Saber ignored the ache in his limbs as he continued working. The prison guards had them work long hours without pay. He’d seen at least one person die every day of exhaustion, over fifty collapsed, and a few people were even murdered. It was disgusting how the prisoners were treated, not only by the guards, but the other inmates as well.
The prisoners were forced to break rocks, dig fields, and any other meaningless work they could come up with. Saber wiped the sweat from his brow and started to lift the hammer again when the bell rang.
"All right you scum, time to quit!" A guard called. The prisoners groaned as they filed out for the cafeteria. Saber was starting to get annoyed. He’d thought about escaping himself, but determined that it would be nearly impossible and hardly worth it. It seemed that for once the Preventors had actually come up with a good security system.
Saber ate in silence, as usual, ignoring the brawls around him. He didn’t want to remain in that rattrap any longer than he had to.
Dinner ended and the prisoners were herded back into their cells in single file. Another fight broke out in line, and a couple of guards dragged those involved away. No one would ever see them again. Saber was’t sure what happened when someone was sent to solitary, but they never returned. Perhaps they were killed, or starved, Saber didn’t want to think about it. He wondered if the preventors knew about how their convicts were being treted. And if they did, would they care?
Saber glared at a huge guard as he was pushed into his cell.
"Don’t give me that, you punk." The guard snarled, "Get in there!"
Saber followed instructions without a word and sat down on his bunk. His three cellmates came in after him and were asleep almost immediately from a long day.
Saber didn’t fall asleep as easily. He lay on his bunk, staring at the bottom of the one above him. It shuoldn’t be long now…
As if on cue, he heard a tapping sound on the bars of his cell. He sat up tried to make out the details of the silhouettes before him. Eventually, he saw the figures of a man and a woman disguised in guard uniforms.
Saber smirked, "What took you so long?"
~~~
"Excellent work guys," Noin grinned as the kids returned from their mission.
"I bet Cassius is pissing herself right now!" Jason laughed. "That was so great! She actually retreated."
"Oui," Indigo agreed, "I was surprised how well it worked."
"I guess we’ll be expecting a call from the super bitch sometime soon then." Helen sighed.
"I hope not," Noin frowned, "She houldn’t know where we are."
"It wouldn’t surprise me if she did know where we were." Brittney sighed.
"Why would you say that, Brit?" Seth wondered.
"Because, she’s smarter than she makes herself out to be. She may just seem like a saditic psycho bitch, but she knows what she’s doing. I just don’t think we should underestimate her."
The girl received only blank stares from around the room.
"Brittney’s right," Someone said suddenly. Surprisingly enough, the remark came from Helen.
"Wha…?"
"Cassius won’t wait to bounce back from this one. We should get a move on."
"I agree with Helen," David said, "Let’s get back to work."
"David!"
David’s head snapped up as Alexis approached him with her hands on her hips. "You can’t tell me you’re going back to work already!"
"I’m sorry Lex," David blushed, "But…"
Alexis made her way right up to him and pouted. "Davie, my parents were just murdered, I’m thousands of miles from home, and I haven’t seen you since I got here!" She slowly brought her hands around his waist and tilted her head up until their noses touched. David, by now, was glowing red. "Now David, you have to come and spend sometime with me." She batted her eyelashes flirtaciously and grabbed his hand. David was like putty as she led him out of the hanger and into the mansion.
Everyone elses’ jaws were hanging down to the ground in shock.
"Whoa…" Jasmine gawked. "I never realised that that shy little girl could be such a master manipulator!" She grinned maliciously, "I think the two of us could be friends."
The rest of the kids groaned as they went their separate ways.
~
Helen found her way into her room and collapsed on the bed. After a long battle and a long ride home she was beat. She didn’t even want to crawl under the covers she was so tired, which was why she wanted to break something when the phone wrang.
She tried to ignore it but it kept ringing. Finally she punched the button to see who it was.
"Jeff!" She shot up out of her bed and glared at the boy on the screen. "How the hell did you get this number?"
Jeff grinned, "Well uh…you didn’t hear this from me, but Jason called me yesterday."
"Oh, so you two are best friends now, are you?"
"Well…I wouldn’t say best friends, but…I guess."
Helen groaned. "You are not supposed to have this number."
"Yeah well, I do, so deal."
"What do you want?"
"Just to talk to you…" He pouted, "You are my girl, after all."
Helen raised an eyebrown at him. "Oh really? Since when? I don’t remember being informed of this."
"Well…dammit Helen! You are the only girl that can make a black man blush!"
Helen laughed.
"You’re not going to make me go through the kind of trouble I went through for a date, will you?"
"Well…now that you’ve brought it up…"
"Damn," Jeff cursed. "Well, when are you guys coming back?"
"I’m not sure, we’ve got a lot to work on at the moment."
"Come back to me baby!" He whined. "I miss you…" He pouted.
Helen couldn’t help but smirk and shake her head. "I’ll ask Noin about it, if you’re that desperate."
