Author's note: Well I submitted this to fanfiction.net in several parts. I tried to have a cliffhanger of some sort at each part so I kept the divisions in, to add drama.

Okay legal stuff: I don't own Gundam Wing. Sunrise and Bandai do, I think.

M4.2

The ship settled down on the M4.3 with a soft thud. Relena took one last moment to look over the miners' demands before heading into the negotiations. She had agreed to act as a mediator (Ringmaster in actuality) between the two sides. It was a depressing satellite, with just the bare necessities for living. It was hard to believe that children were raised here. But the commute to L4 was just too far, so miners had to live where they worked, despite the pollution, poor services and general lack of civilization. Relena stopped herself, she couldn't sympathize with them too much, she was supposed to be neutral. No taking sides.

"Dock is secure." A voice over com replied.

"Alright, we're ready to go Relena."

Relena just nodded at Miss Noin, gathered a simple notebook and pencil and left the ship.

"Miss Dorlian, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Mr. Trasker, president of Trasker Mining Corp. I am honored that the Vice Foreign Minister will be presiding over these negotiations. Aren't we a little samll time for you?"

"It is a pleasure Mr. Trasker. I am sure that you are aware of how disrupting a strike by your workers would be for both the Earth and the Colonies. There are no small time problems in my mind, only more manageable problems, and from what I understand this problem is not easily manageable at all."

"No I am afraid it is not. The workers have already voted to strike, but held off when they were informed of your decision to come here. I have tried to speak with their union leader myself, but he is an onery fellow as you'll soon see."

"Indeed, well if everyone is assembled why don't we begin."

"Right this way Miss Dorlian."

Relena followed Mr. Trasker through the offices of the Mining Corp. Like all office buildings it had a maze-like layout. They ended up at an uninteresting conference room, that held a large wooden table and no decorations. There were only six people in the room, all wearing serious expressions. Mr. Trasker introduced her and then led her to a seat at the head of the table. He then introduced the others.

"This is Mr. Highad, he's the union leader." He pointed to a burly, red-haired man. "This is Mr. Oragamu, the union's secretary." A short man who fit the accountant bill to a T. "This is my personal assistant, Anita Sutcliff." She was the only other woman in the room. Attractive and in her thirties, Relena suspected she was probably sleeping with Mr. Trasker. "And finally this is my son Blane Trasker, he is currently in middle management, but one day he will take over my operations." Blane turned to Relena and gave her a sly smile. He was seated to Relena's immediate left. She had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes and shot a dirty look at the man. This was going to be a long meeting.

"Well I certainly hope that I can be of help. Mr. Highad, I had read through the miners' list of demands that is dated Jun. 14 AC 197, is that the most current list?"

"Yes Ms. Dorlain, we are holding firm to those most basic living necessities..."

"Excuse me Mr. Highad but I don't consider a library a basic living necessity..."

"How are our children supposed to learn anything when they don't even have a library to access data from?"

"Gentlemen please, we will get into this soon enough..." Relena didn't get to finish her statement. A large explosion ripped through the satellite, knocking out the electricity and gravity controls. A small set of explosions soon followed and Relena felt like she was on a roller coaster as she was tossed around the room. She bounced off one of the other occupants and into a wall, then something or someone smashed into her, finally she was able to grab one of the table's legs and steady herself. Then the emergency lights and supplemental gravity and life controls went into affect, causing her and everybody else to smash to the ground. Relena felt like crap. There was a pain in her right hip from the fall and she also had a headache. She reached up and there was a small amount of blood making it's way down her face from a cut above her eye.

"Miss Dorlain are you alright?"
"Blane?"
"I'm okay dad."
"Hey get off me!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean..."
"Relena!" Miss Noin's voice cut through the others as she burst through the door, her gun in hand. She was followed by two more members of Relena's imperial guard.

"I'm okay, what happened?" Relena asked as Miss Noin assisted her to her feet.

"We're not sure, it was a bomb of some sort. I need to get you out of here."

"A bomb? Are you sure?"

"I'm afraid so, this place is simply too easy of a target. Little security, Simple construction. A terrorist paradise. We shouldn't have come here."

"What? Did she say terrorist!? Oh my gawd, are they coming here?"

"Calm down Miss Sutcliff. The terrorists aren't interested in you. Once I leave you won't be in any danger." Relena assured the woman, then turned to Miss Noin. "We should leave as soon as possible."

Miss Noin nodded and turned just in time to see four men dressed in black enter the corridor. They immediately opened fire. One guard was shot through the head. He was dead before he hit the ground. The other opened fire, taking what cover he could.

"Relena get out of here!" Miss Noin pushed Relena back into the room and closed the door.


Part 2:

Relena looked around the room. The only way out was the door that Noin had just slammed in her face. The air vents were all too small and the ceiling was solid-no panels. There was a window, but it overlooked the mine and was never intended to be opened. Even if she could pry it open the drop would probably kill her. They were at least 60 feet off the ground.

