Heero scanned the message once more, his expression registered nothing, �Hey Quatre, take a look at this.� The blonde leaned over his shoulder and read the mail, �So they want to fight again?� Perfect soldier shut the lap top, �That�s the way it seems. Inform the others. If they want battle, that�s what we�ll give them.�
A bright red suburban pulled out in front of the black Ford, slowing its speed substantially. Trowa slammed on the breaks, �Damn it!� Duo opened one of the flimsy plastic packages from the Chinese take out box, removing a pair of chopsticks. He stuck both under his upper lip and looked at the spiky-haired boy next to him, �I�m a walrus!� Trowa snatched the chopsticks from him without taking his eyes from the road, �Those are eating utensils, not toys.� The longhaired boy clamped his hand to his mouth, cobalt eyes wide. �My teeth! You took my teeth!� Trowa tossed them back at him, �Like I want them.� One fell to the floor, the other landed on Duo�s thigh. He picked them up and reinserted them under his lips, grinning widely at Wufei. The Dragon shook his head, �Why must I always put myself in these predicaments?� He turned away again, the grin still plastered on his face.
A bright flash of red from the far sidewalk drew his attention. Duo pressed his face against the glass, straining to see more. �Hey, I know her! Pull over!� Trowa frowned, �Duo, we�re in the middle of traffic, I�m not pulling over.� He turned quickly, his dark russet braid whipping around with him, �Pull the damn car over!� All of the humor had gone from his face, his words more of an order than his previous request. The silencer sighed and pulled the truck onto the shoulder. Duo opened the door before it had come to a full stop. �Hey Duo! Your teeth!� He whirled briefly, tossing the chopsticks in the car. Wufei and Trowa watched him run through the middle of rush hour traffic, pausing every now and then to avoid being smashed by a car. �So, are we meant to wait for him or�� Trowa leaned over the passenger seat and pulled the door shut, �He knows the way home. Besides, we aren�t going to wait for him while the food gets cold.�
Jess watched her feet make their way across the sidewalk; none of the shops along this road were of much interest. A majority of them were run down pawnshops or cheap jewelry places, neither of which she needed. �Hey Red!� She paused, listening carefully to nothing more than the sounds of traffic. When the words weren�t repeated, she continued her march. Pilot two jumped in her path, an exasperated smile nearly cutting his face in half, �Yah miss me?� Jess leapt back, letting out a small scream. Immediately regaining her senses, the freckled girl slapped his shoulder, �Don�t do that!� He laughed, a deep warm sound, �So, what�s a girl like you doing in this part of town. And without company, I might add.� She shrugged. Her extensive braid slipped over her slender shoulder, a soundless waterfall of blood. �Just walking.� Duo reached out to finger the scarlet plaits. He halted, his hand hovering inches from it. Red nodded, �Go ahead.� Shinigami lightly took hold near the base and let it slide across his palm to where a small lavender elastic kept it in place, �Wow, yours is long. My braid isn�t that long and I�ve never had it cut in my life.� Jess watched quietly with jade eyes. After a moment, he let it drop. The tail twitched near her knee before becoming still again. �Neat� So, nobody else is accompanying you? I�m not going to be attacked suddenly by that dog or anything,� Duo questioned with a wry expression. She rolled her eyes skyward, �No, Amber�s working and Fang is recuperating from�� Seven noticeably hesitated, �A fight with another dog.� She tugged nervously at the bottom of her tube top, stretching the word �angel� to far to the right. �Trowa totaled him, huh? Don�t worry, I already figured it out,� he stated calmly. Jess let her eyes slide to her feet, seeming embarrassed about her secret being revealed. Duo held out his arm to her, �Lunch?� She furrowed one brow, uncertain. Slowly, she laced her arm in his, �Alright, you know a place?� He let his ever classic grin spread, �Yep.�
Amber lowered her wrench to see her wristwatch for the forth time, �Damn it, where is she?� By her accounts, Jess was an hour and a half late. �This isn�t like her.� The slender German scowled, �I�m going to have to remind her to check in more often.� Her eyes slowly traveled to the far wall, mounted upon it was the lethal dragonhead she had claimed from their first encounter with the five wing boys. Her gaze became a glare, �If they�ve got enough courage to show, we�ll show them whose boss.� The dragon�s vivid ruby eyes sent the angry stare back to her, though the beast would never again taste the blood of battle. She turned her attention back to fixing P.C.�s legs.
