CHAPTER XIII- The Monster Within

A/N: Several people wonder when to expect my new chapters. I'd really like to set a date, but my muse (and my free time) come and go. For instance, I wrote half of twelve and this chapter all in one day, while others times chapters are about a week or more apart. I suggest you check back often, and that's the only advice I can give.

"How do you like the party?" Ariel looked down at Mr. Basu archly, but her face was not her own. Like the many other guests at the party, she was wearing a holographic mask that shifted often. Ariel’s warped from the head of a lion to the face of a swan every few minutes or so. Every person at the Masquerade could not afford for their identity to be known by anyone else, for fear of their position in politics and the world.

Ariel stood in a room full of traitors, and felt completely at home.

Her lion mask stretched into a canine grin, "Oh, I love it." She looked around carefully, "But why so many guards?"

Mr. Basu shrugged, "Because no one here would mind dragging down another to further themselves."

"I see."

Relena had first thrown out a pebble out from under the door. When there was no reaction, she had opened the door a crack, and peered out into the corridor for any guards, but she could not see a trace of them.

The adrenaline surged through her veins, but she kept her quivering muscles still and her movements cool and steady.

Keep your eyes peeled, Relena, this could be a trap.

Panic coursed through her, and she struggled for rational thought.

They would hear the door open and shut. She looked over at the window. It was broad and paneless, for the ancient building had been forged from the Earth long before technology like glass had been invented.

There was a ledge, about two feet wide, that she could crawl out onto. She hurried up and moved quickly out of view. Pressed sharply against the wall in the cold night, she paid close attention to the strains of conversation that wafted lightly on the night air.

"I still don’t understand why they didn’t lock the door.’ One of the patrollers said to his companion, their conversation soft, for they were still a whiles away.

"Psychological something-or-other. Besides, we have Mariemeia. She won’t go anywhere without her."

"I think we’re underestimating her."

"No, we’re not. Mr. Kaliya’s being logical. She needs to be broken. We can’t keep beating up Mariemeia every time we need her to feel bad."

"Why’d they kidnap her anyway?"

"Darlian knows her somehow. She might leave someone else behind, but certainly not her." This phrase was the loudest, for they were passing directly beside her window. Relena held her breath.

"Oh yeah, that kidnapping thing with Dekim something..."

"That’s it." Their voices were fading into unintelligible babble. Relena waited until she could no longer hear anything before she bothered to look down.

She was two floors up. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Wasn’t this slightly too easy?

But…Relena was beginning to realize her responsibility in the whole matter. If she were to get recaptured, the ESUN would fracture even more. She would have to sacrifice one life for the rest of her people. That was the decision that a leader had to make. That was a choice that her captors hadn’t predicted.

Relena looked down again. She was dizzy from the lack of blood, and wanted to collapse instead of move. But she knew her duty. With slow, careful movements, she began scaling down the wide stone wall, praying her shoulder would hold out.

She was a swimmer to keep in shape, and she used those muscles to endure the pain that was blooming in three locations, and radiating out in hot waves throughout the rest of her body.

She had to endure.

It seemed like hours, but it took only about six minutes. By the time Relena had reached solid ground, she was shaking with exhaustion and fear. She brushed the dust off of her dirty and blood stained clothes. She was beside the open-aired portico that she and Mr. Kaliya had walked upon earlier.

She crouched beside the stone walkway, listening as several well-dressed women walked by. They were wearing long embroidered dresses that tapered to the waist and then poofed out in a glorification of the hourglass figure.

But it was their faces that captivated the escapee. The way it took one shape and then melted into another with timed efficiency.

"Do you think I should go in as a peacock or as a cat?" The rabbit woman asked her companions.

The lion woman paused suddenly in a swish of skirts, "Do you hear that noise? A sort of scuffling?"

Relena kept very still. They had heard her!"

The fairy queen woman sniffed regally, "Probably just some local child who wanted to look at nobility."

Relena grinned to herself. A guise! Making as much noise as possible, she scurried away, crouched over like an errant child.

The fairy queen arched a holographic eyebrow, "See what I mean? A common ruffian. I think I’ve had enough air, ladies. Let’s head back in."

No local had light-colored hair.

She scowled to herself. She needed to tell Mr. Kaliya that their prized captive had slipped away.

And the lion mask slowly converted into that of a swan.

Relena ran quickly through the fields of broad leafy plants, beating her way towards…she didn’t know where. Instinct was guiding her, her primitive mind telling her where to go.

She ran over to on of the rows near the edge of the estate, ignoring the pain coursing through her veins. If she had been a moment sooner, the bullet that penetrated the vegetation would have pierced her heart.

She was facing a shadowy figure, a boy with head bowed and gun in hand. She knew in an instant who it was. The impact of her feet on the dirt had uncovered an empty little packet.

"Heero." Her breath was coming out in rasps, her body trembling with exhaustion.

He rose his gun, eyes wide. There was something foreign, something strange in his eyes.

"Omae o korosou."

For Heero Yuy, primal instincts had overridden logic.