Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Preventers: The Griffin Mission ❯ Chapter 6

Wufei had been correct. They arrived at the base a sheer cliff in approximately two hours, maybe more. The sun hadn't even begun to brush the mountaintops yet. Lucky them; they still had enough daylight to scale the cliff and most probably find a cave in the next valley. Or maybe right in the cliff wall. Wu-hu. Oh, the joys of camping. . . .

Dropping his pack in a snowdrift (as if those were hard to find around here) Wufei hooked a finger over his scarf and turned to Amy as she joined him. She had been entirely too satisfied when he gave in to the whipping wind and decided that he might have use for the scarf. Now he pulled it down enough for her to catch a glimpse of purple-tinged lips. Wonderful; he was only human after all. Now if only her lips weren't four shades darker. . . .

"Do you want a rest before we tackle this thing?" He breath froze as soon as it hit the frigid air, enveloping his face in misty cloud-puffs.

She took a deep breath and shook her head, fighting the urge to bend over and lean on her knees until she could breathe halfway normally again. She knew she shouldn't be so competitive, but. . . . If he can keep it up, so can I, she chastised herself silently. "I'm all for forging ahead."

He nodded and slipped the scarf over his nose again before placing his pack on the ground. A thick rope, harness, and pulley system were tucked away in a side pocket. He pulled these out and began assembling them. "You have these, too, you know," he reminded her. His voice barely reached her ears through the scarf, the howling wind, and the fleece lining of her hood.

In a matter of minutes, they had prepared the ropes and fastened the harnesses about their hips. Amy drew a bulky pistol from another side flap of her pack and was forced to take her mittens off before she could load the barbed spike that was attached to her rope. Taking quick aim, she sent the end of the rope flying into the cliff just above a sturdy-looking ledge. The rope jerked her forward a little, but the amount of slack between ends ate up most of the force. She flashed a complacent grin behind the protection of her scarf and held her hand out for Wufei's spike. Dark obsidian eyes, the only feature visible, flashed dubiously, but he tentatively placed it in her reddening palm. She made a point to look unconcerned and barely glance at her target before shooting. Wufei's eyes widened as the spike went sailing toward the cliff, obviously bracing himself for disaster.

Grinning, Amy knelt to tuck the pistol away and slip her mittens on before the spike hit the cliff. She slipped the pack over her shoulders and straightened as he was dragged forward a few centimeters. God, I wish I could see his face!

But the Chinaman quickly recovered from what shock he had experienced and began to tighten his rope. Amy sighed and followed suit, leaning back on the harness as she worked her way up the sloping incline. As the slope became increasingly sharper, she turned her mind to Wufei. Too bad he hadn't shown more of a reaction. Even Sally had been impressed at her shooting skills. Well, that's what came of growing up in the boondocks. With no one around to hang with, a girl had to have her hobbies. And what was more fun to a girl who had an intense interest in weaponry than firearms? Well, trick question; she would have preferred swords and daggers, but how does one explain such things to her parents? Mom, Dad, could I please have some few-hundred dollar weapon of mass destruction to go running around the woods with? Hmmm. . . . Better to stick to the basics: guns, 4-wheeling, writing, drawing, and studying weapons of mass destruction.

Chuckling softly, she turned her mind back to the task at hand. Wufei was already at least three meters ahead of her. Her jaw set in determination, she concentrated on narrowing the distance.

† † † † † † † † † † † † † †

Wufei's arms burned, ached for a rest. But, below him, the woman continued to climb, undaunted, untiring. He scowled beneath the thick scarf and pushed himself harder. There was no way that a woman, a weak onna, could best him. He wouldn't allow it.

His mind raced, trying to drown out his screaming muscles. Only one was stronger. But Nataku was not a woman. Meiran had died, replaced by Nataku. She was strong. When the colony had been attacked, when that bastard Septem had called for A0206 to be "disinfected," she alone had possessed the courage to pilot the mobile suits. When told that no woman could pilot the suit, she had declared herself to be the legendary Nataku.