As the pop song faded, an unusual techno remix replaced it on the restaurant�s speaker system. The lights changed momentum and color at the correct instant. Jess leaned forward and rested her elbows on the iron table, her emerald eyes danced with mischief, �� So I went and got one anyway. I�ve always been that way though, Amber tells me no and I do it just to feel rebellious.� The chocolate-haired American moved his gaze from Red�s lower portions to return to her face, �You got a tattoo at that age?! Man, you�re wild! Can I see?� She pushed her feet against the black leather booth cushion and took a seat on the dark metal table, pushing aside several empty plates. Hidden behind Jess�s tight white jacket was an enormous image of Dream Chaser. It�s fully extended wings nearly wrapped around to her front, the suit�s battle stance taking up most of her lower back. �Holy shit, that�s huge!� Duo exclaimed. Fascinated, he traced his index finger along the jet-black lines making up the suit�s wings. Jess trembled lightly, someone else�s touch an alien feeling to her. Other than Amber, no one could get close enough to lay a hand on her. At least not without a wallet or piece of jewelry going missing. This was turning out different though; it wasn�t one of her usual flirts to get a hold of the person�s possessions. She was actually enjoying his company; it was a bizarre action for her. Jess glanced at her digital watch as it beeped the hour, �Oh crap Duo, I gotta go!� She slid off the table. The dark teenager�s expression became gloomy, �Ok Red. See ya.� Seven frowned, Shinigami�s heartbreaking look getting to her, �Now I feel bad, look at that face. You act like I�m never coming back to see you! Cheer up!� She pulled the corners of his mouth up with her thumbs, forming a very silly smile, �There we go! Now you hang onto that until we meet again.� He easily wrapped his fingers around her slim wrists, pulling her hands from his face. The grin remained, Duo�s eyes now matching it; �I�ll see you later. Take care of those curves.� Jess tilted her head and smirked, �Oh don�t worry, they aren�t going anywhere.� With that, she turned her back to him and headed out the door.The death of darkness slid back into the empty booth, his mind racing. Why are you doing this to yourself? You know your going to lose her like all the other�s you got attached to. He ran one hand through his chestnut hair, but this isn�t like what happened at the Maxwell church. I�m not going to let anything like that happen again. Satisfied, he tossed a wadded up hundred on the table and got up.
A loud slam caused Amber to jump, the entrance to the warehouse had to be eased shut or it would crash into its frame. It was the first sign that Jess had entered. �Hey Amber! You still here?� She leaned over the side of the catwalk near P.C.�s head, �And where in God�s name have you been?� The short redhead put a hand behind her head and blushed, �Talking to someone.� The words echoed off the lofty ceiling, repeating the last of her sentence. Amber rolled her eyes, �For three hours? He must have been really cute.� She quickly dropped it; �You�d better start working on that suit if you expect to fight in a another week.� Jess swung herself onto the winding steel staircase that lead to the high walk. �They already got back to us on that?� She questioned with astonishment, �Those boys don�t play around, do they?�
Over the next week, all prepared. Suits were upgraded, weapons charged, and simulations run. The time came to end these blood battles for good. So it seemed. The ground on which they were to fight was the same as their previous scrape, base 79432. On the dawn of July 14, 198, seven mobile suits faced off on these ruins. There would be no peace�
Jess shrieked as Zero abruptly smashed the left side of her suit; he was the first to make any move. Deathscythe Hell followed his attack, �Heero, I want to fight him!� Zero ignored him and continued to hammer Dream Chaser. The suit managed to get good footing on Zero�s chest plate, heaving him over her to crash to the ground several decameters away. Dream Chaser hastily scrambled back to her feet, opening a link to her enemy, �That was a dirty trick Heero!� The Perfect Soldier was already up, circling her carefully, �The element of surprise isn�t a trick. It�s useful, but not dirty. You need to pay more attention during battle.� He ignited his saber, swiftly closing in for the kill. Jess moved to block his attack, but he pivoted bringing it, instead, in contact with her lower right arm. Sparks showered the ground, the piece becoming useless. Duo stepped forward, �Lay off Heero! We don�t want to kill them!� He didn�t get to say anything more. Amber attacked his exposed back.
