pilots ever were close to Wufei during the first war. Quatre sighed and continued his inspection of his sleeping comrade.

Trowa smiled slightly as he peeked through the door, reassuring himself that his lover and their companion were fine, he gently pulled his head from the expansive room, carefully closing the door. "He's still sleeping."

Emerald eyes meet steadily the icy orbs of the Sankian prince. "That's good..."

"He'll be fine. Trust us." Trowa replied, indicating for the tall blonde to follow him down the hall.

Raking a frustrated hand through his mane, Zechs sighed, "It isn't as though I don't trust you. Really. Its just, well..."

Pausing, the lanky young man looked back at the confused blonde. "You displace our former roles from the present ones."

"I'm sorry-" Zechs started.

"Don't be. Its fairly natural, we hate to think of ourselves as terrorists, yet we were, and in many ways our habits and intuitions are stilled framed in that mind set. Just as you still hold the dignities of your formal roles, both as a prince and as an elite soldier of OZ." At this point Trowa stopped and entered the kitchen. "Quatre will be needing his coffee soon, care for any? I do warn you though, Turkish coffee is some terribly potent stuff, I can make a normal pot if you would like."

"Ummm, if it isn't a bother, I'm not feeling too adventurous today." Zechs replied taking a seat at the kitchen table.

A slight smile dawned on the slim boy's face. "Understood. I keep telling Quatre that his coffee will eat though his liver, but he has yet to stop drinking it."

There was a comfortable silence where Zechs merely watched the brown-haired boy prepare the two pots of coffee.

"You know, you shouldn't let Heero bother you."

Blinking, the Sankian man turned to look at Trowa.

"Yuy is very possessive of us all, we all kinda of are, we were, well most of us were by ourselves for so long that once our bond was formed, we became a fairly intimate family."

"I can understand that."

"Thought you could. Wufei is the strange one of our complicated family, we all are protective of him, sometimes overly so. He doesn't show it, but he is a very sensitive person at times and will easily retreat into his shell if allowed."

Trowa placed the kettles onto the stove, turned it on and walked over to take a seat across from the former OZ soldier. "Just realize Yuy doesn't mean all the stuff he says to you."

"I know."

"Neither does Duo."

"I know that too. Trust me when I say Sally and I've noticed how he's blossomed over the last few months. We all do that though, Trowa. There is a point when you first meet people and you size them up, I cannot tell you if normal people do as such, but I can vouch for myself and anybody who is a soldier. Noin glared at Wufei for three weeks straight until we had a talk. It is a feeling of infringement, whether you acknowledge it or not, it is there until you learn better."

"Zechs?"

"Yes, Trowa?"

"You do realize that you're part of our family now, don't you?"

A small smile crept onto the blonde's lips. "I never thought there was a choice in the matter. And please realize that you may have a larger family than you realize."

Quatre sat still on the bed, eyes still focused intently on his friend. 'I never noticed how... small... he was' the blonde thought to himself, verdant eyes lingered over the lithe form, the form of a nimble warrior. 'You would never know under the clothes he wears...'

The mental ramblings were halted as a twinge of pain rippled through his heart. "Wufei..." he whispered, brushing the boy's face. The pain the boy dwelled in attempted to drown the young Arabic boy into the despairing depths. "Wufei... Shhh..."

In an unexpected motion, the L5 pilot shot up in a half gasp, half shriek, eyes opened and reflecting the madness that inhabited the dark corners of his nightmares. "Mei!"

Two arms reached out, tugging the bronze skinned boy close, resting that shaking body close to his. "Wufei, it's me. Quatre."

<< "I'm sorry... Forgive me..." >>

Trembling arms encircled the blonde's waist as a sob broke loose from that slightly battered body, tucking his head under the other boy's chin, seeking a small form of comfort. Quatre merely rubbed at the boy's back, soothing words tumbling from his lips. The words from Wufei's lips were foreign to him but his heart understood the deeper meaning...

I'm sorry. Forgive me.

They were a mantra they all had muttered, if not nightly.

Instinctively, the L4 pilot looked up and saw not only Zechs but Trowa hovering at the door. Offering them a small smile, he continued to brush his fingers gently through the small Asian boy's silky mane. "Zechs could you come here for a moment?"

Deep in his heart Quatre had felt a small twinge of wanting from the comrade in his arms, however much Wufei tried to conceal his admiration and possibly budding emotions to the Tallgeese pilot, Quatre had felt a small bit of it leak through the momentary lapse of control the boy clung to so desperately. And that was all he really needed to feel.