*flashback*

A.C. 194

Space Colony A0206

The battle raged all around him, hot and heavy. Mobile suits almost 16 times the boy's height roared across the flower-strewn meadow. Caught up in their own larger-than-life battles, none noticed the fourteen-year-old boy who darted around their crashing feet. Wufei raced across the field, toward the mobile suit hangar. She must be here! I've searched everywhere else! Brilliantly colored flowers parted beneath his slippered feet, revealing a path to the building. Stupid, idiotic, muscle-headed onna! If we live through this, I'm going to-

No sooner had he escaped the main body of the battle than a loud noise, like a rocket, sounded from the nearby hangar. His eyes widened as he realized what it was. A Gundam! The woman had taken one of the Gundams! Overtaken by a sudden wave of fear, he skidded to a halt as the second, unnamed suit leapt onto the battlefield and sliced up the nearest enemy suit.

No! She'll never survive! "Stop!" he cried, barely able to hear his own voice above the raging battle behind him. "You don't have the strength to pilot that!"

He could imagine Meiran set her jaw stubbornly and glare at him, a little boy barely taller than the Gundam's foot. "Don't give me orders! This is a fight for justice!"

Justice?! He groaned inwardly, staring dumbly as she entered the battle. Not this again. "Kisama! Stupid woman! Your foolish ideas of justice and clan pride will get you killed!" He doubted she could hear him. How can you uphold any kind of justice without strength?

He watched her battle the enemy OZ suits, breathless with anxiety. His home, the entire colony was about to be destroyed, but he wouldn't let OZ destroy his life as well. Hurling his reading glasses to the ground, he raced to the mobile suit hangar and leapt into the Shenlong Gundam. His white scholar's coat was cast aside and, as if a warrior had just emerged from the shell of a life already distant, Wufei strapped himself into the cockpit. He barely heard Master O tell him something about Shenlong's weaponry.

"I'm not fighting for justice." He heard his own voice growl menacingly. Almost automatically, he snapped the restraints over his shoulders and secured them. "I am not such a coward that I will stand by while my wife is killed!"

Before he could stop himself, he piloted the massive Gundam through the hangar doors and hovered above the colony, searching for Meiran. His eyes blindly passed over the twisted, burning wreckage of nearly a hundred mobile suits. Meiran couldn't be dead. She was strong.

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the OZ mobile suits. What are they doing? Are those. . . ? He bit back a gasp as he realized the attack for what it was. OZ was engaging A0206 in germ warfare! Those long steel canisters would contain some of the deadliest poisons known to man. The Federation and OZ would go this far? His fingers tightened around the controls as his face went slack with shock. Then, slowly, his eyebrows lowered and fierce expressions of anger, grief, and betrayal flashed across his face.

"Bastards!!" His vision disappeared in a blaze of white-hot fury. When he could see again, the two nearest mobile suits had been reduced to smoking piles of scrap metal. He glanced around the battlefield, searching for further threats. . . .

And there she was. Surrounded by OZ mobile suits like a dying rabbit long pursued by ravenous wolves, any rookie could tell that she was on her last legs. "Meiran," he whispered, his voice inexplicably tight and raspy. I am not such a coward. . . . "HAAAAAAA!!!" Shenlong leapt through the air, launching an unexpected attack on the OZ pilots.

As he hacked up a mobile suit with a confiscated weapon, Meiran's surprised air hung like a thick cloud over the intercom. "Wu-Wufei? What are you-?"

"Leave this to me!" He landed before her, shielding the unnamed Gundam and its fragile cargo from a barrage of bullets. He barely felt the myriad of impacts within Shenlong's gundanium hull. "Get out of here!"

"Wufei!"

Wufei's Gundam staggered beneath the steady fire. "Hu-hurry up and get the hell out of here! A wife should listen to her husband!"

