Relena eyed herself once more in the mirror, double-checking to see if everything was in place.

Dorothy smiled at her. "You look wonderful Ms. Relena. You're truly a vision."

Relena looked over at the girl who stood patiently in the corner of the room and smiled. "Thank you Dorothy," she said. She stood, went over to the table, and grabbed her purse. "I guess I’m ready now. Shall we go?"

Duo, Hildi, Trowa, Wufei, and Quatre stood in the center of the crowded room waiting for Relena and Dorothy to arrive. Each of the boys were dressed in identical black suits and bow ties, while Hildi, who was hanging on Duo’s arm at that moment, wore a small red dress which reached mid thigh and was cut low in the back.

Relena and Dorothy came down the stairs of the party hall arrayed in their finest.

Everyone looked up at them.

Dorothy went down first, followed next by Relena. She was dressed in a slim black dress that fell to her ankles and cut in the front with two thin straps covering her bare shoulders. She looked as stately and as regal as a Queen. Smiling, she made eye contact with Quatre and winked.

Quatre’s jaw fell slightly as he stared at her.

Relena walked along side of Dorothy dressed in a blue loose sleeveless dress, which matched her eyes exactly while sweeping barely past her knees and shaping her perfectly. She was met by scattered applause throughout the room as people stood in attention.

Gaping at the girls, Duo let out a loud whistle of approval.

Hildi brought her elbow sharply into his side which made him give an exaggerated grunt of pain. He flashed a hurt look over at Hildi but she didn’t look at him.

Relena smiled at the group of people below, and then, for just a second, she let her eyes wander around the room.

She took in the whole room in a single glance, trying to make out Heero amongst the crowd. Her hazel eyes swept all over the party hall, trying not to let a thing escape them. After a while, she lowered them.

Nothing. He wasn’t there.

’And what did you expect?’ she heard a voice in the back of her mind tell her. ’Did you think that you could just snap your finger and he would suddenly appear?’

‘No,’ she told herself. ’I never thought that, but I had hoped that he would come--’

The voice laughed at her.

’When will you stop acting like a star struck school-girl? Don’t you think it’s time to grow up? Forget that boy. He’s nothing but trouble.’

Didn’t she know that! Yet she still wished she could see him, just for a moment.

’You're such a fool,’ the voice mocked. ’You’re just a love sick fool.’

"Maybe I am," Relena mumbled to herself with a faint smile. ‘Maybe I am."

"Uh, Relena?" Dorothy nudged her in the side lightly. "You ok?"

Relena pushed her thoughts aside and looked up at Dorothy who was giving her a puzzled glance. "I’m sorry Dorothy," she apologized. "What was that?"

Heero Yuy tried to blend into the crowd as best he could. He wore a black tie and suit, and at his side arm, he had hidden a gun that was loaded and ready.

He inched his way through the crowd slowly. Suddenly, people all over the room began to applaud. Confused, he looked toward the center of the room near the stairs and spotted Duo and the rest of the gundam pilots who were all looking over at the stairs. He followed their gaze to two people going down the stairs near the orchestra.

He immediately spotted Relena dressed in a dress almost identical to the one she had been wearing the night of another party he had been to nearly two years ago....

He caught his breath. ‘God, she's beautiful!’

He watched her every move as she walked slowly down the stairs with her hair flowing, and her eyes sparkling with excitement. An angel was the first thing that seemed to come to mind.

As he watched her he noticed that she paused. Her hazel eyes lowered down towards the crowd, and they swept over the room quickly.

Heero knew instantly that she was looking for him. In a flash, he quickly ducked behind a stone column just as her gaze descended to where he was standing. He pressed himself against the pillar and held his breath anxiously.

He waited for what seemed like an eternity until at last, after a few agonizing moments, he brought himself to cautiously glance once again over at the stairs. Relena was no longer there.

He looked towards where he had seen Duo and Hildi, and sure enough, there she was talking to her friends happily.

Heero quickly turned around and walked as fast as he could towards the exit. He still had to check around the gardens, and for some reason, Heero was glad for the excuse.

Trowa was joking with Quatre when something caught his eye. He looked over towards the back of the party hall and saw Heero who was standing half hidden behind a stone pillar near the dance floor. He just watched the gundam pilot, curiously. Strangely enough, Trowa wasn’t too surprised to see him there.

