Remir stood beside the examination table, looking down at the silent girl lying on its cold surface. He had already administered the first dose of the poison gas and was watching as her vital signs slowly dropped on the monitor. Once Hikaru arrived, Remir would let him give her the antidote to stabilize the effects of the poison. For now, he would see what the effects of the poison were on a human being. His questioning would come later. Any moment the tranquilizer would wear off and she would wake up in the throes of the poison's work.

Arys' eyes flickered open, revealing panic-stricken gray eyes. The gas had already paralyzed her limbs and she remained still as Remir put a hand on her arm.

"Good morning, Arys Walker." Remir bent over her so that she could see his face. Her eyes widened as she recognized him, and he watched as she struggled to speak.

"It's useless, my dear. The poison attacks your motor system first." Remir traced a finger down the line of her jaw. Her eyes closed in response to his touch, but he saw the defiance that filled them before they shut. He bent down, his mouth close to her ear. "Then, it shuts down all your major organs except for the brain, the heart, and the lungs. Can you feel it, Arys? Your body dying? Yes, there is no pain, but it still hurts, doesn't it? Deep down inside..."

Remir saw tears gathering at the edges of her eyelids. His finger gently brushed them away. "Lastly, your respiratory system shuts down. And you suffocate to death as the poison tears you apart inside..." He straightened. "Aren't you a lucky girl, Arys? You can't feel it. That's what makes you the perfect experimental subject."

Remir's eyes strayed to her vital signs. They were dipping dangerously close to the zero level. She had maybe five minutes of life left before he had to give her the antidote in order to bring her back. Remir slowly walked around the table and imprisoned Arys on its surface by snapping shut metal bands around her ankles, wrists, and neck. He sensed Hikaru walk up behind him and stop in shock.

"Welcome, Hikaru. I have a new subject for you to experiment on." Remir went to the medical stand sitting beside the table. He picked up a syringe. Hikaru's eyes were fastened on the girl lying on the table. Remir stepped in front of him, holding up the syringe.

"I..." Hikaru stammered.

Remir handed him the syringe. "Use this to bring her back, Hikaru."

Hikaru's gaze went to the syringe he held in his hand. He stood as if glued to the floor.

"Hikaru! Bring her back! Quickly!" Remir had expected this reaction from the man. "She'll die if you don't!"

Leaping forward, Hikaru injected the antidote into her IV. He dropped the syringe to the floor and bent over her in apparent disbelief at what Remir had done. Remir checked the girl's vital signs. They were slowly rising to normalcy again.

"Good. She's coming to." Remir nodded approvingly. "She's a tough girl."

Hikaru's shoulders shook once. Remir thought it was with nervousness. Hikaru turned from the examination table, disbelief still in his eyes. He motioned toward the table.

"I... I don't understand."

Remir put a hand on Hikaru's shoulder. "Just do as I tell you, Hikaru. When she wakes up, I want a printout of her responses. This session was too short to get any significant data, but we have plenty of time to play around. After a few more times, I'll tell you my real reason for using her."

Remir did not notice that Hikaru had his hands clenched at his sides. He patted Hikaru's shoulder affectionately. "Don't let a beautiful face like hers deter you from your job, Hikaru." Remir glanced at Arys. "Or else it will be you lying on that table instead, and you'll feel the pain, unlike her..." Remir's voice trailed off threateningly. He walked off, leaving Hikaru behind.

Heero stared after Remir, anger filling his blue eyes. He unclenched his fists and tried to control his rage. He could not believe the man! The sound of a shallow breath from Arys instantly caught Heero's attention and his anger wilted to sorrow. Heero strode over to the examination table and put a gentle hand on his wife's arm. Arys opened her eyes and gazed up at him blankly for a few seconds. Then, recognition lit her eyes. The recognition quickly changed to an eternal sadness.

"Heero..." She mouthed silently.

Heero stared down at her, seeing the pale hue to her skin, the quick breaths she was drawing in, the way her eyes kept losing their focus. He closed his eyes for a moment, steeling himself for the task he had to perform. Wait. You must wait. Keep her alive. Be thankful you're in charge of her. Opening his eyes, he reached for her hand, found that it was ice-cold. He caressed it lovingly, trying to warm it. He knelt down beside the table. She turned her head to look at him, and Heero saw that she was perspiring. He brushed a few stray strands of black hair off her forehead. He wanted to kiss her, tell her that everything would be all right, but there were cameras watching.

"I...feel...so strange," Arys whispered. "So...weak."

Heero cupped a hand against her cheek. "I'll get you out of here, Arys."

Arys shook her head violently. Her voice grew hoarse with desperation. "No, Heero! You... have to..." She began to cough in midsentence. She turned her head away, trying to regain control. Heero placed a hand on her shoulder, wishing he could help her. He waited until the coughing fit stopped before removing his hand from her shoulder.

He bent low and said softly, "Shh... I'm getting you out of here, Arys, whether you like it or not."

She stared up at him. "Heero..."

Heero placed a finger against her lips. "You're going to live. Now, calm down."

Arys nodded, all the fight gone out of her. "Okay, Heero. I won't get in your way." She smiled slightly.

Heero patted her shoulder. "Good girl."