"Hai. . . ." She finally began to back up. Wufei turned his full attention back the OZ suits, which were once again closing in for the kill.

Over an old frequency, static crackled to life. A young man's voice faltered beneath the disturbance. "-allow His Excellency Treize's na-ame . . . dirtied in such . . . place as thi. . . !"

Treize? The name of the man in charge of this? The Chinese boy firmly set his jaw. He would make the bastard pay for this needless war, the meaningless deaths of thousands!

From the corner of his eye, he saw an OZ suit stagger toward Meiran, obviously defunct. But Meiran's Gundam didn't move. Shenlong dropped his weapons and rushed at them. Wufei realized with a jolt that he didn't know what to do. "Meiran!" he cried helplessly. Before he could stop it, the mobile suit collided with Meiran's, self-destructing upon impact. He heard a wordless scream tear from his mouth as a small, battered body was hurled from the unnamed Gundam.

In a few seconds, Shenlong knelt beside Meiran. The massive mecha gently cradled her, lifting her-a tattered rag doll-in its cupped hands. "Meiran."

"Wufei. . . ." Her voice sounded weak, every breath an agonizing exertion.

"Hang on, Meiran." Frantically, he searched for a way out of the main battle-somewhere where he could patch her up. She wasn't going to die!

"I-I'm Nataku. . . ."

Wufei paused, his voice mysteriously caught in his thickening throat. "Yeah, You're Nataku. I won't call you Meiran any longer."

She smiled slightly. "You could . . . praise me a little, you know. I protected . . . that field of . . . flowers."

A small smile slipped across Wufei's face as he remembered the meadow as it had been before OZ came. "I-idiot." He felt his cheeks glow with heat.

"So, please-" Her eyelids lowered as though it took too much energy to keep them open. "-take me to that field. . . ."

Crazy onna, he thought. But he complied with her wishes and, in a few minutes, was laying her down in a lush flowerbed, the only untouched spot in the entire meadow. He knelt beside her and slowly looked about, taking in the smoldering effects of war. Do they comprehend what they've just done; how many lives they've just destroyed? Do they care? His heart bleeding at the thought, he turned back to Nataku as her dry lips parted.

"It's . . . beautiful . . .isn't it? I've never appreciated flowers like this before." Wufei tried to ignore the way her voice had become soft and weak. With no small effort, she leaned on his lap, her dark, liquid eyes searching his. "Wufei. . . ?" She barely waited for his response before she laboriously drew another breath and struggled on. "I . . . was strong, wasn't I? You weren't ashamed of me as your wife, were you?"

What was she saying?! "Yeah. . . . You're strong. Stronger than anyone."

"No," she breathed, so softly that he could barely hear her. "You are . . . stronger."

Before Wufei could comprehend her words, she sighed and laid her cheek against his shoulder. "Hey, get off me!" Annoyed, he pushed her aside. He barely caught her before she limply fell back. "Nataku? Hey. . . ?" He shook her dumbly, not wanting to believe. . . . "Hey! Open your eyes!" He could barely swallow past the giant lump in his throat. Tears streamed, unbidden, down his cheeks, but he couldn't stop them. He hardly noticed them. "I haven't shown myself worthy of being your husband! Nataku! Natakuuuuuu!!!"

Days later, on the ravaged colony, Wufei stood in that same field of flowers, before a small grave. His head bowed and eyes closed in reverence, he didn't see the old scientist approach him. But he was not caught by surprise. Otherwise still, he tilted his face just enough to acknowledge the man's presence.

"Wufei. . . ." Master O sounded hesitant. He knew he was treading on ground as tender and unsettled as the grave-dirt beneath their feet. "Wufei, no one will try to stand in your way anymore. Be your own man. Go back to your studies."

"No." He heard his voice softly carried on a passing breeze. "I will live for justice."

"So you're saying you'll pilot Shenlong?" Master O spoke carefully, hardly believing that now, after months of fruitless urging, Wufei would go along so easily.