"We're gonna die! Oh my gawd, I'm way too young to die!" A female voice interrrupted Relena's thoughts. Mr. Trasker was trying to comfort Ms. Sutcliff, but it wasn't doing any good. The woman was sobbing uncontrollably.

"I have a six shooter but that won't do much good against the men out there." The union leader offered. Everyone looked grim and Relena felt sorry for them. They were all proably going to die because of her.

"I am sorry that I have endangered all your lives like this. I wish there was something I could do, but I am afraid that I am not in control here." She told them.

"Don't give up hope Miss Dorlain, I have an idea." After saying this Mr. Highad took out his six shooter and fired it at the window, shattering the glass. "It's the only way out."

"But I'll never survive the fall." Relena protested. Outside the door, the shots in the hall had ceased.

Blane Trasker grabbed a chair and shoved it under the door handle. "That won't hold them, you've got to leave now!" Mr. Highad nodded to him and scooped Relena up into his arms. The men outside tried the door.

"Take this." The union leader commanded as he placed his gun on her arms. Mr. Oragamu placed a chair in front of the shattered window. "Good luck Miss Dorlain."

Shots were fired and the door was kicked in. Blane Trasker pushed it shut again and was shot in the arm and the head for his trouble. "Blane!" his father cried, still holding his personal assistant who was chanting a mantra of "We're gonna die, we're gonna die."

Relena expected them to toss her out the window, but instead Mr. Highad tightened his grip on her, stepped on the chair and jumped out the window.

When they hit the ground, Relena heard the man's bones crack and the breath leave his body in a giant rush. Relena felt the shock through her own body, but was spared any real damage. She crawled and pushed until she was free and then turned to look at him. He was in terrible shape. Mostly she saw blood, but there was also limbs turned the wrong way. Still his chest rose slightly.

"Mr. Highad?" She called to him in a weak, wary voice. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Go." He mouthed, unable to even find a breathe.

"Why?" She had to know. "Why did you and the others helped me?"

"Peace, hope, my children. Go...please." He half whispered, half mouthed the words.

Relena only nodded, she turned to go and noticed the gun lying a few feet away. It stood for everything she dispised. She bent down and picked it up. This wasn't a time for ideals.

~~~~~~~~~

"... Vice Foreign Minister Relena Dorlain was on M4.2 to try to negotiate a settlement between management and the Miners' Union when the explosion occurred. So far attempts to communicate with the facility have failed. This may be due to the explosion knocking out the satellite's communications. Rescue ships have had difficulty landing on the satellite due to several minor explosions that continue to rock the mining facility. Security was of course heightened in preparation for the Miss Dorlain's visit, but the possibility of a terrorist attack has not been ruled out..."

Heero turned off the tv and walked into the hanger. Wing Zero was still undergoing repairs but had enough juice to get him to M4.2. He was in the process of putting on his space suit when the light on his vidphone started blinking. There were about 7 people on Earth and in all the Colonies who had this number. At least two of them were trapped on a mining satellite. He could guess what the call was about. Heero hit the reciever on the vidphone and saw a very concerned looking Quatre staring back at him.

"Heero have you heard?"

"I've heard Quatre. I am on my way to M4.2 now."

"Is it alright if Trowa and I come? We want to help Heero."

"Do as you please." Heero replied, he could probably use the help, but certainly wasn't going to ask for it.

"Thanks. Oh and Heero... I guess I should warn you that Duo already left, he says he tried to get ahold of you, but you weren't answering and he was really worried about Relena."

"Thanks." Heero nodded at Quatre and ended the transmission. So none of them thought that the explosion was a mining accident. Relena might already be dead, but if she wasn't... Heero shook his head. Focus on the mission. Heero finished donning his space suit and climbed into Wing Zero's cockpit. Relena was running out of time.

Part 3:

Relena looked at the mine shaft enterance. It was almost impossible to see inside, so she looked around for a portable light source. She found a hard hat with a light on top of it. She was hoping to find a space suit in case the emergency controls malfunctioned but didn't see one. There were still small explosions that rocked the satellite every now and then. Walking into the mine shaft was probably asking for trouble, but maybe, just maybe the terrorists wouldn't follow.

As Relena made her way down the shaft she heard voices up ahead.

"Help! We need help." Trapped miners, she doubted she could do any good, but she had to try.

"I hear you, where are you?" She called into the darkness.

"We're here." They were to the left. She followed a small tunnel down and saw where the beam had given way and a pile of rocks was blocking the path. If the miners weren't strong enough to move them, she wouldn't be able to do much.

"I am sorry but I can't move these rocks and I haven't seen anyone else around here." She called to them.

"Well can't you get help." Relena couldn't get help and she really shouldn't stay. She felt just awful to have to leave them trapped.

"I'm sorry I really can't." She turned and began to walk back to the main shaft.

"What do you mean can't? We need help, we could die if this tunnel gives way. Hey are you listening to me? Hey lady?"

"I'm so sorry." She whispered back, knowing they couldn't hear her. Relena could feel the tears in her eyes and suddenly she needed to be out of there. She began to run, with the tears blurring her vision she tripped and fell. Her hard hat fell off as she hit the ground, and Relena's head cracked against the stone floor.
~~~~~~~~
Heero surveyed the damage to M4.2 from Wing Zero. It looked pretty bad. There was a good sized hole where the hanger should have been and small fires were burning all over the satellite. Rescue ships were hovering around the scene but it looked like none had found a way to land yet. He needed to find a place where his gundam would remain undetected. He spotted a fissure on the left side of the former hanger bay, it was about 4 miles away from ground zero. He thought about blasting his way in, but he didn't know the layout of this particular satellite. He could blast into a populized area. No, he was going to have to do this the hard way.