Jeff’s face brightened. "Thanks babe!"
"And STOP calling me that!"
"Oh right…sorry."
"Right, now will you let me get some sleep?"
"Of course, I know how much you depend on your beauty sleep. Although, just between you and me, I don’t think you need it." He winked before he hung up.
"Any time now," Jeff grinned to himself as he left his dorm room for the cafeteria. "Any time,"
~~~
Noin was working long hours every day, working on finishing the war with the Matatara Foundation.
"You shouldn’t stress yourself like this, Noin." Even after almost twenty years of marriage, he still called her by her maiden name.
"What do you want, Zechs? I’m very busy."
"I can see that," Zechs replied with a smirk. He looked at her swelling stomach and sighed, "You’re starting to get big," He commented.
Noin looked down only for a moment and pretended to look shocked. "Well, how did that happen?"
"Very funny," Zechs snorted. "Need some help?"
"Yes, you can get started on some of this paperwork." Noin said quickly. She looked at Zechs’ shocked expression and chuckled. "Though I’d say no, didn’t ya?"
"Actually yes…" Zechs shook his head as he took his seat and look at the piles of report that had to be filed. "I just talked to Helen," Zechs said as he started up a conversation.
"Oh? And what did she have to say?"
"She wants to get back to the base."
"What? Why? So Cassius can spy on us?"
Zechs shrugged, "She mentioned something about splitting up, and acting on our own."
"WHAT!?!?"
"Well, it’s nothing new for the Gundams. Their fathers never took orders from anyone. And Cassius would have trouble keeping an eye on all of us. It may be more advantageous to our cause if we cut down communication. We’d be able to attack more bases at once and…"
"OK! OK! I get it, Zechs." Noin shook her head.
"You don’t like the idea, do you?"
"It’s not that, it’s just that I don’t like not being able to watch them."
Zechs laughed, "You’re worse than their parents. Trust me, Noin, thy can handle themselves."
"You’re right, I’ll talk to them about it in the morning, K?"
"Ok," He looked back down at the papers before him and went back to work.
~~~
"Well I don’t see why the rest of us have to be here." Hilde complained. "I wouldn’t mind a vacation."
Duo laughed as his wife continued to rant. "Relax Hilde, you can’t tell me you don’t want to keep an eye on Helen."
"And you can’t tell me that you wouldn’t like some time alone." She winked at the braided man.
"Well…" Duo trailed off. Hilde laughed and smacked him. "So what do you think about going to Bermuda?"
"Hey babe? How about we talk about vacations after we are no longer in danger of being toast for a psychotic teenager with too many explosive toys?"
"Fine," Hilde sighed, "But the first thing we’re going to do when this war is over is go to Bermuda! And we’re leaving Helen at home, or she can stay with the Yuys or something."
"Not a chance in hell!"
Hilde nearly jumped through the roof when Helen walked into the room. "If you think I’m going to willingly spend two weeks in this house, then you must have gone crazy."
"We will not be gone for an entire two weeks!" Hilde protested.
"You’re right, knowing you two, it’d be more like a month."
Hilde rolled her eyes and poured herself a glass of orange juice.
"Hello little babe, what brings you all the way down her, and to talk to your parents of all things!" Duo joked.
"Noin’s letting us go out on our own," Helen announced.
"What!" Duo nearly fell out of his chair.
"I’ll be heading back to Zimbabwe tomorrow afternoon. I’m planning on searching the base for bugs left behind, and perhaps flushing out a few more moles."
"Wait a second, are you saying Cassius has more than one mole?"
"Possibly, but I was suggested was that another organisation, other than the Matatara, might have spies in out base."
"I’m not sure I’m following you," Hilde frowned.
"I’m not sure either, but I have a few suspicions. Like, doesn’t anyone find it weird that that guy came by just in time to save Jazz, and then left just as quickly?"
Silence.
"And what about Saber, how do you explain his reaction to being caught?"
"What reaction?"
"That’s just it, there was none. It was as if he wanted to get caught."
Duo only shrugged, "Maybe he did,"
"I dunno, it’s just that some things don’t seem quite right. I want to do some investigating on my own."
~~~
"I can’t believe we’re actually gonna split up again." Jason sighed. "This is insanity. It’s gonna be tough not being able to see you guys all the time."
"You mean not being able to torture us all the time." Jasmine snorted.
"Is there a difference?" Helen added. Both girls laughed.
"Very funny," Jason snorted. To his dismay, Brittney was laughing as well.
"Oh no! Not you too! You’re supposed to be on my side!"
"They are so immature," Joel sighed as he and Indigo made plans to try and stick together. They were contemplating whether or not to keep and eye on Matatara movements in Japan, or in Taiwan. Both were hot spots for Matatara production and training facilities.
Indigo nodded in agreement as she marked out plans and strategies on a map.
"I’ll see you guys when I see you." Helen sighed finally. "But Jason’s right, it’s gonna be hard without you. Maybe we’ll end up fighting together sometime." She winked as she climbed up into her shuttle and punched in the co-ordinates for the Zimbabwe base. "Until we meet again," She called over the Com Link as she left for Zimbabwe.