"What’s wrong Trowa?" Quatre asked, noticing that Trowa was no longer listening to him. "Do you see something?" He tried to follow his comrade's gaze.

Trowa snapped out of his trance and looked quickly at his best friend. "What?--oh,--no I was just--thinking, that’s all," he said with haste.

"You know, it’s too bad that Heero isn’t here," stated Quatre thoughtfully. "It’s a shame he’s always busy. He should take a break every now and then, don’t you think so Trowa?"

"Yea--he should," Trowa agreed. He once again glanced back over towards the corner of the room where Heero had been, but he was gone.

The room was now full of dancers moving gracefully in time with the elegant orchestra music in the background.

"Hey Duo," Hildi said pulling on her boyfriend’s arm. "Care to dance?"

Duo smiled and allowed Hildi to pull him away from Relena.

"Sure thing babe!" he said with a grin. "See ya Elena," he called over his shoulder as he and Hildi disappeared into the crowd.

Quatre saw Hildi and Duo leave. Without saying a word, he held out his arm to Dorothy. She smiled and immediately took it.

They went off after Hildi and Duo.

Relena just stood there silently, watching her friends walking over to the dance floor laughing with each other. She felt a small pang of loneliness as she saw Hildi and Duo hold each other's arms affectionately.

She gave a sigh, walked over to the wall, and leaned against it.

"Hello Relena," Lieutenant Noin said, approaching her.

Relena gave a start and looked over at Noin. "Oh, hi Noin," She greeted distractedly.

Noin frowned slightly. "You don’t look to happy to see me. Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No," Relena said a bit too quickly. "Nothing’s wrong. I was just thinking that’s all."

Noin looked at the princess uncertainly. She felt as if Relena was hiding something from her, but she didn’t want to pry.

She leaned against the wall next to Relena.

"I’m surprised that you aren't dancing with anyone yet. Usually you're the first one on the floor," she said trying to make light conversation.

Relena stared at the distant dancers. "I don’t feel much like dancing right now," she muttered.

"This wouldn’t be about Heero Yuy would it?" Noin asked suddenly.

Relena looked at the older woman sharply. She then sighed. "Does it show so easily?" she asked.

"Well I just figured that’s all," Noin stated.

Both of them were silent for a while.

"I’m sorry he didn’t show tonight," Noin said at last. "But you know how Heero is, here one moment, gone the next."

Relena looked at Noin with a funny expression on her face. "I’m surprised that you aren't dancing as well," she said. "But I guess with Milliardo gone--"

She didn’t complete the sentence.

Ms. Noin gave a laugh. "Yea, I wish he was here right now. It’s no fun dancing if the person you love isn’t with you."

"I know what you mean," Relena agreed.

Noin looked at the Princess curiously. She reached over and patted Relena on the shoulder. "Well, don’t stay standing in the corner all night. Go greet people. After all, you are the leader of the Peacecraft nation."

At that, Noin walked away.

Relena watched Noin slowly fade into the distance until she was completely out of sight.

With a sigh, she leaned her head back against the wall. She felt, for some reason, very tired. She couldn’t think over all the noise--

Maybe if she took a quick walk outside she could clear her mind.

**********************In The Gardens******************************

Heero walked around the outside building quietly. His ears were open and alert; his body was tense and ready.

Suddenly, he heard a sound in the bushes. He reached for his gun in a flash, ready to shoot whomever was there. He brought it out and aimed at the bush to his right, waiting.

A startled bird came flying out of one of the bush branches straight up into the cloudy night sky.

Heero watched the bird vanish into the night, amused with himself. As soon as it was gone, he relaxed and casually put his gun back in his shoulder holster again. For some reason, he had a strange desire to laugh.

Time went by slowly and nothing happened. Doubt started to creep into Heero’s mind. ‘Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Relena isn’t in danger.’

Heero sighed and walked slowly back down the garden paths.

He was about ready to return to the party hall when suddenly, footsteps caught his attention. He paused, swung back around, and listened.

They were footsteps all right and they were coming straight his way!

Quickly, Heero looked around the garden for a place to hide.

Without a moment's hesitation, he dove behind a pair of rose bushes and peered through the branches with his gun once more out and ready.