"Not Shenlong. Its name is Nataku. . . . My wife protected this machine; so her spirit lives on in it." His thoughts turned to the name he now connected with the treacherous and cowardly act of betrayal. Whoever this man thought he was, he could not escape justice's indiscriminate hand. Wufei himself would be an extension of such, an extension of Nataku. He would prove himself worthy! "I-I'm going to change these insane times!"

*as recorded in Episode Zero*

*present*

Watch, Nataku! I swear I will bring you justice! Words of nine years past echoed through his mind once again. Wufei grit his teeth and watched his mittened hands automatically grasp the rope, his weary arms strain to pull himself upward. Just one more meter; the relatively short distance seemed like a kilometer. And then he reached the spike embedded in the cliff. Sturdy boots landed on the ledge and sunk into the snow like two dead weights. Bracing one arm against the cliff wall, he leaned down to search for Amy.

In a few seconds, the woman's mittens grasped the edge. Calling on a final burst of energy, she lifted herself onto the ledge and sat there, leaning against the wall for support. Eyes closed against the biting cold, she panted into the soft folds of her scarf, drawing the heat from her own breath.

"You need a rest?" He tried to force some disdain into his voice, but failed. He sounded like he felt: numb and tired.

Amy nodded mutely and hugged her hands beneath her armpits. The bone-chilling cold and extra bulk of her snow gear had taken more of a toll than she could have expected. Not for the first time, she considered calling on both of her Elemental powers to wrap a warm blanket of air around her body. Again, she brushed the idea aside before it could take root in her benumbed mind. It would warm her right up, but the act would drain her of more energy-something she didn't seem to have a large store of right now.

Frustrated, she tried to look at the situation from another angle. That always seemed to work. Taking a deep breath, she took a purely observational view. Okay . . . they were quite probably alone on this planet, not counting the inevitable animal life already on Altaos Beta. And here they were competing. Sneaking a sidelong glance at her partner, she heaved a sigh. They were going to get themselves killed. Someone had to end this. Only one problem: she wasn't too crazy about giving in first and he sure as hell wouldn't. He seemed to have an ego the size of Alaska, but easily bruised.

Fine. I'll do it. "Wufei?" She had to tug the scarf away from her face before he could hear her. "Hey, when we get to the top, can we look for a cave? I don't know about you, but I'm beat."

He arched a thick black eyebrow, turning slightly. Either she's exhausted to the point of collapse or she's trying to prove something. At least I come out of this without losing face to a woman. Not that I could possibly be bested by a weak onna. Catching her eye, he nodded slightly.

"Boy, thanks." Amy flashed a grateful smile his way. "And what's Nataku?"

Almond-shaped obsidian eyes widened before he could stop himself. "What are you talking about?"

She smiled wryly and gently placed a mittened hand on his arm. "Don't you start going hypothermic on me, here."

He snatched his arm away and snapped back at her, a tad harsher than intended. "Onna, I'm fine. Go away."

Amy grimaced and peered down the sheer cliff face. "Er . . . no, I don't think so."

"That's not what I-" He shook his head irritably. "Never mind."

"Okay." She gave him time to cool down-three seconds oughtta do it. "What's Nataku?"

Wufei growled at her before grunting a grudging "Why?"

"You said it a few times during the climb." Amy leaned back against the wall and searched his hooded eyes.

"None of your business."

Oh boy! Twenty questions! "Or maybe it's a name?"

His sidelong glance proved her to be correct.

"Part of the Chinese pantheon?"

Wufei couldn't hold back a small snort.

Hn. "Is it a woman?"

He grunted. Progress!

"Do you love her?"

"Onna! Shut up."

Amy didn't have to try too hard to feign a hurt tone. "Aw, it's okay, Wufei. I won't tell anyone that you have a girlfriend."