As Wing Zero entered the fissure, Heero was greeted with a familar sight. Deathscythe loomed against the stone wall. It's pilot was no where to be found. Heero secured his gundam and took off towards the hanger bay.

'I'm coming Relena.'
~~~~~~~~~
Relena awoke to the sound of clothes being ripped, she was shocked to find that they were her clothes. She couldn't see anything but the a round section of the wall opposite her. Her hard hat was lying about two feet away from her. There was something large and smelly with busy hands lying on top of her.

"Get off me," she screamed and began pounding on the man's back with her fists. She heard the man on her laugh.

"Now I know you're upset about my tearing yer purty clothes, but you ain't gonna need them." He laughed again.

"Are you crazy? This tunnel could go at any time. You're gonna get us both killed." Relena tried to reason with him. It wasn't working.

"Way I figure it, we'll probably get taken out by one of them secondary explosions taking out the life support. I figure, might as well have some fun before I die. Now why don't you stop fighting me and relax, I promise you'll enjoy yourself more that way." He had now started to roam over her with his tongue and mouth.


Part 4:

Relena's stomach turned, she thought she was gonna puke. The man grabbed her breast and began sliding his hand lower and lower. Relena felt the bile swell up in her stomach and climb up her throat. She opened her mouth and threw up all over herself and her would be rapist.

"Oh gawd, that's disgusting." The man cried. He lifted himself off of her.

"You're gonna pay for that you bitch!" He raised his one hand and smashed her across the face. Relena was knocked over to the wall, along the way she bumped her hard hat, sending the beam of light dancing across the tunnel floor. When the light stopped, the six shooter given to her by the union leader glinted in the beam. She lunged for it in desperation and relief washed over her as her hand found the hilt. She couldn't see her attacker but she could hear his heavy breathing and muttered oaths. She didn't think twice, she aimed and fired. She didn't hear anything so she fired again. This time she heard the thud of a large body hitting the ground. Relena didn't loosen her grip on the gun. She inched her way over to the hard had and picked it up, sweeping the tunnel with its light. The man was less than 4 feet away, crumpled in a pile. His eyes were huge and lifeless.

Relena looked down at herself, the clothes that still clung to her were torn and covered in puke. She looked at the miner. He was partly undressed already. His clothes were also pretty nasty, especially now that blood was gushing out of the bullet holes. Still they were whole and she didn't feel like walking around the mine naked, or close to it.

Relena summoned up her courage and rolled the man over, stripping him of his orange coveralls. The smell of blood, vomit and sweat was a lethal combination.

"I will never complain about the Cinq Kingdom's formal dress again." She joked to herself in an effort to keep from screaming. Relena finished stripping off the remains of her outfit and tried on the miner's clothes. She was practically swimming in them, and the smell was starting to make her gag.

"Dear God, if I die in this, please don't let anyone find the body."
~~~~~~~~~
Heero inspected the hanger. The bomb was well placed. It had taken out all of the landing platforms. A ship with the Cinq Kingdom's seal was amoung the wreckage. It took Heero less than five minutes to determine that Relena hadn't been on it. Although the bodies found in the ship were burned beyond recognition, none of them had the right body mass to be Relena.

'The negotiations must've started before the bomb went off. I need to find the conference room.' Heero thought as he tried to determine the best direction to head in. He saw what looked like offices ahead and headed towards them.

After a while he came into a hall where a dead man dressed as one of the Cinq Kingdom's imperial guards lay. Another guard lay not far away along with two men in black outfits. Next to a demolished door Heero spotted Deathscythe's pilot crouched down next to another guard.

"Duo."

Duo turned to Heero. His face was drawn and his eyes were angry.

"Relena's not in there, I already checked. Noin is dead."

Part 5:

Heero was a little taken about. He had respect for Noin. She was one of the best. He would never have left Relena in her care otherwise. Whoever their enemy was, they were formidable.

"Do you know which way Relena went?"

Duo nodded and pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards the destroyed conference room. He turned and led Heero to the shattered window.

"Way I figure it this is the only way out. Don't know how Relena survived that fall, but I don't see her body down there." Duo took out a small box and pointed it towards the floor below them. He pressed a button and a line shot out of it. He secured the box below the window's edge.

"You wanna do the honors, Heero?"

Heero only nodded. He gripped the line and slid down the rope. It was about a sixty foot drop. He saw a corpse not far from where he landed and walked over to it.

"I think I know how Relena survived the fall." He told Duo after Deathscythe's pilot had landed on the ground. Heero spotted something else. A hole in the ground not far from the line they had slid down.

"Looks like we're not alone."

"Didn't think we would be. So where'd everybody go?" Good question. Heero looked around, there were more offices to left, where the bomb had exploded. To the right was the entrance of the mine.

"That way." Heero said as he pointed to the right.

"Yeah that's what I figured. It looks dark down there. We're gonna need a light."

Heero didn't say anything. He just pulled a small light out of his space suit.

"Huh I should've known." Duo said as he followed Heero into the mine.
~~~~~~~~
Relena stopped where the mine shaft branched. There didn't seem to be much difference, so she just headed off to the right. Then she had an idea. If someone was following her maybe she could send them off in the wrong direction. She retraced her steps and looked down the tunnel on her left. She didn't have anything left to identify herself since she had changed outfits. Then she remembered that all of labels in her clothes read 'Made in the Cinq Kingdom.' She doubted anyone here was importing clothes from her country. She reached behind her and pulled the label off her bra. It was itching her anyway. She walked about twenty feet into the left tunnel and threw the label onto the ground, then backtracked and headed into the right tunnel.

Relena walked for what seemed like miles. The shaft never changed. She was beginning to get dizzy. The tunnel seemed to weave in front of her. 'One too many bumps on the head,' she thought to herself. She realized that she might have a concussion and needed to keep moving. The tunnel was really starting blur across her vision. 'I need water,' she thought. Relena kept moving, until she found herself on the ground. She didn't even remember falling down.

"Miss Dorlain." She whirled her head around. The figure in front her moved closer. It was hard to make out, her eyes wouldn't focus, the person was dressed all in black. One thing that Relena could see was that he or she was pointing a gun at her.

Part 6:

"Help, some one help us!"

"Hey Heero did you hear that?"

"Hmmm. We don't have time."

"Yeah, but what if they're in real trouble?"

"You can go if you want to. I'm not stopping."

"Hey I care about Relena too, but we can't just ignore a call for help. Hey Heero!" Duo called after him, but Heero didn't turn around or stop. "Fine, I'll check it out and catch up to you when I can!"

Duo preceded down the tunnel towards the trapped miner's cries when a seriously vile scent assailed him.

"Oh man!" He quickly covered his nose and mouth. "This is what I get for being a nice guy." He held up the spare light Heero had given to him earlier and spotted a rather bulky corpse.

"Like I haven't seen enough dead people today." When Duo rolled him over he spotted the gunshot wounds and the vomit. He had to suppress the urge to puke himself.

"Ah man, this..." Duo spotted the torn clothes lying next to the corpse. He had been to enough official functions to know they had to be Relena's. He hadn't paid it much mind before but he looked back at the corpse who was dressed in a simple tank top, boxers and socks. Duo wasn't an idiot, a killing rage came over him.

"You son of a bitch! It's a good thing your dead. Relena better not be hurt... Relena! Relena are you here?!" He called into the darkness. He waved the light around the tunnel, but didn't see her.

"Hey is there somebody out there? We need help!" The miners, she might be with them.

"Hold on I'm coming." Duo continued down the tunnel, looking for signs of Relena. He had to stop when he came to a large pile of rocks.

"Are you alright in there?" Duo asked.

"Yeah but we need to get out, this tunnel isn't stable."

"Is there a girl in there with you?"

"No, she left. Are you gonna get us out of here?"

"What do mean she left?"

"She said she couldn't help and left. Did she send you?"

"No and I'm sorry but I can't help either. I can't move these rocks, but I think you'll be okay for a little while longer. I'll come back." Duo turned to go, Relena must've gone back to the main tunnel.

"Wait, don't leave us."

"I'm sorry." Duo said, mostly to himself. He began to run back to the main shaft. He had to catch up with Heero.
~~~~~~~~~
It was definitely a she. Not that it mattered. Relena still had her back to the woman. She clutched the six shooter a little tighter and whirled around, ready to fire. At Relena's sudden movement the woman opened fire.

Relena felt her shoulder explode in pain. Her gun went flying from her hand and she could only look at the woman standing in front of her, gun pointed at her head, finger piosed on the trigger.

"Too bad, Miss Dorlain. Looks like I win."
~~~~~~~~~
Heero had heard the shot and took off running as fast as he could, but he had to stop when the mine branched in two directions. He couldn't tell which side the shot had come from.

"Relena, can you hear me?" He screamed.
~~~~~~~~~
Relena's eyes got wide. It was faint, but she was sure that she had heard Heero calling her.

"Heero!"
~~~~~~~~~
Heero took off towards the right. 'I'm coming Relena.'
~~~~~~~~~
"He won't be able to save you." The woman said as she fired the gun.

Part 7:

Relena fell back as the bullet hit her hard hat, shattering it and giving her the worst headache of her life. The tunnel was plunged into darkness and Relena could feel a sticky wetness make it's way down her face from the stinging wound on her head.

"Dammit, where'd I put that light?" Relena closed her eyes as the terrorist made a clicking noise and the tunnel filled with light.

"Ha! Scratch one Vice Foreign Minister," she said as she poked Relena with the toe of her boot. Relena held her breath and went limp.

'Please don't check my pulse, please don't check my pulse.'

Relena could feel the woman leaning over her.

"Aww geez, what a stink! Oh is that vomit?" Her voice dripped with disgust.

Relena could hear the woman gasp and could tell by the rustling of cloth that she had moved away. The woman breathed in sharply, then more rhythmically.

"I probably did her a favor by killing her." The woman's voice was farther now and her footsteps were getting fainter.

Relena was still too scared to get up. She laid there, listening to the beating of her own heart and thanking god.
~~~~~~~~~
Duo heard a gunshot, but it seemed to come from back the way he had come.

"Damn I must've gone down the wrong side of the shaft. Hope Heero didn't make the same mistake," he muttered to himself. He got back to the main shaft and hung a right.
~~~~~~~~~
When Heero heard the second gunshot, he stopped. He had called to her and she had answered. Did her calling to him get her killed?

'No, she wouldn't have answered if it was going to cost her her life.'

He could hear a voice up ahead. It sounded like a woman. Was it Relena? He didn't want to call to her again. Instead he extinguished his light and flattened himself against the tunnel's wall.

Footsteps were coming towards him and the tunnel began to light up as a woman approached.

'Relena?'

It wasn't her.

Heero stepped out of the shadows and aimed his gun at the woman dressed in black.

"Where's Relena?"

"You must be Heero?" she said nonchalantly.

"Tell me or I'll kill you."

"You're going to kill me anyway. That's okay. I've completed my mission. Miss Dorlain is dead."

Part 8:

Heero's entire body tensed. His finger squeezed the trigger and the woman slumped to the floor. He didn't move.
~~~~~~~~
Relena's eyes shot open when she heard a gunshot. Was she being shot at?

No the gunshot was too far away, but still too close. She slowly got up and began feeling for the wall. She felt a wave of nausea overcome her and little sparks flashed across her eyes. She thought she was going to fall back down, but somehow managed to stay on her feet. But for how long? She was in pain and even if she couldn't see, everything was still spinning. She knew she wouldn't be able to withstand another attack. The six shooter might still be around, but she couldn't find it in the dark. She had to find a place to hide.

Heero had called to her, she was sure it was him. If she called to him now, she could attract unwanted attention. She decide to go a little further down the tunnel, find a place to hide and wait for him. He'd find her, he'd save her. He always did.
~~~~~~~~
"Heero I heard gunshots." Duo stopped next to the silent pilot, gasping for air.

"Who's that?" He asked looking at the body of the female terrorist.

Heero didn't reply, which didn't surprise Duo in the least. What did surprise Duo was the tear tracks that adorned Heero's cheeks.

"Heero?" Duo was really taken aback, he didn't know what to say or do. Heero was completely unresponsive, never taking his eyes from the dead body that lay 15 feet in front of him.

'Could it be?' thought Duo. He knew that Relena wasn't in her Cinq Kingdom clothes anymore. He braced himself for the worst as he walked over to the body.

It wasn't her. Then what was wrong with Heero?

"Did you know this woman Heero?" No answer.

"Heero do you know where Relena is?" That got a reaction.

"Relena's dead." His voice betrayed nothing. It was as monotone as ever.

"What? How do you know? Where is she?" Duo was frantic, he couldn't believe that Relena was dead. And if she was dead where was the body? Duo hadn't passed it on his way here. So it must be down the tunnel. But if it was down there, then why was Heero here? Duo looked at Heero. How could he be so emotionless? Heero cared for Relena at least as much as Duo did, probably more. Everyone knew it. He always paid attention when she was the subject of discussion. And Relena was very open about her feelings for Heero. If Heero didn't like her he would avoid her, wouldn't he?

"I don't know where she is."

"Then how?" Duo was totally confused. He had about a hundred questions he wanted to ask and Heero wasn't being very forthcoming right about now.

"She," Heero nodded towards the dead body at Duo feet, "killed Relena. She told me so."

"That's it, you're gonna take her word for it? She could've been trying to throw you off the trail." Yeah that was what she was trying to do. She was trying to throw Heero off the trail, so she could find and kill Relena. Hence Relena must still be alive. It made perfect sense.

"She said her mission was complete. When I looked in her eyes, I knew she was telling the truth."

"When you looked in her eyes? You're kidding right? Now you can tell whether a person is lying or not just by looking in their eyes? Don't take this the wrong way Heero, but I don't think you are the kinda person who can 'read' people." Duo was feeling better, he really believed that Relena was still alive now.

"She said her mission was complete." Heero said once more, as though that explained everything.

"Well believe what you want. I won't give up until I find Relena. I didn't see her back there. So I guess she's down this way." Duo pointed down the tunnel. "You coming?"

Heero nodded. Duo took off down the tunnel and Heero followed.

'We're coming Relena, hang in there.'
~~~~~~~~~
Relena walked along the tunnel, one hand pressed against the tunnel's wall. She walked into something pointy that hit her right in her kidney, knocking the air out of her. She began to feel around the object, it was rectangular and open on the top. As her hand reached down she felt metal and realized that it was a cart on a magnetic track.

Her hand followed the cart back up the side and over the top. It was about half full. The bits of gundanium were sharp in some spots, but thanks to the nature of the metal, not too heavy. If she could cover herself with enough of the cart's contents she might be able to hide for the terrorists until Heero found her.

She climbed inside the cart and began digging to the bottom. When she reached it, she nested onto the cart's floor and swished the metal bits above her.

'Please hurry, Heero.'

Part 9:

Duo inspected the shattered hard hat. It was splattered with blood. There was also a six shooter nearby. It had discharged about half it's ammo. There was quite a lot of blood on the ground, but no Relena. The blood continued down the tunnel for a little while, but it faded down to only a few drops here and there and then nothing. The tunnel branched again.

"So which way do you wanna go?" Duo asked. Heero merely glared at him, then took off towards the right.

"Fine, I'll see you later then, holler if you find her." Duo called after him. He knew he was annoying Heero, but he didn't care. It was better to have Heero glare at him then to have seen him cry. That had really freaked Duo out. He was surprised Heero had given up on her so quickly.

"He loves her, he must, he was crying when I saw him. Crying. Heero. Man it was like watching a stone bleed or something. Totally wierd. I can't wait to see his face when we finds her alive. Unless he finds her first and then I won't get to see it. Man that's not fair. Of course I guess she could really be dead." Duo became quiet for a second.

"Nah she's not dead, she's too strong. She's the strongest person who ever lived, well at least the strongest person I've ever know. Even Wufei respects her. If anyone could survive this it'd be her. She'll have been through a lot though. She's gonna need people around her who care, to help her through this." Duo thought of the dead miner he'd found earlier and gritted his teeth.

"Yeah she's gonna need help and Noin is dead. That's gonna hurt her even more. Noin was more that just her top security officer. She and Relena were really close. Aww don't worry Relena I'll be there for you. Heero will too, even if I have to drag him kicking and screaming, I'm gonna make sure he doesn't run away from you. Not this time."

"Duo who are you talking to?"

"What?" Duo quickly aimed his gun ahead of him and stared at Quatre and Trowa.

"Hey it's about time you two got here. Where have you been?" He asked as he lowered his gun.

"Well, when we got here we found Noin," Quatre's voice wavered for a second, "and after looking things over we figured Relena must've gone into the mine. Well, when we entered the mine, we found these miners trapped in a tunnel, so we cleared away the rocks and helped them out. They were pretty pissed off. Said something about everyone else leaving them to die and how they never thought they were gonna get out of there. Anyway after that we ran into a man dressed all in black, like the dead guys outside the conference room and so we asked him if he'd run into Relena and he said 'no,' but then Trowa talked to him," again Quatre's voice wavered and he started talking to the ground, Trowa stared at Duo blankly, "and he admitted that he had found this."

Quatre opened his hand and revealed a piece of cloth with writing on it. Duo picked it up and looked it over. It was a label that read 'Made in the Cinq Kindom'.

"That's weird, I didn't think Relena had any clothes left after...well you know." They must've seen the dead miner if they had freed the men trapped in the tunnel. Quatre frowned and nodded.

"It's from her bra." Trowa explained.

"What? How do you know that?" Duo asked as his eyes bugged out of his head.

"Look at the size." Duo did, it was definitely her bra's label. All of a sudden he felt a little uncomfortable holding onto it, so he gave it back to Quatre who pocketed it.

"So then what?"

"Then we ran into you." Duo stared at them, that didn't make sense. They had come the same way he did, so why were they in front of him? They couldn't have passed him, unless...

"When the main shaft branched the first time what direction did you go in?"

"We went to the left, just like the man in black told us to. The shaft hasn't branched after that."

"Then this tunnel is a loop. I started heading to the left, but then heard gunshots and backtracked to the right. I met up with Heero and then the shaft branched again. I went right and he went left."

"So we're heading back to the enterance."

"Right!"

"Then Relena must be back down the way Heero came."

"If you guys didn't run into her..." both Quatre and Trowa shook their heads no.

"Come on then, Heero might need our help." The three pilots set off, but then Duo remembered something that he couldn't keep secret.

"Hey guys, there is a chance Relena is already dead. Heero ran into one of the terrorists. She said she killed Relena. I don't believe her, but Heero said he did."

"Oh no! That's awful! I hope it isn't true. If Relena's dead, so many people will be sad." Quatre's eyes filled with tears, but he held them in check.

"Interesting that Heero would take the word of a terrorist." Trowa commented unemotionally.

They came to the spot where Duo had last seen Heero.

"Come on guys. He can't be that far ahead of us."

Part 10:

Heero stood looking at the rock wall with a perplexed look on his face. He had reached the end of the tunnel, but hadn't seen any sign of Relena. The miners must've been working here when the explosion occurred because the floor was littered with discarded equipment, extra coveralls and even shoes. The magnetic track came to an end here as well. There were about 20 carts hooked together.

The carts held chunks of gundamium. He had looked into a couple of them and hadn't seen anything that looked unusual. She must not have come down this way. Heero turned around and started heading back up the tunnel to try to find Duo.

It didn't take him long.

"Hey Heero, I didn't think we'd catch up to you this quickly."

"I hit a dead end."

"So where's Relena?"

"I didn't see her, I assumed she was on your side of the tunnel."

"Nope. When I ran into Quatre and Trowa I realized that my tunnel was part of a loop that led back towards the enterance."

"I take it you didn't see Relena?" Both Quatre and Trowa shook their heads.

"Hmm." It didn't make any sense. If they had walked through the entire mine shaft, one of them should have seen Relena.

"Duo told us that you two had found a lot of blood." Both Duo and Heero nodded once at Trowa, but Duo had a serious scowl on his face. "Well if she was hurt badly she probably decided to stop running and try to hide."

"Makes sense, but where could she hide? There wasn't really any place to hide down my way." Duo scrunched up his forehead in annoyance.

"Yeah, once we freed the miners we didn't see any more side branches to the main shaft, and there was nothing in the main shaft big enough for a person to hide in or behind." Quatre added.

"There aren't any side shafts down this way, but there is some carts full of gundamium, and some discarded clothes." Heero began to get upset with himself. Did he really pass her by? She could be dying, if she wasn't dead already, and he just walked right past her.

"Let's go." He commanded them. They followed him down the mine shaft until they got to the carts.

"This looks like a good place to start." Duo walked over to one of the carts and reached down until he felt the bottom of the cart. When he pulled his arm out he noticed his sleeve had torn open.

"She's not in this one. Hey, be careful you guys, there are some sharp chunks in here." The other pilots followed his example. They each chose a cart and plunged their arms in. When they reached the bottom of the cart, they moved on to the next one.

Quatre reached his arm in and his hand hit something solid, but not hard. When he pulled his hand away he could see a bit of orange peeking out.

"Hey guys!" He yelled excitedly. The pilots all crowded around the cart and began to cautiously reach their hands in. Trowa pulled out an arm, pulled off his glove and wrapped his hand around her (it was definitely a woman's) wrist.

"She's alive." He announced. Quatre and Duo both let out the breath they were holding. Heero began to scoop the gundamium out of the cart and onto the ground. They others followed his example and when they had cleared enough of the metal away, they gently started to brush away the bits of dust and rock. Heero uncovered a cheek and reached his hand in, propping the head up further.

It was her, it was Relena. She looked awful. Dried blood made its down her face and gundamium dust clung to her skin. Her hair had been pulled back in a ponytail. Strings of it were now stuck to her face, in the collar of her coveralls and covered with blood and dust.

"Move aside." Heero commanded. He stepped to the side of the cart, jumped up onto the track and reached both arms into the cart. He pulled Relena out of the cart and with Duo's help laid her on the ground. They both sucked in their breaths when they got too close.

"Whew, I can see why that lady thought she was dead." Heero threw Duo a look and Duo quickly changed the subject. "It looks like she was shot in the shoulder too." Duo pointed to her blood stained coveralls.

"We need to get her to a doctor." Quatre said, concerned.

"It's at least a mile to the enterance, we should clean the wound first." Heero began to unzip her coveralls.

"Whoa!" The other three pilots turned their heads away quickly.

"Heero, I don't think she has any clothes on under that thing." Duo cracked an eye, Heero had stopped just above her chest.

"What? Why wouldn't she?"

"Well when I went down that side tunnel to see if I could help those people," Heero nodded recalling the first time he and Duo had split up, "I found her clothes ripped apart next to a dead miner."

Part 11:

Heero didn't say anything he just looked down at Relena and pulled back a little bit of the coveralls. He saw bare skin and nothing else. Her clothes had been ripped apart or, more likely, ripped off. Heero kept the tremor out of his hand as he eased it into her coveralls and gently rubbed the back of her shoulder.

"The bullet didn't come through the skin, it's still inside her. Quatre, Trowa you take the lead. Duo you follow." Heero then picked up Relena and they started towards the enterance.

They didn't encounter any trouble on their way out of the mine. When they got to the enterance they found that at least a couple of rescue ships had managed to land and so they didn't have to load Relena onto the gundam. They handed her over to a doctor and kept guard, in shifts of two each, outside the operating room and later in her room. The hospital on M4.2 was completely overrun due to the explosions and there were people in the halls, even in the stairwells. Heero wanted her moved out of there as soon as she was out of critical condition.

