Hey all, here's the last chapter, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 14

The four entered, simultaneously gasping as they saw a large metal cage in the enormous room. All of their friends were in it. It was placed a few feet from a throne, where Andromache sat, looking pleased. A large rope separated them from the remaining youma Andromache had, about thirty of them, snickering behind the throne.

Everyone who was conscious in the cage began to shout for them, and Andromache laughed.

"Hello Penelope. I see you've brought four more. Why is Trowa so injured and helping them?"

"I suspect the potion was not taken. Laycaon is dead."

The Queen nodded at the news, showing no indication that his death mattered. She glanced at Trowa.

"I suppose you did me the honor? You've saved me some trouble later. What happened to that potion you were supposed to take? Didn't you want to save your stupid girlfriend?"

Trowa frowned at the woman in front of him, before speaking.

"Ami destroyed your potion- I tried to drink it. As for saving her, you never intended to give us the antidote."

Andromache nodded, leaning forwards in her throne.

"Correct as usual. I can't say that I'm sorry though. How much time do you expect she has now? Judging by how she can no longer even hold on to the Jupiter Senshi's shoulders, I'd say about fifteen minutes to a half hour now."

Trowa looked past Quatre at Jupiter, whom had caught Mercury from falling off of her and was now carrying her in her arms. Mercury was pretty much limp although her body still shook as the poison ate away at her.

Sailor Moon turned to everyone else who was conscious in the cage. They had become trapped a few minutes before, without even realizing it.

"What's wrong with Mercury?" Her voice showed more fear than she had hoped. All of her friends were badly injured and it scared her to think that anything more could happen- especially with the close call Mars had.

Everyone was silent, glancing back at the cold exchange between Andromache and Trowa. Finally, all eyes turned to Pluto.

She sighed. "I guess I'm not revealing future knowledge if I fill you in now. It seems that Penelope poisoned Ami back at the estate."

Her words hung in the air and left a long silence among the group.

"A-are you serious?" Duo said, looking back at the others and Pluto. "Right under our noses?"

She nodded. "It was Andromache's back-up plan. She planned to have Trowa no matter what."

Tuxedo Kamen frowned, glancing at Venus and Heero. Both shook their heads. Not only were they trapped, but there was nothing they could do now.

Wufei stood, setting down Mars next to where Uranus had laid Saturn and moving next to Neptune.

"We have to get out of here first," he said, crossing his arms.

Everyone nodded.

Trowa frowned at Andromache.

"You made an antidote. I will do anything you want if you give it to her."

Andromache stood from her throne, walking down the steps slowly and placing her hands on her hips as she stared at him.

"Really? First things first."

She snapped her fingers, and Jupiter and Quatre both gasped as they were lifted into the air. Mercury slipped from Jupiter's arms and fell to the ground, Andromache nodding in approval until Trowa bent down to check on her.

"You two," she pointed at them. "In there." Her finger moved towards the cage, and the two were suddenly being thrown at an incredible speed towards it. When she snapped her fingers, the bars dematerialized as if it were a portal, knocking them to the ground in the cage with their friends. Everyone in the cage ran towards the bars to try and get out, but found the bars solid again.

Quatre and Jupiter struggled to their feet, now distressed more than before. Jupiter grabbed the ribbon from the back of her uniform, tying it tightly around Quatre's shoulder to try and stop the blood flow.

"Thanks Mako," he said as she helped him stand.

"Sailor Moon, do you think you can heal Penelope from here? If there's an antidote, she might know where it is," Jupiter said. Moon nodded, grabbing her broach.

"Now Trowa, what were you saying you'd do for me if I gave you the antidote?"

"I'd drink another potion," he stated. She nodded, deep in thought.

"Well, they take time to make. Your girlfriend doesn't have that much time."

"So heal her and then lock me up until you can make it."

"That's not definite enough. I'd rather she die first, to be honest with you," Andromache drawled out. She stared down at Mercury's body.

"She's unconscious, yet her body is still shaking from the poison. That's some pretty potent stuff I made," she said, smiling.

Penelope turned to look at the cage, hearing some commotion. She took a few tentative steps towards it, and gasped when she heard what Sailor Moon had been saying. "Moon Healing Activation!"

A white beam of light hit her, and she began to scream as it purified her, wiping out any of the brainwashing Andromache had done to her in the last week.

When the light ended, Sailor Moon tiredly latched on to Tuxedo Kamen, and Penelope passed out.

Andromache turned to glance at Penelope's prone body and the cage.

"Stop that, you just lost me another employee," she said, her voice full of rage as she left Trowa and Mercury. Everyone in the cage backed up as the angry queen approached, standing in front of them and crossing her arms.

"Perhaps I should rid myself of all of you now."

Trowa fell to the ground besides Penelope when Andromache walked away, shaking her shoulders.

Penelope blinked open her eyes, staring at him and eyes widening as she remembered everything.

"Oh my God!" He put a hand over her mouth, glancing warily at Andromache's back.

"Do you know where the antidote is?" She nodded, beginning to cry.

"It's in the kitchen, back at the estate. I hid it in the cook's spice cabinet."

Trowa felt his heart sink at what she said.

"I- I may have enough magic left to open a portal. It'll take you near the temple. You have to go through the dimensional gate since I don't have the kind of powers to make one myself. You have to use the tear. The portal to get you back here should stay open long enough if I concentrate the last of my powers. Remember, it's in the cabinet- a small white vile with an 'A' on it."

Trowa nodded. "Okay, hurry, and don't let Andromache hurt you or Ami until I get back."