After a while, a shadowy figure came into the clearing. Heero gave a involuntary gasp of surprise as he recognized her. It was Relena!

He waited for a while, expecting more people to come into the clearing right after her, but no one came.

Heero stared at her in disbelief and felt anger slowly grow inside of him. ’Is she trying to get herself killed?’ he wondered, upset.

His eyes narrowed.

There she was in the middle of a deserted garden, too far away from anyone who could possibly hear her scream with not even a single bodyguard.

’What could she be thinking?’

He watched her walk slowly towards the fountain that stood in the very center of the garden and sit down at the edge staring deep into the water as if in thought.

Not fully realizing what he was doing, Heero crept closer to her.

‘Why must he always leave? Why couldn’t he just stay with me, just for a while?’ Relena thought to herself, unhappily.

Her mind flickered back to the many times in the past he had been there. Each time, he had shown up always in the nick of time to save her.

She stared sadly at her reflection in the water.

He would disappear immediately afterwards.

She sighed. The wind played with her hair and sent goose bumps crawling up her arms. She reached out and fiddled with a leaf that was floating in the water.

Tonight was supposed to be a fun night for her. It was a night where she got to celebrate the completion of a whole year of peace. Instead, she was too busy thinking about someone she couldn’t even be with. She stared at the water for a while, in silent thought.

A dark figure crept slowly closer to her.

Relena snapped out of her thoughts as she heard something. It was the sound of quiet footsteps behind her.

Immediately realizing that she was alone, Relena spun around and looked where the sound was coming from. Her gaze fell on a man no more then a few feet away from the fountain she was sitting at, his eyes staring down at her coldly. His face was too well hidden in the shadows for her to see, but she could still make out the faint glimmer of a gun concealed behind his jacket.

She clenched the fountain edge in fear unable to keep her eyes off the man. "W-who are you?" she whispered.

The stranger didn’t need to answer because at that very moment, a sudden burst of light shone upon the man’s face as the moon, previously clouded from view, broke free from dark clouds and shined its light directly down on him.

Relena’s eyes widened and she gave an involuntary gasp!

Heero was standing there with a grim frown etched across his face. His fierce prussian eyes were fixed silently on her.

Relena stared at him, astonished "H-Heero?" she stammered in amazement.

‘He had come back. Heero had come back to her!’ She couldn’t speak anymore. The shock of seeing him had left her completely dumbfounded.

They stared at each other for a while. Neither one moved to say anything.

At last Heero broke the silence. "What are you doing out here?" he demanded. His voice was as unfeeling and emotionless as she had always remembered.

"I--I was--um--"

"You shouldn’t be out here," Heero interrupted. "Go back to the party."

"B-but I don’t want to go back," Relena said as her mind began to slowly work again. "T-they don’t need me in there. I doubt anyone has even noticed I’m gone."

Heero frown deepened. "Relena, I can’t have you out here. Your vulnerable out here in the open. Don’t you know, there are people right now after your life."

"So? It’s not like you should care about what happens to me," Relena said, not even realizing what she was saying.

Heero was somewhat taken back. "Don’t say that, Relena," he said, his voice softening. "You know that’s not at all true."

Relena looked up at Heero, hopefully. "I-I do?"

"I care a great deal about you, Relena," he said. "If something was to happen to you, the whole peace of the universe would be threatened, and I can not let that happen, now can I?"

Relena’s face dropped. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

Heero took a step closer to her. "Now come with me back to the party, Relena. It’s safer there."

Relena didn’t say anything.

Heero reached over to take her arm. Relena saw it, and she yanked it away before he could grab it.

"Oh no you don’t," she said as she flicked her wrist away from Heero’s hand. "I am not going back to that party with you and don’t you try and stop me, Heero." Relena fixed her eyes on Heero in a determined glare. "Do you think I enjoy these parties? Do you think I enjoy people gawking and staring at me, constantly bombarding me with questions? I’m sick of having to dance with spoiled rotten pampered sons of political leaders, of having to watch my friends dancing with their boyfriends while I still don’t have one. It’s always the same and it gets worse ever time. I’m sick of smiling and pretending that I’m happy. I-I--" she stopped, looking shocked at her own outburst. She gave Heero an apologetic glance. "Heero I’m sorry," She began. " I didn’t mean to say all that I just-- Oh, please, just let me stay out here for a while longer."

