Word count: 57,818
Pairings: establishing Heero and; Duo
Warnings: strong language (mainly on Duo's part), shounen-ai.

Summary: Heero Yuy and three fellow pilots are sent from the space colonies to Earth with theirmachines of war, Gundams, to retaliate against the cruel oppression by the ruling militaristic force, the Alliance. Duo Maxwell, top officer and ace pilot of the Alliance elite branch, the Specials, soon has to face the Gundams and himself in the maelstrom of war; a raging war that will change history, lives, friends into enemies, and enemies into lovers.

Author's note: the fic follows the main storyline of the show, but focuses more on the events 'in-between'. Duo starts out as an OZ officer, but he'll be switching sides (no bastardizing of character). Much thanks to my betas Netta, Caroline, and MoonPrincess, as well as Leviathan for offered advice. Any mistakes left are all mine, as I can't keep myself from tinkering with the fic until the last moment.

Feedback is greatly appreciated.

The small dorm room contained the basic furniture, without any frills: a bed, a cupboard, a massive desk and a wooden chair. Heero didn't mind that his room was deprived of any sort of personal paraphernalia because he didn't have any, besides his laptop. He had hacked into the school system to make sure he would get a single room. He didn't appreciate a roommate. He snorted. If they knew why I'm here, they'd probably lock me up and provide me with a cellmate. Hearing scratching noises at the door, he quickly covered the gun on the bed. Within an instant, he was at the door, barely making a sound. Someone is trying to get in! Are they onto me that fast? He gritted his teeth.

"Are we at 112?" A girl exclaimed loudly, speech rather slurred. "This is 112, ri-hight?"

"We're on the wrong floor, silly..." Another girl started to laugh and they both snickered for two more minutes, before they finally went away. Heero snorted again and let out the breath he was holding. St. Gabriel's maintained a strict no-alcohol policy; the girls could get themselves in serious trouble, if only for wandering around in the boys' wing.

"Fools," he snarled. It took him three steps to get back to his bed and he finished dressing himself quickly. A green tank top and spandex shorts; not the most comfortable clothes, but comfort was something he had left behind a long time ago. A good soldier cared about the mission, not about comfort. He tucked the gun into his waistband.

Only one day on Earth and already he had managed to screw up royally. His Gundam had been damaged and sunk to the bottom of the ocean, and a girl had seen him on his supposedly secret arrival.

"Relena."

Heero was surprised to find out that she was also a student at this institute. The silly girl had approached him with an entourage of fawning air headed friends, to give him an invitation to her birthday party. He had ripped it up. He didn't care. He had taken the opportunity to wipe away the girl's tears, only because it gave him the chance to tell her he would kill her.

"I'll kill her."

He knotted the laces of his sneakers with more force than necessary. He couldn't imagine what his words had done to the girl. She had seen him when she shouldn't and now she had to die. It's as simple as that. Some agent he was, and some secrecy he maintained. Dr. J's orders were very specific. Heero was sent to Earth to retaliate against the Alliance, the tyrannical organisation that held supreme control over the space colonies. Once started out as an organisation to unify the Earth and the colonies, with the idealistic principle of solving disputes by conversation and negotiation, the Alliance had slowly but steadily turned into a militaristic institute that used force to gain and maintain control.

Instead of setting foot on Earth unnoticed, he'd been forced to sink his Gundam with a malfunctioning driving system. The OZ carrier he encountered on his descent from the L1 colony to Earth had altered his plans; the pilot of the Leo that the carrier harboured was good enough to hit the left side of Heero's Wing Gundam. The unknown pilot had crashed his Leo into the Gundam and due to the extra weight, Heero had no other choice than to plummet down, into the ocean. Careless, but I had no other option. Wing could've withstand the Leo, but a mobile suit fight in the atmosphere would've gotten more unwanted attention, not to mention there was a civilian spacecraft nearby to witness it all. Let the Alliance think they beat the Gundam for now.

He was all dressed up. He glanced at himself in the mirror. It would be of no use trying to tame the unruly mop of chocolate brown hair and frankly, he didn't care about his looks anyway. A good soldier cared about his mission alone, and he had failed his mission. The girl had seen him. She had to die.

Heero jumped out of the window and landed on the ground, automatically rolling his body to avoid any damage. He stood up fast and took off sprinting. He didn't even break a sweat in his rigid tempo of jogging. Heero had to meet one of Dr. J's contacts, someone who would supply him with fuel and ammunition for his Gundam. With a bit of luck, this contact could help him getting Wing off the bottom of the ocean. Time was running out; the Marina would certainly conduct a search party and even though the self-detonation device of the suit was activated, losing Wing was unacceptable: it would be a severe blow to the execution of future plans.

I'll deal with the girl later. She's not important at the moment. He wondered for a brief moment why he remembered her eyes. Blue eyes as deep as the ocean. He didn't know if the anger he felt was directed at him or at the girl, who in blessed ignorance had called an ambulance when he washed ashore. How was she supposed to know she wasn't allowed to see him? You screwed up, and now you're going to kill a girl just because you were so stupid to underestimate your opponent? Heero narrowed his eyes. Orders were orders.

Heero arrived fifteen minutes early at the park where the meeting was set up. This contact was one of Dr. J's most loyal and trustworthy men, or so he was told. Heero rather liked to keep a natural distance; he wasn't really impressed with those words. Everyone is for sale. It only depends on the price. He had asked why Dr. J couldn't be his contact on Earth himself, but his mentor insisted on staying on the colony, to continue his work for the rebels.

Choosing his hiding place carefully, Heero had an excellent view of the meeting point. There was no one in sight yet. It stung him that this man, this contact, actually wasn't supposed to meet him, but another pilot. Heero wasn't thrilled about the existence of other, more, Gundam pilots, either. He wouldn't have known it, if it weren't for Dr. J blabbing about it in one of those rare moments where they shared some insights and thoughts on another level but trainer to trainee.

Despite Heero's effort to persuade the man to tell more, the doctor only reluctantly admitted there were three others, boys just like Heero, about to descend to Earth. One for every main colony cluster, five in total. Heero had noticed that J had said 'three others', not four. Before the doctor grouchily ordered him to run thirty extra laps the size of two football fields, he told Heero that the pilot of 02 wasn't... readyyet.

When running the laps, Heero certainly recalled the hesitation when J mentioned 'ready'. He was 01, the three others 03, 04, 05, now J had confirmed their existence. The doctor never mentioned the 02 pilot again and Heero didn't ask. He knew the consequences if he asked too much. It kept him puzzled somehow and on the rare nights he had lain awake, he pondered about what could've happened and why this pilot wasn't 'ready' yet.

Heero heard footsteps. Someone was approaching the meeting point. Heero put his hand on the gun. If the man didn't fit the description Heero was given, he would shoot him. No one was to interfere with his mission and anyone coming to this place at this time would know about the meeting. Dr. J had told Heero twice that the contact person was originally intended for the 02 pilot, something that had ticked Heero severely off. Dr. J never repeated himself -- not even mission details. From the words of the doctor, Heero gathered that 02 still hadn't descended to Earth. Heero didn't question his orders. He had taken on this burden alone. He didn't need other people to help him.

The man standing in the light of a street lamp fitted the description. At the moment the man lit a cigarette, Heero decided to reveal himself. He emerged from the bushes, taking two, three silent steps to sneak up to the man. He poked the gun in the man's side and heard an audible gasp.

"Are you here to see the shooting stars?" Heero asked.

The man almost choked on his cigarette, but answered with the proper code. "All four of them."

Four. Not five. Heero poked harder with the gun.

"All right, all right." The man took a deep breath. "All four of them. They're hard to see from Earth, but they shine brightly." He muttered. "I'm going to kill someone for this."

Heero pulled back the gun, but didn't put it away. He slowly moved around the man until he faced him.

"Sheesh kid, you're awfully jumpy. Let me see..." The man looked at him. "Yes, you're just a kid. God, they really must be desperate to send kids to do this work."

"Enough with the talk," Heero cut him off. He wasn't about to discuss his age or his fighting abilities with this man.

"Okay, okay." The man took another drag of the cigarette. "Listen."

Heero listened intently. The man rattled off a list of names of reliable men and women who were on the side of the rebel forces and who could help him with provisions, ammunition or medical aid when necessary.

"... and finally, there's Howard. He's mostly with his Sweeper group on a ship in the Pacific."

Heero perked up. "Howard?" Ship in the Pacific?

"Yes, he's officially the contact for 02, but as long as there is no established pilot, Howard has offered to be your contact. I'll tell you how you can reach him."

Again with the mysterious 02 pilot! Heero tried to sound as casually as possible when he said: "When's 02 supposed to arrive?"

The man scowled. "The Gundam is already on Earth. The pilot, well, that's another question."

"What?" Heero poked again with the gun. The man jumped, startled.

"Hey, watch what you're doing!" He immediately raised his hands. "I can't tell you much, kid. I only know that 02 is on Earth and that we're waiting for the right pilot to arrive. I'm sorry, but at this moment you'll have to do all the work with the four of you."

"You know them? You've seen the others?" Heero didn't move the gun.

"No, we don't even know their names. J will tell you when there's any change."

Not likely, he mussed. "All right. Thank you for the information."

"You're welcome," the man said, without an effort to hide his sarcasm. Heero didn't give him a second thought. The man was already out of his mind when he backtracked to the Institute. Four pilots, five Gundams. There was so much to do and they were short-handed already.

Heero frowned. He shouldn't have been so curious. He didn't question any order or any movement the rebel organisation made, so why was he so curious about this 02 pilot? He knew it before he reached the Institute. The original plan was to send five Gundams and five pilots, and now there were five Gundams and four pilots. The plan hadn't succeeded. It wasn't perfect.

"Ninmu shippai," he muttered in his native language and almost startled himself. He hadn't spoken Japanese since he was five. Quickly he climbed the outside wall of the Institute and pushed his window open. He rolled inside and onto his bed. While he was waiting for sleep to come, he formed a plan in his head. First, he would contact this Howard to get Wing off of the bottom of the ocean, before the Marina had any chance of locating it. Second, he would deal with the girl and third, continue with the mission. Those were the most important steps. Satisfied, he turned onto his left side, faced the wall, and closed his eyes firmly. His body needed the sleep. He needed to be in shape.

Duo Maxwell yawned. He yawned so loudly that his jaw almost popped. This was a day like any other day at Nairobi Base, one of the most important Alliance's bases: get up, get dressed, get breakfast, and get bored. He stole a glance from under his chestnut bangs to his fellow students.

Everybody was dressed in their uniform; a green jacket with golden embroidery and dark red patches at the collar, shoulders and sleeves, combined with light coloured pants and shiny polished boots. Even the prescribed dark green caps with the golden OZ logo -- a simplified carving of a lion -- were present. Duo didn't doubt for a second that all the students wore them in the right, perfect angle. His one was shoved at the back of his head, showing much more of his thick, chestnut hair with light brown strands. He was also the only student to wear his hair long in a braid of impressive length, reaching to his lower back.

He tapped impatiently with a pencil on his notebook. This was one of the few lessons where he was actually the student, not the teacher. For his young age of merely fifteen, Duo was a respected member and ranking officer of the Specials, an elite group of top mobile suit pilots, and he had the decorations to prove it. Duo yawned again. The Specials, founded by Treize Khushrenada, trained pilots for the mobile suits they supplied to the Alliance, and Duo was one of the best instructors.

His eyes darted around the room. These men, these students, were his fellow comrades in arms, but he didn't regard them as such. They were Alliance soldiers; sock puppets of a mass organisation that needed violence and brute force to maintain their power. From the moment Duo arrived at the base, he had had a hard time accepting and being accepted. Every member of the Specials was distrusted and disliked by the Alliance soldiers, mostly because of their rights to act virtually independent from the Alliance in battle. On top of that, Treize favoured Duo, as he was immediately donned with a rank, the privilege to maintain his hair as long as he wanted, and a single room with all the facilities other soldiers had to share; a bathroom, a television set, cupboards and a desk.

It didn't take long before he became the target of bullies, but Duo relied on the hard lessons he'd learned on the streets of the war-torn, socially deprived L2 colony, where he was raised.

He'd earned the respect of the men by working hard, excelling in piloting and fighting, and outwitting his bullies. After he humiliated the worst of them badly in a fight, it became pretty clear real fast that Duo could stand up for himself. The Specials accepted him immediately; they recognized his skills and talents much faster then members of the Alliance.

"Mister Maxwell, I assume you haven't heard a single thing I've said?"

The teacher made no secret of his disdain for Duo. He was one of the elder Alliance soldiers who, even after Duo had proven his capacities, still were suspicious and irritated about him.

"You've assumed that right, for once," Duo answered and the class tried to hide their laughter.

"Silence!" The teacher slammed a ruler onto the desk of a student who barely managed to withdraw his hand. "I guess you'll only learn when you have to write a nice long essay about paying attention in class. Yes, it's childish, Mister Maxwell, you don't have to look so horrified. You're still a child and you'll be treated as such as long as you don't pay attention."

"Sir!" Duo answered and mock-saluted. The teacher was about to say more, but a buzzer rang. End of class. He quickly stood up and made sure he went with the flock of the students leaving the class.

"What an idiot," a private next to him murmured. "Anyway, it's nothing that you already don't know, now do you, Duo?"

"Yeah," Duo answered absent-mindedly. He hadn't opened his textbook and wouldn't have known what the commotion was all about. Another private made a snide remark about the teacher and he laughed. Duo fiddled under his collar and stroke with his thumb over the silver crucifix he wore. Privates and other military students filled the hallway, talking about the next class. Boring, as always. He followed the other privates to the locker room. The walls were plastered with Alliance campaign posters, and video screens were available at every corner, to check up on the latest news.

It wasn't a secret that there was a lot of tension in the Alliance at the moment. Skirmishes on Earth, colonies questioning the imposed reign, rebel fights. Squadrons of mobile suits had been sent out to end the small revolts, and Alliance representatives stressed the "in the name of justice and peace" aspect of their actions. Duo shook his head. He had seen the "justice and peace" from the Alliance up close and personal; and he had the scars to prove it. He realized he had clenched his fists so tight that he had to summon himself to relax.