She nodded, concentrating the energy in her hands as a portal opened up, revealing a street in Tokyo.

"I hope it's near the temple," Penelope said worriedly. He nodded, glancing back at Mercury's prone body one last time and limping through.

Andromache turned from where she was trying to kill the Senshi in the cage, and gasped when she saw that Trowa was gone, and that Penelope was sitting up, having created a portal for him.

"You imbecile!"

Andromache stopped what she was doing, approaching Penelope angrily.

She raised her hand to strike Penelope, but before she could Penelope slumped to the ground, having exhausted the last of her energy in opening the portal.

Andromache gave a disgusted sigh, snapping her fingers. Penelope's body disappeared from the floor, reappearing in the cage. Everyone moved to check on her before returning their attention to escaping from the cage.

"So Trowa left through that portal," she said to herself. "I'm sure he didn't abandon everyone. He'll be back. Penelope used the last of her energy to open it so he'd be back- and he'll return to me to find everyone dead."

She glanced down at the body of Mercury, whom was laying sideways but with her face down. Somewhat disgustedly, Andromache used her foot to turn her body over, onto her back and face up.

She glared down at her, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest.

"Not dead yet," she stated with a frown, staring at her face and body. "What could Trowa possibly see in you when he has a woman like me here? I offer him power and a new life and he goes running back to you."

She glanced up at the cage containing the Senshi. There was quite a commotion going on in there, although she wasn't sure if they were trying to escape or distract her from Mercury's body.

"Why are you worried?" She called happily. "She'll be dead from the poison in a couple of minutes anyways."

She glanced back down at the girl and towards the portal again.

"Hurry up and die before he gets back," she snapped, stamping on her stomach. Blood dribbled from the side of the girl's mouth when she did so, and she smirked, moving towards the trouble makers at the cage for a few minutes.

Trowa stepped out of the portal, taking a pained breath. He was down the street from the temple, if he was remembering correctly.

'Close, but not that close Penelope,' he thought, beginning to limp down the street. A woman walking by saw him and screamed. She pulled out her cell phone, rushing towards him.

"Was there an attack? Stay right here, I'll call an ambulance!"

She began to dial and he grabbed her hand, shaking his head.

"Don't call them. I have to see a friend first."

"B-but..." she trailed off, staring at the strange young man and frowning. "I think you're dying."

"Please- don't call," he said, and she stared at him in disbelief as he turned and continued his unbearably pained walk down the street.

He found himself becoming light-headed halfway down the street, and encouraged himself to go on knowing Ami had very limited time.

By the time he had reached the steps, his breath was short and he gave pained gasps as he started up the stairs, groaning and grabbing onto the rail tightly. Why so many steps?

Mid-way up, the pain became too much to bear and he slumped down, his grip on the rail unrelenting.

Feeling like he was going to pass out, he pulled himself up with an anguished groan and continued as fast as he could.

He was more than relieved when he reached the top of the steps, stumbling towards the yard and more driven than ever to get into the gate.

"What are you all doing back here? I'm releasing my youma to take care of the rest of you," Andromache snapped.

With a snap of her fingers, the cage disappeared, as did the rope restraining the youma. All of the youma charged at them, as the group stood in front of the unconscious bodies of Saturn, Mars, and Penelope.

She walked away, letting the youma cover the area where they stood disinterestedly and heading back to her throne.

She paused at the still-breathing body of Mercury.

"What is taking you so long? Die already! If I kill you physically, that defeats the purpose of poisoning you," she explained to the unconscious woman madly.

Sailor Jupiter ducked out of the way of an attack, unleashing one of her own and trying to see past the battle. Mercury was somewhere in the room out of sight, with Andromache. What if she was killing her?

"Jupiter! Get down!"

Venus shoved her to the floor as two more large attacks flew over her head.

"We have to get Mercury's body away from Andromache and set her down by the others who are unconscious, so we can protect them all together," Jupiter said.

"Right," Venus said, helping her up. Wufei and Neptune were currently keeping all attacks from hurting those that were already unconscious while everyone else was engaged in battle.

Venus rushed towards the throne where Andromache was crouched next to Mercury, gasping as she crashed into a large clear glass panel. She grabbed her nose and turned to look at Jupiter.

"What the hell," she said, Jupiter joining her.

"She's no dummy," Jupiter said. "She got rid of the cage but trapped us behind this glass panel to die from the youma."

"Venus! Jupiter! We need you!" Tuxedo Kamen shouted, and they ran to help their friends who were currently being over-powered.

Trowa struggled through the gate in the backyard of the temple. He fell through with a scream, not enjoying the ten-foot drop to the other side one bit as he crashed into the snow, protecting his head. He gave a strangled gasp, dazed and afraid that he had broken something as he spit out a mouthful of blood and struggled to his feet. He had forgotten how high the gate was on this side, and stared at the ladder that was down in the snow.

Stumbling towards the door, he realized he had no key to get into the house. He grabbed his head in frustration and pain. As he tripped back down the porch steps and stepped back onto the lawn, he picked up the ladder and dragged it back onto the porch. Lifting it, he began smashing it into the window, over and over until it broke.

He climbed through the glass, falling into the living room. Once more he groaned as he lifted himself up, dragging himself into the kitchen and leaning heavily on the walls.

Upon entering, he sank to the ground, crawling towards the cook's spice cabinet. Opening it up, he hurriedly began to search the many bottles, quickly spying the small white vile Penelope had described. Taking it in his shaking hands, he stumbled to his feet, trying to hurry but in far too much pain to move any faster.