Heavy Arms moved around to P.C.�s left side, Nataku following his pattern. With Deathscythe�s current position, Amber was caught in the middle. A pack of metallic wolves around their prey. They struck at her simultaneously: staff, scythe, and blade. Amber tried to hold them off with her beam saber, resorting to her buster rifle after a short time. She caused substantial damage to all three, but they had accomplished four times as much on her. P.C. slowed in movement, threatening to give out at any moment. Amber�s face drained of color; we�re not going to make it out of this.
Jess�s eyes flicked from her fore to back, Sandrock in one place, Zero in the other. When she tried to put to much attention in one, the other would attack violently. Heero was the one to make the finishing blow that disabled her. At his strike, Dream Chaser collapsed on the ground. Trowa held the other devastated suit at bay, �Why don�t we move this to the ground? Hand to hand. What do you say, Amber?� This struck her, how does he know my name? � Or are you going to let Jess face us all alone?� The young, well figured girl was standing on the chest of her fallen suit, hands raised in surrender. Amber fumed, �Damn it Jess! These guys won�t hesitate to kill you! Get back in you god damned suit!� As if to reply to this fact Heero advanced on the vulnerable redhead. In his path was Deathscythe, wings extended and scythe ignited, �We�re going to fight on the ground, continue your battle there.� He didn�t take Duo�s threatening tone seriously, but didn�t attempt to step on her.
Heavy Arms moved close to P.C., his cockpit directly inline with hers. Trowa stepped from the suit and over to hers, hitting the control to open the door. His intimidating form filled most of the doorway. Amber�s hand was positioned over the self-destruct button, �Take one more step and so help me, I will blow us both up.� The silencer aimed an Uzi at her head; �I�m prepared to go that way, are you? Get out now.� He motioned with his gun as well.
Deathscythe Hell leaned down over Dream Chaser, releasing it�s pilot. Shinigami�s braid flew out behind him as he fell. He landed softly near Jess, remaining in his crouched position. He watched as the others climbed from their suits, Amber being lead by gunpoint. �Stay away from Heero, he�s going to try and kill you,� his voice remained a whisper; though there was no one close enough to hear. Jess looked at him, her mouth open for a reply. She didn�t get a chance to; Heero yelled at the dark boy beside her, irritated about the delay, �Are you going to bring her over here or not?� Duo pushed himself up and led the freckled child towards the chosen grounds.
Wufei stood erect, his eyes transfixed by the dark-haired German. His mouth formed a single word, �Meilan.� Almost every aspect of pilot six was similar to that of the girl that had died in his arms nearly four years ago, the oriental fighter shook his head and stepped back. The dead don�t come back to life, but Meilan� Trowa glanced at him, noticing his far away look, �Hey, Wufei! You going to help us or what?� The dragon remained in his own mind, but replied all the same, �I don�t fight girls, women, or weaklings.� Amber scoffed, �What, are you afraid I�ll hurt you?� Coal black eyes met her grayish-green ones, they were sorrowful, lost, �I don�t fight women.� Those dark eyes greatly contrasted his serious expression. Amber was puzzled by this, �Well, to bad.� She dropped to the ground, pivoting on her toes. Blackie was pulled swiftly and aimed at Trowa�s gun hand. The Latino tried to take aim again, but Amber was faster. He winced as the hot lead bullet ground into the back of his hand. The Uzi clattered to the cement, where pilot six scooped it up. The action came to a stand still once again, Trowa clutching his wounded hand tightly, Amber trying to decide which two pilots to aim at, and Duo trying to control his hunger.