The Sankian man settled on the bed close to Quatre, helping the smaller blonde shift the sobbing boy into his own arms. "You need a rest. I can watch him." He offered.

Smiling, Quatre nodded, "Thank you. Make sure you are comfortable, all right?"

With the tall man's assentment, Quatre left the room to join his lover in the hall.

~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~

"I'm sure they are fine, Quatre." A soft voice whispered from behind the small blonde's shoulder, the warm puff of air tickling him.

"I know, trust me. They look cute together, that's all."

"Busybody."

Turning in that warm embrace, the turquoise eyed boy grinned up at his lover, pressing a chaste kiss upon the taller boy's nose. Trowa bent forward to capture those lips with his own. Pulling back slightly, panting, he whispered in reply, "Don't tease."

"Hm." The boy smiled. "Whatever you say..."

As they entered the next room the Frenchman looked down into his lover's eyes, "Something's bothering you. Did you have a brush in with Wufei's emotions?"

Taking that break for what it was, Quatre slid down into his low-backed wing chair. "Aside from the fact I felt something from him at all is a reason to worry, but this time he had a flashback. In fact if I can make a good guess, whatever Wufei is hiding from us happened in his apartment today."

"Something that reminded him of this home?" Trowa asked with concern floating to the front of his words. Leaning forward, he cupped his little love's chin in his hands, gently he ran his thumb over the soft pale skin of the Arab boy's cheek.

Sighing into the needed and calming touch, Quatre's eyes flickered closed and grief flushed his tone. "Wufei guards himself very well. I can always *feel* the presences of you all, even Zechs and Sally, but the difference, reading him is so rare that when it happens it truly and absolutely *hurts*."

"How so? Does it hurt with others?" Trowa pressed, wishing his lover no grief.

The touch of the fabric and the scent wafted about his senses, and pale fingers intertwined with those of the French boy's palm. "He's so sensitive and compassionate but hold's it in, suffering internally rather than letting anything slip through and when it does it hits me like a tidal wave. Whatever happened today had some definitive connection to the war or Wufei's now destroyed home..."

"We can't be absolutely sure of that-"

"He called out to his dead wife."

That raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Not to say I doubt you, but Wufei?"

A solemn nod.

There was a long pause from the taller boy.

"What is it, Trowa?"

Verdant eyes flickered from the direction of the Asian boy's room and his love. "Does Duo know more about Wufei's past?"

Shrugging, the blonde met that loving glance. "Not so much more than I truly do, maybe more intimate details, small things. We should really give them a call on a secure line and let them know what happened, before Heero finds out and has our heads."

"I'll go get that secure line ready, just give me a few minutes."

Standing with a stretch, Quatre nodded. "I'll quickly reheat Zechs' coffee and bring it in to him. I trust you made me a cup?"

"I swear you must have the world's keenest sense of smell when it comes to that crap you drink."

"Don't you know it." He quickly pressed a butterfly kiss to his lover's lips and then headed towards the kitchen whilst his lover headed to the study to get that line prepared.

~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~

The European teen leaned on the back on the leatherback chair as the blonde Arab opened the line and waited for the braided teen or his disgruntled lover to answer.

"Hey! Q-man and Trowa! What's the reason for the line? Miss me?" The American answered from his comm.

Trowa lifted an eyebrow and glanced down at his lover who shifted ever so slightly. "We had a bit of an interesting problem today, Duo."

All features of the braided pilot's face turned serious, violet eyes hard and focused. "What happened?" There was a motion off screen and suddenly, Heero Yuy appeared next to his lover.

"Secure line?" The Japanese boy asked, cobalt hued orbs practically bearing down at them.

Ranking a hand through his light mane, Quatre leaned back and explained in a sincere but business-like tone the summary of the morning's events. At least what he had got an account of, there was more he was positive that had happened, but he could always hack into the Preventer's servers or have Yuy get that information at a later time.

Disdainment crossed the L1 pilot's face as Quatre finished his tale.

Trowa caught the expression and quickly made a point to reply to the unspoken question he knew was lingering at the forefront of Yuy's thoughts. "It wasn't Zechs' fault. Remember that, Yuy."

A dark glare met that statement, but nothing further was muttered from the Asian pilot. Duo grimaced and leaned forward towards the comm. "This is bad, Q. I really, *really* want to be there for him. How bad was it? Like bad or *Bad*?"

Absently rubbing his chest over his heart, Quatre sighed and leaned into the support of the tall man behind him. The European teen took that as his signal to explain, "Probably nothing worse than any of our nightmares, its just you know how Chang keeps things in, bottling them up and then when it comes out, Quatre kinda gets a wicked backlash of surging emotions."