Andromache crossed her arms and tapped her feet as Mercury continued to breathe- annoying her.

"What the hell is taking you so long? Die!" She stared at her closely, crouching next to her somewhat interestedly. Even Andromache would admit that the Mercury Senshi was not ugly. Did she come close to comparing to herself? Of course not, but still...it annoyed her that she was pretty. Her hands shook slightly and she suddenly had the urge to mangle up her pretty face. The only sign of damage her face had sustained was a slight redness on her cheek- most likely caused by Laycaon if he had gotten a bit rowdy.

Rolling her eyes at the thought, she grabbed the Senshi's face and frowned deeply. Glancing at the portal and back towards the battle, she shrugged.

Holding the Senshi's face steady with her left hand, she clawed her face, from above her right eyebrow to mid-cheek. Four thin lines of blood began to trickle down her face and it pleased her, despite how small the action was.

Standing, she noticed that the Senshi's breathing was becoming more labored, and nodded her head in approval.

"That's right, hurry up and die," she said, kicking her stomach again and causing more blood to leak from her mouth.

At her kick, her breathing became even more strained.

"Oh? Did that help speed up the process?" She kicked her again and again, watching with joy as the Senshi continued to strain to breathe.

"I have to say, you make this too enjoyable. Soon, you'll be out of my way and Trowa will be mine," she said, landing a kick on her head.

Trowa climbed up the ladder and through the gate in record time, trying to run and falling to the ground once he entered the backyard of the temple. Dragging himself to his feet, he grasped his side, gripping the vile out of danger and moving. How long had he taken? He couldn't let her die...

Reaching the top of the steps, he slipped on a patch of ice and began to unceremoniously roll down, protecting the vile in both his hands instead of his head as he stopped in the middle.

Again, he spit out another mouthful of blood, releasing an anguished cry as grasped the rail once more to climb down, nearly blacking out.

He stumbled down the steps and began to drag himself down the street, drained but having to get back to the portal.

It was still open once he finally arrived at it, and he pretty much fell through it.

Andromache abandoned the pretty-much dead Mercury, turning and walking closer to the glass panel to survey the battle between the Senshi and her youma.

Trowa fell through Penelope's portal, and he blinked to clear the white spots from his vision as he tried to get his bearings. Everyone was battling on the other side of the room, and Andromache's back was to him.

Seeing Mercury, he crawled over to her, praying she was still alive.

She didn't look like she was breathing and his hands shook as he grabbed her shoulders and leaned her against his knees, tipping her head back and pouring the small vile into her slightly-open mouth.

"Ami," he whispered, glancing at Andromache's back and shaking her slightly as tears blurred his vision. He felt slightly sick and the pain he was in intensified once more as he turned to the left and spit out more blood.

She didn't move, and Trowa's own shaking grew worse as he considered the possibility that she may have died.

He had taken too long.

Grabbing her wrist, he checked for a pulse and paused. At first, he felt nothing.

Then, he began to feel a faint beat, and eventually her pulse began to steady. His eyes widened, and she began to shift, coughing slightly and blinking her eyes.

"It feels like I got hit by a truck," she rasped out, and he nodded, thinking that Andromache had probably had a bit of fun roughing her up while he was gone.

Before she could fully sit up and see where she was, Trowa had her in a fierce hold, shaking violently. Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening and the extent of his injuries. He looked so much worse than when she had passed out- what had he done?

"T-Trowa, what did you do to yourself?" She asked, holding him back just as tightly and feeling her eyes begin to fill with tears.

He didn't respond; he just held her. Her tears began to fall.

"Trowa, come on, we have to get you help. You're bleeding so much," she sobbed, beginning to stand and survey the room. Andromache glanced over to where Mercury was supposed to be dying, and gasped furiously when she saw her beginning to stand up, to help a very beat up Trowa get to his feet.

"How are you alive?" Andromache demanded, approaching her quickly. Mercury gasped as Trowa shuddered and fell to the ground, totally limp. Tears blurred her vision at the sight of him, and she was in disbelief at how much harm he had brought to himself to get the antidote.

"Why Trowa? Why?" She choked, and she felt Andromache's hand encircle her wrist.

"I am asking myself the same question," Andromache said darkly. Mercury felt an anger well up within her, the likes of which she had never felt.

"I hate you," she told Andromache, pulling her wrist free, "and Trowa does too."

"That is a lie!" Andromache shouted. "How can he choose you over me!" She raised her hand and grabbed Mercury by her collar, lifting her off the ground slightly.

"The poison may not have killed you, but you are clearly no match for me!"

A funny feeling spread through Mercury's veins and she recalled the other Senshi mentioning something similar before they unleashed a special attack.

Andromache seemed to notice the power and released her, backing away and readying an attack big enough to stop Mercury from unleashing hers.

"Ice Formation! Surround!" The attack left Mercury's hands before Andromache could blink. Only part of it hit Andromache as she dived out of the way, but it expanded and hit the remaining youma on the other end of the room. The glass panel Andromache had created had disappeared once part of Mercury's attack injured her.

Mercury then slumped to the ground, falling next to Trowa.

The Senshi were all relieved, however a screaming Andromache was still left to be dealt with.

Whoever was conscious moved over to the woman. She broke free from the ice surrounding her and turned to face everyone.

"All of your troops are gone. You're alone," Heero stated, his gun before him.

"I- I can still kill all of you!"

"We're not giving you the chance," Tuxedo Kamen stated, very sick of the woman.

Every able Senshi then attacked, the pilots shooting at her.

The combined attacks of everyone forced her to her knees, and she screamed in pain.