~~~~~~~~

"I can't give you my blessing on this. She's still very weak. She hasn't even regained consciousness yet."

"I understand that doctor, but we have to move her before the media gets ahold of it and telecasts her whereabouts to the public." Quatre explained.

"I understand that her life may still be in danger, but L4 has sent additional police specifically to watch over the Vice Foreign Minister."

"They can't be trusted."

"Heero!" Quatre gave Heero a exasperated look and then returned his attention back to the doctor. "We know that, it's just that we really feel she isn't safe here, especially with the satellite in so much chaos after the bombing. We've been looking after Miss Dorlain for quite some time now and we really do know what's best for her. You've taken extremely good care of her and we appreciate it, but Relena is stronger than you think. She doesn't need to be in the hospital anymore."

The doctor looked around at the two young men who stood before him. Quatre R. Winner was heir to a mining satellite similar to M4.2, but much larger. He was a very powerful young man. The other one was no one that the doctor recognized, but his demeanor reminded the doctor of a coiled snake. That man was dangerous and the doctor didn't want to do anything to get on his bad side.

"I suppose I don't really have much choice, you should at least get a nurse to travel with her."

"We will. Thanks again for everything." The doctor realized that he was being dismissed. He took one last look at Relena Dorlain and left.

Heero picked Relena up off the bed and the two of them made their way to the hanger. They quickly strapped her in and Quatre's sister checked her vital signs

~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure?" Wufei asked, for about the fifth time. Heero nodded.

"Alright, but it will take me some time to get Wing Zero repaired."

"I know, I haven't even gathered all the parts yet. Duo might be able to help you out there."

"I would just as soon do it myself."

"Whatever, I'll leave it to you. I left Zero next to Deathscythe so just follow Duo." Wufei nodded and left the medship. He shook his head. No woman would ever be able to make him abandon Nataku.

~~~~~~~~~

Relena woke up in a haze of white. She moved her head slightly and a wave of pain and nausea hit her. When her vision cleared she saw a bag of clear fluid sitting atop a pole with a tube running out of it. She followed the tube down into her arm. When she realized she was in a hospital it all started to come back to her. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten out of the mine. She wondered if she might be a prisoner.

She turned her head further and saw a teddy bear with a white coat, a red nose and a reflector on its head. She smiled and picked it up. It had a stethoscope and a charm around its neck. The charm was round with chinese characters. There were also flowers on either side of the bed. She didn't think that she was being held captive. She hugged the teddy bear and fell back asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next time Relena awoke, she wasn't alone.

"Well the stinky princess finally wakes up. We were beginning to get worried here." Duo told her with a wide smile and shining eyes.

"I'm sorry if I worried you Duo. Where am I?" Relena smiled back weakly, she was still very tired and a little queasy.

"We're back in the Cinq Kingdom. If you could look out the window, you'd see your palace." He nodded over his shoulder then turned back to her. "So how do you feel?"

"Mmmm, okay I guess. My head hurts, but it's not bad."

"Yeah, you had a concussion, it's why you were out for so long I guess."

"Relena do you remember what happened?" She nodded. "Well we found out which terrorist organization is responsible and Trowa and Wufei are taking care of them now. Don't worry Relena, they'll avenge Miss Noin's death. I would've gone along, but Quatre had to get back to his business and I couldn't leave Heero here to look after you all by himself." Duo quieted when he realized that Relena had grown pale and her hands were shaking.

"Miss Noin is dead?" Duo winced, he thought she'd known. He shouldn't have just blurted it out like that.

"Yes, I'm afraid she is. I'm sorry Relena, I thought you knew. Are you gonna be okay?" He carefully touched her hand.

"I'll be okay Duo, but I think that I want to be alone right now. I'm sorry, but could you leave?"

"Oh, yeah sure. I'm really sorry Relena. I'll let you get some rest." Duo squeezed her hand before getting up and leaving.

Relena laid her head back down on the pillow and sighed. She felt bad about dismissing Duo, but she really wasn't prepared for the news that Noin was dead. She felt numb. It'd hit her later, she was sure, but for right now she just couldn't think about Noin or Mr. Highad or any of the other people who had died because of her. They had bombed the mining satellite. There were families living there. Innocent people who had suffered, were still suffering, because of her. She held the teddy bear closer. The shaking in her hands had gotten worse and now she did feel tears well up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to the silence.

"It wasn't your fault that Noin was killed." Relena recognized the voice even if she couldn't find it in the room.

'Why didn't Duo tell me he was here?' she thought in annoyance.

"She died protecting me. They all died because of me." She felt a hand stroke her hair and turned her head.

"It was her job. As for the others, well you can't be responsible for the actions of terrorists."

"Thank you." He forrowed his brow in confusion.

"For saving me, again. I heard you in the mine." She explained.

"Actually Quatre found you, it was a group effort." Heero turned his head away. He still felt a little guilty, he had given up on her, believed her dead.

"Heero is something wrong?" He shook his head.

"Here." Heero handed her a piece of paper. Relena looked it over, it looked like a resume. Heero's resume.

"What's this?" She asked in confusion.

"You need a new security officer. I'm applying for the job."

"Oh."

"Well?"

"Well..." Relena smiled, "are there any other applicants?" Heero looked slightly taken aback.

"No."

"Then you're hired." She held out her hand and Heero took it, but instead of shaking it he brought it up to his lips and kissed the back of it.

"Then I have your permission to make some changes?"

"Yes Heero, you do whatever you think is best." He nodded, let go of her hand and left.

Relena giggled, hugged the teddy bear a little tighter and began reading Heero's resume.