"But something makes you think it was more?" Heero asked, an arm slipping around the distraught American.

"Could it be possible that Wufei has morphed?" Quatre asked, mostly intending for the thought not to be heard, but the sensitive ears of the other boy's caught the words.

Violet eyes intensified and leaned very close to the screen, demanding to know if there was any change in the Chinese teen. "Did you feel or notice anything that would imply that?"

Turquoise eyes rested off in space, the boy saying nothing. There was a slow movement as if the Arab was sensing something, rather like an itch at the back of his skull. "Wufei's up again. But no I don't think, and that is the key word of the moment, that that has happened, but we probably won't know until we do. We have to get going Duo; I don't want to keep on a secure line for long. I'll get in touch with you as soon as possible."

Heero gave a curt nod and his lover sighed, obviously torn between his guarding duty and hijacking the next shuttle to be by his friend's side. Finally, the teen looked up and nodded. "Tell Fei-fei hello for me, k?"

A smile dawned on the blonde's face. "Will do and stay safe. Winner out." And closed down the line. It wasn't a moment too soon, for as the line was disconnected there was a sharp knock on the room's door.

"Zechs." Trowa greeted.

"Hey, Wufei finally is up and say's he's kinda hungry-"

Standing up, the Arab boy snatched his lover's hand and pulled him towards the door where the Sankian man politely stood. "Great! We'll go make sure dinner is prepared within the next half an hour. I need to make a desperate call to the office, and Trowa-kun needs to get that call in to Sally."

Trowa smiled, "And try and get Wufei into a bath. He's happier when he isn't covered in a layer of ash and plaster. There is one attached to the room."

A blush crept unbiddingly to the blonde's cheeks. "Um... sure. No problem. I'll make sure we're to the dining room with the next 30 minutes."

"Down the stairs and to your left!" Quatre called as he dragged himself and his lover around the corner to attend to their tasks.

"Okay." Zechs replied, then turned to head back to the bedroom. "Give him a bath. Yeah... Like he really wants me to bath him on top of everything else that has happened today." A nasty thought of the porcelain tub and the lithe boy poked at his mind. 'Last thing he needs is me jumping him in the damn tub. Get a damn grip Peacecraft. He's a friend. He's a friend.' The mental mantra continued until Zech's opened the door to the room and saw Wufei sitting up half naked, sipping the cup of coffee and suddenly he really, *really* wanted nothing more than to take the Asian boy then and there.

'Damn I want to fuck him.'

Black eyes looked up over the large white mug. "Sorry. But you know how I am without my morning coffee. It was for everyone's benefit."

Zechs managed a real smile, "Hate to break it to you, Fei, it's almost supper time."

"Then it was an act of desperation."

Ranking a hand through his mane, Zechs sat at the corner edge of the bed, "I got my orders to get you into a bath. Can you manage on your own, or do you need some help?"

"Let me guess. Winner and Barton?" The Chinese youth asked, raising one eyebrow and then tilted the mug back to take another sip.

"Yeah." The Sankian man nodded with a real grin.

Wufei extended his hand with the mug. "You want the last sip?"

Zechs' grin widened, the expression was just so *cute* on the Asian teen that he shook his head. "I'm pretty wide awake. I can always bother them for more anyways." Blue eyes watched the boy take the last sip and settle the empty mug on the nightstand.

"Trowa, next to Max- Duo, makes a perfect cup of coffee." Wufei informed his guest. "Winner comes close, except he makes this disgustingly strong stuff that I believe would eat through my liver had I ever had to drink it."

Sliding boxer-clad limbs off the side of the bed, Wufei stood, albeit rather shakily, but still standing. The tall Sank man rose and fought not to offer an arm. 'He wouldn't like the thought of needing help, Millardo. Back off.' Out loud he asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah. It's been a while since-"

"You've gone through a building. I heard. And at this point, I really don't want to ask why."

Slowly making his way from the bed to the bathroom, Wufei smiled. "First time was an accident. Maxwell's bombs went off a few seconds too early when some asinine guard accidentally tripped one, and I went through a plaster wall. Maxwell heard an earful the entire trip home."

An arm shot out as the lithe Chinese boy's muscles gave out. Hugging the boy close, Zechs peered down at the limbs intertwined with his and the feel of the tight small body against his own. Somehow he managed to get out "You alright?" in a fairly normal tone of voice, if not a slight bit husky.