"That's good but not enough," she shouted.

Sailor Moon glanced over at Tuxedo Kamen, who knew what she was thinking.

He nodded, giving her hand a squeeze.

"Don't over-do it."

She stepped forwards, her crystal flying from her broach and into her hands.

"Moon Crystal Eternal Power!"

A huge light erupted from the crystal, bathing the room and covering Andromache, who screamed in protest.

"Stop! No! I will kill you all!" Andromache screamed as the light suddenly died, Andromache's body dropping to the floor and fading away.

Sailor Moon fell into Tuxedo Kamen's awaiting arms, and he lifted her up and kissed her forehead.

A tired silence filled the room as the relief that it was all over was realized.

"We definitely don't have the energy to teleport," Venus breathed.

"No need, the portal Penelope created is still open," Pluto said. "Everyone de-transform now, before we step through the portal."

At her words, Tuxedo Kamen tapped the stone in the center of Sailor Moon's tiara, and she was instantly back in her normal clothes. His clothing also changed.

Getting the idea, Wufei crouched next to Sailor Mars and picked her up, tapping the stone in her tiara as well and reverting her back to her clothes.

Everyone followed suit, and Minako picked up Penelope. Michiru held Hotaru, Haruka leaning heavily on her, and Heero picked up Trowa as Makoto picked up Ami. Setsuna, Quatre, and Duo all supported each other, and the group finally managed to make their way outside of the base and get through the portal.

"We're near the temple," Minako said, glancing around. "The hospital is so far!"

A middle-aged woman emerged from a coffee shop on their right, and she gasped and ran over.

"Oh my God! I saw him earlier and he wouldn't let me call an ambulance," she shouted, pointing at Trowa's unmoving figure. Her cell phone was clutched tightly in her hand and she stared at the group with slight fear. "I suppose you don't want one either?"

"Oh no, we'd actually really appreciate you calling. The hospital is far," Makoto said, shifting Ami.

The woman nodded, dialing 911 and beginning to tell them where she was.

"Yes, there's been an attack. There are about fifteen injured people, and most of them seem too hurt to walk."

She hung up the phone and nodded. "They'll be here soon!"

"Where are my friends?" Makoto asked a doctor who was patching up her minor wounds. She had been lucky, not sustaining any serious wounds, and wanted to know everyone else's condition.

"I'll be done in a minute and you can go look- just take it easy. Most of them are on this floor- unless they're in ICU," he said, putting his medical tape away and allowing her to stand.

"Who's in ICU?" She asked worriedly. He looked up in thought, before speaking.

"I believe there was a girl with long dark hair. She had a lot of injuries and had lost a lot of blood, plus her hair was so mangled with blood even though the wound on her head was small, as if it had partially healed already. She also had some broken bones."

'Rei.'

Makoto said nothing to confirm or deny his suspicions, and he continued. "There was also a young man with brown hair. He was badly wounded as well, in his side. It seemed he lost a lot of blood, and we also think it looks like he was burned and took at least two big falls. He had some head trauma and I think he broke a few things."

'That's Trowa. I wonder when he fell so many times...'

"Well, thanks Doc," she said with false brightness, jumping from the table she was sitting on. "I'll just be going now."

She wandered down the hall, turning into the first door at her right when she saw a familiar smiling face.

Quatre was sitting up and a doctor was working on him. He wasn't wearing a shirt as his shoulder had been treated and wrapped up. A small sling was being placed around his arm.

"Wear this at least a week. You'll rip open your wound if your arm moves too much," the doctor explained as she smiled at Makoto and exited the room.

Makoto fully stepped into the room, smiling at him and pretending not to take notice that he was shirtless, which she obviously had.

"Hey you," he said, and Makoto threw all reason out the window at his simple words and ran at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and careful of his shoulder.

He hugged her back with his good arm, the left, and she looked up at him, her eyes now filled with tears.

"My big mouth got you shot," she said quietly. He shook his head, his left hand combing through her brown locks, which were loose from her usual pony-tail.

"She probably would have done it anyways, don't cry," he said, and she nodded as he lifted her chin and kissed her.

Usagi and Mamoru limped down the halls of the hospital wing, searching for their friends.

"Take it easy you two," a nurse warned. Both laughed and nodded.

They passed by Setsuna and Duo's room. Both were very tired and currently asleep, each one of them having been burned pretty badly before they met up with everyone else.

"Aww, I hope they'll be okay," Usagi said, peeking into the room. Mamoru nodded.

"They'll be fine," a nurse said, exiting the room. "I suspect that they'll be up in a couple of hours. Your other friend over there was also really exhausted."

"Other friend?" Mamoru repeated. He looked past Setsuna and Duo's beds, at where Penelope was sleeping, and nodded.

"Lets go Usako, we don't want to bother them," he said, taking her hand as the two slowly headed down the hall.

"Hey!"

Both spun to see Minako, dragging Heero behind her. Minako and Heero both looked equally beat up, but were happy to be up and moving.

"Are you guys okay?" She asked.

"We're good. Where is everyone else?" Mamoru asked.

"Well, Makoto and Quatre are pretty much just making out in that room over there."

Minako pointed to demonstrate, and Heero smirked.

"Sets, Duo, and Penelope are sleeping then," Usagi said.

"Right," Minako said. "Haruka and Michiru are downstairs in the cafeteria with Hotaru, they're doing better. Wufei and Ami are somewhere down here, I have no idea where though."

Usagi and Mamoru stared at Minako expectantly for the remaining news, and she hesitated.

"Where are Rei and Trowa?" Mamoru asked.