She closed her eyes wearily and soon fell asleep. Heero waited until she was soundly asleep before going to the console. The effects of the poison were already wearing off. Heero realized that Remir had not given her a high dosage. He printed out the data the console had recorded and scanned the paper. The poison had some of the most potent effects he had ever seen. He glanced at his wife, shocked.

"Arys, how did you live through this?"

Remir came into the laboratory during Hikaru's lunch break to check on Arys. He was anxious to see what Hikaru had found. A printout lay on the console desktop. He studied the data, nodding. Until he saw a discrepancy. The printout was faulty, faked. Remir's eyes narrowed as his eyes trailed farther down the paper.

"Who are you, Hikaru Sotoru?" Remir whispered. His gaze settled on Arys' form lying on the table, quietly sleeping. He stalked over to her and violently shook her awake.

Arys' eyes flickered open to stare up at him. Remir slapped her, but his anger bloomed when he realized that she couldn't feel it. He grabbed her arm and bent down until his face was inches from hers. His anger was partially satisfied when he saw the fear in her eyes.

"Who is he?" He asked fiercely. "Tell me!"

A defiant look crept over her pale face. "I don't know what you're talking about." She turned her face away.

"Who is he, Arys Walker? Is he a Preventer agent as well? Is he with you?"

He grabbed her chin and savagely wrenched it so that he could see her face. "I'm warning you. I have the ability to kill you, Arys."

"Go ahead."

A leer spread over his face. "It would be my pleasure."

Heero walked into the lab to see Remir bent over his wife, yelling into her face.

"What did you see?!"

"I don't know! I didn't see anything! Nothing! Can't you understand?" She replied, her voice choked with fear.

Remir slapped her, hard, and Heero felt his chest tighten as his wife's body jerked from the impact. She began to cry, sobs racking her body. Heero ran forward, enraged at the sight of his wife hysterical, but he was stopped by two guards. They grabbed his arms. Heero jerked out of their grasp, leaped forward, and punched Remir. The bigger man stepped back from the table, seemingly unfazed by Heero's hit. His eyes were dangerously dark with rage. This time four guards jumped at Heero, latching onto his arms in case he tried to hit Remir again. Heero glared at Remir as the guards pulled his arms behind his back, rendering him helpless.

"Hikaru, tell me who you really are or she dies..." Remir said.

"Don't...!" Arys shouted.

Heero ignored Arys and stood in front of Remir in defiance. "My name is Heero Yuy."

Remir sneered at him. "Thank you for telling me, Heero Yuy. Now, who is she to you?" He motioned to Arys.

"Heero..." Arys pleaded with him to stop.

Heero gazed at her, and Arys' voice trailed off when she saw the determination and the love in his eyes.

"My wife," Heero replied, his eyes still on Arys.

Arys' eyes lost their panicked look as she stared at her husband. His eyes were not filled with hopelessness, as hers probably were. I love you, she mouthed to him, tears filling her eyes. Heero nodded.

Remir laughed. "Your wife! Now, that makes it even better!" He waved to his guards. "Take him and lock him up! Use a tranq gun. I'll take care of his wife."

"Remir, you'll regret this..." Heero said softly.

Remir gave him a mock-surprised look. "I think it will be the other way around. There will be nothing left of your wife by the time I'm done with her." He waved to the fifth guard who had arrived in the lab with a tranq gun. "Tranq him."

Heero tried to struggle from the grasp of the guards holding him, but there were too many of them. He heard a pop as the tranq gun went off behind him, felt the dart shoot into his back. He continued to jerk back and forth, knowing that one dart would not have an effect on him.

"Do it again." Remir's voice was low.

Heero felt another dart hit him in the neck. His legs began to buckle underneath him. He fell to his knees and realized that it was useless for him to fight back. There were too many guards and only one of him. The guards released him as his knees hit the floor. He lifted his head to look at his wife, a third dart hitting him in the back again. He fell forward, trying to remain conscious, but his mind was going gray as the tranquilizer finally took effect. He glanced at his wife, his eyes glassy.

"Stay alive for me, Arys..." He whispered before collapsing completely.

"Heero!" Arys yelled, the tears falling freely now as she watched her husband's eyes close.

Remir looked down at the unconscious agent with an almost compassionate look. He motioned to the prostrate boy.

"Take him away."

The guards grabbed Heero under the arms and dragged him out of the room.

Remir strode over to Arys' bedside. She glared up at him.

"You're a monster, Remir," She said, her teeth clenched in anger.

"I know, Arys. You'll think I'm even worse than a monster after I'm finished with you." Remir bent down and placed a gas mask over her face. She tried to pull away, but Remir held her head in place with one of his hands and forced the mask over her face. He went over to the console and flicked a switch. He listened as gas flowed through the tube connected to the mask over Arys' face.

He went back to Arys' bedside and bent down. He clenched her hair in his hand, making her look at him, and smiled at her benignly. He was satisfied to see the dread in her eyes as the gas entered her lungs. He hoped to see it many more times.

"Like I told your husband, there'll be nothing left of you by the time I'm done, Arys." He stood to his feet, watching as Arys' body stiffened in response to the poison.

Her eyes closed again, and Remir waited patiently as she went through the normal routine. He ran a finger across her forehead, pushing a few strands of sweat-dampened raven hair out of her face. He could see why Heero had fought to protect her; she was a beautiful girl. But his experiments would deteriorate her to nothing more than a beautiful, empty shell.

"Nothing," He whispered.