"Duo! Hey, Duo!!"

"Yes?" Startled, he turned around. He searched his memory quickly for the name of the young soldier who ran towards him. Ah, Reddington.

"Duo..."

"Reddington! What is it? Hey, did you see the football game? You had tickets, right?"

"I'm sorry," the private panted, "I'm sorry. There was... at the Corsica base, Duo. A mobile suit attacked and Walker... Walker is dead. Sir," he added quickly and flushed furiously, because he had addressed an officer rather familiar. It was an attitude Duo himself worked in hand. After the initial troubles, he got along fine with almost everyone and the students or soldiers he instructed were firmly told to address him with his first name; except for some stuck-up Alliance geezers.

"Walker? A mobile suit? What happened, an accident?" Duo tried to wipe off the surprised look of his face. Walker was a good friend, graduated three months ago, and transferred to Corsica base to get experience in the field.

"No, sir. It was an unidentified mobile suit, no match for the existing ones. It just walked up on the base and started attacking. Walker was very brave, sir. He sent the data to the stats department of the factory there, before he..."

Duo didn't allow Reddington to finish. "Who was the officer in charge at Corsica?"

"Commander Bonaparte, sir."

"Figures," Duo snarled. Bonaparte hated the Specials and their status with heart and soul, and insisted in using his ridiculous helium-filled zeppelin for travel, to mock the presence of the Specials at the Corsica base. The commander had severely underestimated his security and this 'unidentified mobile suit'. Duo felt his anger rising. The Alliance was omnipresent with their mobile suits, and they only knew one way to react -- with violence. Due to the rising tension of the last days, peace seemed even farther away. Duo gritted his teeth. Not for the first time, he wondered sometimes if people really wanted peace. From what he personally had been through, it didn't look that way. This wasn't the time to get lost in memories. His time would come, and the Alliance would crumble.

"Reddington, could you do me a favour? If you find out something about that unidentified mobile suit, could you please let me know?"

"Yes sir!" He saluted.

Duo dismissed him and spun on his heels. He walked with a firm pace to his quarters. He wanted to do some researching on his own, and pondered for a brief moment if he could go as far as to take it to Treize in person. His Excellency would certainly be interested to learn about a new mobile suit. A young private was standing in front of his door, relief plain on his face as he saw Duo approaching.

"Excuse me? Can I help you?"

"Sir! I was ordered to bring you to the officers' lounge, sir!" The private saluted.

"What? On whose command?" Duo smelled trouble. The past few times he'd been called to the officers' lounge, there had been severe problems to be solved; and they'd always involved the colonies and a battle.

"Base command?

"Never mind, just lead the way." Duo interrupted him, relieved to hear his own voice sound confident and calm.

"Yes sir!"

Duo followed the private to the lounge, trailing behind the young man through huge corridors and a labyrinth of hallways. After five minutes, they arrived at a grey door and the private knocked, before he opened it and announced Duo.

"Lieutenant Duo Maxwell, Specials Squadron 0211, sirs!"

"Thank you, private, dismissed."

Duo's jaw almost fell to the floor. He had heard that voice only a few times before. From all the possibilities running through his head, meeting Treize Khushrenada hadn't been one of them.

"Duo, it's a pleasure seeing you again."

"You too, sir." Duo saluted before shaking Treize's hand. The man smiled. Clad in his official uniform, a purplish blue jacket with silver buttons, white pants and knee-high boots, donned with all the signs of his official rank, Treize oozed charisma and leadership. He didn't have to command, people would follow him to the end of the Earth and beyond. Duo's own gregarious nature was a slight mirror image of the man's charm, but Duo didn't know Treize well enough to determine if His Excellency's charm remained intact behind closed doors.

"Take a seat, Duo." Treize's familiarity with his first name irritated him faintly. Duo preferred that he'd be treated like any other officer, but he didn't comment.

Treize turned around, the cobalt-blue cape hanging from his right shoulder swirling in the air. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

Treize walked back to his chair, and Duo realized that there was someone else standing in the corner. He gazed at the man, obviously a high-ranked officer. He wore the same white pants and black knee-high boots, but his jacket was a bright red colour with golden buttons, and his face was covered with a silver mask. Platinum blond hair was visible, neatly combed and reaching his lower back. He was standing like a statue and didn't move when Treize took the seat.

Duo quickly moved to sit down too. The room was empty, and sparsely lit. He felt he was about to be interrogated, but his curiosity got the better of him. He stared at Treize.

"I've seen your file, Duo. You certainly have surpassed my expectations. I didn't expect anything else of you."

"Thank you," Duo answered.

"I have sent rather abruptly for you, but I wanted to talk to you because you're the best of the best and I need only the best for Operation Daybreak."

"Operation Daybreak?"

"The world's about to change, Duo. We're on the brink of a new future. A future I want to shape after my intentions. I don't want to leave it in the hands of the complacent Alliance."

Suddenly Treize pointed at the man standing next to him.

"Duo, may I introduce you to Zechs Marquise?"

"The Lightning Count?"

"Please, call me Zechs." His voice was low and curt. "It's just a name."

Duo lazily moved his leg over the other, outwardly unimpressed. The Lightning Count was a legend under the troops because of his outstanding performance in battle. He'd never thought he would be with him in the same room one day. Zechs Marquise, a name to remember.

He felt the man looking at him and dismissing him the next second. Duo smirked. People were easy and quick to judge him, not only because of his long hair, but also of his easy-going, almost lazy appearance and attitude. Only in the military, people made the correct assumption that a lazy attitude more times than not equalled 'danger', and Duo was confident that Zechs Marquise wouldn't be fooled by his appearance. If the man were as every bit of the excellent soldier he was rumoured to be, he wouldn't consider Duo an easy opponent.

"It's time for OZ to take center stage," Treize continued. "The Operation of the Zodiac is my organisation and the right tool in these times to gain hand over the Alliance. They have become too complacent, relying on us to supply their mobile suits and pilots, and winning battles for them. They're taking their lives for granted, basking in stained glory and effortless victories. The time has come to give the future a new direction."

"Your Excellency, what do you have in mind?"

Zechs spoke up. "You'll receive mission details concerning Operation Daybreak. I don't need to remind you about secrecy. We don't want OZ in the open until we say so."

"What's with the secrecy?" Duo ignored Zechs' harsh look. It was difficult to determine what his eyes were expressing anyway; the silver mask was huge, not to mention quite ridiculous.

"A good soldier doesn't question his orders." His voice remained low, but a little irritated.

"A good soldier asks questions to fulfil his curiosity, in order to carry out his orders to the full extent of their intentions." Treize smiled a large curving of his lips.

"I've heard a lot about you, Duo Maxwell," Zechs continued the conversation, "I guess we all owe you a thank you for saving Treize's life."

Duo frowned. Only a few people knew why he had received his privileges; he hadn't thought that the Lightning Count was one of them.

"It's okay, only Zechs knows." Treize motioned him to pick up a clipboard and he waited until the masked man handed it over to him.

"Well now... listen carefully. Operation Daybreak is going to change the political stage drastically. The Alliance will fall, and so will their hypocritical attitude towards the colonists. OZ will restore peace in outer space, Duo. I need trustworthy men for this operation. There will be Gundams involved."

"Gundams?" Duo tasted the strange word. It didn't feel that strange, though. As if he had heard it before. Treize cocked his head, watching him closely. After a moment of silence, he continued.

"I see. You've not been informed completely. Have you heard about Walker and what happened at the Corsica Base?"

"I heard that he died in a mobile suit attack." Duo felt his hair prickle. 'That unidentified big mobile suit' Reddington was talking about... could that have been a Gundam, whatever it was? He couldn't shake the impression that he heard about it before. Gundam.

Zechs opened the clipboard and pulled out a couple of pictures.

"Take a look at these, and tell me what you think. These were taken by OZ observation crafts."

Duo took the glossy pictures and leafed through them. A huge mobile suit in red and orange colours, with a gun mounted to its left arm. On the picture, the mobile suit was launching a wide array of missiles, surrounded by huge clouds of dust. The second picture showed a mobile suit in yellow, white and black colours, heavy armoured and with two -- Duo could hardly describe the weapons -- curved cutting weapons, looking like scimitars, slicing through Leo suits like a hot knife through butter. The third picture showed a blue, red and green coloured mobile suit with an extendable arm with a mounted flame thrower -- the other hand held a huge beam glaive.

"What the hell are these?" The huge machines, radiating power all over, mesmerized him.

"They're called Gundams, named after the material they're constructed of: Gundanium. Refining gundanium is a painful, time consuming, and intensive process and only possible in space. We're not sure how they represent the colonies; maybe a rebel faction has built them. Zechs had the misfortune of running into one --" Duo quickly shot a look at Zechs, but the man didn't show any intention of picking up on the subject, "-- and battling against it."

"Against this?" Duo winced. He wished he didn't sound like he was completely in awe.

Zechs nodded. "I knew it was made out of Gundanium as soon as I saw it blasting two Aeries in one shot. I felt the heat from the blast even when I was relatively out of distance."

"These Gundams haven't claimed any responsibility for their attacks nor declared their ties and origins. So far, a space port, a mobile suit factory and a supply base were attacked. And the Corsica base, of course. I know Walker was a good friend of yours, Duo. Please accept my condolences."

"Accepted," Duo mumbled. Zechs gave him another picture.

"This is the one I encountered."

It was the same model as the others; a huge humanoid machine, with blue and red colours. It had an enormous shield attached to its left arm and a beam rifle, unique in design, in its right hand.

"And you survived this?" Duo studied the picture.

"I was lucky," Zechs answered, voice flat. "I guess the pilot relied too much on his weapons. I hit him in the left flank, clung with the Leo onto him and it went down."

"Lucky... or you were deceived." Duo tapped on the picture. "Gundanium alloy is much more stronger than the average titanium alloy of a Leo suit. It should've withstood the extra weight without much effort. The pilot could've used the shield to rupture the Leo and freeing him of the weight."

"Interesting theory," Treize said, still observing Duo. "Tell me something.. how much do you remember from your time with the professor?"

"Huh?" Duo looked up from the pictures. "Not very much, Your Excellency." He focused his attention back to the pictures. The professor a madman, a lunatic with mushroom shaped grey hair, and a hook nose of extraordinary proportions. The same professor who took him in after the church and offered him a shelter. Not a home, but a shelter. He offered Duo more; an intensive mobile suit operating training, stealth techniques that rivalled his own thieving skills, and knowledge. The only thing Duo had to do in return was to descend to Earth.

"The man had a very well equipped laboratory and garage. Did he never talk to you about his plans or goals, why he was teaching and training you? He must've said something, Duo."

He choose to ignore the slight impatient tone in Treize's voice. "I was very young at the time, Your Excellency. Every boy my age would've taken the chance to learn about mobile suits and every boy in my position at that time would've kissed God himself if he had food and shelter." I would've kissed Shinigami for a hot meal. His eyes widened. What?

Treize lifted his hands. "It wasn't meant to offend you, Duo. I?

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. A private came in, announcing that dinner was served.

"Excellent," Treize murmured. He still looked at Duo, who stared back at him, unfazed. What do you want me to tell you, Your Excellency? You, who were born with a silver spoon in your mouth? Do you want to know about what I've gone through to have at least a few bread crumbs, so I wouldn't lay awake from the hunger? Duo handed over the pictures.

"Here you are."

"Thank you." Zechs closed the clipboard and Treize rose from his chair.

"I'm having dinner in my quarters, Duo. I'd be pleased if you'd join me. We can discuss the Gundams and their ties with the colonies. I'm glad you don't underestimate the situation and that you see the danger. We'll have a lot to talk about."

"Dinner sounds nice," Duo answered and took a step to the side. In passing, Treize leaned forward and spoke softly, so Zechs couldn't hear him.

"You're one of the pillars we're going to build our new future on. A future without the Alliance. You still hate the Alliance, don't you? After all they did to you... I promised you revenge when you dragged me out of that burning suit, and I'm a man who lives by his words."

Duo merely nodded. "I know."

The revenge he was promised kept him on his feet, for all those years, since his home, his life, was destroyed in a blazing fire, caused by the retaliating Alliance. Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. Father Maxwell would be disappointed, maybe horrified, with Duo's thirst for revenge, but Duo hadn't known how to live his life otherwise. In the same moment all his hopes and dreams were destroyed with a blast of a mobile suit, his desire for retaliation and revenge were born; and one man promised him, with sweet words, that the moment would come that the Alliance would crumble, and he would be a great part of it. Duo turned to follow Treize, but kept the photo of the red and blue Gundam clutched in his hand.

He didn't even notice.

Wing Gundam was lying on its back, with Heero sitting on the chest hatch. He didn't want others touching his mobile suit and had taken on the repairs himself. He didn't care how rude he sounded when he denied help, offered by Howard and his fellow mechanics, the Sweepers. He shivered, even though he wore a warm, black jacket. He hated owing Howard so much; after their initial contact, the old man dredged up the Gundam before the Marina could stumble upon it. It had been a risky operation, as search troops had been roaming the area where the Gundam had sunk.

He looked at his laptop, busy scrolling huge files of data on the screen.

"Circuit conductors at 100%... panel filters at 100%... pressure pads..."

"Heero! Dinner's served!"

He acknowledged Howard's presence and raised his left hand. He doubted if the elder man saw his gesture. He wore those ridiculous sunglasses again, as if he had to protect his eyes from the bright lights in the huge barrack. Heero looked again at the laptop, the scrolling data showing that all effected repairs were completed.

"So, what's your next mission then?"

Heero had heard him coming, and wasn't startled nor surprised by the question.

"I can't discuss mission details."