"ICU," Heero responded, crossing his arms and saying nothing more on the matter.

Ami blinked open her eyes, hating the harsh light that suddenly dominated her view.

"She's up," a choked voice said, and she gasped as a pair of unfamiliar arms encircled her.

"Hey, Doctor Yamanashi, take it easy," an older voice lectured, and Ami's vision cleared.

In front of her stood two doctors, one of whom she recognized immediately. Doctor Reika Yamanashi had been her mother's best friend at the hospital. Her eyes were tear-filled and she seemed relieved. The doctor to her right was the chief of the hospital's afternoon shift, and he offered her a friendly smile, before glancing at Doctor Yamanashi one last time.

"I leave her in your care Yamanashi- just don't get too emotional with her. Young lady, I'm glad that you're up. Your mother was one of our finest and we miss her terribly."

The man exited the room with a wave, and Ami turned to stare at Reika Yamanashi.

"Hello," she said simply. Reika had come over for dinner once, the rare night her mother was off, and she knew the two always made plans to go shopping when they had time off work.

"I'm so glad you're up," she gushed, approaching the bed. "You had a lot of internal bleeding, especially in your stomach, and I thought I was going to let your mother down!"

"You could never. Thank you for everything," Ami said, her mother's spirit filling the walls of the hospital.

Reika nodded, patting her on the head and turning to exit the room. She turned back around and addressed the other patient in the room, Wufei, whom was trying to climb from his bed.

"Hey! You take it easy! You're lucky there was no nerve damage in your back from whatever it was that hit you!" Doctor Yamanashi said, walking over to Wufei. He stood anyways, having already slipped on his clothes when the other doctors were busy with Ami.

"I'm going to see my friend," he said. "I'm fine."

"Your friend?" Reika frowned a moment, before nodding. "Which one?"

"Rei Hino. She has long dark hair and-"

Reika raised her hand to stop him.

"You can't see her. She's in ICU."

Ami sat up straight in her bed. Rei was in ICU?

"What? Why?" she hadn't even known that anything had happened to Rei since she had been passed out.

"She lost too much blood Ami. Please take it easy. Actually, there was one other man placed in ICU. He had brown hair, I believe. We haven't found his I.D. yet."

Ami's eyes widened as she realized the woman was probably talking about Trowa.

"I have to see him."

"You can't. In a couple of hours, I will come back and let you leave the hospital. When I do that, you can see them. ICU is the third floor, and they'll probably only let you in a few minutes."

Ami frowned at Reika, leaning back in her bed and turning away. Wufei also stopped where he sat, looking down.

"I'll leave you two to rest," Reika said, exiting the room.

"What happened to Rei?" Ami asked, keeping her back to Wufei.

"The ceiling collapsed on her. She was hurt pretty bad, plus her scalp split open. I held it together with snow until Saturn closed the wound, but she lost a lot of blood."

Ami turned to look at him. "You saved her life."

He stared at her a moment, before shaking his head.

"Saturn did."

"No, you did. That was quick thinking," Ami said.

A silence passed between them, before he spoke.

"What happened to Trowa?"

"Laycaon. Then he aggravated his wounds trying to help me," she said, turning away from him and letting silence fill the room.

True to her word, Reika returned and Ami and Wufei were allowed to leave. At this point, everyone was up, and all were in the cafeteria downstairs.

"Are you going down to see everyone first?" Ami asked Wufei. He shook his head, and she nodded.

"Me neither. Let's head up."

The two limped towards the elevator, and Wufei pushed the button for the third floor, looking anxious, unusual for him.

The elevator opened and they exited, Ami heading to the front desk in the area to ask about their friends.

"Oh, those two? Their rooms are down here. If you're going to go in, we ask that you limit your time to half an hour for now. Do either of you have cell phones? If you do, turn them off. You both look injured as well, so take it easy."

They followed the stoic nurse down the hall, and she stopped in front of two rooms. First was Rei's. She unlocked the door and turned to look at them. Wufei stepped forwards, and she gave him a small white mask.

"It's in case of contamination. Half an hour," she reminded, letting him enter and shutting the door, before ushering to Ami to enter the door she was unlocking at the right, also passing her a mask and walking away.

Wufei entered Rei's room, slipping the mask onto his face and looking around. It was filled with machines and very small. In the center of it all laid Rei. She was unconscious and looked very small among the other objects in the room.

It seemed that the hospital staff had tried to wash her hair of the blood as best as they could, and it was now in a long braid cascading past her right shoulder. He took a few steps into the room, not sure why he was hesitating. She was very pale and somehow he felt like if he touched her- she would break.

He kneeled next to her bed, wary of his back, and took her hand in his, brushing his thumb across her knuckles.

He stared at a monitor next to the bed, which showed her heart rate- it was steady.

"She's stabilizing," a nurse said from the doorway. He looked over at her and nodded. "Yes, we gave her a blood transfusion and took care of her breaks" she said. "We'll probably be moving her down to a regular room in an hour at the rate she's progressing. I expect a full recovery. Maybe she can even leave in a wheel chair tomorrow."

Ami slipped the mask onto her face and tentatively entered the room. Trowa lay still amongst the large machines of the room, and she felt her breath get caught in her throat at the sight of him.

Approaching the bed, she gasped at how many machines he was attached to. The chart by his bed was taunting her, and she snatched it into her hand, flipping it open reading it over quickly.

'Head trauma, multiple burns, great loss of blood, deep wound on his side, internal bleeding, broken ribs...'

She frowned deeply, setting down the chart and wishing she hadn't read it. Looking back down at him, she felt tears burn at her eyes.