"I do not-" He shook his head with a gruff sigh. "Let's just get moving. You still want to find that cave before nightfall, shi?"

"Are you ready for the climb already?"

This earned her a scathing glance. "I could have reached the summit by now if I didn't have to worry about you falling behind." Not a lie-he could have scaled the cliff by now-but he'd have been half-dead as well. He just failed to mention that.

If we let this get out of hand. . . . Scowling, Amy pushed herself to her knees and began tenaciously poking the young bishounen in the shoulder. "You ass! This isn't a competition! If I wanted to play games, I'd have stayed back at Quatre's place and played croquet."

Wufei cast a surprised look overtop his scarf. Dry lips parted before he caught himself, stoppering the sharp retort in his throat. Games? Damn; a warrior can't let such emotions interfere with mission. . . . God; now I'm sounding like Heero. He felt like hitting himself upside the head. Not in front of Amy, of course.

"I. . . . Of course we aren't competing." An odd expression crossed his face-a look similar to that of one chewing nails. "We-neither of us-need feel an obligation toward one-upsmanship." He had before avoiding making eye contact with her. Now, his eyes darted over to shoot a sharp glare in her direction.

Amy was speechless. She stared. And stared. And stared. Then she blinked because her eyes hurt and pretended to adjust her scarf. He practically admitted that I'm right. Heh-he didn't confess to his own competitiveness. But what can I expect? Neither did I. Ah, who cares? This is a miracle in its own right! Realizing just how hard it must have been for him to choke out as much as he had, she afforded him a small smile.

"What are you grinning about?" he grumped.

"Nuthin', Wu. Fei. Let's lock an' load." She searched her pack for an ice pick and pulled herself to her feet. Bracing herself against the cliff wall, she worked the barbed spiked from its niche in the thick ice. And here's to reaching the top in one piece. . . .

† † † † † † † † † † † † † †

An hour, twenty-six minutes, and one thousand screaming muscles later, Amy flopped down into the powdery snow beside an already prone Wufei. Fatigue or their recent agreement seemed to have taken their toll on him. Poor guy. Brought back to her own situation by her own aching muscles, she began to work the harness from her hips, but gave up after a few fumbling tries. I hope a nice and very tropical vacation was included in my contract, she bemoaned silently. `Cause I could use one right about now. If I ever see snow again after this mission, it'll be way too soon.

Well, it couldn't be all bad. All she had to do was keep the blood pumping enough to stay warm. Which involved moving aforementioned sore muscles. Eventually, she discovered that if she flexed her toes one at a time, it didn't even hurt that much. Heartened, she let her head loll to one side, watching for Wufei's progress. She eeped. The young bishounen was sitting up, rubbing his arms brusquely and slowly working his legs. Blasphemy! How could he do that after such a climb? After over three hours of scaling a sheer cliff face, he had the audacity to not fall in a ragged heap and die?! But she could handle this. She did what any red-blooded American would do in a similar situation. Amy screwed up her face and wailed softly.

"Hey, onna."

Amy opened one eye. "Hn."

"Good, you're alive," he grinned. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on building up enough energy to pop him one right between those dark, exotic eyes of his. "Remember that cave?"

Your point being. . . ?

"Look around you."

In the end, it turned out that it was well worth the amount of energy that was required to roll over and look. The cliff they had just climbed was a foothill, midgitized by its surrounding brethren. But said brethren were literally pocked with a plague of condo-caves. Hallelujah! Amy fought the overpowering urge to croak in joy.

Wufei pulled his scarf closer to his face and shifted toward her. "I'll go search for a suitable cave. You stay here and pack up our climbing equipment."

Amy grinned and effected a half-hearted salute. "Aye-aye, sir. You can count on me." Personally, she had plans for passing out as soon as his back was turned.

"And keep moving," he warned as he pushed himself to his feet and headed toward an ostensibly promising cave. "Don't fall asleep. You might not wake up again."

"Suuuure. Wouldn't dream of it."