"Right." Howard adjusted his glasses. His bright Hawaiian-style t-shirt hurt Heero's eyes. The man had welcomed him as if he were a lost son, and had gone to great lengths to harbour the Gundam. Heero didn't like the feeling of owing someone. For some strange reason, he felt guilty when Howard was near. After dredging up the Gundam, Howard had offered him harbouring space on his ship. This building was large enough to store a 16 meter long Gundam, arms spread, lying on its back. Heero hated it. It felt so vulnerable. He pulled himself up and with a few commands, he closed the running software program.

Howard and his Sweepers group were all trustworthy men, all dedicated to the cause. Heero didn't doubt Dr. J's ability to estimate people's loyalty, but he didn't trust anyone but himself. It did help, however, that Howard's knowledge of Gundam designs and mechanics almost surpassed his. Almost.

"Dinner's served," Howard repeated. "Better get yourself some food and some rest, kid."

"Thank you," Heero replied. He didn't give the man more attention and he heard him go away, muttering something under his breath. He merely shrugged. He closed the laptop and tucked it under his arm. Dinner was the necessary intake of food to sustain his body; everything tasted the same to him anyway. He secured the chest hatch, slid off the metal torso and started walking to the door.

"Hey, turn out the lights, will ya?"

Heero's hand automatically went to the large light switches. There was a corner in this building were the lights didn't reach. As usual, his eyes flicked to the right; as he did every time after he'd realized what was standing, or rather, kneeling in this particular corner. Howard had worn a strange, sad, no, almost grief stricken, look on his face when he had opened the large doors for natural daylight to shine in, revealing another Gundam. It took a flabbergasted Heero a few seconds to realize that he was standing face to face with 02.

The large, black Gundam was situated in kneeling position, but nothing submissive was coming out of the machine. Its head was in an upright position and almost touched the ceiling, as well as the large hyper jammer packs on its back. The intensity of the design didn't escape Heero. He saw the large buster shield, capable of deflecting a hit from Wing's beam rifle, and he noticed the main weapon. At first sight, he thought it was some sort of beam glaive, but Howard had told him that it was a scythe, when activated.

"Heero, meet Deathscythe," Howard had introduced him. "Deathscythe, meet Heero."

Heero had to slap himself mentally when he realized he was waiting for an answer from this reverent Gundam in black and gold.

"How come it's on Earth?" He had asked, rather clipped and irritated with himself.

"It descended at the same time with the rest of you guys." For a contact person, Howard knew very much, maybe a little too much. Heero had to remind himself that he shouldn't see Howard as just a mere contact person.

"You let one of your men pilot a Gundam?"

"Of course not," Howard snorted. "I selected my best pilot for the carrier. Deathscythe is only for the one and original 02 pilot. We knew that no one of my men was destined nor qualified to pilot the Gundam."

"We?"

"Prof G and me." Howard had taken a sip of his beer.

Doctor J and Professor G. The name wasn't unfamiliar to Heero. So G had failed in finding a pilot, or had screwed up his pilot.

"It's such a waste to see it just standing here." Shaking his head, Howard sounded as impressed as Heero was feeling.

"I'll use it as my back-up supply," Heero had answered. He was immediately taken aback by Howard's outburst.

"What? No! Never! You won't do such a thing, young man!"

For a short moment, Heero thought the man was drunk and prepared himself for an attack. Howard was swinging with his beer bottle and approached Heero with anger written all over his face.

"Deathscythe is not for you, boy. He waits here for his pilot, and no one touches it or tries to come near it! Deathscythe is not for you!"

"You said yourself it was a waste to see it standing there. It's of no use, wasting a good Gundam like this! What's gotten into you?" Heero didn't want to give into his sudden fear; in the short time he'd known him, Howard was nothing but reasonable and easy going. He didn't like the angry side of the elder man.

Howard pointed with the beer bottle at him. "No one touches Deathscythe. He wouldn't let you enter anyway. Forget it, Heero. He's not destined for you. The one who will pilot Deathscythe will know."

It was the end of the conversation, as Howard took another sip of his beer and walked away, muttering something audible enough for Heero to distinguish "fool wants to use him as a back-up supply" followed by a short, hard laugh.

He had looked at the Gundam every time he left the building. After Howard's rage, Heero had tried nonetheless to hack the entrance code, confident he would crack it within the hour. He failed miserably. He was angered and annoyed about it, but he hadn't tried it again. Ridiculous, Heero was sure, and he convinced himself firmly that he only lacked proper time to try it again.

He killed the lights and followed the sounds and laughter of the men, already at the table for their dinner. He hardly noticed the food only that it was hot, and he ate dutifully everything on his plate.

He'd kill for a good, rich Japanese meal -- he couldn't deny his roots. A TV was set up in the corner, loudly blaring music. After a few minutes, one of the men changed the channel to the daily news.

"... informed about the gathering of OZ officials at the New Edwards Base," the reporter announced. Heero picked up his cup of tea.

"... for further discussion of collaboration between the colonies and Earth. Treize Khushrenada, who has been asked to shed more light on his current rank in the OZ organisation, has announced which officials are going to attend. However, rumours of attacks on Alliance related plants and bases have been denied. The following..."

Heero used the napkin to wipe off his mouth. He didn't need any more information; if there really were such a gathering, Dr. J would contact him soon and fast enough to give new orders. Still, there was the matter of that girl. Relena.

One of the men was distributing second helpings, but Heero passed. He wasn't really hungry anyway. He needed to go to his bunk, to get some rest. He walked outside the mess hall and to his surprise he saw Howard sitting in a deck chair, comfortably lounging.

He tried to walk away softly, but Howard had ears like a fox.

"Did you take a look at the moon, Heero?"

"What?" He had no choice but to answer the elder man. Howard pointed skywards.

"Did you ever take a look at the moon?"

Dutifully, Heero looked up. "It certainly looks nice."

Howard snorted. "You have no eye for the simplest things. It's the mission that counts, isn't it?"

"What else would count?" Heero asked, deadpan. Even in the darkness of the late evening he could see Howard shake his head.

"I'm sorry for you, kid. You're missing out on so many things."

"I'm not here for looking at the moon," Heero bit back. Howard turned around in his chair.

Even at nightfall, he still wore those sunglasses. The man really had some problem with his eyes.

"I know why you are here." He was dead serious. Heero sometimes didn't know how to deal with Howard. He could go from grim in one minute to exuberant happy in the next. Heero didn't know how he should respond and really disliked the fact that Howard could go from one mood to another in such short time but J had vouched for his credibility, so he had to put up with it.

"You're here to end the reign of the Alliance. You're here to kill and to destroy. You're here to defend the colonies, to free them, and to stop at nothing. That's what you're here for, Heero."

"I know." He didn't know what else to say.

Howard slipped his sunglasses back on his nose. "Did you hear that Darlian died today?"

"Huh?" Heero was dumbfounded. He had been so emerged in the repairs of Wing and hassling the mechanics until they finally left them alone, that he hadn't paid attention to the news.

"He was killed by a terrorist attack. Lady Une announced the news, and she's going to investigate his death. Needless to say that the colony he visited, is now being brandished."

"Do you know what happened?"

"I'll verify my contacts, but it's too dangerous at the moment. It only happened a few hours ago. Darlian had a daughter the poor kid."

Relena. Heero gritted his teeth. Why did everything fall together with this girl, who was the first to see him at the beach, and why had she attached herself to him? Why did she give him an invitation to her birthday party, why was she constantly near him at the institute? She was like a blanket slowly wrapping around him, and he didn't know if that felt warm or suffocating. It had to come to an end with her. Either she died, or...

"Are you listening?"

"I heard you. Vice Foreign Minister Darlian was killed in a terrorist attack."

Howard grimaced. "You're certainly not an easy fellow. Don't make it so hard for me, young man." He had risen from his chair and showed Heero his empty glass.

"I'm going for a refill. Have a seat, Heero, and take a look at the stars."

He complied, even when he knew Howard wasn't coming back. Looking at the stars was soothing somehow, but the silence on the ship's deck also led him to think. He thought about the other Gundam, kneeled down in a corner of the barrack, about how 'the 02 pilot would know', if there was a 02 pilot to begin with, about Relena and about his upcoming mission.

He was not aware that he fell asleep and Howard putting a blanket around him, looking at him pitifully.

"J never told you how proud he is of you, did he, the bastard?" He asked, but didn't receive an answer.

Heero had forty minutes to correctly hide his Gundam in its camouflage nets. It was early in the morning; he had just returned from a search and destroy mission. A carrier transporting mobile suits had to be shot down before it reached its destination. He worked on autopilot, covering up his Gundam in nets, mulling over his mission. Mission accomplished. He'd shot down a carrier with soldiers. Alliance soldiers. They died.He saw the debris scatter around in the sky and he realized not long after that he was laughing hysterically. It had taken him quite a while to calm down. A shiver ran down his spine. There will always be casualties in a war. Heero quickly finished his work. The first class at St. Gabriel wouldn't start for another hour, so he had time to pack his stuff and finish hacking into the school system to clear his files.

Back in his dorm room, Heero changed into the standard uniform and packed everything in his efficient manner in one duffel bag. The St. Gabriel Institute was fairly buzzing with excitement about an upcoming school dance. He didn't give it a second thought and waited for Relena to show up, but the girl didn't attend the classes he normally shared with her. He tried to figure out if it still would be necessary to kill her. She had seen him -- but had she seen the Gundam? Could she have been on that civilian shuttle he encountered on his descent, before he noticed the OZ carrier? To his astonishment, Heero was reprimand in class for not paying attention and he gritted his teeth. Stupid! Sloppy! It was only a warning, but he made sure he wouldn't get another one. Somehow, the grammar class wasn't very appealing to him.

After class was over, he quickly ate dinner and took a nap in the hours before the dance would start. When his alarm clock rang, Heero got up, stuck his gun in his waistband and covered it with his jacket. If Relena attended the dance tonight, he could take care of her. She's just a loose end. A loose end that needs to be tied up. He briefly wondered why he had so much trouble tying this 'loose end' up. Could it be?/p> A knock on the door startled him.

"Yes?"

Relena Darlian came in, still dressed in her school uniform, face neutral.

"Off to fight again, Heero?" What tone was her voice? He couldn't figure it out. She didn't sound accusatory, nor surprised or sad.

She's onto me. Within a second, he whipped out his gun and pointed it at her. Strangely enough, she didn't even blink. There was a... fatigue clouding her eyes. She ignored the gun, reached behind her and closed the door.

"It is no use killing me now," she said softly, but not as soft as a whisper. "People have seen me go upstairs. They'll wonder what happened when I don't return."

He didn't move an inch. "Relena, you..."

"I don't care what happens to me," she interrupted him. "But I wanted to let you know that I'm on your side. I met Dr. J., I know your secret, Heero, though I'm sure there's much more to be told."

"You're on my side?" The gun didn't sway. "You met... Dr. J?"

"You do know that my father was killed, don't you?" Now he picked up the bitterness in her voice. Raw, edgy bitterness.

"He was assassinated by OZ," she continued. "I escaped with help from the rebels, and that's how I met Dr. J. I don't think that he should've enforced this enormous task on you, Heero. You can't do this alone. Let me help you."

"If you really talked with Dr. J, you'd know that I've had extensive training and that I know what to do. I'm perfectly fine on my own, thank you."

A little smile graced her lips. He cocked his head. She looked like she was about to say more, but she waited a full minute before she continued.

"I know that you're strong, Heero. I just wanted to help you and let you know I'm here for you." She looked at him expectantly, but Heero didn't react. Another little smile, it was a small quirk of her lips. Blue, ocean-like eyes that reflected a deep sorrow.

"I have my own battles to fight." Heero wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear that.

"Your father. Are you going to take revenge?" He still kept the gun pointed at her.

"I don't know. Heero, my father? she gulped audibly, "my father told me something else. Something I have to learn to accept. I can't tell you yet what it is. I need to get my head around it myself."

"What makes you so sure we'll meet again?"

"You're welcome to kill me," Relena answered, "when I'm ready for it. Until then, I ask this dance of you, Heero Yuy."

She took a step back, not because she was afraid. She made a perfect curtsey. Her wheat blond hair, pulled back into a braid, slipped over her shoulders. She didn't look fragile, even though she trembled a little Heero couldn't distinct whether it was from fear or anxiety.

"The last dance," he answered.

"The last dance," she confirmed. He saw her smile, a joyous, genuine smile. He tucked away the gun and offered her his arm. Blue eyes as deep as the ocean.

Duo returned from his dinner with Treize, savouring his meal. He never had turkey before and he had eaten enough to last him for two days. His thoughts were running around the orders he had received. Operation Daybreak. A coup d'etat to overthrow the Alliance. A chance to get his revenge, something he'd been waiting for all his life. Revenge for his own pain, a sweet, cold revenge for all his suffering. It wouldn't give him back the people he had lost; it wouldn't give him back the church he once lived in; it wouldn't give him back his life; but it would give him at least the opportunity to strike back.

He automatically walked to the mobile suits hangar. At this time of hour, only a few mechanics from the night shift were at work. Duo knew them all; he'd worked with many of them to make alterations to his suit. He waved at them and they hollered greetings, echoing bizarrely in the humongous hangar. Duo increased his step until he stood in front of his own suit. It was an Aries, painted black. He detested the custom blue colour they were manufactured with, and the paint job was the least of the modifications. Duo was respected for his knowledge of mobile suits -- knowledge he had acquired from his past, where he was in training by the professor. Strange that Treize was so interested in him. He'd never asked me about him before.

Many of his fellow soldiers had nicknames for their aircraft; he hadn't come up with one since the day he had reeled out the Aries himself. He didn't have a bond with this suit as the others have; he had piloted many suits. There was only one name that really felt right, if such a thing could ever feel right. Shinigami. It was the professor who had spoken of the name and it had clung onto Duo's mind. This Aries wasn't worth of such a name, even though he didn't know the exact meaning.

With the click of a few buttons on the remote control panel, the chest hatch opened and Duo climbed into the cockpit. His fingers closed themselves on the familiar controls. It wouldn't take long now. OZ would take center stage and as soon as Treize gave the command, Operation Daybreak would end the Alliance's reign. The colonies would be free and true peace would be established, with OZ as the new leader of the world. No more military oppression, no more battles and fights. Duo sighed. Sometimes this feeling crept up on him, a mixed feeling of relief and anxiety. What would happen to him, after peace was established? After he had his revenge, would there be total disarmament? He didn't want to keep fighting.