"Yeah... Thanks." Wufei's face was bright red, thanking his ancestor's that his hair covered most of his embarrassment. It really *really* was not his day. Black eyes spied a familiar ghost form chuckling from her spot on the bedroom's armchair by the large windows. << "Glad you find this amusing, woman." >>

Smugly, she leaned forward, making a show of looking them over. << "Maybe he can assist you in the bath..." >>

If his face wasn't cherry red before, it certainly was now. << "Woman!" >>

"Wufei?" Zechs asked, concerned about the boy's outburst. He didn't realize that the youth had taken to talking to himself.

Wufei's head shot up, eyes slightly widening in panic. 'Be reasonable, Chang. He doesn't understand Chinese. He can't see your infernal wife acting like an imbecile.' "Yes?"

"...Never mind." Finished the blonde. "I'll help you get to the bath room."

~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~

By the time Zechs helped Wufei into the dining room he felt that his hard on had quite nicely disappeared. He spent a good deal of his free time whilst the Chinese boy had been in the bathroom mentally knocking himself and thinking of horrifying things to cool his hormones.

"Feeling better, Wufei?" Quatre asked, leaning forward in his chair. He had felt a twinge of *something*, albeit briefly, when the slim boy had entered the room, but it fleeted detection before he was able to truly understand what it was.

"Aa." The bronze skinned boy replied, nodding and thankfully taking a seat. He ached in places that he had not ached in for a very long time. Chang Wufei did not relish the thought of being tossed through open air into a double paned glass window. It hurt. "Sore."

"That's to be expected." Quatre finished, sipping from his wine glass. "It isn't everyday one gets to do such amazing feats."

"Yeah, well I would rather not do it again for a very long time, if ever again." The pouty boy sullenly stated, pushing around the pasta on his dish.

"We talked to Duo and Heero a while ago. They were worried, but will be relieved to hear you are perfectly fine." The blonde Arab smiled.

"I suggest we call Sally and let her know you are fine as well." Zechs added, conversationally.

"Iria faxed her after the examine, but she probably is still worried." The Winner heir nodded in agreement.

"Will you need to contact anyone else?" Trowa asked.

"A bunch of people are probably leaving messages on my machine." Zechs replied, sipping from his own wine glass.

A soft sigh escaped the drained Chinese boy; "There is Liz who is going to want to know if I'm alright since she was with me when we had...that problem this morning. Noin and Sally. Phil down in Human Resources."

The Sankian blonde nodded, adding to the growing list, "Nate and Jon will want to know since Nate was there. The medical staff will get the faxes so no problems there. Everything else is covered. Most of that list can be knocked out with a few phone calls I can make tonight."

"What's more important though..." Trowa started, leaving the rest of his sentence dangling as he snuck a long glance at the Chinese boy before continuing, "is finding out who attacked you and why?"

Black eyes widened marginally at Trowa's questions, staring blankly at his palm laying on his lap. Was he supposed to just tell them? Silence was just as dreadful as telling the simple, yet horribly complex truth. He placed his utensil on the edge of the plate, contemplating his thoughts and how to tell them, yet not.

"I'm going to make the educated guess that since someone attacked our office, and then went after Liz..." pausing he rubbed absently at the back of his neck. " I had Yuy give me some stuff for Liz to get down for us on the case, and she made some remarkable headway, not like having Duo or Yuy do it where they could have given us a postal address, but enough that I can make a guesstimate where some file picking came from."

That lifted an eyebrow. Trowa placed his utensil down. "Someone has been trying to access our files?"

"Not yours, mine specifically."

"You found out the location they were hacking from?" Zechs asked, taking a slow sip from his glass.

"Well, there are only a few places with enough technology that could dup most of the Preventer's equipment." Quatre added. "Small places that we all keep on tabs and so forth. I assume Yuy snuffed out a few files."

"The fake ones included." Wufei confirmed.

"We should double check the Winner systems tonight with any geographical reference to make sure these people are not too meticulous." Trowa decided.

A few slow nods and murmurs of agreement left them leaving the dining hall and heading towards Quatre's private study. He took care that he access to any part of the Winner systems from any locale. Wufei took a moment to crack into his private server at the Preventer's Headquarters, pulling out his notes from the system and having Zechs and Trowa make a run to his and Zech's car to pick up the remaining evidence.

The young Arab and himself set to work pulling up coordinates and such. Surprisingly the Winner systems had not been touched. So either they had not been touched as of that moment, or the party had not thought to touch the Winner systems. Wufei silently hoped it was just that.

Maps dissolved onto the screens as bronze fingers clicked at the keyboard. "I think it came from one of these three locations."

"Origin... China?" The L4 pilot muttered, eyes stretching over the map. "Any of them equipped with any of our bugs?"