Carefully, she reached down to touch his hand, but before she could so one of the machines on the left began to beep very loudly.

She pulled back sharply and backed away with a gasp, as a doctor and two nurses ran into the room. The doctor took one glance at the machine and grabbed an oxygen mask from its hook by the bed, placing it over Trowa's mouth and beginning to check the machine as a nurse readied an I.V, checking the bag he already had in his arm.

"What's happening," Ami choked, feeling her tears begin to trail down her cheeks.

"You have to leave the room please," a nurse said, beginning to pull her out of the door.

"What's wrong with him?" Ami demanded as the nurse pulled her outside.

"You can talk to the doctor afterwards," the nurse said, shutting the door and locking it. Ami fell against the wall by the door, sinking to the floor and grabbing her hair in fistfuls as she continued to cry out of frustration. He had to be okay, she couldn't lose anyone else.

Wufei exited Rei's room, removing his mask and tossing it in a waste bin. He glanced down at where Ami sat and frowned, looking at the commotion in Trowa's room from the small window.

"He'll pull through," he said matter-of-factly. She glanced up at him, wiping at her tears.

"How do you know?"

He hesitated a second, glancing back in the room and in the direction of Rei's room as well.

"I don't. Get up onna, let's get some food from the cafeteria with everyone else. I'm sure starving yourself won't help him get better."

Ami nodded, reminding herself how incredibly nice Wufei was being and not commenting on the fact that he had called her 'onna.'

She stood and the two headed down to the cafeteria. Ami hurriedly finished wiping at her tears and the two entered the doors of the cafeteria to sit with everyone else. Everyone greeted them brightly, and Ami offered them all a small smile and sat down, keeping her blood-shot eyes out of view.

"How's Rei?" Usagi asked, shifting with a wince and looking at Wufei. Mamoru touched her shoulder lightly and leaned forwards with interest.

"She's stabilizing," he said. "The nurse said that she'd probably be in a regular room in an hour, and possibly leave here in a wheel chair tomorrow."

Everyone smiled happily at the news, the idea that everyone was going to pull through okay almost too unrealistic to imagine.

"That's great," Quatre said, leaning forwards with interest. "How about Trowa?"

Ami stiffened but said nothing, and everyone glanced at Wufei.

"Not so good," he admitted simply, grabbing Duo's juice and downing it. Duo protested but Setsuna grabbed his elbow to quiet him. Quatre nodded disappointedly, looking away. Makoto grabbed his hand and he smiled at her.

Heero frowned at the news, glancing at Minako, who shook her head. Haruka glanced at Michiru and Hotaru, and stood.

"Listen, the three of us are heading home. We'll call later to check on everyone."

Everyone nodded, waving goodbye, and Setsuna stood, addressing Penelope for the first time.

"I also must head to the time gates. I'll return later... Penelope."

Penelope froze as Setsuna addressed her for the first time.

"I'm taking you back to the other dimension. Unfortunately, when you wake up tomorrow morning, you won't remember any of this."

Penelope nodded hesitantly, feeling like she was in a movie.

"That's somehow alright with me."

"Setsuna wait. You never told us where those strange powers came from," Makoto pointed out, and Setsuna stopped where she stood and smiled.

"That's right, I didn't. To cut a long story short, these powers are some that we would have developed in the later years of Crystal Tokyo. I believe that since Andromache was never supposed to attack to begin with, we were able to show a bit of those powers in our worst moments. I don't think we will be doing those displays of power again anytime soon," she explained, and everyone nodded thoughtfully.

"I will see you all tomorrow," Setsuna added after their silence, leaving the cafeteria.

Penelope stood and followed Setsuna out of the room.

Duo stood. "Where's my goodbye kiss?" he asked, following Setsuna from the room.

He returned a moment later looking dazed and sat down, pushing his food away.

"I'm not even hungry," he said in a happy voice, and everyone paled considerably.

An hour later, they all sat crowding around Rei in her new room downstairs. Rei had just woken up and been bombarded with all of their questions. After everyone quieted down, a comfortable silence took over the room as everyone sat. No one knew why they were still at the hospital, although part of them probably just wanted to hear good news about Trowa before they left.

"It's almost sad isn't it...how pathetically in love with Andromache Laycaon was," Minako commented from where she was conversing with Makoto. "I mean, he was an awful guy, no doubt, and he probably deserved what he got, but still..."

"I guess," Makoto said. "I wonder if he was just involved with all that stuff because he loved Andromache?" Duo nodded at Makoto's words.

"Maybe," he said.

"No way," Usagi said, butting in and shaking her head.

"I agree, the guy was scum," Mamoru said. Quatre nodded in agreement, as did Heero.

"Yes, the man was a weakling with no honor," Wufei agreed.

"Yes, but he did do anything Andromache asked of him, and she was happy to see him dead. Anything's possible...who knows, he may have been good before she found him. We've had that trouble with too many enemies. I feel bad for him and anyone else caught by one person's evil intentions," Minako commented.

"Don't you worry about Laycaon. He had his fair share of fun and then some before Trowa killed him," Ami snapped, exiting the room.

Everyone was left to ponder her words a moment, and Minako shook her head.

"I really should put my foot in my mouth. There's no telling what happened between Laycaon, Ami, and Trowa in that room. I just upset Ami for nothing," Minako said.

"She's not mad at you, it's the situation," Heero stated.

Minako sighed and nodded.

"Let's all give Rei some space," Mamoru commented, glancing at Rei, whose eyes were traveling the room and trying to keep up with what was going on.