Heero didn’t say a thing but looked rather off in another land. It was as if he was struggling with some inner conflict and couldn’t answer her for a while. After a few minutes of silence, Heero seemed to have reached a conclusion.

"Very well, you can stay," he said in surrender. "But you're not going to be out here alone. I’m staying with you." He glared over at Relena as if daring her to protest.

Relena smiled slightly and nodded. "Alright, Heero."

For a while they just stood there. A minute went by slowly, and neither one spoke.

Unsure what to do now, Relena sat down once again by the fountain while Heero remained standing as tense as a person could look. It was as if he was expecting an assassin to leap out at any minute.

Relena tried not to look at Heero too much, but her gaze kept on lingering back to his handsome face. She couldn’t stand the silence.

"So," she said somewhat hesitantly to Heero, who was now staring in the opposite direction. "How have you been?"

"Fine," Heero said simply.

"That’s always nice to know. --After all, I haven’t seen you for over a year now. Has Doctor J sent you on any more missions?" she asked, wondering whether he was even listening to her.

"Some," Heero answered, his gaze never wavering from the trees in the distance.

"Was he the one that told you to come here?"

He turned his head slightly. "What was that?"

"Was he the one who told you to come here?" Relena repeated.

"No."

"Who did?" she asked curiously.

He hesitated. "No one," he said finally.

"Well then why did you come if no one asked you?" Relena asked looking a little surprised.

He was silent.

"Heero?"

"I came because things didn’t look right," he said finally. "Oz was up to something. I thought they may try something at the party."

Relena gave him a sideways glance. "I have bodyguards for that sort of thing, you know." As she said this, she thought she saw Heero’s lips curl up slightly, but she couldn’t tell if it was real or if the moonlight was just playing tricks on her eyes.

"Your bodyguards couldn’t keep me out, could they?" Heero asked, sounding almost amused.

"Well you're no ordinary soldier," stated Relena with a smile.

She grew serious for a second. "I’m sorry you're always having to look after me so much," she apologized. "I know it must be getting bothersome. If you'd like, I can have Ms. Noin increase security for me, so you won’t have to be obligated to come."

Heero looked over his shoulder at her. He turned his body. "I don’t mind," he said flatly.

"You don’t?"

Heero gave her a funny look. "Of course not. Why should I mind?"

"I don’t know," Relena said, hesitating. "It’s just you seem to have so many other missions. I just thought you might get tired of this."

Heero made no comment.

They were silent for a while. Finally, she said, "You know one thing I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me you were coming. Why did you not come with everyone else to the party instead of sneaking around outside?-- Were you trying to avoid me?"

The question was so unexpected that it caught Heero off guard. That was exactly the reason why he hadn’t joined the others. He didn’t want to see Relena, but then why was he with her right now?

Relena watched him curiously.

Heero sighed and crossed his arms. "No," he said at last.

"Well, why then?"

"I--I don’t know," he stammered. "I guess I felt it would be easiest."

"Easiest?" Relena asked not believing that he had said that. She looked over at him somewhat upset. "Easiest for whom Heero?--For you?--because I’ll tell you one thing, it wasn’t easiest for me."

Heero didn’t say a thing.

"Answer me Heero! Easiest for who?" Relena felt her temper rise.

Heero didn’t even look at her.

She frowned. "You disappear, never show up, till now, --me not knowing where you are, or even if you are still alive,-- and then you tell me this was easiest?"

Heero was silent.

"Say something, Heero," she demanded.

Heero sighed and uncrossed his arms. He looked over at Relena. "What is it you want me to say?" he asked.

"Tell me why it is, you are always so determined to hurt me?"

"I’ve never meant to hurt you Relena," Heero replied softly as he fought to keep his voice low and his face unreadable.

Relena looked into his eyes, trying to make out any expression but couldn’t.

They were silent once again. Neither one spoke for a full five minutes.

Relena kept watching him. He was just standing there --as still and as silent as the white marble statues that circled the center garden.

She felt the anger in her subdued as she watched him. Sadness began to creep into her. She spoke:

"As soon as the party’s, over you’ll leave, won’t you?" she asked, trying to make her voice even.

Heero looked over at her but didn’t move to speak.