"None of them were involved in a battle, they were however on our watch lists at one point all except this one." He pointed his finger at a small blinking dot in the middle of China.

"Strange."

"My sediments exactly."

"You're heading out there with Zechs?"

Sighing, Wufei leaned back in the desk chair. "I need to confirm it with Yuy and Maxwell, but I think that they pass an area within a hundred mile radius of that spot, and if we go in, we can always have some extremely good backup."

~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~~

"Hey! Wu-man! Glad to see you're doing good. Impressing the ladies again with your incredible feats?" The voice of the American said through the comm, violet eyes sparkling and looking quite a bit relieved that his black haired friend looked fine.

"He definitely drew quite the crowd" Zechs smiled, leaning over his partner's shoulder, giving a not so subtle wink at the American pilot.

That gesture brought a good chuckle from Duo and a blush from the Asian boy sitting between that screen and his partner. "If you two are quite finished. If I wasn't that sore I would have beaten you up hours ago, Zechs."

"I'm sure you would have." Zechs replied good-naturally, patting the boy's silky head.

An exasperated sound leaked from the Chinese boys throat. "Zechs!"

"I'm done."

"About time." Wufei turned his attention back to the screen, "We'll be heading out in the morning, and I've booked us a flight to arrive in Bangkok around 5 am."

Prussian blue orbs peered over the American's shoulder. "Can you head over to meet us here?" Coordinates appeared on the secure line, flashing for a second and then disappeared.

Both the Chinese and Sankian man committed them to memory. "Easily. We could be there by 7:30 am, if not then the latest would be 8."

~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~~

Wufei paused in his step as they walked off the small commercial airliner, inhaling the land of his ancestors. Never before had the nostalgia and the sheer power hit him in such a way as it did then. He never experienced this sense of history before, not even when he had spent numerous months during the first war being an ass and self pitying himself in the forests of his ancestral lands.

The dialects swarmed about him and unbiddingly, a smile slipped onto his face. It almost felt like home. Almost.

Turning he lead Zechs through the crowded maze, which was fairly easy since the blonde out stood a good many people around him. Though, Wufei noticed in a bit of disdainment, he was still short by every manner here as well. But the language slipped back into him as he secured them a ride to the nearest Preventer's office to let their superiors know that they were there and that information would be forth coming.

They had also quickly called Quatre and Trowa, letting them know how the flight went, and that they would be in touch fairly soon.

With all that taken care of, the two picked up the rental car and headed out into the tight and overly crowded streets. Zechs opted to be the passenger, stating he would have taken out someone if he had to drive. Wufei drove with the same flare he drove his motorcycle, which frightened the blonde man, but amazingly Zechs said nothing and tried to enjoy the early morning view of an overcrowded metropolis.

Two hours later found them racing through the countryside, surrounded by great and ancient jungles, mighty rivers and waterfalls, and winding roads.

"With any luck, we should be there by 7:30" Wufei stated after the long bout of silence in the car.

"That will be nice. Did Relena agree to any of this? Or she hasn't quite been told yet?" The blonde inquired, leaning back in his seat and watching the face of his partner closely. He knew, intimately knew the dislike his small partner had of his little sister, and he also was not blind to the contempt his sister felt towards the Asian boy. If Zechs was lucky he would get to avoid the problems arising of the two meeting up with one another, though an itch in the back of his mind told that that would only happen when hell froze over.

Wufei shrugged, "I assumed she has been informed, after all Yuy and Duo are the head of security on her little trip."

'Yes' the blonde privately thought, 'it was definitely going to be one of those kinds of trips.' They were going to be lucky if the two of them didn't kill each other by the end of it. 'I don't remember my father ever saying that the Peacecraft absolute pacifism mentality was suppose to be used to keep one's little sister from fighting with the object of one's lust.' Not that he was dedicated to the family tradition of peace keeping, assuming that once a man decided to threaten to blow a gigantic hole in the earth, that would probably ruin his political career as a pacifist. 'Well I guess there is a first time for everything, unfortunately this was not my idea of a homecoming to father's ideals.'

Sighing and taking a moment to brush a few strands of hair back, the taller man replied, "We can assume that, I'm sure."

The rest of the ride proved to be just as silent as the plane trip there. The next words that crossed between them were Wufei announcing to the hotel front desk and other Preventer's who they were.

Lucky for them, Yuy and Maxwell were down there and waved them though without any hassles. The American also feverishly attacked the small Asian boy with hugs and cooing.

Yuy merely glared at the blue eyed man and then turned his gaze back to his lover.