"Just don't kill yourself off before I get back." His voice faded off prematurely, muffled by the wind.

Grumbling softly, she sat up and worked the harness from her hips. "As if you'd miss me anyway, eh?" Caught up in a fleeting wave of mischief, Amy wondered what he would do if she pretended to fall unconscious. Would he give her mouth-to-mouth? Would he swear to nurse her back to health? Would he kick her off the cliff? Smashed back to the present by a stinging wave of reality, she wondered how pissed he would be when he realized her prank. Ouch.

Grumbling under her breath to none other than the biting wind, the treacherous ice, and the cute little bird that had just landed beside her, Amy secured the ropes and harnesses in their respective packs. After that, she spent a few rapturous moments staring at the sheathed broadsword. Then, exhausted, she leaned back on her elbows, waiting for Wufei to return from his ramble. Mustn't fall asleep . . . Mustn't fall asleep . . . Mustn't f- . . . . . Zonk. Amy woke herself up as her elbow slipped out from under her and she was deposited in a poof of powdery snow. Blinking slowly, she peered across the top of the snow, trying to summon the willpower to actually move once again.

A second, smaller poof of snow flew up as the little bird landed inches before her face. Startled, she eeped in surprise and jumped up into a sitting position. Beady little black eyes glared at her with an insatiable bloodlust. . . . Whoa! What?! This isolation must already be getting to her. Surely, there was nothing menacing about this cute little bird. Amy shook her head vigorously, then shot another look at the creature. It sat there, cocking its head from one side to the other, eyeing her curiously. Awwwwww. . . .

Without warning, it lunged at her face. Its knife-like, terrible beak snapped open to reveal at least three rows of jagged, razor-sharp teeth. Amy screamed, throwing her fleece-enshrouded arms before her face. The flurry of wings deafened her to all else. Suddenly, a searing lance of pain slashed her arm. The bird had clawed through her sleeve and was enthusiastically tearing into her unprotected arm.

It's now or never, Amy determined grimly. Someday she supposed she might look back on this and laugh. Someday. Now, she lashed out with her arm, hurling the bird into the air. It cried out in surprise, but easily regained control. For a few seconds, the two bitter opponents glared at one another, mutual ill intent glazing their eyes.

Suddenly, a shadow descended over Amy, creeping up from behind. Her eyes grew about five centimeters in diameter as she realized that this was not Wufei. Her body stiffened, but she forced herself to turn and face the newcomer.

Mommy had arrived.

A giant bird that would put any self-respecting pterodactyl to shame hovered over her, blotting out the sun's dying rays. The roc's immense body was covered in a mass of grey fur and feathers. A knobby, grotesque head extended from its body by a long, thick neck. An evil gleam shone in both eyes.

"Oh . . . shit." This was definitely bad.

Momma Roc sighted the fleece-bundled woman in her blazing eyes and furled her massive wings in one fluid motion. Immediately, she plummeted from the sky, streaking directly toward Amy. The young woman opened her mouth, but the scream died in her throat. She did, however, find the gumption to run, which was a very good thing. Because at that exact moment, the roc exploded in a cloud of blood.

As the bloody core continued to fall, Amy launched herself into a shoulder roll, bracing herself for a jolt. Instead, she landed face-first in a nice snowdrift. It dramatically decreased the coolness of her escape, but it was nice and easy on the sore muscles. Immediately, she cast about for the younger roc, but the little devil was already winging it back home. Smart kid.

And now for her savior.

Pushing herself to her feet, she turned about, nice and slow-like. To her surprise, Wufei stood about five meters away, loaded for elephant. The Chinaman held a big-ass smoking gun before him. His feet were braced well apart and his spine curled backwards to counter the foreign weight. Amy slapped the caked snow from her mitts and waited for him to trundle on over.

"Hey, Indy. Right in the nick of time. Now should the fair lady give her hero a kiss?"