Heero unexpectedly laughed, his gaze on Jess�s unusual outfit, �If you fight as bad as you dress, you must be as bad as an Oz soldier.� The redhead gasped and looked down at her cloths. Her jeans had one leg ripped off and her button-up boots were a few sizes to big, but it didn�t deserve that kind of insult. She started towards him and began pulling random things out of her pockets. In a few seconds, Jess had constructed a pipe bomb, �Do you want to take that back or die?� He laughed once again, �What, by the means of that toy?� The flickering flame of her lighter ignited the bomb�s wick bringing a grin to Jess�s face, �See what this toy can do.�
Duo watched Trowa�s blood steadily drip to the ground, his hunger growing more intense. He shook his head and pulled out his steel scythe, focusing instead on Amber. If he was going to shed blood, it would be hers. Her attention was on the injured pilot as she watched him tie off his open wound. The pilot of Heavy Arms looked up at Amber cautiously, his deep green eyes flicked past her momentarily only to return to her face, �You know you�re outnumbered, don�t you? You can�t win. We�ve recognized that we couldn�t beat you without teamwork, that�s why we started using it.� Amber kept aim on him, knowing there had to be a reason behind this talk.
A shadow fell across her; the dark curve ran a few feet in front of her, blackening the ground. Realizing what it was, the huntress whirled. The turn was a little too quick and she landed on her back. Shinigami�s scythe came down between her legs, if she had stayed put it would have sliced her in two. Amber�s searching hand found her gun, lashing it up to Duo. One shot came from the gun followed by three low clicks. The death of darkness was thrown back, the bullet being fired at point blank range. It came out the other side of his shoulder in a shower of crimson. Duo stepped forward again, pulling his scythe out the cement with his good hand. It gave way with one simple jerk. Amber crab-walked away from him, muffling her own screams. He glanced at the gushing wound, �Ow, that hurt.� There was no pain or fear in his deep voice, just sarcasm. Oh Christ! He�s really going to try to kill me! Amber thought suddenly as Duo advanced on her. She pulled out another clip; years of training let her keep her eyes on pilot two as she exchanged it. The fresh clip contained one of her specialties, acid bullets. Amber let one loose on the dark boy. The bullet that had been aimed for the pilot�s forehead ripped open his left cheek; he�d dodged it.
Jess swiftly put together a second bomb as Heero climbed to his feet. The explosion from the first had caught only his right side, leaving it a bloody mess. This didn�t seem to slow the brown-haired Japanese down much. Pilot seven circled around to get a better shot and tossed the second pipe at him. The Perfect Soldier had learned from her previous attack and moved faster to get out of its path. He glared at her through the hot crimson trickling into his Prussian blue eyes. Now thoroughly out of pipe bombs, the slender green-eyed pilot withdrew a four-inch dagger from her boot. It wasn�t much, but there were few other options at this point.