~~~
"Helen! You’re back!" Jeff cheered as he ran to his former instructor and gave her a huge hug. "I’ve been waiting for you, I got you something." He held out a large bouquet of daffodils for her.
"Jeff…" Helen gasped she took them eagerly and studied them. "I can’t believe you remembered!"
"How could I not, after our first date?"
Helen laughed and gave him another hug and a kiss on the cheek. "If you’re good, maybe you’ll get a second date."
If he could, Jeff would have gone red. He thanked God for his dark skin.
When he finally snapped out of his daze, he saw that Helen was leaving. He quickly turned and ran after her.
"Lt. Maxwell!" A soldier Helen recognised from the intelligence department ran up to her. "I’m so glad you’ve returned. We have a major problem on our hands."
"What is it, Richards?" Helen asked.
"You’d better come see for yourself miss, it seems that Saber Trong has escaped from 1795."
"What!"
~~~
"It’s good to have you back, Saber. Were you able to get anything while on the Preventor base?"
"I tried," Saber sighed, "I’ve got full reports on all the Gundam pilot and their Gundams, but other than the other incidents I provided information on, there’s nothing."
Th man sighed and the woman cursed. She quickly apologised, "I’m sorry Saber, but the organisation has been under a lot of stress lately."
"I understand, Swift, I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help."
Swift, the woman, only nodded. "We’d best get to work," She turned to the man, "Tech! Let’s get to work on our next plan."
"Yes ma’am," Tech nodded. He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. "By the way Saber, you wouldn’t have happened to get some information on Cassius’ new weapon, would you?"
Saber shook his head. "I’m sorry, but all I got were rumours."
Tech sighed, "Alright then, you clean up a bit, you’re a mess."
"Thanks," Saber said as he watched Tech disappear into one of the small buildings set up temporarily in the jungles of China. Saber turned the other way and headed for the showers.
~~~
Alexis walked slowly through the halls of the Yuy mansion, searching for David. The halls were dark, lit only by the moonlight. "David?" She called. Her words echoed off the walls, calling back to her eerily.
Finally, she saw David standing ahead of her, his back facing her. "David! I’ve been searching for you everywhere." She ran up to him and tapped his shoulder, but he glanced at her and then turned away.
"David…?"
He didn’t answer her; instead he walked away.
"David, where are you going?" Alexis cried, she chased after him, but he disappeared. She found him again, this time in the library, and when he saw her, he left again. "David!" What was wrong with him? Didn’t he want to be with her? She stopped suddenly in her tracks when the realisation hit her. David didn’t want her! He wanted her to leave her alone! The shock overwhelmed her and she fell to her knees as tears welled up in her eyes.
When she looked up, she saw David standing over her. "David…please tell me it isn’t true…" She gasped.
David just glared at her. She tried to touch him, but he jerked away.
"Get lost! Leave me alone!" He cried. Alexis felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart.
"But…but…"
"No! Can’t you see? You’re just in the way! You don’t belong here! Now leave. Me. Alone!"
He kicked her away and then stormed off again. This time Alexis did not bother to follow him. Instead she fell to the ground, weeping into her hands.
"Lex? Alexis…?"
Alexis was awoken from her fevered dreams by a soft, soothing voice. She looked around and saw David lying next to her in the bed. What is he doing here? She wondered. Then she remembered that she had begged him to stay the night with her. It took some doing, but he finally agreed.
"David…? Is it really you?"
"Yes, of course it is, Lex. What’s wrong? You were crying."
Alexis was reluctant to answer him. What if it hadn’t been a dream? Maybe her sub-conscious was trying to tell her something. What if David really did hate her?
"Alexis? Come on, you can tell me…"
"David, do you…do you really love me?" She asked.
"Of course I do Lex! What would make you ask such a thing?"
She shrugged, "Are you sure you aren’t annoyed by me hanging around all the time?"
"What!" David cried in shock. "Did I make you feel that way?" He asked. Alexis couldn’t meet his gaze.
"Oh Lex, I’m so sorry." He pulled her into a strong hug. "I’ve been so concerned with this war that I’ve forgotten about you. I didn’t mean to neglect you."
"Promise?" Alexis sniffled.
"I promise," David pulled her back down under the sheets and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight. David was back asleep in a few minutes, but to Alexis, sleep did not come as easily.
~~~
"Are you sure?" Cassius asked.
The young man on her screen nodded. "Wonderful, so they’ve all split up, have they?"
"That’s right Cassy, so do you want me to bring her in?"
"Yes, I think now would be a good time."
"Ok, but uh…Cassy?"
"Yes…?"
"Can I have some fun with her first?"
Cassius studied the man closely before laughing. "Yes, yes, of course. I’ll arrange it."
"Thanks Cassy."
The young leader of the Matatara foundation only nodded before hanging up. Finally, all the pieces were falling into place.