Wufei's Glare of Lingering and Painful Death assured her that he did, indeed, disagree. "I found a cave."

"Good man." She eyed the mini-cannon meaningfully. When he failed to respond, she let her eyes bug out a little more in the hope of becoming painfully obvious. When that failed as well, she sighed and leaned on the gun. That got his attention. Once he managed to regain his balance again, dark obsidian eyes glared at her over the scarf. "Get off . . . the gun. . . . Gather our packs and follow me to the cave."

Not to be put off so easily, Amy hurried to catch up with him again. "So where'd you get the gun?"

"The cave."

"And this sort of thing would be just lying around because. . . ? I mean, the owner might be coming back-"

"He won't be giving us any trouble." The cool tone of Wufei's voice left Amy speechless. Puzzled, she stared into the frozen black orbs of his eyes. Did he just- He couldn't possibly have-

Wufei left her to ponder the grand mystery of it all as they trudged to his find. In due course, Amy convinced herself that he hadn't killed anyone. Not even he would withhold such information. . . . Right? Regardless, she trusted his sense and integrity enough to know he wouldn't kill anyone who didn't deserve it. In his eyes, at least.

"Here." He gently placed the cannon beside a formidable snow-enshrouded boulder. Amy had to look twice before she noticed the tiny crevice at ground level. Somehow, Wufei managed to slip through with ease and, seconds later, his hands popped back out to whisk the cannon in after him. After a second or two of silent head-shaking, she let the packs fall to the ground and slid through the hole. To her relief, it was a lot bigger than it seemed and she had no problem following him.

The hole immediately dropped her into a small grotto. It couldn't have been any larger than the interior of one of those miniature school buses. You know, the kind kindergartners ride around in. Unsurprisingly, it was mostly barren. Amy was just starting to squint at a ragged heap of . . . stuff lying at the far side when Wufei let the cannon sway against the cave wall. It resulting in a resounding echo that, frankly, sounded pretty darn eerie.

"Well. . . . It's not the Ritz. . . ."

"Onna. Our packs." Wufei took off his mittens and gestured toward the entrance impatiently. "Once we build a fire, we can seal the entrance for the night."

Once Amy stopped grumbling about slave labor and had pulled the packs into the cave, Wufei dug through his to produce what looked like a stout metal vase. Two wood-like slabs soon followed and were perfunctorily placed inside the vase-thing. Ah, technology. A fireplace with all the comforts of home, created for the user's travel convenience. Not only that, but the wood-wannabe was a spiffy little product of modern technology as well. It burned brighter, easier, and longer than natural wood. And it was smokeless. How spoiled could a Preventer get?

Soon, the makeshift team had their own cozy little fire blazing. While Wufei had coaxed the fire into existence, Amy set herself to the task of patching up the entrance. It wasn't that taxing on her poor female brain (God, but she'd been around Wufei too long already) and took no more than three minutes. By the time she returned to the fire, Wufei was silently arranging the other items in his pack.

Amy gently sat beside her pack . . . on her side of the fire, careful not to make any noise. Resting her arms on her knees, she let her head fall limp and her eyes close. A breather was always nice. And she definitely deserved one about now. After a few deep breaths, she raised her head to glance around. Wufei had pulled the hood and scarf from his face. He had opened a can of . . . something and was eating, pointedly staring at the cave floor.

"What's on your menu today, Wufei?" she asked, removing her own hood and scarf. Her left arm had gone numb, but it was probably just extremely cold. It should be warming up in a bit.

"The same high-protein crap that's on yours." He shifted slightly, then spared a look at her naked face.

She grinned crookedly. "Really?" Leaning over sideways to grab her pack, she threw one leg up as a counterbalance. When she dragged the pack back toward her, she flashed another smug look at the former pilot. He was looking at her funny, his spoon forgotten, limp in his hand.

At her inquisitive look, he cleared his throat and resumed eating. "Sally packed the same things in both our packs. Onna."