Trowa decided he�d watched for long enough; after all he wanted a piece of her as well. Duo�s fierce actions startled him; he�s out for blood. The fact sent a cold shiver down his spine. It wasn�t often that their comrade got this way, but when he did there was very little that would or could stop him. The silencer followed shadow walker�s pursuit from behind, trapping Amber between them. The young woman would not be fooled again by the same trick; she turned and shot Trowa three times in his thigh, twice in his shin. He attempted to dodge the torrent, receiving several in his other leg. Despite the burning pain that urged him to collapse, the tall youth remained standing. �I�m getting tired of these games, boys. Why must you insist on making this difficult for me?� Amber inquired as she backed up, bringing both Gundam pilots into her view. Duo twirled his scythe single-handedly, getting a better grip higher on its handle; �If we made it easy this wouldn�t be a fight, now would it?� Silently, Trowa agreed to this. With a sudden bust of energy, pilot three charged at Amber. His wounded legs screamed at this unexpected movement and he knew he�d be paying a price for it later. Catching her off guard, Trowa took Amber to the ground, pinning her there. His breath came out slightly heavier than usual, but he managed to keep the struggling girl in the dirt. �You were preoccupied.� The well-figured German twisted her gun arm so it was positioned under Trowa and fired. The shot dug into his side, only to catch on a rib. Having been given enough pain in one day, the Latino rolled off her. This time, he didn�t get up.
A shrill scream turned Amber away from her adversaries. Heero had pulled out the short dagger that Jess had plunged into his hand, the sharp edge now pressed against her own throat. The dark warrior moved to intercept P.C.�s pilot, promptly receiving a bullet in the kneecap. He joined Trowa on the ground, pain intensifying as the acid did its work. �Man, she really likes her gun, huh?� The silencer rolled his head to see Duo, �Shut up.� He remained sprawled where he was, far too sore to carry this as a threat.
Heero pushed the edge of the dagger into the wide-eyed girl�s throat just enough to release a thin trickle of crimson, �Now here�s a tip, never underestimate anyone and never turn your back on a fight until the enemy is dead. I think your life will be substantial punishment for this foolishness.� Out of nowhere, Amber came to her partner�s rescue. She kicked the ownerless knife, sending it skidding across the pavement. A second well-enforced kick knocked the Perfect Soldier to the ground, gasping for his breath. Jess blinked, not believing who was standing before her, �Amber! You saved my butt!� Her partner cocked an eyebrow, �That�s my job, is it not?� The short redhead turned and thrust her foot into the fallen warrior�s gut, one of his ribs replied with a sharp crack. Heero coughed heavily, his blood spattered across the ground. �That�s for cutting me, you jerk!� The slender German was already scanning their options. Her eyes fell on Quatre. The young blonde was blinking bright sky-blue eyes at the battle of his comrades, feeling desperate at this point to make the others understand. Amber tossed her head towards him, �That one looks like the easiest target. 17d.� The short Irish girl by her side nodded lightly and pulled a smoke grenade.
The death of darkness pulled himself up part way, resting heavily on his elbows. �Hey, where�d Quatre go?� At first, there was no reply but the sounds of two mobile suits escaping. Trowa shot up, �What?! What happened to Quatre?� Duo glanced at him, �Jeeze, don�t completely put yourself out of commission. They probably took him hostage.� The wounded boy scrambled to his feet, taking a good look around before turning angry eyes onto the only one left standing. �Wufei! Why didn�t you do anything? You could�ve stopped them! We could have won� You could have at least saved Quatre.� The thinning smoke cloud hung over the remaining pilots, casting its shadow across the oriental fighter. Wufei turned his cold black eyes to Trowa, �I don�t fight women.� He uncrossed his arms and started for pilot one, ignoring whatever else Trowa said to him.