Everyone nodded, filing out of the room and into the waiting room.

"I like that side braid they did on you Rei, despite the situation," Usagi commented sadly on her way out. "You should do it more often."

Rei stared as they exited, not surprised or disappointed when Wufei hung back, closing the door.

He approached her bed and she attempted to sit up, but he stopped her, grasping her hand and staring at her.

"Minako told me what you did," she said. He nodded but said nothing, and she smiled lightly.

"Thank you Wufei. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

"Don't say that...I don't want to think about it," he said, and before she could blink he had leaned down and placed a heated kiss on her lips. She blushed when he pulled away and stared into his eyes for any indication as to what he was thinking.

"I'll leave you to rest," he said simply, exiting the room.

Ami wasn't sure where she was heading, her feet carrying her to the elevator before she could talk reason to herself.

She pushed the button for the third floor once she entered and automatically began berating herself as the door closed.

'He's asleep, you're just torturing yourself,' she repeated in her head, although logic took no toll on her decisions.

The elevator opened and she headed in the direction of the room she had entered earlier, not surprised once she saw through the window that he was asleep and that the door was locked. Again, she sat on the floor by the door.

She had to get control of herself; she was acting erratic and unlike herself.

A nurse passed by and glanced down at her, frowning slightly.

"Are you alright?"

Ami looked up at her and nodded.

"Um...yeah, I'm just tired."

The nurse nodded, moving to enter the room but stopping. "You were in here earlier, weren't you?"

Ami nodded, and the nurse smiled.

"I was just heading in to check on the machines. He's a little better now...visitor's hours don't finish for another two hours. Did you...want to come in and see him?"

Ami stared at the kind nurse a moment, before nodding. She stood, and the nurse passed her a small white mask and unlocked the door, entering in front of her. Ami stood off to the side as the woman adjusted one of the machines and checked the I.V. feeding into Trowa's arm. She placed a stethoscope to his chest and frowned, staring at the heart monitor before his bed. Ami stared at the machine as well, knowing that the beats were irregular.

The nurse gave her a small smile and exited the room. Ami grimaced slightly as she kneeled by Trowa's bed, feeling as though someone had done a tap dance on her stomach.

She reached her shaking hands over, hesitating in memory of what had happened earlier, before enclosing his left hand in both of hers. He felt cold and it surprised her, making her more afraid.

He was so pale, and she suddenly felt very alone in the room, despite his presence.

She stared at him, before shaking her head. "Trowa, it should have been me. I was the sick one, and you hurt yourself to save me."

He remained still and she sighed sadly, suddenly feeling very tired. With his hand still clutched in hers, she decided there was no harm in letting her own head rest for a few minutes.

Ami felt a small tug at her hand, and she shifted, wondering where she was. She looked up and blinked, wondering why she was kneeling on the floor by a bed.

With a gasp, she remembered where she was and looked from where Trowa was clearly clutching back her hand and up to his smiling face. He was still lying down, with his head turned towards her.

Tears sprang to her eyes immediately when she caught his eyes, and he let a small chuckle escape his lips as he weakly tried to touch her face.

"Don't stress yourself," she said immediately, tears now streaming down her cheeks. Trowa didn't realize how injured he was, but it was definitely difficult to lift up his head. Ami was wearing a white mask on her face, partially unhooked. Where were they?

"D-don't cry," he said, his voice sounding hoarse. "Are you okay?" She removed the mask and spoke.

"Me? I-I'm fine thanks to you. It's you I'm worried about," Ami sobbed, grasping his hand tightly. "Your injuries are so bad. What did you do to yourself?"

"It...doesn't matter," he said, staring at her with relief.

"It does!" Ami insisted, shaking her head.

He squeezed her hand tighter, it being one of the few small actions that didn't hurt him. She couldn't help but let her tears slow as she stared at him, his eyes still bleary since he had just woken up. His lips were parted slightly, almost as if he were trying to find something to say to her.

Never in Ami's eyes had he looked so innocent. He was clearly in pain but wasn't letting it show as he tried to lighten her mood.

"Oh my," a voice from the door caused both of them to turn to look at the nurse.

"Y-you're up? I can't believe it," the nurse said, entering the room. "I was just coming to get you," she indicated at Ami. "To let you know that visiting hours were done. This is wonderful."

Ami nodded, standing, but Trowa did not release her hand and more tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Sir, she has to leave," the nurse said gently, approaching the two. "She can come back to see you tomorrow. He'll probably be in a room downstairs, what wonderful progress," the nurse gushed, indicating the last part at Ami.

Ami gave a valiant attempt at a smile for the nurse, hoping Trowa would make things easier on her and release her but he didn't. The nurse stared at the two a moment, before nodding.

"I'll be back with a doctor to check on him in a couple of minutes," the nurse said, backing towards the door. "You can say your good-byes until I get back, but I'm afraid that after that you have to leave."

Ami nodded at the nurse, glad that she was so kind, and the nurse left. She turned back to look at Trowa, who had turned his head slightly upwards, watching her with a calculating expression on his face.

"What happened to your face?" He asked, staring at the scratches next to her eye.

She shook her head.

"It's fine. I have to leave now," she said gently, crouching back down next to the bed. "I'll be back early tomorrow morning. I promise."

He stared at her hesitantly, almost as if he were afraid that whatever threat they had faced would take her from him.

"Okay," he said slowly. "You can tell me everything I missed then."

She nodded, moving to stand, but he still held her hand firmly. She turned back to look at him, and he smiled at her slightly anxious look as she hurriedly wiped her tears.