"Ne, my good man. That is where you are unquestionably wrong." And to back herself up, she dug into the pack and produced a handful of chocolate bars in record time. "Sometimes ya can follow the leader. And sometimes ya gotta look out for yourself." She winked and unwrapped one.

Wufei finished off the last of his meal, sulking slightly. Damn, but did he ever look cute when he did that! To appear unconcerned, Amy let her eyes wander around the grotto as she munched on her chocolate bar. Inexorably, her eyes fell on the curious heap at the far wall.

"Hey, what is that?"

His face darkened slightly, becoming more serious if that was even possible. "He's the reason you're still alive."

"He?" She jumped up and crossed the tiny grotto in two steps. From a new angle, she peered into the folds of the tattered rag. After a second, she gasped and straightened, stiffening her spine in alarm.

"Hypothermia and frostbite. That's what you would have looked like if you had fallen asleep at the summit back there." Wufei's soft voice echoed against the walls with a certain finality.

"I know what he died from. It's just. . . . We're going to be spending the night with a dead guy?" Amy swallowed against an inexplicable lump in her throat and returned to her seat by the warm fire.

"Don't worry." Wufei's voice sounded dry and sarcasm just oozed from every syllable. "I don't think he'll be bothering you."

She scowled darkly and pulled a can of high-protein meal-stuff and a metal spoon from her bag. The label read, among other things, that this was chicken-flavored. Unimpressed, she stripped the lid and dipped the spoon in the watery brown mush inside. When she raised the spoon to her lips, her eyebrows arched in surprise. Modern technology surely was amazing. They managed to make it taste exactly like crap. Shaking her head in wonder, Amy held her breath and managed to choke down the rest. If this was the main course for the entire mission, she was going to have a very serious chat with Sally Po upon their return.

"What about your arm, onna?"

Amy jumped at the unexpected sound of Wufei's voice. She glanced at him, then down at her wounded arm. She winced before she could stop herself.

Immediately, Wufei was beside her, taking the arm into his hands. "It was close to becoming frostbitten. That's why you didn't feel it."

"I can handle it." Amy tried to yank her arm from his grip, but he maintained his hold on her upper arm.

Liquid obsidian eyes rose to catch her gaze in their own. "Sometimes you should accept help when it is offered, Amy."

Look who's talking. . . . But the retort froze in her throat as Wufei reached out and unzipped her heavy fleece coat. He peeled the sleeve from the wounded arm and examined the wound carefully. "It isn't frostbitten yet, though." He met her eyes once again with a deep gaze. "You're lucky, you know. The temperatures outside are well below anything you`ve ever encountered."

She nodded brusquely, barely taking her eyes off him as he reached into his pack and produced a small first aid kit. By the time he had treated the wound and wrapped her forearm with a clean strip of cloth, she was definitely regaining some of the feeling in the arm. The Chinaman cradled her hand in his, then used his free hand to gently rub the area which had been exposed to the fierce, subzero wind. Amy nibbled on her lower lip, frantically trying to think of something to say.

Suddenly, he looked up, his eyes hard and unreadable. "Don't thank me. It's the least I can do to ensure the survival of my partner. Sally Po means for us both to come out of this alive. It's to be expected that we aid one another."

"Sure, sure." Amy finally regained control of her own arm and carefully checked the bandages. "I understand. Minimal contact. Partner to partner. It's just business; nothing more." She tried to filter some of the bitterness from her voice.

A familiar dark cloud passed over Wufei's eyes. He nodded and crawled back over to his side of the fire. "Right. Good night, onna." And he curled up into a tight Wufei ball. In a few moments, his breathing had deepened to that of a sleeper`s.

She shook her head and stared down at her arm. She could cry on it, heal it instantly. But she had no tears at the moment. And forced tears would do less than nil. No, she was angry at the moment. Angry at herself. Groaning inwardly, she curled up on her side of the fire and tried to get some sleep.

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