Duo was already kneeling by Heero�s side, grinning widely at some unknown joke. �Man Heero, I didn�t think that you were such a wuss. She only hit you once. Why didn�t you get up and kick her butt?� The brown-haired Japanese opened one good eye to see him; a thin trickle of blood came from its corner. Crimson tears. Wufei placed a foot on Heero�s side and rolled him onto his back, �That�s because they totaled him.� The first thing Duo noticed was the pool of blood where Heero had been laying, he then recognized the place it came from. Pilot one�s entire right side was bleeding as one wound, in several places the skin was blown nearly clean off. �Shit Heero! You got completely screwed by a girl! That�s a new one, is it not?� The fallen pilot glared at him, �Shut up Duo.� It came out as a pained mumble, a complete opposite of Heero�s typical speech. He was normally calm and emotionless, giving no hint to what thoughts whirled in his head. The longhaired boy by his side grimaced, �Alright Heero, hang on.�
The phone atop the smooth marble counter rang for the third time. When it received no answer, a message machine intercepted the call. Duo�s voice came on the speaker, repeating the same message that accompanied every missed call, �Hey, nobody�s home right now so leave your message and get off the line� Oh, and don�t forget to wait for the beep.� A dull tone sounded briefly followed by the quiet sounds of Quatre�s voice. �Come on, some one pick up! Please! Someone please answer the phone! � Ok, so you�re not home. I�m in a bad��
Trowa leapt over the back of the couch, his chest hit the counter hard as he reached over it to pick up the receiver. He yanked the portable up the his ear, �Quatre! Quatre, are you alright?� There was a soft sigh on the other end of the line, �Thank God your home. I�m all right. They left me in this really bad part of town. I think I�m in Weston, at the corner of Millbrook and East Main�� Several gunshots in the background cut him off, Trowa strained to hear more, �Quatre?� There was heavy breathing on the other line; slowly the kind-hearted blonde began speaking again. His voice shook with fear, �I think I just witnessed a drive-by shooting� oh god, Trowa get me out of here!�
The tall, well-built Latino strode along the sidewalk of Millbrook until he came to its intersection with East Main. Along the wall of a badly run gas station were three nearly identical telephone booths; the only thing that set them apart from one another was the variety of graffiti on their sides. Sitting on the floor of the farthest booth was a familiar teenager; his knees were pulled to his chest and his face hidden in them. Trowa silently slid open its door and leaned in the frame, �So, you done in here yet or am I going to wait longer for my call?� Quatre pulled his head up and smiled, �What took you so long?� Trowa pulled the younger boy to his feet and lead him back the way he�d come. �What happened?� he asked as they made their way back to the better part of Weston. Quatre let his shoulders rise and fall lightly, �To be honest, I�m not entirely sure. She didn�t ask me any questions, but the way she talked scared me. She kept calling me a frightened rabbit. It was strange, but that was about how I felt at the time. I think I was in the suit with Amber, Jess told me to tell you guys that we had no chance of beating them.� Heavyarms� pilot glanced at him, �We�ll see about that.�
Heero continued to type on his laptop, after a moment he shut it and turned to Quatre. After arriving home, Trowa had sent him strait to the office Heero normally used. The brown-haired pilot had already had him change and search his clothing thoroughly for bugs; not finding any slightly concerned him. �Are there any other wounds I need to fix?� Heero asked. Quatre frowned, �How about some of your own, Heero? Half of them are still open.� Zero�s pilot shook his head, �You can�t be completely bloody and be seen a day later without a single wound. That�s just the way it goes.� He lowered his gaze and nodded, �I know� I don�t have any more; but I�ve got one more favor to ask of you. There�s this spot on my back right out of my reach. It�s really itchy and it�s driving me crazy. Would you give it a quick scratch?� Heero rolled his eyes and scratched the blonde boy�s back. He paused and felt the spot Quatre had indicated, something didn�t seem right. Wordlessly, he slid his hand up the back of pilot four�s shirt. The pale skin of Quatre�s face turned bright red, �H�Heero, um� what are you doing?� He began squirming when the Japanese didn�t remove his hand, �Heero, I�I don�t like you like that.� Heero didn�t reply, but instead was feeling the Arabian�s back lightly. �I am not gay! Get out of my shirt!� When he withdrew his hand, the irritated spot was relieved, �Was that what was itchy?� Embarrassed about his quick assumption of Heero�s motives, Quatre�s cheeks remained tinted pink, �Yeah.� Heero held a small chip in front of Quatre�s face, �This was under your skin.� Sky blue eyes widened, �Ah, tracker! �That means�� �They probably know our location,� Heero finished for him. �But with luck it can tell us theirs.�
