Gundam Wing/AC 1. Default Chapter

ttw1

Thicker than Water  
one  
  
  
Behind a heavy wooden door, tucked beneath the confines of a goose down comforter, a sleeping Relena moaned and shifted to her side. Crisp white bed linens rustled at her movement. The sun's bright morning rays streamed through the windows, casting yellow squares of light onto the floor at the foot of the bed. With a distant sigh, she stretched, pulling the night's drag from her muscles, and opened her eyes. She remembered the night before, sitting in front of the massive fireplace in the sitting room, listening to the wood pop and crackle. All alone in that huge house, she knew, just like the human's precious mind was so precariously caged in the skull. Not either of the protective barriers could keep such things safe forever.   
  
Of course, fears were long past, as far as she knew. Life was content and there was no threat to the life of the world's sweetheart. Relena Darlian. So far, at least.  
  
Hiding beneath the covers, Relena could hear her own breath pulse against the material in a scratchy huff of warmth. Her eyes closed again, to conceal them as they adjusted to the morning light. Outside her room, there was evident footfall coming nearer. Muffled along the running rugs that prevented the wooden floors from gaining scuff marks due to constant traffic, the footsteps became more obvious. Soon, they reached Relena's ears in a jolt. It was a Saturday, no one was supposed to be getting her up, much less bothering to set foot on the second floor. Unless there was an emergency.   
  
Relena slid her hands beneath the pillow that held her head and anticipated a knock. It never came. The door knob clinked and the door itself gave way to the strong, masculine hand of the visitor. He saw Relena's face shrouded by the white down comforter and felt a spine tingling shudder of slight relief flutter through him like an electrical current. It only took a few more moments for her patience to break, and she removed the cover to see the serene face of a harlequin mask instead of a human's. The mask was black as night on the right and white as the clouds outside the windows on the left. Eyes of shadow, a pointy nose and the lack of a visible mouth made Relena gasp, pushing herself back against the headboard.   
  
The man in her presence stood rooted, wearing not only a ridiculously intimidating mask, but also a pinstriped, sleek looking charcoal gray suit and white opera gloves. He was relatively tall; a tangle of sharp angles and plains. Relena's chest locked down over her lungs. Her eyes widened, trapped like the mouse he knew she could be.  
  
Time itself hung onto her as she was dragged from the bed with only a twinge of gentleness from her aggressor. Relena gained a bit of backbone as he began tugging her out of the bed.  
  
Who are you? What's going on here? she demanded, but he said nothing.  
  
The back of his head was covered by a black lycra extension of the mask. Relena fought to keep up with his pace as he walked down the hallway. Relena choked when the she saw the approaching, fallen, legs of her Preventer bodyguard. They edged around the staircase, where Chase lay in a mass of his own blood. Harlequin stepped easily over his legs, and Relena collapsed into his side in an effort to remain in control of her emotions. His hand pulled around her shoulders to keep her from tripping down the remaining steps.  
  
Chase's bloodied body imprinted itself in the back of her mind. His eyes cloudy, his mouth gaped open in a fatally silent groan of pain at the knife still imbedded in his chest. His Preventer badge lay open faced on the step next to his hand, deathly pale, clutching his semi automatic. Relena's nose and sinuses stung when tears started to break free from her eyes.  
  
Harlequin eased her down the final two steps and led her through the lobby. The front double doors were wide open gates of hell, beckoning Relena to run away before she got swept away by the river Styx. Her guide, however, showed no signs of letting that happen. He gripped her hand harder and sent her a slanted glance through the shine of his mask when she started to panic. Fear had already claimed her gut. They exited out into the blinding sunlight, bouncing off of the white marble. Using her hand as a shield against the sun, Relena caught sight of a swift, black 72 Corvette Stingray.  
  
Awe was beyond her as she was escorted to the passenger side door. Her apparent kidnapper helped her in and buckled the seat belt around her waist with able hands. Words, so many words flew through her mind. Things to say, to tell him. To display her disgust and her anger in him. Why was he doing this? What would this feeble attempt for power or money or war benefit him? Surely it wouldn't last. The world knew better than to repeat the history that had come about. Didn't it?  
  
He got in on the driver's side of the vehicle and strapped in. The tan interior of the Corvette was almost liquid in the light, and Relena kept her hands folded neatly in her lap, trying to think her way out of the situation. Through the other apprehensions she'd been taken in, her calm perseverance and wit had seen her through. He wasn't violent, and he probably wouldn't kill her. _Not any time soon_. His white, gloved hand settled on the key in the ignition and his feet found rhythm with the gas and the clutch. He cranked the engine in a tremendous roar. All that was left of them were a few misplaced bits of gravel and an abandoned mansion.  
  
**To be continued...**


	2. Default Chapter

ttw2

Thicker than Water  
two  
  
  
Can I ask you why you're doing this? Relena asked, peering over at Harlequin, his hand on the gear stick.   
  
He kept his face forward, not looking at her. They were hurtling farther from the mansion, treading the road as if there was a pack of angry hell beasts charging behind them. However, all there was in the rear view mirror was the fading silhouette of the mansion and fields of green, endless green.  
  
___  
  
Hours passed until they stopped. It was around lunch time, and Harlequin knew it. The only reason he'd even stopped was to get his hostage drugged, though. If she could be called that, his hostage. They were on the bordering edge of exiting the country, and a space port was too risky for him to use as an escape from the hemisphere. He had to get to the USA as soon as possible, and the only way to get there was by plane. Thankfully, due to his ability to pull strings, he'd chartered himself a flight on an empty Lear jet scheduled to carry them to the recently built Mississippi International Airport.  
  
It was awkward, the mask, and he hated having to wear it. At some point, he would be forced to remove it. Driving alone was strange enough, but he couldn't allow her to see him. It would spell disaster with a capital S. And the S didn't stand for disaster at all. It stood for...  
  
he muttered, standing outside of the Stingray, the door shut behind him. It wouldn't be easy to pull this one off.  
  
Relena turned her head to watch the landscape from her window as Harlequin pondered. He'd completely forgotten about _how_ he would drug her. If she was still awake, he had no chance of getting them out of the country at all. But it would also be relatively impossible to get it in her. Harlequin paced around to the trunk and opened it with the flick of his agitated wrist. A duffle bag of his and her clothes, a first aid kit, a metal case of hollow tip shells and hand guns. He thankfully spotted a stray bottle of Dasani water in the very back, lodged between the jumper cables and briefcase.   
  
He grabbed it and emptied the powder contents of the tiny red caplet into the water and tightened the cap back onto it. Viciously shaking, trying his best to appear as collected as he hoped he would be, Harlequin's eyes were burning with the sweat accumulated beneath the mask. Even the cool springtime climate wasn't giving him a break. Relena's disgruntled expression pinned him hard when he got back in. He jabbed the bottle towards her and cranked the car up again.   
  
She mumbled something out of his earshot and opened it. Harlequin failed to remember how keen she was. The bottom rim of the plastic cap had already been broken. It had been tampered with. Relena lifted it to her lips and took a whiff of the water before taking a tiny sip, wary that it could be fatal to make a mistake. A slight bitterness like that of iron spread over her tongue when she let the water slip down her throat. Beside her, Harlequin's fingers twitched on the steering wheel. This girl was busting up his confidence, and it was perhaps the first time something like that had happened when he was on strict business. Life altering business.  
  
___  
  
Harlequin's teeth ground together beneath the plastic mask. Relena was still bolt upright.   
  
_I should have known that she would have learned about the sleeping drugs,_ he chided himself, _it has happened to her before! She isn't an idiot, just remember that.  
  
_She sent a sly look at him, a grin on her lips. You were planning on my untimely dozing off, weren't you?  
  
He stopped the car, shoving them both forward, unable to stop against their own inertia. She rubbed at her neck, where a red line had been left from the abrasive nylon seat belt. Harlequin crossed his arms and let the car idle, then punched in a toggle switch on the dash. A hushed whisper came from the vents. Lukewarm air flowed through them, into Relena's face and over her body, clad only in her gauzy pajamas. If it hadn't been for the mask, she was sure that she could have seen him smirking back at her, his eyes as piercing as twisted metal.   
  
___  
  
Unwillingly, as most of the day had been spent, Relena's eyes flitted up and down. Harlequin hadn't budged all day. Waiting it out, the viper stayed sure and prideful while his prey started to lose interest in sticking it out. She couldn't stay up all night, he knew. It was her first day off from the ESUN's hectic schedule, and she'd woken up early. Her body wouldn't allow her to maintain her hours like she usually had. However, he knew his limits, which were much too far out of her league to even struggle against.  
  
Darkness beyond the Corvette, stars above, Relena soughed her breath and leaned her head against the window, letting her stock character kidnapper win for the moment.   
  
_If I'm going to get away, _she reasoned, _I'll need my rest. No reason...in being foolish._  
Harlequin watched her for another few minutes as she slept. He removed his gloves and reached over to tuck her hair behind her ears, grazing his fingertips against her soft skin. He smiled, happy to see her so peaceful. She was his angel, and the world's too, for that matter. Relena curled up and Harlequin finally removed his mask. Cumbersome, troublesome, and filled with its own pungent memories, the mask was discarded to the floorboards.  
  
**To be continued...**


	3. Default Chapter

ttw3

Thicker than Water  
three  
  
  
I woke up in the arms of a quilt, laying on a bed I didn't know in a room I'd never seen. My captor was nowhere in sight, and I instinctively got up to investigate. I stepped out of the bedroom I had apparently been placed in during the early morning. As soon as I was in the living room, I saw a typed letter on the coffee table. After quickly reading over it, I stared through the wide, sliding glass doors a few feet away and saw nothing but a bushy green line of mountain range on the horizon. Harlequin briefed me about the kidnapping in the uniform text, how it would eventually turn out to be for the best; how I would stay in the cabin until someone, perhaps he himself, would come to check on me. There was a block on the roads, and he had secured--as I saw immediately--a small tracking band onto my ankle. Now I really felt like a prisoner.  
  
We had traveled from Europe to the United States over the night, and I hadn't been awake through any part of the journey. Currently held hostage by some strange man in a mask, trapped in a cabin in the boonies of Tennessee without a guard. Was it some kind of deranged trick he was playing? The doors, simply enough opened, were the only thing keeping me inside. Harlequin was either playing dumb, or trying to use a sort of reverse psychology to scare me out of my wits. Neither of which was going to keep me from trying to free myself. There was absolutely no reason for me to be held down, and I knew that there was a slim to none chance that I would be rescued any time soon.  
  
No one would be expecting me back at the ESUN until the end of the month, and I'd ordered my subordinates to leave me alone. I was stuck there, alone, with a limited amount of leeway with my keeper, Harlequin.  
  
___  
  
I don't know, Noin tapped her fingers on the desk in front of her. I think we need to check on her anyway. Just to make sure. Chase hasn't reported in, and he's already a day late on his reports. Based on the recent _outbreak_ we've been faced with, I don't like the delay.  
  
Sally flipped a felt tip pen between her fingers and bit her lip. Let's go ahead and send someone out to check on the premises.  
  
Noin continued to tap out a precussion anxiously.   
  
Sally turned in her swivel chair and called him into the office. I want you to go out to Vice Minister Darlian's mansion and make sure everything's all right.  
  
He had just barely peeked into the room before nodding and heading off to his duty. His face was stoic and resolute as he filed into the elevator, pulling on his Preventer jacket. Protect the vice minister, he snorted lightly, I think that's the reason why she doesn't stay in one place for too long. She's always being bothered.  
  
___  
  
Harlequin sat at a bar, cascaded by shadows, with small flecks of light from surrounding decanters and mugs bouncing off of his sunglasses. One barstool down from him sat another man, hiding from spying eyes. They didn't look at each other, but Harlequin slid something down the bar to the man, who accepted it and got up. He left just as abruptly as he'd shown up, and left Harlequin, unmasked, in the bar to dwell over his decisions, staring down to the bottom of his drink.  
  
All I do now is make sure she doesn't get angry, he muttered, so that she wont cause herself to get into any more danger.  
  
___  
  
Relena sat on the couch, flipping through the channels nervously, her hair still wet from the shower she'd taken earlier. Only her third hour in her cage and she was ticking with aggravation. A long, powerful speech was taking place in her mind, and she was well prepared to give it to Harlequin as soon as he showed his masked face.  
  
I just wish that the people would learn, she said, dropping the remote by her leg, this isn't going to get us anywhere.  
  
There was a chiming clock down the hallway that started to sing, and Relena got up to find something to aid the grumbling in her stomach. In the impending white Frigidaire, there was nothing but a box of French Vanilla Slim Fast, a bag of fresh sandwich meat, and a couple packs of yogurt. She scratched her left arm and picked at the plastic band on her foot while searching. Throughout the rest of the kitchen she found canned fruits, bread, a bag of chips, and frozen goods in the freezer.  
  
Relena began to feel too weak in the knees to stand and cook something, but too picky to eat just anything. Usually, she'd had a sandwich, but it wasn't as appealing now, strangely. There wasn't much else she could do about the shortage of myriad choices. An angry demon was in her gut, picking away with his pitchfort, inciting an ill temper. Instead of moaning and griping about the small choice of food, regardless, Relena snagged a can of the Slim Fast to curb her hunger and keep from passing out. She hadn't eaten a thing yesterday, spending the daylight hours sitting in the Stingray with the masked man.   
  
She read the top of the can, _Shake well, keep very cold. _She did so, then tossed it from one hand to the other, listening to the insides sputter and splash. It took a minimal bit of effort to wedge the pop top up, but there wasn't any carbonation to spray her in the face either. A sniff of the liquid, seemingly something like that of vanilla coffee creamers, and she took a small sip. The flavor was kind of chalky, but pleasing. It stuck in the back of her throat, turning into a coagulated blob of nutrients. Not so much nasty as it was annoying.   
  
There wasn't a bloody thing to do in the house, other than watch television or wrack the kitchen for food. Upon closer inspection, she found a hidden entry to the basement, but didn't venture down to see what lay beyond the light cast from the overhead bulb. In the other bedroom, high in the closet, there was what appeared to be a broken videophone, and a guitar case hidden behind a few heavy winter coats. She didn't bother to take interest, but instead found a large photo album beneath the bed, fringed by a lacy skirt and quilted coverlets.  
  
She ran her fingers over the top of the dusty memory book and carried it into the living room. In gilded, muted gold letters, _Peacecraft_, was scrawled in fine calligraphy. Relena's lungs filled with air when she noticed this, and the Slim Fast in her hand seemed a few pounds heavier than before.  
  
**To be continued...**


	4. Default Chapter

ttw4

Thicker than Water  
four  
  
  
He was standing on the corner, absently holding a cigarette he never intended to smoke. The man he'd chosen to speak to walked up and frowned angrily at him. Harlequin's shiny sunglasses prevented the snitch from seeing his cold blue eyes. The man, roughly Harlequin's age, was not as lean, with his hair in a total mess of gel and sleep. Night was setting in on them, and less of the public eye was paying attention. Harlequin grumbled something, not allowing the snitch to hear him.   
  
Do you have it? the man asked impatiently.  
  
Harlequin nodded and held his hand out. In the middle of his hand, again gloved white, was a small bag of computer chips. The snitch grabbed them away and handed Harlequin a folded piece of paper. Just when the snitch was loafing off, Harlequin threw his arm out and caught him by the collar of his jacket and yanked him back hard, almost slamming the man into his chest as he read the letter.   
  
Wh-what, man? I'm only the messenger! The snitch started to act suspiciously.  
  
Pulling the man closer, Harlequin's sunglasses gleamed against the neon lights around them. There's nothing here but two recipes for drinks.  
  
The snitch's eyes darted from Harlequin to the other side of the road and back. You don't understand. The title of the drink is the location of a club, he whispered, Harlequin's knuckles now pressing into his throat, line the numbers up of the measurements and that's the phone number of where you can reach him. The ingredients are the key words in order to contact the man, don't you get it?  
  
_Sneaky_, Harlequin mused, _they must think they're real smart._ he huffed, pushing the snitch down the alley, drawing a blade from the waistband of his slacks. Now give those chips back.  
  
What? No way, this is your payment for my, he paused, upon seeing a flicker from the metallic surface of a knife, services. That's not necessary...  
  
But it is, he drove the blade into the snitch's side and yanked up, hard, slicing through not only his vital organs, but also a few wires that had connected him to his people, anything for the safety of the earth and colonies. Anything for her, you understand?  
  
___  
  
Relena thumbed through the first pages of the photo album, in a completely different time zone than her captor. Portraits of the founding members, her great grandfather and his wife, a stunningly beautiful woman encased behind the tattered lines of the photo. They wore elegant clothing, fit for the royalty they became, and had expressions wrought with hope for a bright future that they never got to see.   
  
Over the next pages were photos of their children, Relena's ancestors. All the way to Milliard Octavius Peacecraft, the origin of her brother's name, Milliardo. The Peacecraft family had been in its own republic since the colonies were created, and several generations passed before they became known as a powerful pacifist organization instead of a monarchy. In the beginning years of the budding battles that would soon cause the Eve Wars, Milliard Octavius was growing older. The senate was fighting a losing engagement with the Earth Sphere Alliance. His oldest of two children, Milliardo, was so young, and he knew that he would have to grow up in a war torn world. Milliard and his wife, Lena, decided that they were in danger after angering the Romefeller Foundation, before anyone even knew it existed.   
  
A man named Everett Darlian, one of the most loyal senators in the Peacecraft's organization, was given the responsibility of caring for the sole daughter of the last generation. Relena Peacecraft.  
  
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked over a portrait of her mother and father, Milliardo on her father's knee, herself in her mother's arms. The face of that woman, it was exactly like hers. She choked up and read on, fighting off the urge to scream, though it would have made no difference.  
  
Everett Darlian and his new wife, Lena Peacecraft's twin sister, Amelia, took Relena just as the Alliance's mobile suit troops were preparing to get rid of the bothersome family for good. Milliardo escaped with a few of the senators, and led his own life from then on, with the help of the Alliance, his heart beating on only to allow him to exact his revenge.  
  
Relena's head was swamped. Her mother, the one she'd known forever, was really her aunt. She fell to her knees, the half drank Slim Fast spilling on the wooden floors nearby. Stubborn tears started to drop onto the worn pages of the photo album, holding all the members of the Peacecraft's entire lineage, all the way to the last generation. Milliard and his beautiful wife, Lena, a young girl from the surrounding city with a heart of pure gold. The building blocks for Relena's own strong will; she was perhaps the only successful ruler, able to cast the world into a daze. It hurt her badly, scarring her deep within her aching breast, because she wasn't anything like them. She still had to find her place.   
  
Did she belong with the Darlians, or with the Peacecraft family? She needed someone who knew more to help her figure that out.  
  
**To be continued...**


	5. Default Chapter

ttw5

Thicker than Water  
five  
  
  
Miss Relena, someone called, entering the cabin soon after Relena replaced the album and cleaned up the spilled drink, Miss Relena Darlian?  
  
She winced, not sure of who she really was now. Relena stepped out of her bedroom, buttoning up a shirt that replaced her pajamas. She also wore a pair of khaki shorts. Dorothy? Dorothy, what are you doing here?  
  
I should be asking you the same, she mused, you're stronger than that, Miss Relena. I was sure that you would be trying to get away.  
  
Relena sat down on the couch again, the television still displaying crummy daytime TV. Dorothy let herself in and took a seat on the love seat across from Relena. Let me guess, Relena began, you're in cahoots with the kidnapper, Harlequin.  
  
Dorothy chuckled. Oh, because of the mask. Well, I guess you could say that I'm working with him, in various ways.  
  
They traded a few moments of silence before Dorothy snuck past the communication lines her superior had laid down for her. She was going to tell Relena what was really going on. Relena, do you remember the Peacemillion?  
  
She nodded.  
  
Well, it was owned by the Sweeper group, Dorothy crossed her legs, intentional emphasis placed on was. A group of misled soldiers left over from the White Fang hijacked it from a satellite. Now they're using it to place threats like a bunch of drunken yahoos. They seem to think that the soldiers got the short end of the proverbial, Dorothy made air quotation marks and made an irritated face,   
  
Relena blinked at Dorothy, not sure where she was going. They want what, exactly?  
  
They want a place to feel comfortable. Without a military organization, they don't have anywhere to go.  
  
What about Preventer?  
  
Dorothy picked a bit of fuzz from the shoulder of her blazer. This little group was a bit too peculiar to join Preventer. And for good reason, so it seems.  
  
How large is this group, Dorothy? Relena leaned forward, getting worried about the rise of another war. Don't hold back now, tell me what's going on.  
  
About half of the living remains of the White Fang group, led by a man named Gershwin. I think that he's someone from the old Romefeller Foundation. Perhaps a son or grandson.  
  
The problem at hand shoved the ordeal about her family out of the way. Relena started to create a list of alternative solutions. One, she could contact Preventer. Two, she could meet them in person to try and reason. Not much else sifted through as she watched Dorothy's glossy eyes drill into her.  
  
Dorothy fiddled with a small figurine of a cougar on the coffee table, what are we going to do now, Miss Relena?  
  
Then it struck her. We? Why do we have to do anything? Harlequin made it obvious that he was trying to stop this, like he said in a letter he left me.  
  
Dorothy's eyebrows lowered over her eyes, expressing the first vantages of her anger.   
  
He seems to think that I'm in danger with them. Probably because I started this whole peace thing, Relena stood up and mocked herself. Maybe I should just hide out here and let the world start fighting again, Dorothy. Wouldn't you enjoy that?  
  
Her hands clenched, turning her fingers white. No. No, Relena, I would not.   
  
Instead of looking inflamed, Relena looked sad and lonely. Then what are you trying to do here?  
  
I want you to stop falling into this pre ordered life the ESUN put you into. She got to her feet as well. Can't you see that they're sucking the life out of you? Where were you happy? Where did you find life at its most pleasurable?  
  
I don't have the choice to pick what life I lead. I have to do what's best for the people. I live for the people and the peace of the world.  
  
Fed up with Relena's self-righteous, self-improving, self-inspried shtick, Dorothy threw her arm back and slapped her. Relena's hand went to her reddened cheek, and she closed her eyes in shame.   
  
I'm sorry.  
  
**To be continued...**


	6. Default Chapter

ttw6

Thicker than Water  
six  
  
  
He'd walked through the entire mansion and didn't find a thing, he told them. Wufei was driving back to the space port where a Preventer chartered jet was waiting. Nothing but the mangled body of a false Preventer guard. All the servants were gone, and nothing was misplaced. He was only five minutes away, and still it seemed like he was driving too slow to make a difference.  
  
Agent Chang, buzzed the comm. link from the pocket of his jacket, strewn across the passenger seat. Relay your current position.  
  
He grabbed the communicator and answered, That's enough bullshit, Sally. I'm almost there.  
  
We haven't been able to contact the Peacemillion since yesterday, she said. I'm afraid that they took her.  
  
Noin's voice cracked in instead of Sally's this time, I've got a creepy feeling about this.  
  
Women's intuition. Go on. Wufei let the car coast down the freeway.  
  
Rather than returning to HQ, go get you-know-who from the US.  
  
Is that all I ever do? Play fetch? Roger that.  
  
___  
  
The next day...  
  
It's daybreak, Wufei greeted, time to get to work.  
  
Heero had already found his pistol. He loosed his grip on it, however, and glared at Wufei. What are you doing here?  
  
Wufei sat as straight as a rail in an arm chair, right in the middle of Heero's apartment in Boston. I don't know if you've heard, but Relena's been kidnapped. There's also a terrorist group in outer space that we feel might have her.  
  
That's entirely incorrect, Heero thought. He sat up, Preventer needs me to go get her?  
  
Like you don't want to, huffed Wufei, sipping at a polystyrene cup of coffee. Do you want to team up with us?  
  
Actually, I'm already on it, Heero got up and padded over to his lap top, wearing a pair of sweat pants, raking his hand through his unruly morning bed head. I already went up there yesterday and set bombs all through the Peacemillion.  
  
Standing over his shoulder, Wufei looked at the plans Heero had marked. You did all that yesterday? He rubbed his chin. What about Relena?  
  
Heero shook his head. She isn't in outer space.  
  
What else do you know?  
  
He walked off. You wait out here. I'm gonna get ready, then we can head back to Preventer. And don't bother contacting them, they really shouldn't know yet.  
  
What kind of messed up ploy is this? I know about the Peacemillion, but where in God's name is the vice minister, and what in the hell is going on?  
  
___  
  
Harlequin wore his mask yet again, and opened a video control unit to speak with Joaquin Gershwin, having decoded the recipes and found out the information he needed from the Almond Smash club he'd visited the day before.   
  
The screen cleared, and the face of Joaquin, unaided, appeared. I was beginning to wonder about where my transaction partner went, he chortled, but I can see now that he was handled by a jester.  
  
He disregarded his snotty tone and spoke, You have two options, Mr. Gershwin. You can stop this right now and survive to see the sun rise tomorrow. Or you and all your men can die right now.  
  
What a conclusion, after violence was prohibited, dear sir. Joaquin smirked, not caring that there were in fact, numerous charges placed strategically throughout the ship. Would you mind explaining how you plan on destroying us?  
  
A single detonation switch was lifted before the camera. Dare to see exactly, first hand, Gershwin?  
  
  
  
I sent a former soldier to space, Harlequin told him, and he successfully set every single explosive on board to explode automatically if tampered with.  
  
Gotcha, Harlequin knew he had already won this war, had everything pinned down. Gershwin did have the man power to cause a bad dent, but he certainly didn't have the brains to pull it off. But, Harlequin didn't know that Gershwin was just clever enough to send a strike team to earth for a single, specific reason. To bring the Earth Sphere United Nation to its knees by the depletion of the world's sweetheart. Relena Darlian's destiny was beginning to make itself very redundant.  
  
**To be continued...   
**


	7. Default Chapter

ttw7

Thicker than Water  
seven  
  
  
Late last night, somewhere between the moon and colony point L2, a large space battleship was destroyed, announced a newscaster.  
  
Relena had spend yet another day trapped inside, and was up at the crack of dawn. She laid back on her bed and switched the smaller television off with the remote. Tossing her arm over her eyes, she took a deep, assuring breath, and wished there was something she could do, for once. Something she could do to prevent war, instead cause it.  
  
Are you awake, Miss Relena?  
  
She didn't answer, and rolled onto her side amidst the quilts and tangled sheets. Outside on the adjoining balcony she could see earth's wildlife at its best. A bright red cardinal cheeping in a branch, a squirrel chattering to itself. Dorothy poked into her room, wearing an apron. The scent of breakfast invaded the room like a hoard of angry Huns.  
  
Would you like something to eat? I made eggs and bacon.  
  
That hit a string in the piano, for sure. Although her head was pounding and she felt less than good about herself, Relena dragged herself into the kitchen to eat with Dorothy. It was inconvenient enough that she and Dorothy were polar opposites, but Relena had also made a complete fool of herself in front of one of her greatest opponents.  
  
___  
  
Sally slid herself back in her chair. Peacemillion exploded last night, she announced, though everyone already knew. And as far as we know, all of the accused terrorists were aboard. Our only clue to Relena's disappearance was in them. I just don't get it.  
  
Sitting on the other side of the room, warming her trembling fingers with a mug of coffee, Noin nodded apathetically, only catching the rough fringes of what her partner had been saying. Zechs is gone too.  
  
Sally sent Noin a look as if she'd just sprouted a head out her ass that proceeded to sing the national anthem, Noin, what about _Zechs_?  
  
What _about_ Zechs?  
  
All of a sudden, Sally jumped up and grabbed her jacket, and Noin, and hauled it out of their office.  
  
___  
  
I really don't think you need me to help you, buddy.  
  
Heero stared into the camera. I'm sure you could be of some use.  
  
Duo shook his head and peered back at Hilde, who was standing not too far behind him at the sink, wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of socks. Like I said, you have it under control. Get Wufei to help.  
  
He is.  
  
Then why do you need me?  
  
Hilde looked over her shoulder and waved, then took something from a drawer and tossed Duo a disk. Stick that bad boy in the drive, Duo, and send it to him.  
  
He studied the disk and arched an eyebrow. What is it? You're so devious, I'm actually starting to wonder if I could use you to get rid of some debts I have with the guys.  
  
That's what you get for gambling, Duo, she winked and walked out of the picture in Heero's videophone. Just send him the info on there before I have hack something other than a database.  
  
Duo grimaced and pushed the disk into the phone's drive. Instantly, a folder of files on the terrorists popped up and displayed a list of actions. One included something about a certain lodging facility in Tennessee. Heero took another glance at the info before nodding at Duo and muttering a thank you. In a second's notice, the screen was blank, and Duo was watching Hilde in amazement.  
  
Where did you get that?  
  
I have my ways. She smirked maliciously, You of all people should know that.  
  
**To be continued...**


	8. Default Chapter

ttw8

Thicker than Water  
eight  
  
  
I think we're supposed to be waiting for a direct order, grumbled a soldier, hunched down in the deep green of the forest.  
  
He collapsed forward when he was shoved hard in the back. Behind him, his superior pointed a finger and him, then to his own lips. It was still broad daylight, and they were only three minutes from the target location.  
  
Inside his helmet their communications officer relayed information from a few meters behind them. He was keeping an eye out for potential threats. Even though our leader and all our men were destroyed, we have to pull this off. For the good of the colonies, that girl must die. Think of this as our suicide run for the benefit of our children.  
  
The captain nodded and rested against the fallen tree trunk they'd chosen as a waiting point, where they could watch their subject without any interruptions. Just why, though, was it benignant to the nations for her to die? Wasn't she the one who saved the world? These thoughts banged around in the captain's head as the girl herself appeared in clear sights at the glass doors. One of the younger sharpshooters' fingers tightened over the trigger of his automatic rifle. The captain jabbed the boy in the shoulder with his own rifle. He shook his head.  
  
If we have to kill her, the friggin' Queen of the World, we might as well say our prayers now. Because if we survive this, we'll probably never see the light of day again. Much less, the children we're doing this for...  
  
___  
  
Wufei sat with Heero in the charter air craft, overviewing the list of objectives Heero'd downloaded onto his lap lop. It was extensive, and thoroughly encrypted. His eyes roved over the pages, and to his great surprise, he even saw face to face, the original documents created about Operation Meteor. The blue prints to Libra, its mega cannon, the Peacemillion, and MO II.  
  
Where did you get this from?  
  
Heero glanced over at him. Hilde, Duo's roommate.  
  
You mean, the one who got these? he motioned at the Libra plans. She's Duo's roommate?  
  
No further comment on that situation. We have approximately three and a half hours to find Relena in Tennessee. I expect a small group of soldiers, no more than ten, that's for sure.  
  
What's the big problem with this? It's not as bad as it seems, Wufei said, closing the lap top and handing it back to Heero. We should be able to stop them easy.  
  
___  
  
Sally said, tugging her down the hall, you and Zechs were working on the Terra Forming Project. Up until these morons showed up and started tossing insults at Relena, right?  
  
Yes, but...  
  
Then, Zechs disappears. All of a sudden, the Peacemillion explodes for no apparent reason with all of the passengers, even the figurehead on board. Relena's still missing. And so is Zechs.  
  
**To be continued...**


	9. Default Chapter

ttw9

Thicker than Water  
nine  
  
  
Night was falling steadily as I sat with her. She was looking lower than dirt and I couldn't bear to see someone that elemental so weak. Relena, the key to the future of the entire earth and colonies, sitting on the couch as if she couldn't do a damn thing for herself. Outside, the moon lifted its face hauntingly.  
  
Miss Relena, I said, you shouldn't be so sad.  
  
I'm always being rescued, Dorothy, she said, and I can never do anything right with the people. If I were any good at this, there wouldn't be a threat on my life.  
  
I fought hard to keep myself from slamming my hand onto the counter behind which I was standing. You do understand that they want you dead because you're so important, don't you? You're all the people have, Miss Relena. You should be the happiest person alive.  
  
_Should be_, I knew, _but isn't. She's probably one of the saddest, most pitiful people ever known to walk the face of the earth.  
  
_It's not like this is a tragedy, someone else said, you aren't dead.  
  
Someone else,   
  
Jerking to the area where the voices came from, I gripped the counter hard and looked at Relena one more time. She was looking beyond me, her eyes wide and filled with terror. The last thing I felt then was a painful snap in the back of my neck, and landing on the floor. Oddly enough, I saw everything.  
  
Four men were in the house, not even tripping the system, and they were all toting weapons. They wore fatigue pants and helmets; heavy boots thumping through the house. One of them came from the bedroom and started to grab at Relena, who just barely got out of his reach. Standing up for herself. If I weren't about to lose consciousness, I would have cheered for her, even helped. Not in this state, however.  
  
Come on, honey, the man said, just come over here.  
  
What are you trying to do? This wont get you anywhere, do you understand? Relena jerked away. _Heero promised that he wouldn't hurt anyone ever again...ever..._  
  
We have to do this, sweetie, another sounded, cornering her against the wall. He closed his hand around her wrist and yanked her hard, knocking her against his thick Kevlar armor. So just give up.  
  
I can't do that, she whispered, I can't give up.  
  
The barrel a Glock pressed to her temple, and my entire body seemed to momentarily shut down. I even remember trying to get up, but it was no use. I was barred from the use of my muscles. I had to watch, silent, as Relena was forced to the cliff of inevitable death again. Tears streamed down my cheeks as the man holding the gun wrapped his finger around the trigger.  
  
he laughed, sending the other men into a frenzy, although she didn't even flinch.   
  
Take it easy!  
  
Yet another man walked in, being the fifth man in the house so far. He was displaying authority over them, so I figured he was either a lieutenant or a captain. He stepped over me and pushed two of his subordinates out of the way. He took Relena's arm and pulled her out onto the balcony. Of course, she followed without a struggle.  
  
He asked, What's going through your mind?   
  
I'd like to ask you the same thing, she noted flatly, as he lifted her chin up. I was getting angrier and angrier--so unlike myself--every passing moment.  
  
___  
  
The swift cold of a combat knife clawed her neck before she could say any more. The captain's eyes weren't cold, like the others'. He really didn't want to do it, and she could tell. Still, he was going to go through with his mission.  
  
For the good of our children's future.  
  
I agree.  
  
Pressure on the blade dropped, astoundingly, and the captain gulped hard. He hadn't expected her to make such an earth shattering comment in only two words. At the very moment of her death, even.   
  
___  
  
Heero tore through the gravel of the road in the rented Cherokee. Wufei braced himself against the dash, trying to load his handgun with Teflon-tipped bullets. He swore and hissed at his own fumbling fingers when he dropped the last one. He damned the magazine clip and the bullets and Heero's shoddy driving. Heero didn't cast him a glance as they made haste in the bitter, dusty Tennessee night.  
  
**To be continued...**


	10. Default Chapter

ttw10

Thicker than Water  
ten  
  
  
Harlequin, too, was on his way. But he, sadly, was almost a full hour behind Heero and Wufei. Even Sally and Noin were trying to get a lock on Relena's location. For them, it was next to impossible, but thankfully, Duo had contacted them with the low-down. He knew that Heero wasn't the type to tell about his missions.  
  
___  
  
Relena stood in the cold darkness, the combat knife still lifted to her neck. She was unmoving, and it unnerved the captain. The men inside hooted and bellowed for him to get it over with. Dorothy passed out when one of the soldiers fired a shot in the ceiling.   
  
I just want to let you know, he murmured, dropping the knife, but getting his handgun to replace it, I don't have anything against you personally.  
  
Why are you doing this, then?  
  
He looked away, and held the gun to her side. Forgive me, God...  
  
___  
  
Hurry up, Heero barked, fishtailing the Jeep Cherokee in the gravel at the front of the secluded cabin. They're already inside.  
  
Wufei noticed that Heero wasn't armed. He himself held his Peacemaker, ironically, and readied to do all the shooting. Heero banged into the cabin, throwing his entire weight into his shoulder against the door, and a deafening shot rang through the mountains. Wufei cursed and fired rounds into the cabin. The resulting sounds of bodies hitting the floor followed.   
  
Not caring, Heero had already charged in and ducked close to where Dorothy had been knocked out. A few drops of salty tears fell from her closed eyes, and Heero checked her pulse absently. Faint, but still there; he peered over the top of the counter. No one else was standing up. He motioned for Wufei to come in. A barrage of bullets came from one of the fallen men. He'd been knocked off his feet, but was still alive.  
  
Damn you to hell!  
  
Wufei emptied his clip into him and the other men from behind the counter, huddled by Heero. No other signs of activity. What was the other shot for?  
  
___  
  
I had better not be late this time, Harlequin growled, plowing down the main road to the cabin, already seeing the road block shattered up ahead.  
  
___  
  
Heero got up and checked the bodies, then noticed a bit of movement from the balcony. He cursed and backed along the wall until he could see outside. There was a man, sitting, leaning against the railing. Laying limply on the balcony a few feet away was the still body of Relena.  
  
Heero yelled and slammed one of the doors open. The captain didn't look at him. He'd already shot himself during the crossfire between Wufei and the remaining soldiers. Relena, Relena, wake up.  
  
He checked her vital signs and took Wufei's jacket from him when he exited onto the balcony. Heero pressed the cloth hard onto the wound in her side and told Wufei to keep holding it for him when Relena moaned.  
  
She writhed in pain, arching her back up against the force on her abdomen. Wufei pressed her back down, keeping his eyes on the spreading, blackening red. It became sticky on his fingers, and the smells of everything around him filled his nose until it hurt. Cedar, perfume, the blood, gunpowder. Heero moved her onto her right side so that Wufei could put more pressure on the wound. His eyes softened, and she reached up at him, her hands splotched with her own blood.  
  
she whispered, almost disbelievingly. You came for me.  
  
He nodded, Mn hn. I promised that I'd protect you, Relena. And I wont let you die.  
  
Relena's eyes fluttered, and her hand lowered slowly back onto the wooden balcony. Heero panicked and groped for her hands, enclosing them in his own, and pressed them to his cheek. Keep your eyes open, Relena. Look at me.  
  
Outside, the familiar sound of car doors shutting reverberated through the trees and cavernous valleys below. Someone stormed inside and stepped past all the slain White Fang soldiers. He gasped and fell to Relena's fallen position on the balcony, dodging Wufei.   
  
Wufei said to Harlequin, who had completely forgotten to remove his mask, you do this, I'll call for the medics.  
  
Heero stared at Harlequin, but never let go of Relena's hands. he said, why don't you show her who you are?  
  
He looked up, and realized that he was in the Harlequin mask. He pulled it off, mussing his hair, which fell over his eyes and his shoulders.   
  
she sighed, I thought it could have been you. But I didn't think you would wear a mask. I thought we were further than that. I am your sister.  
  
He would have touched her, smoothed her hair, or squeezed her arm, but he didn't. His hands were already covered in her blood.  
  
**To be continued...**


	11. Default Chapter

ttw11

Thicker than Water  
eleven  
  
  
_You'll be okay, Relena.  
  
Survive...survive for me.  
  
My only sister, I'm so sorry for all this._  
  
___  
  
You have to tell me about the Peacecrafts, Relena coughed, being loaded into the ambulance. I want to know about who I am.  
  
Heero stood at the back, his arms crossed. Zechs, ungloved and demasked, swallowed back the bile clotting his throat and told her that he would. The EMS workers worked over her and waited for someone, anyone to board.  
  
  
  
  
  
Zechs waved Heero off and loped to the Stingray he had air shipped to the US the day before. Go with her. I have some things I need to do here.  
  
Wufei sat in the dirt, his back to the wheel of the Cherokee and nodded at Heero. See you later.  
  
Without another word said, Heero climbed into the back of the ambulance and took a seat. Zechs barely saw it, but Relena's hand opened on the stretcher, and Heero took it without hesitation.  
  
___  
  
**An hour later...  
**  
Noin slammed her foot into the brake. We're late.  
  
Bad late, Sally unlocked the seat belt around her waist and got out of the car. What happened?  
  
Zechs didn't bother to get off the hood of the Stingray. And Wufei didn't get up, knowing that they couldn't see him from the other side of the Jeep. Sally stood in the exact spot where the ambulance had been.  
  
Relena's been taken to a hospital, Wufei said, disembodied. We were late too.  
  
Oh no, Noin's hand covered her mouth. What happened, Zechs?  
  
They got to her first. Captain Leonard Vance gut shot her and killed himself, he explained without much expression, not letting them see the sorrow in his eyes.  
  
Dorothy sat on the top step of the cabin, so far unnoticed, and held her face in her hands. _This was the last thing I thought would happen, _she thought, _Relena can't die. She can't._  
  
___  
  
Tell me that I'll see you again, Heero.  
  
You will see me again, it was a promise.  
  
___  
  
Those hours were probably some of the most painful I'd ever experienced. The others arrived not too long after I sat down in the empty waiting room. Zechs was taking it real hard, and from one soldier to another, I could tell that he was blaming himself. Just like I was.  
  
They haven't said anything, Sally told herself aloud.  
  
Wufei pinched her arm. Shsh, woman, can't you try not to disturb the hope in this room?  
  
Noin sat next to Zechs, rubbing the crook of his arm, she was hurting more for him than for his fatally injured little sister. Dorothy had come along as well, straggling. She didn't sit next to any of us, but walked along the rows at the back of the waiting area. Awkwardly, she looked tense. Ruffled and so unike the collected Dorothy we'd seen during the Eve Wars.   
  
