Author: Mair
Pairings: 1+2+1, 3+4+3, and 5+S+5
Genre: *shrugs* The future?
Rating: Hm... PG-13?
Warnings: Angst. Some language. Death? You'll have to read and find out... Just don't stop. Also, jumps in time. This covers a 2-year period. The ending of the fic is unbeta'd so I hope it isn't too screwey...
Disclaimer: I, sadly, own nothing. Other people do.
Feedback: Craved, desired, needed. Give me some and get me as a wifey!
Note: This fic contains flashbacks. Look for the following notation.
~ Flash backs ~
-emotions-

Shinigami + Prologue

January 28th

"I'm being absolutely serious about this Heero. I know these people are going to do their best to kill us, they're terrorists."

"One's that we've defeated twice."

Duo shook his head as he ran the stolen mobile suit through it's preflight. "Third time's the charm then." He paused as he fiddled with the ignition. He looked up at the view screen. "We used to be terrorists as well. We can handle this." Heero stared at him from the monitor. "You good to go on your end?"

Heero nodded, his eyes saying volumes.

"In that case," Duo fired up the m.s., "lets rock!"

+

Heero switched off the screen and straightened. Duo was the diversion while he got in and downloaded the evidence from their mainframe. Wufei was to destroy the suits in the hanger. It went against all logic, but he had a bad feeling about this.

+

He looked up and saw the stolen mobile suite streaking toward the airfield. He smiled. Wufei started the timer. He heard a truck pull up in back of him and screech to a halt. He frowned, no one should be out here.

"You there! Raise your hands in the air and slowly turn around!"

Wufei mentally swore as he did as he was instructed and turned around to see ten rifles aimed straight at him. He watched as four figures got out of the pickup truck and approached him. As they patted him down he was surprised to see mobile suits start to pour out of the hanger. They weren't supposed to be manned!

Siren's began to wail as Duo's suit started to show on their radar.

Wufei's hands were wrenched behind him and secured. Binders were clapped about his ankles. Someone knew they were coming!

+

Heero swore as the alarms went off. Wufei must have been discovered. He activated the security screens on one of the other computers to track down his location. He studied the green dotted map for the heat source. The airfield. They found him too quickly.

He sat down in one of the chairs and rolled it over to the main computer. He'd get him out when he was finished. He worked quickly, trying to ignore the people on the radio wanting in. Finally, he got into the right location. He started the download and looked over at the security screen. Four outside the door, Wufei now in the... empty m.s. hanger? He rolled back over to the security screen and brought up the cameras. Sharp shooters looked down on Wufei's form in the empty hanger. They were waiting for him. They knew he was there. He switched to the external cams to find out where the mobile suits were. Repeated fire near the city attracted his eye. He zoomed in.

Duo was being fenced in.

He swore. He'd need Wufei to help him take over one of the moving suits to help Duo.

+

Gunfire echoed through the hangar and one of the snipers fell off of the balcony. Wufei didn't question it and snapped the tie keeping his hands in place at the post. He ignored the pain from his still bound hands as he hopped away as one of the snipers shot at him. He lunged behind the steel desk and started pulling out the gundanium wire from the hem of his pants. Gunfire pinged off of the desk and he heard another thump as another shooter went down. Another bullet hit the desk in the same place and whizzed past his forehead.

Wufei swore. "Shabby manufacturing!" He teased the wire the rest of the way out. "Damn desk should hold up to at least three shots from an AK-57." He muttered as he wrapped the wire around the ankle binders. Another shot pinged on the desk as the gunfire continued to rage. He sawed at the binders as he heard the gunfire shift locations, it paused then started again.

The binder snapped and another shot ripped through the desk, this time grazing his arm. He hissed as he contorted his arms around to his front. He looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon and came up short. Another shot hit the desk as he swore again.

+

Heero took out the last sniper and yelled. "How much more time?"

Silence.

"One minute, thirty seconds. Data?"

Heero frowned. "Secure. What happened?" He watched as Wufei came out from behind the desk, holding his arm.

"They knew we were coming. The siren hadn't even gone off and they picked me up. It wasn't until the suits took off that the proximity alarm for Duo's suit went off."

Heero frowned and jumped down to the hangar floor. He rolled and came up running. Wufei came up on his side as he toggled the communicator to Duo.

"Hey Heero, what's up?"

"What's your status?" Heero asked as they ran out the door.

"Armpits deep in shit, thanks for asking. And yourself?" Duo answered as static crackled in the background.

Wufei punched the guard in back of the truck and ran around the side to the driver.

"Getting a ride to your location." Heero went around to the passenger side and jerked open the door.

More static came over the communicator. "Well, that might not be too wise, these pilots are a tad hard to shake and they're forcing me into the city. Can you call the cops and get people cleared out of the area?"

Heero frowned as Wufei turned on the truck and hit the gas. "I can. Be careful."

"Will do."

Heero flipped channels and passed on the alert.

"I take it you want to take out as many suits as you can to give him a fighting chance?"

"I want to take over a suit."

Wufei nodded as they shot out onto the main road into the small town.

Tree's zipped passed as Heero kept his eyes focused on the embattled suits. One exploded sending shrapnel shooting through the air. The smell of burning metal and rubber hung heavy in the air as the battle pushed further into the city.

Wufei slowed as he swerved around a parked car, the occupants staring at the scene ahead. "Stupid people. They don't have the sense to get away." He took the truck off onto the dirt shoulder to avoid the burning hunk of suit lying across the road.

The truck bounced back onto the road in time for them to see a line of stopped cars ahead of them. Wufei leaned on the horn, but no one moved. They tried to off road again but the cement barrier was too close. They could only watch as the suits disappeared into the buildings.

Fire blossomed from amongst the buildings as a concussive boom ripped through the afternoon air. They watched as buildings fell. People around them gasped and screamed. A cloud of dust and smoke rose from the damaged area of the city.

Numbly, Heero watched as no further mobile suits emerged from the city where four had disappeared.

January 29th –Early morning

Quatre watched as Heero picked over the rubble that used to be an apartment building. The gnawing ache inside stubbornly refused to go away as he watched the heartbroken figure look for anything left of the mobile suit his love died in. Everyone at the immediate crash site died. Rescuers hadn't found anyone alive yet. They found one witness a block away, but no one expected the battered, burned and broken man to live.

Arms wrapped around Quatre and he felt his shivering abate slightly. He closed his eyes and leaned back against Trowa's tall figure. They had watched everything from headquarters. When they saw the battle heading for the city they'd warned police and told them to get people out of the area. One patrol car made it there two minutes before the suits did.

"Should we stop him?"

Trowa's voice snapped Quatre back to the present agony of watching their friend. He shook his head. "He'll stop when he's done." He looked over to where Wufei sat in the back of the truck. Wufei just sat there; looking tired, with his eyes closed. Sally walked up and put her arm around him but he didn't move. He heard the low murmur of her voice and he put his arm around her. Quatre looked away in time to see Heero drop to his knees.

Relena walked over and put her arms around him. Quatre turned into Trowa's safe embrace as the choked sob reached his ears.

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