"I love you," he said softly, and she smiled too, leaning down and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"I love you too," she said, standing. "The doctor is just outside, I have to go. I'll see you in the morning."

She paused, allowing him to unlatch his hand from hers, and gave him an encouraging smile before walking out the door, just as the doctor was headed in. She waved to the nurse and headed to the elevator.

Even as the doctor entered the room and began speaking to him, Trowa stared after her.

Everything was finally alright.

One month later...

Trowa pulled up into the driveway with Duo in the passenger's seat. Duo stopped strumming on the window pane and glanced over at him, grinning.

"The ride felt longer than usual," he commented.

Trowa nodded. "Yes, it's because you're excited."

The two climbed from the car and found that Wufei, Heero, and Quatre were already outside, waiting somewhat patiently for them.

"Ready?" Quatre asked, and the two nodded. The five of them turned to stare at the large tree house Quatre had constructed in his front yard.

To the naked eye, it seemed to be nothing more than a tree house, however they all knew better.

Quatre climbed up the ladder first, and paused at the closed door. Everyone below him smirked as he tugged at one of the wood panels, which swung open. It revealed a small keypad. He typed in a long series of number and nodded when the door to the tree house swung open.

Everyone climbed up after him as they surveyed the entirely metal interior of the wood tree house. The idea had been brilliant, actually, and was Usagi's. A good plan, since the tear to the next dimension was ten feet off the ground. The security was for obvious reasons.

Quatre crawled over to the tear and began to climb through the gate, everyone at his heels. On the other side, Rei had constructed a shed around the tear, and all emerged and found themselves in the shed. Arriving at the keypad by the door, Trowa punched in the numbers, a shorter code than the previous, and quickly stepped through the door. The five breathed the fresh air of the yard of the temple and began to make their way through the snow moderately, enjoying the day.

Walking around the back, Wufei approached the sliding door and pulled it open, suddenly laughing and ducking as a pillow flew over his head.

"Wufei! Why did you wait so long to come back for a visit?" Rei demanded, approaching him temperamentally.

"It's been two weeks, and I had work," he said with a shrug, smirking as the anger left her face. She approached him and gave him a quick peck on the lips, ushering for everyone else to enter from the cold.

"The girls should be here soon, and I guarantee all of you that the couple of weeks since your last visit were too long for them as well," Rei warned.

Everyone nodded at her words and situated themselves around the living room just as Makoto and Minako cam running up the steps.

Minako slid open the door dramatically and the two rushed inside, both stopping to pant a few moments with their hands on their knees.

"Told you...we'd be on time Mako," Minako breathed out, regaining her composure and grinning at the six in the room. "Hello, everyone. Hey Heero!"

She ran at him, wrapping him in a hug. "I missed you! We went from seeing you every day for like, a month straight, to two weeks without you!" Heero did not object to what she said, choosing to simply kiss her forehead. Minako took this as an apology and giggled slightly.

Makoto meanwhile laughed as Quatre approached her while she slipped off her shoes, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind her and leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"I missed you," he muttered, and she quieted her laughter and turned, pushing her lips against his and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Will you please make out elsewhere?" Usagi's voice floated into the room as she and Mamoru pushed past Quatre and Makoto at the door. Behind them Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru filed in.

Everyone exchanged their greetings as Setsuna arrived next, choosing to enter through the doorway rather than just appear out of nowhere.

Duo saw her before anyone else, having been waiting for her, and he stood and met her at the door. Setsuna smiled at his eagerness as he spoke.

"Hey babe, how much did you miss me?"

"Enough," she admitted, landing a soft kiss on his lips and taking his hand, leading him back to the couch. In truth, she had seen him within the two weeks. Thanks to her powers, she had gone through the tear, and then used her time staff to take her to the preventer's headquarters where Duo worked, less limited than the other girls.

Trowa waved at everyone who entered, impatiently watching the door for Ami.

"She'll be here soon Trowa."

He turned to look at Mamoru, and Usagi nodded at Mamoru's words.

"She was just meeting with a financial advisor about her mom's accounts and stuff," Usagi said. "She'll be here in a couple of minutes."

True to Usagi's words, Ami arrived a few minutes later. She greeted everyone and smiled at Trowa, whom was on his feet the instant he saw her approaching.

"Hey stranger," she greeted as he wrapped her in a hug, enjoying the feeling of having her in his arms.

"Sorry," he said. "I think the two-weeks were too long for me as well."

She laughed, hugging him back as fiercely. "Don't let it happen again! I can come to your dimension if you explain to me how to get anywhere other than Quatre's countryside estate!"

"I will," he promised, and she had only glanced up at his beautiful eyes one moment before he had her lips pinned against his in a heated kiss.

"AMI!"

Usagi's voice tore through the room as Ami was tugged to the floor with a small cry, separating the two.

"Rei's being so mean!" Usagi dramatically cried, holding Ami by her collar. "Please go control her!"

Ami laughed, trying to get up. "What do you expect me to do?"

Rei approached Usagi menacingly, and everyone laughed as Ami gently but firmly removed her grip from her collar and backed away, wanting nothing to do with one of Usagi and Rei's fights.

Trowa laughed as he reached down to help Ami stand, but found himself on the ground a moment later and confused as he looked at her bewildered. She had pulled him down?

She laughed at his expression and leaned forwards, kissing his suddenly irresistible lips.

"Usagi interrupted," she explained with a shrug. Trowa never agreed with her more as he the two stood. Both of them had changed drastically from the first day they met, and he loved it.

The End

Thanks to all of my helpful reviewers and readers, I enjoyed writing this!