There was a lone woman on duty, watching us all through her glasses. She rifled through papers and tried not to let us know she was crying. I heard it, the sniffles. She knew who was in the ER, and it affected her just as much as it did each of us. This woman didn't even know Relena, and she was weeping already.  
  
___  
  
She's stabilized, the doctor said, leaving Relena in the ER to be cleaned up. If her heartbeat goes up again, notify me immediately.  
  
Relena lay on the operating table, drenched in blood and fluids, iodine and water. The breathing monitor they'd placed in her throat looked awful, and blood on the floor made it appear as if a massacre had just passed through. A resident surgeon and two nurses cleaned up their patient, who'd fought long and hard through the night to remove a single bullet. Her hair was in a bun, matted with blood. Her eyes closed, completely motionless, she seemed as if she was in a slumber no one would ever wake her from. It scared the nurses to even face her for a period of more than five seconds. It was too much for them to see the world's angel and sweetheart comprimised to threadbare life and death such as she was now. How could anyone try to kill her?  
  
**To be continued...**


	12. Default Chapter

ttw12

Thicker than Water  
twelve  
  
  
**A week later...**  
  
Heero sat at Relena's bedside as he had been since she got out of surgery. The bullet had left a warpath of destruction through her midsection, grazing almost everything before embedding in her liver. Thankfully, it had bypassed her spine. The only thing that had saved her was the fact that the captain was thoughtful enough not to use hollow point bullets. Zechs had taken up camp for the first few days, but decided that he should get to the media before anyone else did, and returned to Preventer, knowing all too well that the world shouldn't know just yet. Heero wouldn't leave her, even when Wufei told him that he needed to get some real rest. It was the end of her first week in the hospital, and he was all she had left.  
  
_No matter what, we can't let the earth know that Relena's been badly injured. Who knows what could happen if rumors spread. We just have to go on as usual to prevent that from happening._  
  
_The ESUN already thinks that she's on vacation, we just have to make sure that it stays like that.  
  
_How cold hearted.  
  
___  
  
**A few days later...**  
  
Relena grit her teeth together, being helped out of the wheelchair and lifted into the Cherokee. What's going to happen now?  
  
She had to wait until he climbed in on the driver's side to get a reply. Your brother wants me to keep an eye on you until you recover.  
  
Where are you taking me?  
  
Back to the cabin, he cranked the SUV to life and lurched out of the entrance bay, where you will stay with me, until you're completely back to health.  
  
In truth, it felt like she would never get better. Her entire body hurt, even her eyes. The muscles in her abdomen were screaming, being slashed by the bullet en route to her liver. She just felt bad all over, and Heero found himself having sympathy pains for her. In his heart, mostly, but his stomach was knotted and his head was light whenever he saw her in pain. Then again, he felt like that whenever he was around her, even if she wasn't wounded.  
  
___  
  
Heero set her down on the couch and propped her head up with a pillow. Don't even think about moving.  
  
_How strange, _she mused, _to be nursed by Heero Yuy._  
  
He went to lock all the entry points and carried her bag of necessities into a bedroom. Relena winced as a spike of fire raged through her chest. She didn't say anything, but ever observant protector Heero didn't need her to. He was at her side with a hot compress without notice. In order to place it where it belonged, he had to lift her shirt and see the three inch long line of stitches on her torso. Relena yawned, and Heero cumbersomely laid the moist, steamy towel over her flat stomach and replaced her shirt.  
  
As he got up to tend to the house, she took his hand weakly. Thank you.  
  
___  
  
You need to eat, Heero sat next to Relena on the couch, leaning up against the pillows for support.  
  
She closed her eyes tiredly, and took short, recoiling breaths. I can't eat now, Heero. It hurts too much, and I'm sick enough already. Can't I just drink some of the Slim Fast in the fridge?  
  
He shook his head, but traced the definite outline of her jaw with his fingers until she looked him in the eye. I'm supposed to get you healthy. It's my mission, Relena. You know better than to stand in the way of my mission.  
  
You're right, she agreed, but I'm blaming you if I throw it all up during the night.  
  
___  
  
**By the end of the month...**  
  
Relena stood warily on the balcony, not paying any attention to the fading blood stains by her feet. Heero saw her out there and went to join her, silent. He rested against the railing close enough for her to smell his cologne. She let her head fall against his shoulder. The stitches were gone, and she was only a week or two away from returning to work. They both knew it, but avoided it anyway.  
  
What's next?  
  
You go back, he gulped, and do what you do best.  
  
Relena lifted her head and found his eyes. What about you?  
  
He didn't say anything.  
  
Just so you know, you're welcome in my home. It surprised him, and he turned to face her. If you ever need a place to stay.  
  
  
  
She smiled contentedly, remembering the events that had drawn out over the past month. From being kidnapped by her own brother, to learning about her family, to being shot. And eventually cared solely by Heero. Their time together was drawing to a close, but she didn't want it to end.   
  
Can you stay with me, Heero? If it isn't too much to ask, that is.  
  
_It isn't too much to ask of me, but too much to ask of the world, maybe. _ he couldn't seem to get the words out, even though it was only them and the mountains, you're all that matters to me. I would be with you every waking moment if I could.  
  
Why can't you? This is your life, and it's mine too. Nothing else matters.  
  
_Nothing else._ Heero didn't know what else to say, wanting to tell her so much more. Instead, he put his arms around her. And so very slowly, he kissed her.  
  
Relena, I'll stay with you forever, as long as I live. But if it ever comes to the point of your being in danger, then I'll do whatever is needed to keep you safe.  
  
Relena felt like she had been shot all over again; him speaking those words so true right over her very lips. For perhaps the very first time in her life, she was speechless. It didn't matter, though. Heero was all she'd ever wanted and couldn't have, until now. He did love her back, and she knew that she could die happy right then. But what kind of thing would that be? So, they stood in the orange golden hue of the setting sun, clinging to each other. It was strange, yes, but it was bliss, and it just felt _right_. The only thing they had to do now was deal with her brother, who still had to explain to her what it was to be a member of the Peacecraft family. And maybe, he'd have to explain it to Heero too.  
  
**The end.**


End file.

Gundam Wing/AC, Adventure, Drama