"So I assume your trip was uneventful. So, Wu-man, do we just storm the Bastille or do we get to call the bastards first?" Duo asked, eyes sparkling with a maniacal glee that spoke of large-scale explosions and missiles.

"We could try putting a call through first." Zechs mumbled.

"You are no fun, Blondie." Duo sighed, dramatically. "And here I was hoping to rub off some on ya!"

"All I am suggesting is possibly finding out what is there exactly, and if it is an independent faction or a business merely try using political connections to get in." He paused briefly, then added with a smile, "And if that doesn't work we'll rush in with fireworks."

"Good man!" Duo grinned, playfully patting the taller man on the back.

Relena picked that moment to enter the room, and upon seeing a familiar face, her eyes widened in shock and slight curiosity. She managed to keep from running over to greet them, and smiled up at her brother. "Millardo!"

"Hello Relena." He greeted with only a partial sigh, his birth name tended to draw some rather unnecessary attention.

"What are you doing here?" She turned to Heero and Duo, "Why didn't you tell me he was coming?"

"Maa, we just found out last night, besides it was cooler as a surprise, right?" Duo sweetly said, then added; "Besides they needed to get some things down here, so we told them to drop by for a visit."

She nodded briefly to the Chinese pilot; the room seemingly dropped several degrees as the two met the other's eyes. Zechs shifted uncomfortably, mind racing to dissolve the tension.

"Wufei and I grabbed something on the way in, but if you three want to work on you know what, I'll take my sister to breakfast. Sound like a plan?" Zechs offered, hoping that at least the American would be on his side in this manner.

"Sounds like a plan, Blondie." Duo nodded, "Let us quickly run over some of the perimeters with you in case, and then we'll let you two hang for a while whilst we do some detective work."

The Japanese boy swiftly then walked aside with the Sankian man and gave the blonde the rundown of the security, where was what, and a few codes and how to reach them. In turn Zechs quickly filled the L1 pilot with whatever news Sally gave him from last night from his call to her and slipped the boy a disk with all the footage and stats the Preventer's had gathered.

"How long do you need?" Zechs asked as they headed back to the small group waiting for them.

"Not very long, but given how well Relena and Chang get along, how long do you think she will need to cool down?" The Japanese boy replied.

"Give me three hours, and if she can't calm down by then, you can't say I didn't try."

"Understood. We'll fill you in after her breakfast, she has a small diplomatic meeting in the president's room at noon, so that will give us some time to talk." Heero paused and looked up slightly at the blonde. It looked as if the boy wanted to say something else, but after a moment continued walking and left whatever he was going to add, unsaid.

"Ready to head off?" Duo asked, smiling sweetly at his lover.

"Hn."

The three former gundam pilots headed off towards the security room, leaving Zechs with his younger sister.

There was a momentary awkward silence between them, but Zechs offered his arm and gladly she took it. Silently they walked towards the main dining hall, a few people nodding, others taken some snapshots of the former Queen of the World.

"I wish it was more private..." she whispered, looking over the partially crowded room, before the ma�tre d' stepped forward.

"Something that isn't too crowed, if there is anything. We would like some privacy." Zechs said, nodding towards the man.

"Certainly. Please follow me."

They were seated near the back, the windows in there view, but not too close to them, security reasons standing as such. Zechs pulled out the chair for her. It felt slightly strange; it had been a while since there last talk.

"How have you been Millardo?" She asked quietly, not quite knowing where to start and ended up looking down and toying with her utensils.

"Busy." He answered; he could empathically pick up on her slight distress and continued, trying to offer some mitigation from the slight discomfited moment. "The Preventer's have been fairly busy lately, especially since Lady Une was shot in her office. I assume you heard?"

She nodded, "I feel terrible..."

"There was nothing anyone could have done. Nobody was expecting it. But I talked to Sally last night and although she's in a light coma, they say she is pulling through fine."

"Still..."

"Relena, she's fine. The woman has been shot a good many times in her life, a few times at point blank."

A frustrated sigh escaped her, "Still, things like that shouldn't happen."

"I highly agree, but they will, and they do. Best we can do is find out whoever did it and let the law handle the rest."

She nodded and then met his eyes, "What brings you to China, Millardo?"

He smiled as the coffee was settled on the table and orders were quickly taken before answering her, "Wufei and I are on a case." Then he realized his mistake. He had never actually told his sister that he had been partnered up with the Asian boy. 'Stupid! Stupid!' He reprimanded himself, watching clear blue eyes; shades darker than his own grow stormy.

"I see. I was under the impression that you and Miss Noin were working together." She replied stiffly, sipping at her coffee.