Relena sighed. "Yes, Of course you will," she said softly. She lowered her head. "I’ll miss you Heero," she stated. Already the familiar loneliness was starting to once again weigh upon her heart.

She swallowed back a tiny lump that came into her throat. "I know there is nothing I can say to make you stay with me," she said. Her voice slightly wavered. "So I won’t even try to stop you. Just promise me you’ll be careful, ok?"

"I’ll be careful, Relena," Heero promised.

Relena paused reluctantly. She knew she had to tell him. It may be her last chance--.

"Before you go, Heero, I just want you to know something."

Heero looked at the girl expectantly.

Relena breathed deeply. "Ever since I met you it seems that my life’s been --well-- far from normal. Since the first time I saw you at the beach, I wanted to know more about you. Even though you cared nothing for me I just--"

"Relena--" Heero interrupted.

Relena held up her hand for silence. "Please, Heero, just let me say this. I may not have the chance ever again." she took a deep breath and continued. "I still wanted to see you because I--," she paused for a moment unsure whether she could continue. "I wanted to see you because-- I loved you. I still do. I tried not to but--" she stopped. She could no long speak. Her voice was to choked.

Heero couldn’t mask the surprise that was showing plainly on his face.

She loved him?

His prussian eyes were fixed on her in surprise.

But Relena didn’t see this. With her eyes lowered, she hurried on. "I know it’s foolish of me, Heero, and I know that you couldn’t possible have any interest in me but," she looked down at her hands hanging loosely in front of her. Her voice was shaky with emotion. "I---I just wanted you to know--how I feel."

Heero went a step closer to the girl. He was only a few feet away from her. His fists were clutched tightly at his sides, and it took all the strength within him to resist the great urge that came over him.

He stared at the girl, wanting nothing more then to gather her into his arms and never let her go.

Relena turned away as a lump came into her throat. She could no longer look at him.

"I’ll leave now Heero," she said behind her shoulder not looking at the boy. She paused and quickly said, "Goodbye, Heero."

She was about to leave when all at once, a cold hand grabbed her left wrist! Relena gave a gasp of surprise and tried to free herself, but he held fast. She turned.

"Let go!" she demanded tugging hard at the boy’s grip, looked up at Heero’s face.

She gave a surprised gasp!

’Was that hurt?’ she wondered. ‘Did she just see Heero Yuy look hurt?’

She ceased her struggling.

"Heero?" she asked hesitantly. Her hazel eyes, filled with wonder, never wavering from his face.

Heero let go of her hand and took a step closer to her.

A wave of sudden fear came over her. ’Is he going to kill me?’ she wondered to herself, feeling for some reason strangely calm.

He lifted his arm. Relena closed her eyes, bracing herself.

Suddenly, she felt a warm hand being lightly placed on her cheek.

Her eyes flew open, and she looked up at Heero in surprise. Two deep blue eyes were staring down at her warmly. She sensed a funny feeling grow inside of her as she felt the heat of his touch.

"Heero?" She lowered her head, shyly. Her cheeks let out a faint glow of pink.

He took his other hand and gently, more gently then she had ever known him to be, he lifted the tip of her chin and lightly pull her face up to look at his.

She had never been this close to him before.--She looked at him. Her hazel eyes never wavered from his.

Heero stared back at her. He tried to speak, but he couldn’t form the words.

Relena spoke for him. "Will you go now, Heero?" she asked softly.

Heero just looked at her.

"Did you hear me?" she whispered.

"I heard you," he said at last, his voice was almost choked.

"I--I don’t want you to leave me Heero," she said. "You are always leaving me. It's so unfair--I just--" A tear formed in her eye. She took a step back and lowered her head again.

She felt two strong hands take her shoulders and pull her closer.

It trickled slowly down her cheek.

She looked up at again. His face was no more then a few inches from her own. He reached over and wiped the lone tear away.

"Oh Heero," she breathed. She put her arms around his neck and placing her head on his shoulder. "I love you so much."

Heero wasn’t sure what to do.

The Perfect Soldier inside of him kept telling him to pull away-- he shouldn’t be doing this --and yet-- there was this strange urge within him to draw her closer. He hesitated.

Not quite realizing what he was doing, he softly pulled the girl to him.

Relena’s body stiffened and then relaxed. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.

Before he could stop himself, he breathed softly in her ear. "I’ll stay with you, Relena."

Sarqen watched in wonder as the two embraced silently in the distance.

Who would have guessed that the trained assassin Heero Yuy and the pacifist leader, Relena Darlian, would be standing in the same garden holding each other in the moonlight with him watching close by!

Things couldn’t have worked out more perfectly if it was planned by God himself! --Why kill them when he could capture them both at the exact same time? With her, he could get Heero Yuy to do what ever he wanted including teaching him how to control the Phoenix.

Sarqen grinned to himself wickedly, not believing his luck! He motioned to his men positioned and ready in the distance.

Slowly they crept through the underbrush at the two figures in the in front of them.

Heero’s head jerked back. He had heard something.

"Heero?" Relena asked looking up as she felt Heero stiffen.

He got out his gun. "Get behind me," he ordered.

He could clearly hear it now. It was the sound of men creeping through underbrush.

He cursed under his breath.

How could he have been so dumb? He should have gotten Relena back to the mansion a long time ago.

He spotted a shape in the bushes. A familiar glint of metal caught his eye. He pointed his gun, and he fired.

The man gave out a cry of surprise and pain as he hit the ground. In an instant eleven men leaped out from their hiding places each one holding a gun aimed directly at him.

Heero thought over the situation carefully in his mind.’--fifteen to one--. It would be hard to beat them all.’

"Get down Relena." he ordered.

She obeyed instantly.

‘I won’t let them hurt her,’ he swore as he held up his gun and got ready to fire.

A shot pierced the night.

Heero’s gun flew out of his hand before he could react. He blinked in surprise as the gun he had been holding sailed in the air and landed in the middle of some bushes twenty feet away.

A man appeared out of the shadows. His eyes as cold as the gun he had trained coolly on him.

Heero clenched his teeth, staring down the gun barrel in front of him. There was no way he could dodge the bullet in time.

He looked at the man savagely.

He wasn’t going to go like this. He had to get Relena out of there alive.

The man stood there in front of him. His gun still wasn’t in reachable range.

Heero was tense and ready to strike.

"I won’t let you hurt her," he whispered fiercely, his voice filled with hatred.

"The girl will be spared." the stranger said to him casually. His gun unwavering, pointed directly at Heero’s heart. "That is if you cooperate."

Heero growled under him breath.

Sarqen relaxed. ’That was too easy. Perhaps he’s not as good as he seems.’

Heero saw him relax slightly. That was all he needed. All the sudden, he lunged at the man, grabbing his gun before he could fire.

Sarqen gave a cry of surprise as the boy slammed into him. Heero yanked the gun out of the man's hands and pointed it at Sarqen. He fired, but Sarqen dodged the bullet just in time and fled into the shadows.

‘Damn!’ Sarqen though as he flew behind a nearby tree. ’I wasn’t expecting that! -Guess I’ll have to do it the hard way--’

Without a second thought, Heero fired five consecutive rounds at the fleeing men. He hit four of them while one was too quick. Without a second’s hesitation, he swiftly turned around and fired at two others, hitting them both.

’Six more to go’ he thought to himself. This is not going to be easy.

Sarqen was now reaching into his pocket. He sighed ’I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.’

He pulled out a gun and loaded it. Then he aimed at the boy, and pulled the trigger.

"What the--!" Heero felt a painfully sharp prick in the back of his neck. In pain, he reached over and yanked out a medium sized dart.

Tranquilizer! So that was Oz’s game.-- That meant he didn’t have much time.

Heero held up his gun again and fired at two men who were were were trying to escape behind some bushes.

He hit one of them in the leg. The assassin let out a yell of pain.

‘Why Aren't they firing back?’ Heero thought to himself confused as he noticed none of the men reached for their guns. ’What are they waiting for?’

Angry, he shot at the first flicker of movement he saw.

Sarqen dove for cover as a bullet whizzed by his ear! He cursed under his breath. ‘What was that boy made of?’

He glared at the figure through the bushes, careful not to make a sound. The tranquilizer should be coming into effect soon.

’Just give it a few more seconds.’ He thought to himself.

There was another cry. Sarqen watched another one of his men fell. ’I just hope we’ll last that long.’ he thought, doubtfully.

The world began to slightly spin.

Heero spotted a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye to the left. He swung around and pointed the gun at a blurry shadow near the garden wall.

He aimed, but he could no longer hold his gun steady; his arm was shaking too much. He shook his head trying to see clearly but the tranquilizer was making him dizzy.

He squeezed the trigger and fired. The man he had been aiming at dived out of the way.

Heero tried to steady his arms but he couldn’t stop the shaking. His vision was blurring as he pointed his gun at a flickering shadow near the tree to his left. He tried to fire but his hand wouldn’t cooperate. Everything was getting more hazy.

’Why aren't they shooting at me?’ he kept asking himself in frustration.

Finally, he was able to pull the trigger. The gun went off, sending his body sailing back at the force of the shot.

His back flew into the side of the fountain. It seemed like every bone in his body was screaming out in pain.

"Heero!" he heard Relena yell. Her voice seemed to be coming from far away.

He was unable to respond. He felt his grip loosened on his gun, but he couldn’t do anything about it. The tranquilizer had made his whole body numb. The gun felt like lead to him.

A sharp clatter was heard as it fell to the ground.

Heero began to lose all feeling in his legs. He tried to move away from the fountain and steady himself but couldn’t.

He didn’t even notice, at first, that he had fallen to his knees because the world was spinning too much for him to tell. Using the last ounce of his strength, he reached for his gun and lifted it a few inches off the ground.

He tried to get up again but a wave of nausea hit him. He lost his balance and fell to the the ground once more. His head was spinning uncontrollably.

’I won’t give up.’ He tried once more to rise, but he once again collapsed.

He could no longer move. He had used up the last of his energy and was fully paralyzed.

Unconsciousness began to weigh upon him. It was beckoning him. He resisted for a few more seconds.

"I’m so sorry, Relena," He choked, trying to make his voice heard. "I’ve failed you."

He saw a blinding white light in the distance.

"I’m so sorry." he whispered as darkness settled on him. Gravity forced his still resisting eyes shut. He heaved a sigh and his body relaxed.

**************************At the Party****************************

The party was ending and there was no sign of Relena.

‘Where is she?’ Duo wondered, trying to find Relena in the thinning crowd.

Relena had supposed to have made a farewell speech to her guests, but she was nowhere to be found.

Duo walked through the crowd trying to find a familiar face. He spotted Noin who was walking quickly towards him.

"Have you seen Relena?" Noin asked Duo, her face showed clear signs of worry.

"No," Duo said, just as confused and worried as Noin was. "I was trying to find her when I ran into you."

"It’s not like Relena to miss a speech." she muttered more to herself then to Duo. "Something must be wrong."

Suddenly, a shot rang out in the distance.

"Was that a--"

Another shot erupted!

"Come on!" Duo shouted.

They raced towards the gardens.

Wufei’s head jerked as he heard a familiar sound.

"Did you guys hear that?" he asked Quatre and Trowa who were talking quietly to one other while sipping champagne.

"Hear what?" Trowa asked.

There was a second shot and then a third.

"That," shouted Wufei.

"A gun shot," Quatre exclaimed! "Ms. Relena!"

"Let’s go," Wufei said, leaping pasted the boy’s with his sword ready.

Hildi was talking politely to Dorothy when she looked up and saw the three boys running out of the room at top speed.

’Where are they going?’ she thought to herself. Without saying anything to Dorothy, she went after them.

Noin was the first to run into the rose garden. She could hear a roar of an engine.

She and Duo raced as fast as they could to the garden entrance but they were thrown back by the torrents of wind caused by a helicopter as it began to lift off. She saw the chopper door shut.

"Relena!" Ms. Noin yelled, putting her arm up to block the dirt that was being blown into her eyes. She tried to inch towards the chopper.

The helicopter drowned out her cries.

Duo immediately saw it. As quick as he could he rammed into Noin and threw her to the ground. Bullets whizzed by barely missing the two people by only a few inches.

Wufei followed by Trowa, Quatre, and Hildi ran into the garden, but they were to late. The chopper lifted up and began to fly away, leaving the six figures in the dust.

Everyone in the party hall had heard it now. Dorothy squeezed her way out of the excited area and looked up in the sky. She saw a helicopter ascend and disappear into the night. An emblem on the side caught her eye as it left.

"Rommerfeller," she said to herself. ’O Poor Ms. Relena!’