"For a while." He shrugged casually. "She is now the head trainer of the new recruits and somewhat of a life support and assistant to Lady Anne and at times Sally."

"Oh."

He raked a hand through his mane, "Relena, please, be sensible. I would have told you sooner, but I knew how you were going to react. I'm a detective, its nice, he's a great man, a wonderful partner and there isn't anyone else alive other than Lu or Anne that I would rather have watching my back."

"Oh."

"You're upset." He started, leaning back and crossing his legs.

"I am not, Millardo." She answered stiffly.

"You are, don't lie. This is why I shouldn't have told you-"

"The man is a killer." She hissed quietly. "He was in league with that little brat, her I can almost understand since she was raised that way, but he made the conscious decision of betraying his friends."

"Wufei is no less of a killer than I am Relena."

"You are not-"

"There is as much blood on my hands as his. I know you don't like it, and trust me I hate myself immensely for it, but paths were chosen, decisions were made rashly, and I am what I am through no one's fault but my own. If you remember correctly, I tried to blow a hole in the Earth." He replied in an even tone, mixing a cream into his cup of coffee.

There was a stretch of silence in which their food came and was placed on the table. Relena pushed it around some before looking up at her brother. Her beautiful brother, who she wished would have stood by her side and joined her in her political campaign. But he was right; they were very different, slowly remaking their siblinghood come back. Someday she was going to ask him about them, their parents, what happened that fateful night, and why he had never come for her, why she was separated from him. But now was not that time.

"I'm sorry. You are right, but I still do not like him, despite your opinion. I see him as a traitor, and I don't understand how he got excused for his behavior when others did not. By all rights he should be mining on Mars right now."

"Because of him Heero Yuy was able to save us. It was Wufei who provided the final key in winning the second war." Zechs answered easily.

"Why do you defend him?" She asked. There was... something that dwelled in the bottom of her heart, a slight ache every time her brother spoke of the gruff Asian boy.

He paused, looking towards the window in contemplation. Why did he defend the boy? 'Perhaps it is because you care for him...' his thoughts whispered. He tucked that aside. That was not the answer he sister would want to hear. "I care for him as a friend, Relena. No he wasn't always pleasant to be around, but the boy is very complex. Once you gain his trust, he is willing to anything to keep you safe. He is smart, slightly amusing, and caring. You two would probably get along well if you stopped hating each other."

"It's like saying heaven and hell would get along swimmingly if the devil wasn't so evil." She countered.

"No, honestly I think you two have a lot in common and just don't know it."

"How would you know?"

"Call it a hunch. I think he might provide you with a challenge you have not seen since Dorothy. Speaking of which, how is she?"

Grateful for the change in topics, Relena smiled. "Dorothy is fine. She's not here right now..." there was a small wistfulness in her tone, "There were a few things piling up in Belgium that she offered to handle for me. Which I gratefully accepted."

"I'm glad you are getting along well."

"She is still a little depressed about Trieze's death, but she seems well enough."

A nod came from him. "When you see her, offer her my condolences and tell her that we should talk sometime if she ever has the desire to talk about her cousin."

"I certainly will, Millardo."

~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~

They wandered back into the lobby about three hours later, and sat in the leather chairs awaiting the three to join them. The wait was not long, Duo appeared with a smile firmly affixed to his face, and nodded. "Hey you two! We hit a fairly large snag, Zechsie. Hee-kun and Fei-fei are trying to work something out, but it looks bad. You want to help?"

Relena bit her lip then moved forward, "Anything I can do to help, Duo?"

His violet eye narrowed slightly in thought, and then perked back up. "Maybe, well either you or Blondie here might have the political oomph needed."

"What is the problem?" the auburn haired girl asked as they entered the security room.

Heero and Wufei didn't even look up. Duo sighed, and flopped back in the chair. "Kinda a strange lil snag. It seems that China allows certain people or businesses to stake claim on land and turn it into some fortress. We can't call to make an appointment since as the operator happily informed me and Hee-chan, even Sally for the Preventers, that they had no desire nor want of us to set foot there."

"I doubt I could do much..." Zechs replied, walking in and leaning close to the two boy's on the keyboard.

"Not without a beam canon?" Duo asked cheekily.

Surprisingly, Zechs smiled, "Not without my beam cannon. Somehow people find me much more intimidating with it for some reason."

"Really?" Duo chuckled, and turned his gaze to the former Queen of the World. "You want a shot?"

"I suppose we can... offer to have a talk there?" She suggested. Heero nodded and send the connection through for the fourth time that day.

The operator frowned at the number, "Sir, I told you..." her sentence was cut short as Relena stepped forward, "I know this is fairly sudden but I would like to talk to someone in charge please."

The girl merely nodded and they were put on hold. The five of them sat in the small room waiting the better part of a half hour for someone to pick up.

"Lousy service..." Duo grumbled, shifting in his chair.

A few minutes later an elderly man garbed in tradition Chinese clothes appeared on the screen. << "How can I help you, Miss Peacecraft?" >>

Relena blinked and bowed quickly, "Do you speak English?"

Heero quickly turned on the translation device and told her not to worry. Subtitles appeared before her as she spoke. "Sorry, I completely forgot about that. I was wondering, I am in the area and I was hoping to perhaps make a stop-"

[That is highly unnecessary, since we have no time nor desire to see someone with your ideals, Miss Peacecraft.] The man replied.

Had anyone turned to look at the Chinese boy when the phone had answered they would have noticed the boy's face go deathly pale. He was staring into the face of a man he had long thought of as dead. Fingers tightly gripped the armrests of his chair as he looked for support. The accent, the garb, the man brought back thousands of memories. Two thoughts raced through his mind, one that the man before him was dead and the second was in the last twenty four hours he had met two members of his clan that should have clearly died when it exploded.

He could see Meiren appear and shake her head in her own disbelief at what appeared on the screen. Staring then turning to him. She had to say nothing; her eyes relayed her sediments perfectly.

Panicked eyes flickered from her disappearing image to the screen. What was the man saying? The connection to the case lied with in the sanctum this man guarded, he knew that now. Either way he could get some answers, and perhaps rid himself of some guilt. Had others truly survived? Did some of his clan still exist?

He stood so rapidly that the chair toppled back, Relena had not moved the man, but he knew she couldn't. However, he could... But it would mean revealing some very intimate things that he hadn't hoped the others would have found out. He neither heard nor acknowledged the American pilot's questions, he merely sidestepped the Queen of the world and glared at the blue tinted screen.

The man's face froze in shock. << "You-!" >>

<< "I would highly suggest that you let us enter, if not for this woman's banter than at least on the sole purpose of keeping your few ties to the Preventer's good ones. I would loathe to make your life miserable." >> Wufei said.

Heero's eyes widened some, he had a descent grasp of the language, but the accent was different than what he was use to. Duo's eyes widened and he snuck a glance to Zechs. They knew that tone of voice. It was one the boy had not used since the early days of the war.

How bitter and cruel it sounded to their ears. A strong string of commanding words that struck out, lashed out.

<< "I am sure that-" >>

<< "Long Shen. I am not suggesting you do something. I am commanding it. You do not have the authority to tell me no. I will talk to whoever is considered the elders when we come tomorrow afternoon. Did I make myself clear?" >>

There was a short silence as the ruthless and severe words sunk in.

<< "Tomorrow then. Early afternoon. I will make it so you will see the elders tomorrow when you arrive." >> Long Shen finally replied sounding heavily subdued this time.

<< "I will have guests with me of great importance. Inform them of that
as well." >> he finished and with a curt bow he turned off the vid-phone and stood there, hands gripping the desk with such might that it seemed to bend around his strength. He could feel the stares.

It took him several moments to cool his temper, what had he been angry about? 'The fact that you are mad at yourself. You assumed... You never looked.' His mind cruelly teased.

'I did not think... I saw no escape shuttles leave.'

'You can't excuse it, you never checked. You never cared enough to look for any survivors. What kind of leader are you?'

"Fei...?" The American's voice sounded leaden with worry and slightly unsure of itself.

Closing his eyes briefly, he closed out their faces; it was easier to answer them that way. "It seems that they will see us tomorrow afternoon. I would suggest that any prior engagements be rearranged."

Stepping forward, Relena glared at the boy, "How did you... get..." the sentence died in her throat as the boy turned and looked at her. Those dead eyes just looked at her with absolutely no emotion that she could have sworn she had looked over the edge of an abyss of nothingness and it terrified her.

Saying nothing more, the Chinese boy silently walked out of the room and out of the hotel doors. He did not stop; he simply walked for miles, away from the isolated hotel's grounds, into the steaming woods and dropped to the ground.

He wanted to cry.

He wanted to scream.

He wanted to feel something.

And yet, not an ounce of anything came to him. Finally he had reached it. He felt that he should have been terrified, yet he just sat there, starring at nothing, the events of his life playing and flashing across his mind, taunting him, reminding him, scolding him. Then Wufei realized it. It had finally happened.

He felt absolutely nothing.

To be continued....

Carrin the banner!
Kc-chan

More to come in part 4!