"When the Alliance is gone, I'll quit fighting and go back to L2." He didn't realize he said it out loud. Will there really be a change? Will OZ be different from the Alliance and stop fighting, killing, murdering? Duo climbed out of the cockpit, sealed it again and started to walk away.

At the last minute, he turned around. The shiny polish of the mobile suit reflected his image.

He scowled at himself, seeing his distorted mirror image.

"I only believe in myself," he said. "I only believe in the God of Death."

New Edwards Base was a pandemonium of alarms, explosions, huge smoke clouds and gunfire. Different types of mobile suits, armed with beam rifles and cannons, formed a fortified defence line. The number of defensive suits was severely increased -- something Heero had accounted for in his mission plan, but this was too much, even for him. The orders to attack New Edwards had arrived early this morning. Dr. J had confirmed the rumours about the top OZ officers meeting, and ordered Heero to wipe them out. He cursed aloud. His beam rifle took too much time to heat up after every blast, time he didn't have. The weapon was too difficult to wield in this type of fight, but with only his beam sabre it would take him too long to cut through the defence line and carry out his mission.

If it went on any longer like this, he couldn't even reach the main buildings and by then, the Alliance officials would've been evacuated. They can't get away! If I kill all the officials, the Alliance is done for! Suddenly his proximity alarm went off. Heero had only a second to register the red alarm signals flickering on the cockpit screen and he pushed the joysticks forward.

Wing Gundam jumped like it was bitten by a giant flea and stumbled over its own feet, until the next moment the heat and pressure of a missile impact hit him fully in the back and propelled the mobile suit forward, crashing onto the ground.

Heero was smacked onto the cockpit screen and groaned. The safety belt cut his flesh and he felt dizzy from the impact. He hit a few buttons to quiet down the alarms and activated the leg movement of the mobile suit to made sure that Wing got up. His outer cameras had already picked up images and he couldn't suppress a gasp when he saw two mobile suits in front of him; exactly the same model as his, only with different specifications. The left one, a bright red and orange suit with a huge battling gun mounted on its left arm, closed its hatches on the missile storage units on its shoulders. The right one, in black and white, supported gigantic curved cutting weapons -- shotels, Heero's mind, excessively trained on weaponry, supplied him -- and somehow looking very sophisticated, even with the deadly weapons.

Heero quickly processed the incoming data on a side screen. The two suits were confirmed as models of Gundanium Alloy. They were certainly not Alliance mobile suits and from the readings he received, the bunch of missiles fired from the red and orange suit wiped out a quarter of the defence line alone.

"What the..." Heero opened his communication line.

"Attention, pilot of unknown suit. Please acknowledge. Attention, pilot of..." a monotonous voice blasted through the communication device. Grumbling, Heero toned the volume down.

"Attention, pilot of unknown suit. Please acknowledge. Attention, pilot of..."

"Acknowledged," Heero, answered curt. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Are you 01?"

"Affirmative."

"I'm 03, Heavyarms," the monotonous voice answered and deepened a few pitches before continuing: "Here to attack the meeting of the OZ officers."

"I'm here for the same reason," a chipper voice chimed in, "my name's Quatre Raberba Winner of the Gundam Sandrock." The pilot who introduced himself even had the guts to raise the left hand of the machine. Heero was baffled when the hand of the Gundam with the giant shotel rose. What does he think this is, a tea party?

"04, I presume?" Heero didn't bother to state his name. When he heard the affirmative answer, he only gave them his number, 01, and the name of his Gundam: Wing. He didn't want to spill information like 04 did.

"Shouldn't there be a 05?" he asked, rather grumpily.

"I haven't met him," 03's voice came back. "What about a 02?"

"Negative," Heero answered. "There's no 02."

"We haven't got time to chitchat," Quatre cut in, followed by the rumbling sounds of more arriving mobile suits.

Heero's attention focused on his left screen. His sensors had picked up a shuttle that was slowly taxiing out of the hangar on the east side of the base.

"The OZ shuttle is about to take off. Clear the area around here, I'll take it out in the air."

"Roger," replied the other two pilots. Heero moved his control panel and engaged the bird mode of his suit. Wing took off without a hitch. Leaving the sounds of battle behind him, Heero piloted his Gundam towards the shuttle. It was this moment when he felt truly free, even with the duty that awaited him. In these spare moments, when he ripped through the clouds and there were no... boundariesin the sky, he felt free. He approached the shuttle, transformed Wing into its usual mode, and pulled out his beam sabre. He didn't have to think twice about it.

"For the colonies!" He yelled when he moved the right hand of Wing upwards and, with a swift movement, downwards. He cut through the shuttle in one motion; it exploded at impact with the concentrated, solidified plasma energy of his beam sabre. Wing didn't suffer any damage from the explosion. He leaned back into his chair, contently watching the debris scatter. He didn't feel remorse for them -- OZ would certainly be crippled with the death of their main officers. The Alliance wouldn't pose much of a problem now that these people were dead. It felt like a huge weight sliding off his shoulders. Heero didn't transform Wing back into bird mode and made his descent. It's over. Mission accomplished.

His external cameras picked up the presence of another, fourth Gundam standing next to the other two, when he touched down.

It bore blue, red and green colours and was equipped with a beam glaive on the back and a shield on the left arm. The right arm of the Gundam was considerably different from the others -- Heero suspected it was a built-in flamethrower. The chest hatch was open and a young Chinese boy, around the same age as he, was standing on it, mouthing frantically. He looked calm and composed, but from the way his mouth was working, Heero deducted that he was quite upset about something.

He opened his communication line.

"What's this all about?" he barked. The fourth pilot didn't bother to introduce himself, but yelled an answer.

"You've been set up by OZ, you fool! You just wiped out the Alliance's pacifists!"

The first thing that came to Heero's mind was to laugh at the young boy. "Impossible!"

"No 01, check your newscasts," came the higher pitched voice of 04. Quatre Winner, Heero's mind provided. The boy sounded a lot more subdued -- there was no reaction from 03 whatsoever. Heero pulled up the news feed on his control panel and the right side of his cockpit functioned as the screen. Immediately an Alliance official with a severe expression on his face appeared. Heero recognized him as General Septem.

"This is a declaration of war from the colonies," the general spoke with his raspy voice, "while we were busy negotiating peace proposals, we were attacked by Gundams! Marshall Noventa was killed today, killed by the colonies! This is something we can't let go, and we will retaliate to anyone! The colonies have..."

Heero went deaf. Heero went blind. It was as if someone had punched him in the gut, kicked his back and pounded on his head at the same time. His right eye registered the images of Wing on the screen, in the centre of the blast, waiting for the explosion to settle. He had been set up.

He had been set up! It dawned later to him that he was profoundly swearing in his native language, and it sounded hollow and pitiful in the cockpit.

"What have I done? What have I done!!?"

"Sir, a flight of OZ carriers is nearing us." The young private turned around in his chair, hands on his communication set. Duo sat quietly on the left side of the big radar station and noticed the green blips. The commanding officer leaned forward and tapped with his pencil at the screen.

"Contact them and ask what they're doing here. We've recently received a new batch of supplies, so there's no need for them to come again this soon." The man threw a look at Duo, but he ignored it.

"What's OZ doing around here?" The officer asked.

"I don't know," Duo, answered. "Like you said, there's no need for another supply flight."

The officer snorted. "Wise guy."

"Sir, it's Lieutenant Zechs Marquise. He claims that they're conducting a tactical flight manoeuvre at the Mombassa area." The private flipped a switch.

"Permission granted," the officer returned, sounding petulant. "Tell them to adjust their course, though. It doesn't look like they're going over to the Mombassa if they keep this direction."

The private communicated with the approaching airplane and signed off. "They'll change their course accordingly."

"It certainly doesn't look like it." The officer peered at the screen. "They're coming right at us! What the h..." He couldn't finish his sentence. Alarms were going off, an explosion rocked the building and commotion took over the premises.

"What's going on here? What the Lieutenant Maxwell?"

Duo pointed calmly his gun at both men. They weren't his friends, so he didn't feel sorry for them. Even though he got along with almost everybody, he didn't have real friends, and most of them belonged to the Specials. They're Alliance soldiers. I want my revenge.

"Go to the main hall," he snarled. "Move it!"

Both men stuck their hands in the air and slowly progressed to the door.

"Don't try to do something stupid, or it'll cost you your life. Hurry!" Duo motioned them to increase their speed. When they were outside the control room, more Alliance soldiers and officers were driven to the main hall. Fellow OZ and Specials soldiers were behind them, armed, and wearing grim expressions. From the outside, explosions tore through the air.

"Take them with you," Duo pointed at the two he was guarding, "I'm going outside."

"Yes sir!" Two Specials' members saluted and Duo ran through the corridors, to the mobile suit hangar. People were in shock, outright afraid or furious, and not to mention surprised. Nairobi had proven to be a critical base in this carefully planned coup d'etat.

Undermining from the inside, Duo had to give Treize credit for that. All these years, Treize had meticulously built up his Specials forces, keeping the identity of this elite group masked for his plans to destroy the Alliance's military. As soon as the extent of Operation Daybreak had fully dawned on Duo, his original skepticism took a 180-degree turn.

This is payback, you Alliance bastards! Your reign has come to an end, right now!

Duo flung himself into the cockpit of his Aries. The suit was blaring into life and roaring its engines within seconds. With all seatbelts fastened, and the appropriate in and output displaying on screens, Duo moved his Aries outwards.

The battle wasn't very fierce, but uncontrolled and unorganized. In the flurry of the commotion and with the lack of commanding officers, soldiers fired randomly at the oncoming OZ suits. Duo saw the green painted Aries suit that belonged to Lucrezia Noin -- one of the top students at the Academy and commander at the Lake Victoria base. What was she doing here? He knew from gossip that she only came second to Zechs because she wanted him to look better, and she was probably more dedicated to Zechs than to anything else.

Duo fired at the Leo suits, but not to kill. He crippled them by shooting off an arm or a leg, so the suits went limp and the pilot had every chance of escaping alive. He was just turning his Aries around when he saw the green suit shooting at a Leo, literally pumping it full of holes. It was such fanaticism that an unknown soldier fairly screamed: "Don't overdo it, Lieutenant Noin!"

Duo gritted his teeth. This was a revolution; the foundations would be bloody. But would they be worth it?

There was no need to blow up all the suits didn't they need all the soldiers they could get? This is my revenge. Or had Treize lied to him? This is my... revenge. A fearful moment struck him and he gasped, but then his rational mind took over and he went to work, crippling the remaining suits of his opponents. This is... my revenge. The Alliance wouldn't be of any more importance after tonight. Sweat drops trailed his face. The heat was turning up in his cockpit. There would be peace. This is my revenge. Guns silenced. OZ would bring peace between Earth and the colonies, and then he would go back to outer space: back to L2, to rebuild the destroyed remains and maybe... maybe he would even find himself there.

"... building a new future!" Zechs Marquise finished his speech and glanced around in the main hall. He saw the shell-shocked faces of the men who were trying to accept the changes.

He realized there was a lot of work to be done. OZ had used the element of surprise to carry out their coup d'etat; but not every base would be taken over this smoothly. He turned around to see the commanding officers of the Specials who played a key role in the coup. Duo Maxwell stood at the utter right, perfectly rigid, but face rather void of emotions. Zechs squinted his eyes. He put down his microphone.

"I want to thank you for your cooperation," he said. "Without you, Operation Daybreak wouldn't have been such a success."

"What happens next, Lieutenant?" one of the officers asked.

"There will be a lot of loose ends to be tied up," Zechs answered. "You're probably going to be transferred or traveling around to help."

"May we work together, sir?" One of the officers pointed at his colleague standing next to him.

"Do whatever you prefer, Alex. It's up to yourself to determine what you want to deal with first. Just remember to check with headquarters before you start carrying out solo missions."

The others murmured enthusiastically and moved to leave the hall. Before Duo could leave, Zechs spoke up to him.

"I'm honored to have worked together with the savior of Treize Khushrenada."

A hint of irritation flashed in Duo's eyes and Zechs saw it. The young boy had a wide arrange of emotions and wasn't afraid to show it. He didn't need a physical mask like Zechs, to hide his feelings or his identity; but there was so much more going on in his eyes than appeared on his face.

"Lieutenant Zechs, can I sign up for the space forces?"

Zechs was taken aback by the question. "Why is that? Most of the work has to be done here on Earth."

"I don't want to run around to apprehend renegade Alliance soldiers, sir. I trust OZ to take good care of business. There's nothing left for me to do here, sir."

"Why do you want to go back to space so bad?"

"I was born there," Duo, answered and the way he said it, hesitantly, Zechs was under the impression that something was bothering him.

"I want to go back to L2 and... build there."

"Build? You can help cleaning up the space mines, if that's what you want," Zechs told him, "but I really doubt you would like that."

Duo's face seemed a bit flushed, and that same anger flared again in his eyes.

You're a very strong person, Duo Maxwell. And a dangerous one to boot. Treize, are you really sure you're not mistaken? Someone with this kind of fierce emotion goes all out for his cause -- maybe in your name, but also against your name if necessary.

"Sir!" Duo saluted. He was not going to talk more personally with Zechs Marquise.

"Don't you want to go with me?"

Duo's mouth fell open and Zechs started to laugh.

"Your expression is priceless! I probably formulated it wrong. I'm heading toward the Sanq Kingdom, to take care of some unfinished business. I'm going to try out a new suit, the Tallgeese."

"And?" Duo inquired.

"It's an interesting suit. It's not quite a Gundam, but it's the model the Gundams are based on."

Duo stiffened. "I don't want to have anything to do with Gundams."

"As you wish. I thought you might want to take revenge on Walkers' death."

"I already have my revenge." Duo sounded strange, as if he really didn't believe his words himself, but Zechs let it rest.

"Those Gundams have caused a sustainable amount of damage, and they have sowed fear in man's hearts. You don't seem to be afraid of them."

"Not of mobile suits, sir." Duo wished he could leave. His hand was cramping and he waited for Zechs to salute him back. A woman came up to them; undoubtedly, it was Lucrezia Noin.

"I have a task for you. I know of a Taurus suits transport to Siberia, that really needs extra guards." Zechs spoke up. "Maybe you can lead the accompanying squadron?" He acknowledged Noin's presence by nodding at her.

"An escort, sir?"

"Before you go back to space, you could instruct fellow officers how to deal with those Gundams. You've got more in you than to stay here in Nairobi. Dismissed, Lieutenant."

The man with the platinum blonde hair finally saluted him and Duo spun around to leave the hall. He suddenly felt empty and...lost. Yeah, I have my revenge. Somehow, this victory seemed staged and hollow he felt terribly tired and disappointed. Duo went to his room, opened the door and threw himself on the bed. Even his room looked more hollow and emptier than ever.

Heero lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. He had turned off the little portable TV Howard had given him. The news of the death of the Alliance's doves was repeated infinitely, as well as general Septem's declaration of war to the colonies.

He'd been set up and he'd fallen for it, big time. He did have the name of the person responsible for it Treize Khushrenada, leader of OZ. He rolled over on his stomach. Before parting, the other Gundam pilots had exchanged their communication frequencies; he was now able to log into their mission reports. It had been mostly 04, Quatre, who cajoled them into doing this, to remain in touch. Heero thought it was unnecessary, but something in the voice of 04 made him swallow a nasty answer and even though he still hadn't given out his name, he gave them his communication codes.

Howard hadn't said a thing when he returned. Heero was too tired to even mention that he didn't want anyone touching his mobile suit, when he saw the Sweepers scramble to check on it. When Heero had left the hangar, he had thrown his usual look at Deathscythe. The black war machine, still kneeling in the corner, shone as if it was recently waxed and polished. It was waiting. Heero felt it waiting for its right pilot. With the recent events, there probably wouldn't even be a need for another pilot. I've taken care of that myself. By killing the doves, he knew he had set back the developments in the peace process significantly. He groaned. What had he done?

His laptop beeped its signal for an incoming message. He jumped off the bed, and hurried to the table. He was dying to know how his mentor thought about the current situation, but he was assigned another mission instead, as if nothing had happened. He pushed the button to play the voice message.

"Heero, listen to me. There is a problem with the latest Taurus suits. Something is wrong with its system and it could override the pilot's decision. If the suit goes on a rampage because of its own will, the consequences could be disastrous. Make sure you stop this, Heero."

"Mission accepted," he stated deadpan. He made a firm resolution to deal with the consequences of his actions later. Now it was the time for his new mission.

Duo hadn't deliberated long over guarding the Taurus transport, as Zechs had suggested. It would only take a few hours and space travel required days of preparation anyway. Before he took off to L2, he didn't see why he couldn't handle this job. He conveniently ignored the little voice in his head telling him he was only stalling his departure to the space colony. All buckled up and installed in the Aries, Duo noticed the temperature rising in the cockpit and he pulled off his cap. His thick, chestnut braid was tucked away between his back and the pilot seat. Slowly the engines of his suit came roaring to life.

"Hurry up, you slow piece of crap," he said impatiently. "Squadron, follow me."

He didn't await the chorus of "Yes, sir!" and punched in the command to close the hatch and move out. They had to fly fifteen minutes to get to the departure point of the transport.

There was no communication during the flight. Duo saw the desert represented as cold, green lines at his heat seeking system. There was no presence of other mobile suits but his squadron and the silence was overwhelming him. The blaring engines of the Aries were reduced to a thrumming noise in his cockpit. This was a different kind of silence. He was quiet.

His squadron reached the transport in the scheduled fifteen minutes and after refueling and the standard security check, they took off again. The train had already been given the ready-to-go signal and began to move on the tracks, slowly gaining speed.

"This is boring. Why are we here?" Duo almost jumped from the sudden voice, until he realized his communication line was still open.

"Back off," another voice commented. "They're expecting a mobile suit attack."

"You mean, a Gundam?"

"Yeah. Better stay sharp and look out!"

Duo heard someone snort. Apparently, the other pilot didn't think high of the Gundams. Gundams. The word kept ringing a bell in Duo's mind. It reminded him of the Professor, the strange Professor who had taught him the basics of piloting. Duo thought the man had been a lunatic, rambling about the God of Death and some mobile suit he used that name for. Duo had never caught a look of the mobile suit the old man was building, if he really was building one -- Duo had been constantly tutored by the man, ranging from severe physical exercise to quantum dynamic and physics lessons. He recalled mocking the man for his chaotic behavior, until he ended up behind the controls of an Aries suit as a Specials officer. The system of piloting the Professor had taught him differed slightly from the standard Aries suit, but he had absolutely no problem handling it. He felt like he was superior to the mobile suit, instead of the suit being his master. Duo didn't notice that he was fondling his cross again. I don't even know what happened to the Professor. He probably was killed during that raid. The same raid that involved Treize Khushrenada and a young, naive Duo who had dragged the injured soldier out of his burning mobile suit, even after he'd swore he'd do nothing for an Alliance soldier. Guess Father Maxwell had a good influence on me after all.

The communication link flared back to life, breaking the silence and his train of thoughts.

"Gundam 04 approaching land target," a man's voice barked through the intercom, "rendezvous point at... "

"Aries number 4 squadron, attack!" A female voice ordered. Duo perked up. He was the leading officer of this squadron and he had been awaiting this command of Colonel Lady Une.

"Squadron, engage!" He pushed the joystick forward. With a rumbling noise, his Aries pushed itself forward. Crossing the skyline over the honking train, Duo saw a massive white suit standing by the rail track, lifting up its giant cutting weapons to obviously destroy it. He brought up the beam cannon and fired, at the same time the defense line of the train was activated and fired; the force of both beam cannons was enough to topple the Gundam.

Duo flew over the falling Gundam and turned the Aries around. Even though his Aries, thanks to its modifications, was a lot faster than the usual ones and turned around twice as fast, he was too late to witness the train derailing. His heat sensors screamed in his ears and the proximity alarms went off like crazy. The Gundam wasn't alone! He just realized it before the sky was torn with the light of energy beams. Half of his squadron were shot out of the air before he even had the chance to come up with a strategy.

"Squadron, descend!" He smashed his fist at the panels. Aries were one of the few suits to both have flying and walking abilities, and he smashed the panels again, trying to engage his landing gear. He realized with abhor that it somehow was stuck -- the legs of the suit wouldn't fold out properly. Duo hadn't even noticed they had been damaged. Swearing, he turned his attention to the screen, showing brown, unidentified suits, models he had never seen before. They were obviously backing up the white Gundam, which already had managed to stand up again. Data displayed on his screens, to fast to absorb.

"What the?"

The train was derailed and opened up its hatches to reveal a squadron of Leos.

Leos? He registered the "no match for existing Alliance models" message from his data screen. Apparently, the brown suits who belonged with the Gundam were unknown even to the Alliance itself. He swore. Whoever they were, they managed to shoot down his squadron faster than he could keep track of.

"God damn it Treize, you let me guard a decoy! It were supposed to be Leos!"

Duo gritted his teeth, lifted up his beam cannon and started firing. He quickly checked his stats; three pilots of his squadron were still airborne, fighting off the unknown suits. With the help of the ground Leos, it looked like the battle shifted in OZ's advantage until the Gundam started moving again. Duo's heat sensor went through the roof and he quickly discovered why. The curved cutting weapons of the Gundam heated up very fast and the Gundam flung them away, taking four, six, eight Leos with them as they cut through the metal as hot knives through butter.

"This is way too much," Duo, voiced aloud. "That Gundam is far too powerful!" He kept his hands at the controls, far too absorbed and hypnotized by the fighting Gundam to keep an eye on his own position. So familiar. So powerful.

"Lieutenant Maxwell! Get away from there!"

Duo came to his senses. He was in the middle of a war zone and he was looking at the Gundam! He immediately handled the sticks, but his reaction time was, for the first time in his life, too slow. The Gundam launched missiles from its shoulders, and were targeted right at him.

"God damn it!" Duo yanked at the controls, but the Aries was too heavy and took to long to respond to the command. The right side of his suit was ripped to pieces and the heat of the impact scorched his body. Duo screamed from the pain and he let go of the controls. The Aries wasn't able to fly anymore and crashed to the ground, taking its pilot with him.

Heero arrived at the refueling point of the Taurus carriers, his Gundam transformed into bird mode. He couldn't explain why he felt so relieved, knowing that he didn't have to do this mission alone. After OZ's announcement of two transport routes one by air, one by land he immediately suspected that one must've been a decoy, the only question was which one.

Trowa Barton, pilot of the 03, HeavyArms, had contacted him that he would target the air route. The others, Quatre Raberba Winner, pilot of the 04 -- Sandrock --, and Chang Wufei, pilot of the 05 -- Shenlong --, would take care of the land transport.

Heero was mindful of another set up. He didn't want another disaster like his previous mission to happen. We don't need another setback in the peace process. It didn't take him by surprise that his arrival didn't go unnoticed and that enemies surrounded him in a matter of seconds. He fired the buster rifle, taking a large amount of suits out the weapon being far too powerful for the much weaker ground suits. Wing's proximity alarm went off and Heero turned the suit around, giving the commands for external camera feed at the same time. He registered a white mobile suit coming straight towards him, with great speed. The data receptor couldn't provide him with sufficient data, so Heero pointed the rifle at the approaching suit. When he pushed the button to fire, the suit quickly went upright and was airborne.

"What speed!" He exclaimed, almost shocked. The data couldn't match the suit with an existing OZ model. The next moment, Wing was under heavy fire, coming from above. The unknown suit also had a beam rifle, almost as powerful as his!

Heero ignored his resonating alarms and focused on the left screen camera, showing the suit calmly landing a few hundred meters away.

"We can do better than this. No rifles for us!" A male voice boomed into his cockpit, using Heero's own communication link. Heero discarded the huge rifle and equipped Wing with the beam saber. The unidentified suit took its own saber -- crackling energy lit up the skies, sizzling with power.

Heero closed himself off to the sounds of the battle. He was convinced Trowa could handle it on his own, as long as the HeavyArms Gundam didn't run out of bullets. And even so, the suit was packed with a wide array of weapons, providing enough opportunities for its pilot to vanquish the enemy.

The white suit charged at him again, leaving Heero no time to think. He counterattacked -- the beam sabers hit on impact. Heero tensed. He was put to the test! The other pilot was good, very good, and they moved with the suits as in some bizarre dance, dealing blows with the beam sabers, meanwhile tasting each other, prodding for boundaries, looking for the ultimate pressure point, looking for the ultimate weakness in the other.

Heero's hands moved the controls as if they acted on their own. He was fully focused, yet his mind tried to distract him with questions. Who was this pilot, who challenged him with so much audacity? What was he trying to prove? What was he trying to prove by accepting this duel? He had a war to fight!

"Is this everything you got?" The man didn't sound petulant or depreciative, he sounded determined and eager.

Heero was about to response when a woman's voice filled the air.

"Attention all Gundam pilots. Throw down your weapons or we'll sacrifice a colony!"

"What?" Heero punched a command into his data receptor. It showed a schematic plan of the whereabouts of missiles, carefully aimed at the main colony clusters. He recognized the warheads: missiles from the Alliance seized by OZ after their coup. So Operation Daybreak left them to play with the weapons of their defeated enemy. It would take one command, one word, and those missiles would be launched. One of them was enough to breach the hull of a colony -- the rest would be history.

"This is not how you fight a war! Stop it!"

To Heero's amazement, it was his challenger who spoke up. He had stopped fighting; even the beam saber was toned down. Who was this soldier? He contemplated attacking him for a second now he seemed distracted, but Heero decided against it. Suddenly, all screens went black and Dr. J appeared.

"Dr. J?" Heero voiced aloud, flabbergasted. He didn't hear the first sentences his mentor and trainer spoke, but he heard the last one, as it was one he'd heard before. Dr. J never repeats himself. Never.

"I will surrender, but I will not hand over the Gundams." One.

It was crystal clear. Without a single hesitation, Heero opened the chest hatch of his Gundam and stepped outside. He couldn't care less. If this were asked of him, in exchange of the colonies, his life would be of no importance. It would be a bargain. He lifted the self-detonation device. He would always follow his emotions, even if it would cost him his life.

"I will surrender, but I will not hand over the Gundams." Two.

I will not hand over the Gundams. Three.

"Ninmu ryoukai," he answered and activated the device with a single click. He had only a second left to ask himself why he had answered, subconsciously, in his native language -- then his body was turned inside out. He heard his bones crack, his muscles tear, and his flesh rip.

He didn't scream as he saw the stars shine at him when he was flung away from his suit because of the impact of the blast. He didn't feel the pain of crashing onto the ground. Blood oozed out of him and with every seeping ounce, his vision became darker and darker. He couldn't even care. He would not hand over the Gundam. The sounds of Wing stumbling down, screeching metal on metal, didn't reach his ears. He was deaf to everything in the world and soon, he was blind again. The darkness was bliss.

Duo opened his eyes. The bright lights were hurting his eyes, he faintly smelled Lysol and he was clad in a short gown. When he tried to move, a moan escaped him. Bile rose up in his throat.

"Take it easy, Lieutenant, you're injured." The voice was unfamiliar. Duo tried to get up, but his body wouldn't obey him. He felt queasy. An OZ officer with short, curly brown hair approached him and helped him to sit up.

"Lieutenant Maxwell, I'm chief officer Nichol. As soon as you're ready, I'm going to take you to the Lunar Base, to join me with the OZ space forces. We pay a visit to His Excellency first, at his request."

Duo's eyes went wide and he tried to speak. He was about to say "Treize?" but settled on a croaked: "What happened?"

"You're lucky to have made it out alive," Nichol said, looking grim. "Not many people survive an encounter with a Gundam."

"My squadron?" Duo squeaked.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. Only two of them made it out, barely alive. There were no survivors of the ground forces, so I've come to understand. I'm here to escort you with your transfer to the OZ space forces."

"Why?"

"His Excellency was worried about you," Nichol said, but it came out a bit sour. "He wanted to make sure someone was around you when you woke up."

"I don't need a damn nanny."

"I'm sorry. Orders of His Excellency." Nichol said and crossed his arms before his chest. .

Duo sunk back into the pillows. He'd sworn to return to space the moment he left L2, following Treize Khushrenada back to Earth with the promise of revenge ringing in his ear. The same promise that made him give up his training with the professor, thinking the man would never accomplish his goal and he wanted his revenge now -- after the massacre at Maxwell Church, Duo's only goal in life was to avenge the death of his loved ones. I wanted to fight for the colonies, but I ended up fighting for myself. God, have I been so blinded by my search for revenge that I... killed my own hopes and dreams?

"Lieutenant?" Nichol sounded worried, scared maybe. "Something the matter?"

"I... I'm not feeling very well," Duo said, and wished immediately that he wouldn't sound so whiny. Nichol stared back at him, probably thinking the same thing.

"It's a miracle you survived, sir. The right half of your suit was ripped away."

"The Gundam..."

"We won't be having much trouble with them."

When Duo looked quizzically at him, Nichol cocked his head.

"Of course, you haven't seen any news lately." He grabbed the plastic chair, took a seat and leaned backwards. The chair squeaked, protesting under his weight.

"At the time you were fighting off Gundam 04, Gundams 01 and 03 attacked the air route. Yes, there were two routes, one by land and one by air. The air route was the right one; the land route was the decoy. Zechs Marquise was sent to deal with the 01 suit; apparently, he had fought it before. Lady Une raised the stakes and announced she was about to launch missiles at the colonies if they didn't surrender. 01 chose rather to self detonate than to surrender. We have the engineer, though."

Duo winced. "Launch missiles at the colonies? What kind of tactic is that?" Lady Une? The woman who kissed the ground Treize was walking on? Was she acting on her own, or at Treize's orders?

Nichol's eyes blazed with fury. "Am I mistaken, Lieutenant, or do I hear surprise? OZ isn't about to tiptoe delicately around people who are opposing us. We need to be unified and strong, not holding hands with the enemy."

"It's downright blackmail, chief officer Nichol," Duo gave back, irritated. "I don't take war lighthearted at all, if you're hinting at that. I thought OZ was capable of winning on its own, not by holding the colonies hostage."

Nichol barked a laugh. "I suggest you better get used to it, Lieutenant. After we've returned to space, I'll be transferred into Lady Une's service. I'm looking forward to working with her it will be a pleasure seeing how she and Khushrenada will shape the future."

He rose from the chair, face flushed with the enthusiasm he had spoken of.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant. You still need a lot of rest. The doctor thinks you'll be up and about in one week. I'll use the time to pack your belongings and send them forward, with your permission."

"Granted," Duo said. "Carry out your orders."

"Leave the preparations to me, sir!" He saluted and left, immediately followed by a nurse bustling into the room.

"I'm bringing you your medication. You look a lot better then when you came in." She immediately set to work.

"Well, thank God," Duo answered surly. The nurse helped him turn around, checked his IV and his chart, and promised to bring him some food. When she left, he closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain in his body. Too many thoughts were running around in his head. What was Une thinking, using the colonies as a shield? Forcing the Gundams to surrender by threatening millions of lives? Nichol sure seemed proud of OZ' tactics. Is this the 'new future' they're talking about?Duo heard the nurse coming in, returning with the promised food. He was too nauseous to even think of eating. One Gundam down. Why didn't he feel happy about it?

Duo stayed for a week in the hospital, recovering from his wounds. The heat of the missile impact of Gundam 04 had scorched him badly, leaving him with third degree burns on the left side of his body. He would need cosmetic surgery to cover the burns, but the doctors didn't approve him to undergo procedures before he fully regained his strength. To kill time, he surfed news channels extensively, but he couldn't find more about the attempted threat of OZ or the self detonated Gundam. OZ remained silent; shrouded in mystery just as before the coup; he didn't even hear from Treize.

Duo figured the man was too busy and wondered why he felt disappointed about that.

Nichol visited him twice, and brought him some personal belongings he'd left at the Nairobi base and a new, fresh uniform. On the day of his leave, Duo dressed himself awkwardly for the first time since his hospitalization. He felt stiff and sore, his sensitive skin protesting against the movements he made. He was just busy adjusting his cap when Nichol arrived.

"Lieutenant, you're ready." He sounded like he hadn't expect Duo to be ready, but he let it slide. The man was eager to go into service with Lady Une, and showed more fanaticism than Duo cared for, but he wasn't really unsympathetic. He reached for his bag.

Nichol saluted. "Let me carry that for you, Lieutenant. There's a taxi waiting for us."

"Thank you. Any news?"

"No new reports on Gundam attacks, sir. We're apprehending renegade Alliance soldiers, on Earth and in outer space. Lady Une is very busy with the execution of His Excellency's plans for the new future, visiting the space colonies to form new relations."

Shrewd.Duo followed Nichol downstairs, signed his release papers and stepped into the taxi.

"To the space port," Nichol commanded the driver.

Duo looked outside the window. Earth was beautiful, and the people were nice and friendly... but their nature to fight continuously was a dangerous development. He doubted if the people in outer space were that much different. Colonists appreciated life more than anyone else did, because they knew about the difficulties and hardships it had taken to create the possibility of living in space. Earth was beautiful, but soft and weak. There was no room for weakness or soft spots in war. Duo shook his head. He was going back to outer space, and he didn't even know why. To rebuild what? Myself?

"It seems like Zechs is in a bit of trouble," Nichol suddenly started talking, sounding casually. "He was present at 01's self-detonation. There are rumors going around that he's to rebuilt it."

Duo put up wide eyes. "What the hell does he want with a Gundam?"

"He has one himself," Nichol chuckled. "Well, not one of Gundanium, but it's the same basic model. It's called the Tallgeese."

"Tallgeese? And what has he done with it so far?"

"He took it to his homeland, the Sanq Kingdom. It hasn't been confirmed officially, but the Alliance base there seems to have been wiped out."

"Looks like he's acting pretty much on his own," Duo murmured. "Did Treize approve of the attack?" He'd been under the impression that Zechs was a strong man with an exceptionally focused and determined will -- that could either go the good, or the wrong way.

Nichol shrugged. "Not that I know of." He checked his watch.

"We launch in forty minutes."

They arrived at the spaceport and the driver of the taxi accompanied them to the check in stand, pushing a little trolley with their bags. Duo carried his own backpack and slung it over his shoulder, albeit carefully.

"Officer Nichol!"

The man looked up hearing his name and grinned.

"Hey Hilde, long time no see. Finally decided to volunteer?"

"Yeah," she answered and was about to say more, when she saw Duo.

"Sir!" She saluted.

"It's all right, I'm not on duty," Duo smiled. She was an okay looking girl slender, tall, with dark cropped hair.

"Hilde, this is Lieutenant Duo Maxwell. Lieutenant, meet officer Hilde Schbeiker. She's in charge of the transfer of the new recruits."

"Going to the Lunar Base, eh?" Duo said, while shaking her hand.

"Yes, and lots of them are volunteers too, even from the colonies. We're not afraid to die for the independence of the colonies."

"You mean the colonies are defending themselves? What need do they have for armament?"

Nichol tapped his cap. "Our flight is about to leave, Lieutenant."

"Nice meeting you," Duo said in passing by.

"Yes, nice meeting you," Hilde answered and smiled.

Duo boarded the shuttle with Nichole, apparently reserved for OZ only. He was treated to loud cheers from the other occupants.

"Lieutenant Maxwell, you made it out alive!"

"Lieutenant Maxwell, so glad you could make it! Tell us; was the Gundam really twenty meters high?"

"I didn't pay much attention to its height," Duo answered, almost sneering. The privates were standing around him, obstructing his path.

"Not many could've pulled off the same stunt as you did, Lieutenant," one private said. "You would've taken a full hit if you hadn't swerved away as fast as you did."

"My Aries is a bit lighter and more mobile," Duo, answered him. He really wanted to sit down.

"Are you going to fight in outer space with us, Lieutenant Maxwell? There's lot of Alliance scum that needs to be tidied up!"

"I head for the Lunar Base, so yes, I'm going to stay in outer space," Duo said. The privates cheered again.

"Gentlemen, take your seats," Nichol barked. "We're about to launch."

Duo was glad to take his seat. He didn't say a thing when Nichol sat next to him and opened his laptop to tap away at it. Duo touched his silver cross; his only link to his past, to a church, a lifetime ago. I'm returning to space, but it doesn't feel like coming home. It feels cold, and unwelcoming.

He shivered.

Pain. Excruciating pain. He couldn't move. He could hardly see. Everything felt tight, bonded, wrapped. It smelled like gauze, and medicinal ointment. He heard soft clicking. What was going on? Where was he? He tried to get up, but something was restraining him. It took him a while to register that he was all bandaged up. He heard noises, coming from a radio or a TV set. Slowly, he turned his head to the side and saw someone sitting in a green chair.

"Relena?" It was the first name that popped up in his mind. He didn't know why, but the person seemed female and Relena was the only female he knew. Slowly he tried to raise his head; but the woman in the chair turned around and smiled at him. She wasn't Relena.

"So, you're awake? Well, I suppose I better get Trowa, then." She quickly rose and left her knitting work on the chair. A woman on TV was babbling about OZ. He felt an immense headache and swallowing was difficult. Trowa? The name vaguely rang a bell. He couldn't remember a face. What's going on?

He managed to sit up without any support. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw the slender young man for the first time, clad in tight jeans and a green turtle neck. His green eyes were on one side of his face covered with long auburn bangs.

"I'm glad to see you're awake," he simply said and his voice put the pieces of the puzzle together. The pilot of 03, HeavyArms, Trowa Barton. How the hell had he ended up here?

The unknown woman coughed and politely excused herself, under the pretense to go make some soup. Trowa turned off the TV set and turned his attention to Heero.

"It's quite remarkable that you're still alive."

"Why did you save me?" Heero didn't mean to sound ungrateful, but he wasn't really in the mood to sugar coat his words. Something told him that Trowa didn't mind, either.

"I was supposed to die," he continued. Trowa crossed his arms and frowned at him.

"You died a long time ago. As far as OZ is concerned, you're dead. As far as the colonies are concerned, you're dead. You have no ties with them anymore. You were more than a month out of it."

"A month?" He fairly screamed. He immediately wanted to get out of bed, but the pain stopped him and he winced.

"There's no need to panic, Heero," he said. A slight irritation gulfed through Heero. How did he know his name? He hadn't introduced himself. Quatre must've blabbed he knew Heero's name from the New Edwards debacle. Pilot 04 was sometimes too easy with his trust and his words. Trowa didn't elaborate, and Heero tried to pick up the conversation.

"You must tell me what's happened."

"Nothing, really." Trowa shrugged. "There haven't been any new orders. OZ hasn't touched the colonies; the only thing they're doing is roaming through the land and taking care of what remains of the Alliance."

"Why aren't they touching the colonies?"

Trowa shrugged again. "I'm not sure. I don't know what's going on. Communication from the colonies is scarce, but if there was a battle going on, we should've known. At least you're no longer tied to the colonies. I'm afraid to make a move; OZ can hold the colonies hostage any time again."

"Yeah..." The loud growling of his stomach embarrassed Heero. At the same moment, the woman came back with two bowls of soup. She introduced herself as Catherine and after she put the bowls and the spoons down, she left.

"Where are we, anyway?"

"You're at a traveling circus," Trowa answered, and chuckled when he saw the surprised look on Heero's face. "It's ideal for hiding, since we're traveling around all the time. HeavyArms is perfectly covered on my truck and I get to work with animals."

Heero picked up a bowl of soup and started stirring. It was scorching hot.

"Any word on the others?"

"Quatre left for the desert, as usual. You wouldn't say it when you see him, but he really is of Arabian descent. He was talking about visiting his father in outer space. The Winner family has a lot of resources satellites there."

"He's from that Winner family?" Heero was impressed. A billionaire boy fighting in this war?

"How many Winner families do you think there are?" Trowa snorted. "He disinherited himself by fighting," he continued, guessing Heero's thoughts. "His father supports total pacifism. I don't know much about it."

Silence fell. The soup wasn't bad. Heero was about to spoon another mouthful, when Trowa said: "05, Chang, never showed up. I wonder what's up with him. He was supposed to go to the land route, so we had everything equally covered."

"He's a loner," Heero mumbled.

"Yeah, okay. I didn't think however he'd abandon us. He went with me after the New Edwards... fiasco and he challenged that Khushrenada guy. He didn't want to talk about it afterwards, but something happened. Chang should've been glad he made it out alive, yet he kept sulking the few days he was here, talking about not being strong enough. I haven't seen him since."

Heero made a choking noise. Chang Wufei was the last of his troubles.

"So, what are we going to do?" Trowa put down his bowl. Heero swallowed a thick slice of something that was in the soup.

"I guess I'll still be out for awhile," he murmured. His left arm and chest gave him the most pain, the rest of his body seemed to adapt rather quickly to the bruises and scratches. "When I'm more up to strength, I'm going to search for the Noventa family."

"Why?" Trowa changed his position. "What would you gain by that?"

"I don't know. Someone someone told me a long time ago that the only way to live a good life is to act upon your emotions."

Trowa didn't answer, but the look on his face spoke of disbelief.

"You're going to search for the Noventa family because of your emotions?"

"Even though Treize Khushrenada tricked me into killing the Marshall, I want to take full responsibility."

Trowa crossed his arms anew and leaned against the windowsill. "At least you've got a goal to live up to. Like I've said, you don't have a single tie left with the colonies. Sometimes I think the only thing I can do, is to do the same thing as you did."

"Let me tell you one thing, then," Heero, answered, rather grumpily. "It hurts like hell."

He was as surprised as Catherine, who came checking up on him, that Trowa started to chuckle, followed by a full-fledged laugh.

Heero felt tired and he was administered some painkillers. He took them without any gruff; he was yearning for some sleep. He would now have plenty of time to recover. The drugs acted quickly and he felt himself dozing away. I have no Gundam. I have no mobile suit. How I am going to fight against OZ if I have nothing to fight with?

Heero smiled drowsily to himself, a feral grin that darkened his features. He didn't need a Gundam to fight. He would fight with everything he had.

Duo patiently waited until he was granted permission to enter.

"Enter!"

"Lieutenant Maxwell to see you, Your Excellency," a private announced and then closed the door behind him.

Treize Khushrenada rose from his chair, fully dressed and with a rose in the upper button of his uniform.

"Duo, I'm so glad to see you safe. I heard about your encounter with the Gundam. You have the same luck as Zechs both of you survived an encounter with a Gundam."

"Thank you, Your Excellency."

"No need for official titles, Duo." The ginger haired man shifted; his midnight blue half cape rippled around his shoulders. "I'm afraid I don't have much time. I've just instructed Lady Une to visit some of the colonies."

"Ah, about Colonel Une," Duo said. He had met her on his way to Treize and he was a bit distracted; the longhaired, beautiful woman was totally not what he had envisioned when he heard about her threatening the Gundams, holding the colonies hostage as to extort a victory.

"What about her, Duo?"

"I joined the Specials and OZ to rid the colonies of the Alliance's oppression, not to hear that fellow officers are using them as shields."

"Rest assured, I've talked to Lady Une about that. She's very talented, but also a bit zealous. I've instructed her to study more the way of OZ."

"And which way is that, if I may ask?"

"There's a time for audacity, and sometimes not. Now is clearly not one of those times." Treize looked sternly at Duo, who forced himself to look him right back in the eyes.

"I haven't thanked you in person for your help in Nairobi. I've seen that you've arrived here with Nichol."

"As your orders stated," Duo said, sounding sourly. He didn't like it when his questions remained unanswered, but he was smart enough not to push it at least, not with Treize Khushrenada. He noticed Treize was looking at him, as if he expected him more to say.

"It'll be awhile before we meet again, Duo. I'm returning to Earth. Meanwhile, the remains of the Alliance space forces are cluttered throughout the universe and they have left space mines to be cleaned up. I know how you love space, Duo. One day, you'll be able to return to L2. For now, I want you and Nichol to work at the Lunar Base. Nichol will assist Une, and you will take up the instruction of the pilots upon you."

"Instruction? Your Excellency, with your permission, I want to resign from the Specials."

Treize picked up his rose and smelled it. "Resign? What are you planning to do, Duo? You're not as strong as before; you've taken quite a hit and you're not in a position now to go out in the field."

"I... I want to return to L2," Duo forced himself to stand upright.

"You want to go back to your church? The one that was leveled in an Alliance attack? What's there left for you, Duo? Don't expect them to welcome you with open arms -- they've all seen you leave with the Specials. Do you want to look for the professor?"

"The professor was good to me," Duo replied, sounding irritated.

"Why did you leave him, then? You didn't look back one time."

"I thought... think he died in the raid." He clenched his fists. And I thought he couldn't help me get my revenge. I thought I made the right choice back then, but everything I decided since has turned around and slapped me in the face My revenge certainly didn't bring me what I was hoping for.

"I'm counting on you to help me, Duo." Treize continued voice smooth and void of earlier annoyance, as if nothing happened. "I want you to study the new Taurus suits, the ones you accompanied to Siberia. They're equipped with a new system and they're called Mobile Dolls."

"Mobile Dolls?" Duo felt like a parrot. He flicked his braid over his shoulder. He was very curious as what Treize was about to say.

"I want you to keep me informed about the progress on those mobile dolls. Romefeller has sent chief engineer Tubarov to the Lunar Base to develop the system. Its artificial intelligence is supposed to replace human pilots on the battlefield." He snorted. "The only use I see for them is to take care of the space mines. I think that OZ will take another direction if the humanity is removed from warfare."

"There is no humanity in warfare," Duo said. "What's there to remove?"

"Wars are started by humans. We haven't evolved much in all those years. We're capable of sending people into space, but the only difference is that we use beam cannons instead of wooden clubs to kill each other. Just imagine, Duo, what would happen if wars are fought with Mobile Dolls."

"It would at least cut down the number of casualties," Duo answered. "However, Your Excellency, I was convinced that the production of mobile suits would come to a halt, now that OZ is at the helm."

"We still have to get rid of members of the old Alliance. This will take time and effort. How else do you think we can remove them? By talking to them?"

Duo gritted his teeth. "I saw the chu... my home being destroyed because of violence. If we keep answering with violence, nothing will be resolved."

"I see. Maybe the pacifistic ideas of the Peacecrafts are more to your liking. I didn't think you felt that way."

Silence.

"I won't give you permission to resign from the Specials. You're in no shape to go wherever but the Lunar Base. The medical staff there can help you with your recovery, and in the meantime, you can instruct the pilots and keep an eye on the production of the Mobile Dolls." Treize put the rose back in the button.

Dismissed.Duo saluted. "I will stay in touch."

"Thank you. Oh, look after Nichol and Lady Une as well. I don't have any doubt that Nichol is a good soldier, but sometimes his fanaticism goes a bit overboard. And Lady Une... well, she needs protection as well."

"Anything about Zechs?"

Treize looked up, something wild and bitter flared in his eyes. "I'm afraid Zechs has chosen a path that doesn't seem clear to me. I don't expect him to be much longer with us."

Duo hid his shock well. Treize was telling him in no uncertain words that he was having doubts about OZ and its future, and Zechs was acting on his own, probably burning every bridge behind him. What was happening here?

"Don't worry, Duo. I trust you to do good work at the Lunar Base. Keep me informed of the Mobile Dolls."

He saluted. "Sir!"

Duo opened the door to leave, but turned around the last moment. He felt Treize calmly watching him.

"You promised me revenge on the Alliance, and I got it, Treize. Don't make me want to take revenge on OZ as well."

He closed the door and went to search for Nichol.

The next morning Duo was dressing in front of his mirror. His quarters were hardly any different from the one he had on Earth. Even at the Lunar Base, a former amusement park on the moon, his reputation had preceded him. Or did they want to suck up to Khushrenada's favorite soldier? After his arrival on the Lunar Base, chief engineer Tubarov had welcomed him and Nichol with a festive banquet, but Duo felt the hypocrisy oozing from the elder man. He knew the chief engineer wasn't pleased with him and the orders to share the progress of his work. Duo hadn't eaten much, tired as he was and allowed Nichol to do all the talking.

He checked himself in the mirror. For the first time, his cap stood at the right angle and he didn't know whether to smile about it or to let it pass. In the last second, he bumped it more backwards and stepped out of his room.

He was walking through the corridors, when he heard: "Move it, old geezer!"

Curiosity piqued, he looked around the corner. OZ soldiers surrounded a couple of elderly men, clad in laboratory white coats. Duo couldn't distinguish them, as more soldiers rushed to the scene and surrounded the elder men, apparently prisoners. He shrugged. Before he could talk to one of the soldiers, a little skirmish broke out. One of the elder men had fallen and was injured; soldiers were shouting different orders.

"What's going on here?" Duo asked.

The soldier saluted and said: "Lieutenant, these are the engineers who were captured at the colonies."

"Ah, the Gundam engineers!" Duo looked over his shoulders, but the men were out of his sight. Two OZ soldiers helped the fallen engineer up on his feet, but his face was hidden from view.

"Officer --" he quickly peeked at the nametag, "Barton, make sure they stay behind bars, okay?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Maxwell. You'll be surprised to know that there is also a Gundam pilot heading this way."

"A Gundam pilot? To the Lunar Base?"

"Yes, with his Gundam as well. He was floating around in a space pod, almost like he wanted to be caught."

"Well, as long as you make sure he's not going anywhere," Duo admonished. The man saluted and Duo continued to walk to his class. So, one of the Gundam pilots was captured and brought to the Lunar Base. What could be their purpose? What are they trying to achieve, fighting against OZ, risking their lives? The colonies have turned against them, so what's the purpose?

He certainly wouldn't mind trying to pilot a Gundam. Duo had always felt that his Aries limited his piloting capacities; a Gundam would be the ultimate challenge. He always thought that his piloting career would be over after the declaration of peace; but OZ hadn't declared peace at all. It's just replacement, he thought bitterly. OZ or the Alliance, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who's at the helm -- the colonies still aren't free. Why do I still feel like I've been betrayed or have I betrayed myself?

The space shuttle docked smoothly according to procedures. Heero loosened his seat belt and got up to retrieve his laptop case out of the luggage compartment. He had arrived at the Lunar Base without a hitch; with fake papers, the general lack of control and confusion had made it easy for him to slip through customs. He was dressed in the uniform of an OZ private, and after filling out an application, he was sent to the Lunar Base. For any other officers stationed here, he would be nothing more but an annoying private running around, a mere errand boy.

He didn't mind. He had to blend in, and this way he could go whenever and wherever he wanted. His primary reason to arrive at the Lunar Base was to execute the Gundam engineers.

Their capture had made headlines in the world news and OZ had announced their execution.

Heero severely doubted that OZ would carry out these plans. The engineers would prove to be too valuable in current warfare. The colonies are so used to being controlled, they don't even see through OZ's facade. Instead of military force, OZ' is using the cunning guise of cooperation and assistance, cooing the colonies with false sense of security and peace sentiments. In the end, it doesn't matter and the colonies will find out that they're not better off with Khushrenada as their leader -- with an army of advanced mobile suits, because he'll probably have the engineers work in secret for him.

Marquise and Khushrenada. Both ranked high on his hit list. Heero suddenly noticed people were looking funny at him, and he reminded himself to relax his features. Every time he thought about those two, his face automatically took on a very grim expression. He followed the other privates, and he entered the main hall of the spaceport with the noisy luggage belts.

It took him some time to pick up his duffle bag from the belt and he hurried toward the admittance desks. Speeding up, he tripped over the long leg of another private and slammed into the person approaching him from the right.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Take it easy, take it easy."

Heero had dropped his duffle bag and reached to pick it up. When he looked up to apologize, he stared into incredibly huge eyes. Incredibly blue eyes. Incredibly beautiful eyes. He realized his mouth was still open and snapped it tightly shut.

"Private, apologize immediately to Lieutenant Maxwell!" A tall man, with short, brown hair and a harsh looking face, poked Heero in the shoulder. "Hurry up!"

Before Heero stood a boy... no, a young man his age, clad in the standard dark green uniform, exactly the same as the OZ officers around him. His heart-shaped face was radiating... exuberance and he was looking expectantly at Heero. The most striking thing about him was the long brown bangs covering his brow and, if Heero wasn't mistaken, he saw a dangling, thick braid.

He quickly saluted. "My apologies, sir! I didn't see you coming."

"It's alright," a baritone voice sang to him, "I believe you were tripping over something, it's okay."

"Sir!" He still stood in his rigid position, hand upheld in salute.

"At ease, private. You must be looking for the admittance desk?"

"Yes, sir." He moved his hand downwards. It suddenly clicked in his mind. The silver, wing-shaped insignia on his uniform.

"You're a ranking officer of the Specials?"

The young man obviously mistook Heero's amazement for awe, and patted himself on the chest. "I may look young, but I've got all it takes to be in the Specials."

"Lieutenant Maxwell comes highly recommended for his bravery," the other man addressed him. "You're not the one to speak to him so freely, private. Go to the admittance desk and stop bothering us, or you'll be sweeping floors for the rest of your tour!"

Heero saluted again, seething with anger.

"The admittance desk is on your left, three blocks away," the young officer said to him and Heero could've sworn he winked at him. Lieutenant Maxwell, wasn't it? He looked at him walking away and indeed, a thick braid was dangling behind him.

"You'd better be careful," a familiar voice spoke up. Heero turned around and saluted again, if only for the one speaking to him was an officer... and no one less than Trowa Barton. So that's what he had been up to. He hadn't seen Trowa since they parted from the traveling circus. It seemed pilot 03 had been busy infiltrating and working his way up in OZ' ranks.

"As you'll soon find out, Lieutenant Maxwell holds high esteem here. If you can't follow rules, I'll see to it that you'll learn them fast. We're on our way to a board meeting, so don't bother us."

He walked away without acknowledging Heero. He quickly swung the duffel bag over his shoulder and proceeded hastily to the left side of the main hall. He closed the line of the admittance desk. So Trowa made it to the Lunar Base too. Is he here for the engineers, or for something else?

"Lowe, Odin?" An elder soldier, supervising the admittance, peered over the heads of the young soldiers in front of him. Heero raised his hand. It wouldn't be wise to use his original name. He received a map of the Lunar Base, a stack of papers describing every rule and regulation and his room number. He had to bunk with someone else; having a room for his own would've been too obvious. He first wanted to hack the OZ computers for it, but dismissed the thought. He was undercover now, no need to draw attention. Think of the mission.

He spent the rest of the day acquainting himself with the structure and layout of the Lunar Base and he attended a welcome meeting for the newly arrived privates where he had to listen to some boring speeches. Finally, it was time to have something to eat, and after dinner he retreated to his room. He hadn't met his roommate yet and was on his way when an officer approached him.

"You there."

Heero stood still. It was unmistakably Trowa's voice. "Sir?"

"I have a chore for you, private. Come with me."

Heero followed him without hesitation. They went down corridors, escalators and floors until Heero was sure he'd never find his way back. Finally, they walked into a long hall with rooms which were obviously used for confinement. With a cat-like grace, Trowa ducked every camera in sight and they reached a gray door.

He motioned Heero to approach. He hadn't asked when it would be safe to speak and when he saw Trowa move his hand, he said: "Safe?"

"Safe," Trowa answered. Heero heard noises behind the barred window.

"Heero? Is that you?"

"Dr. J?"

Trowa moved to the right and Heero stepped forward. His mentor grinned at him behind the bars. "So, have you come to kill us, lad?"

"Why haven't you done it yet?" Heero addressed Trowa, sounding irritated. He had hoped he could dispose easily of this problem. He heard some noise in the background of the cell, but he ignored it.

"I can't, not at this moment. Colonel Une's using them to build another set of Gundams, the Vayeate and Mercurius. Their death would be too obvious now."

"OZ's going to regret keeping us alive," Dr. J said, grinning again. "In a few cell blocks from here, they're keeping your fellow pilot, Chang Wufei."

"Chang? They got him? But how?"

"He let himself get captured," a booming voice came from within the cell. Heero assumed it was Wufei's mentor, but he didn't know his name.

"He's brought his Shenlong Gundam with him, to upgrade it."

"I left my HeavyArms back on Earth," Trowa spoke softly. "It's about to be upgraded also, but I couldn't bring it here."

Heero heard again the ruckus back in the cell. Someone spoke up, rather gruff, but was smothered by the comment of the others. J heaved a sigh.

"02 is here also," he finally said.

"The Gundam? How?"

"Howard and his Sweepers were ratted out," J explained. "He had to sacrifice his ship to get out alive, but failed to blow up Deathscythe in the progress. OZ brought it here for public display at the Lunar Base. They had Trowa destroy it; to make sure he was loyal to OZ."

"You destroyed a perfectly good Gundam?" Heero hissed.

J shook his head. "No, Heero. It was already considerably damaged in the fight and if Trowa had refused or hesitated, OZ would know something was wrong. He couldn't take that risk."

"It wasn't easy." Trowa's voice faltered a little.

"It's now being upgraded," J said, looking behind him and sighed again. "Don't mind G. He's a bit upset."

"I'm not upset," the gruff voice croaked. "I keep telling you that 02 is here."

Heero didn't understand the man. "The Gundam is..."

J disappeared from the window and the professor took his place.

"No, I'm talking about the pilot 02. He's here, on the Lunar Base! I saw him when they were bringing us to the cell blocks."

"Give it a rest, G.," J said, not too friendly.

"Who is it?" Heero whispered. "I can look him up and..."

"It's not worth your time, Heero," J answered, rather harsh. "From what we saw, the kid's an OZ officer. We can't deal with him. He's probably too much emerged in OZ politics anyway. He's lost for the cause and we have to find someone else. If time permits."

"No one is piloting Deathscythe but 02," the gray man huffed. J shrugged.

"Never mind, Heero. It's not one of your mission parameters. It'll take us at least another month or so to upgrade the Gundams properly."

"We can't stay here much longer," Trowa interjected. "We'd better go."

"Stay alive, Heero. There's still much work to be done."

Heero and Trowa left the cellblocks. They hadn't much time to catch up, Trowa told him sparsely about how he'd worked himself up into OZ's officers ranks and that he hadn't heard from Quatre, besides his impending visit to his father. He didn't know why or how Chang Wufei would've let himself captured; he couldn't believe he would be only doing that for the upgrade of his Gundam. They had to split up before they reached the mess hall and Heero searched for a place to sit down. He had much to think about.

"Chief Engineer Tubarov?"

Duo squinted his eyes. The laboratory was sparsely lit, despite the impressing number of blinking control panels. He carefully moved forward.

"Ah, there you are." The voice that greeted him didn't sound pleasant. Tubarov turned around and eyed him he was an ugly man, with a displeased look on his face and a strong, malicious look in his eyes. The chief engineer was dressed in one of those pompous outfits the Romefeller Foundation seemed to be so fond of. Duo had learned that this Foundation had its roots in old European aristocracy and clung on to almost forgotten traditions and rules. No one in his right mind would dress like a medieval clown, Duo thought, but he wisely kept those thoughts private.

"You're here to brief everything over to Khushrenada, aren't you?" The man asked.

"I'm ordered to report any progress on the Mobile Dolls to His Excellency," Duo answered.

"Very well," Tubarov said, motioning with his hand. "Come closer so you can see."

Duo eyed the command console. "This is where the Mobile Dolls receive their commands?"

"I'm working on a remote control procedure, but the system is yet too unstable to perform actions. We're deploying the dolls first for sweeping mines, so we can test how their artificial intelligence responds."

"Only the Taurus suits are suitable?"

"At this moment, yes. We have plans for more sophisticated models, but we're far ahead of where our technology is capable of."

Duo pointed at another control. "Do you operate the Taurus with this?"

He reached to take it. Tubarov was faster and grabbed it away from him.

"No! I mean, no, not with this console."

"Chief engineer, I'm going to work with the Taurus. I need to know everything about it."

Tubarov pocketed the control. "Yes, yes, I know. I'll make sure you'll learn about the Mobile Dolls. But don't forget that I'm the supervisor here, Mister Maxwell. No matter how favored you are, your privileges can be revoked at any time."

"I wasn't overstepping boundaries, sir," Duo answered and he forced himself to look the man right in the eye. Tubarov wasn't impressed.

"And I was only reminding you of the boundaries, Lieutenant. There's no need to get upset. Come back tomorrow, and then I'll teach you how to deal with the controls. They'll be custom built in your new suit."

Duo thanked Tubarov with all the politeness he could muster, and made sure he left the room calm and composed. Outside, he released the breath he was holding. He was glad one of his students came up to him to invite him to have lunch together, so he could forget about the chief engineer.

Heero and his roommate, a hardly conspicuous man whose name he immediately forgot and didn't esteem important, were to report themselves for mobile suit class. Heero had opted to keep a low profile, to research and find out what was really living amongst the soldiers. It wouldn't be wise to show off his mobile suit piloting skills people could get suspicious, and if he proved to be even better than Trowa, he'd endanger his cover. Lady Une had specifically ordered Trowa to blow up Deathscythe to test him with two of the same extraordinary pilots, both their covers would be on the line. Heero positioned himself in the line with nine other men, waiting for instructions. The door swung open and the instructor was announced.

"Attention! Officer on deck!"

They all saluted, neatly in chorus.

"All right, at ease."

Heero recognized that voice: it belonged to the young officer he bumped into yesterday. He tried to hide his surprise when he saw Lieutenant Maxwell standing in front of the line, holding a clipboard. It would be logical for him to be an instructor, if he really was an ace mobile suit pilot for the Specials, as his rank indicated.

He started with a roll call and he lingered when he called for "Odin Lowe" and saw Heero putting up his hand. Then he smiled and went on with the list.

"All right, everybody's present. My name is Maxwell, Lieutenant Duo Maxwell."

A ripple of excitement went through the line. Most of the privates had heard of his name before. He had, indeed, quite the reputation.

"You can earn the privilege of calling me by the first name if you do your best and keep up with the goals," he said, followed by: "But I'm not that difficult. Not that easy either. Most of you come quite commended from Lake Victoria, but there are some of you I hardly know of."

Heero tried to look as neutral as possible, ignoring that Duo was looking at him.

I'm imagining things.

Duo approached the first person of the line and Heero's roommate leaned a bit over to whisper in his ears. "Maxwell's training with the mobile dolls and is next in command of them, right after Tubarov. Even Nichol doesn't hold the responsibility of commanding them."

Nichol? Heero quickly gathered that was probably the name of the man who reacted so badly when he bumped into them.

"Is that what's so special about him?" Heero gave back. His roommate looked horrified at him.

"What? Don't you know anything about him? He survived a Gundam attack, for Christ' sakes! He's been clearing up the space mines, and he's personally favoured by Khushrenada himself!" He quickly shut up after several 'Sh's!'

Heero filed that information immediately away for future use. Personally favoured by Treize Khushrenada, the man who had set him up at New Edwards! Maybe that's why Lieutenant Maxwell was walking around with special insignia, and a chestnut braid as long as his backside. A long, chestnut, braid to his backside... his... Heero blinked with his eyes.

Focus! Not on that! Mission!

Duo moved from private to private, taking them one at the time to a reconstructed Aries cockpit, where he hooked them up to a simulated mobile suit control system. Heero had to restrain himself from snorting out loud. An Aries! The privates were discussing their test results as Duo was slowly working his way through the line. When he finally came back for him, Heero answered that he was ready.

"You're quite eager, aren't you?" Duo chuckled. "Well, if you show the same enthusiasm as when you did when you bumped into me, I don't think there's any trouble."

He smiled and Heero was almost blinded by it. How can someone be that beautiful? He was wondering about it while he climbed into the cockpit. The simulated Aries joysticks and controls were child's play compared to the ones of his Wing Gundam, and he closed his fingers around the joystick.

"Lower," Duo said.

"Huh?"

"Lo-wer," Duo repeated, and Heero heard the privates snicker. At the same moment, Duo leaned in, took Heero's thumb off the upper button, and pushed it downward.

"You don't have to launch missiles yet. Here's the one for acceleration."

Heero flushed furiously, and not only because Duo was so close and he touched him and he talked to him and Heero steered his thoughts away. What's wrong with me? Focus! He could've slapped himself mentally for grabbing the controls in the same way as he did with his Gundam controls. Which idiot designed the activation device for weapons on the bottom of the joystick? Once used to the controls, he had to remind himself not to show off his capacities. He winced when he missed some targets. That wasn't even on purpose. Thinking of Duo standing close and monitoring him distracted him. He's just someone. Someone I once meet and I soon forget. Somehow, he doubted that. A mechanic voice announced that the test was over and Heero let go of the controls. He stepped out of the cockpit and looked expectantly at Duo.

"Impressive scores," he said, while printing out the test results. "You're doing well. Okay, back in line with you, private Lowe."

Heero took his place again and winced when he heard Duo read out the results of the test.

He held the high score and saw the other privates looking at him, envious. Heero knew how much better he could've done, but he wasn't here to achieve results for OZ. He was here for a mission. He had to forget about Duo Maxwell. There was only the mission.

Heero's days were filled with attending mobile suit piloting classes, field training and operation tactics. He hadn't as much free time as he wanted to; he often had to do errands for higher ranked officers, as he was only a private. It was usually Trowa who gave him chores to do, meanwhile slipping notes to keep him up to date about the scientists, the upgrade of the Gundams and the progress of the new mobile suits that OZ wanted the doctors to build: the Mercurius suit was almost at 90 % complete, while the Vayeate suit was at a mere 30%.

He had seen Chang Wufei too, who had calmly accepted his temporary defeat. There would be a time that the dragon would roam the universe again, and he was exercising the patience needed until the Altron Gundam was completed. Normal mobile suit production still took place at the Lunar Base, but Heero didn't learn anything else but that those were called "Mobile Dolls" and that Lieutenant Duo Maxwell was the man in charge of them. Duo. He's OZ. He's not on my side. I have to forget about him. Despite these thoughts, the lieutenant worked his way into Heero's mind more often than not.

Heero started thinking more and more about him, fascinated as he was with Duo's character and demeanor, gregarious, out-going, and pure. People adored him, felt at ease with him, and wanted to be with him. I want to be with him. God, why did he have to be on OZ's side? All the other pilots would kill me, not to mention Dr. J. He pondered if Duo could be attracted to him the same way. People, somehow wanting his attention or approval, always surrounded Duo; it was difficult to get close to him. One day, Heero had managed to leave class at the same time Duo did and he had smiled brightly at him. Heero imagined that Duo was stealing glances at him, but every time he looked Duo's way, he would look somewhere else. In class, Duo wasn't always the teacher, though sometimes he ended up with Nichol.

For some reason, Heero didn't doubt it had to do something with the one time he bumped into him, Nichol disliked him. The man couldn't hide his frustration that he wasn't the one in charge, and the third man to learn about the mobile dolls. To Duo, he was perfectly polite and composed, but Heero had seen the underlying frustration and anger.

It wasn't time for class yet. Heero tapped with a pencil on his notebook. The Gundam scientists still alive and working for OZ, the colonies who had openly turned against them, reducing them to outcasts. Wufei imprisoned and the whereabouts of Quatre still unknown. Wing Gundam again on the bottom of the sea to avoid detection; like an encaged bird with broken wings. They had nowhere to go, no way to fight. Why am I still fighting? To achieve peace for a world that'll probably reject it?

"Private Lowe, report for duty on Taurus Deck immediately for mobile suit simulation!" He was snapped out of his reverie. His roommate, who was studying on the bed, wailed.

"Why not me? I deserve a chance too!"

Heero rose from his chair. "As long as you're not in the top five of the pilots, you're not going to be called."

"Jerk," the other private replied, though without any menace to his voice. Heero didn't give him any more attention and left the room. Two other privates scrambled towards the Taurus Deck -- he recognized them, they were number two and three on the list. He smirked. A simulation, wasn't it? Well, he was up for any challenge they'd throw at him.

"Welcome, gentlemen," Duo welcomed them when they arrived at the deck. Nichol stood next to him, looking very sullen; he carried three padded space helmets.

"Reporting for duty, sir!" Heero saluted.

"You're all coming with me for an exercise in mine sweeping," Duo explained. "This is a serious drill, gentlemen. We're shooting with real weapons at real mines. A test to push yourself to your limits. Don't disappoint me -- you're the best pilots of this batch, and I want to be proud of you!"

"Yes sir!" The three privates saluted again and Nichol stepped forward to hand over their helmet. He looked very grim at Heero; he immediately gathered that it had been Nichol's job to accompany Duo on the minesweeping job. He pulled the helmet out of Nichol's hands and scowled back at him.

The two other pilots were on their edge, exited about their first real-life mission in outer space. Heero followed them to the hall where the Taurus were waiting for them; he snorted at the suit that paled in every comparison to his Wing Gundam. He walked towards his designated suit, ignoring the rows of other suits awaiting commands.

"Lowe?" He almost skidded to a halt and turned around. It was Duo, standing behind him. His look was hard to determine; a bit sullen, expectant, and something more Heero couldn't describe it. The young lieutenant approached him, almost swaggering.

"Sir?"

"I expect much from my top pilot," Duo answered him, flashing a wide grin. Still, his eyes didn't smile; instead, they seemed to linger on him before he averted his gaze.

"Keep an eye out for the others. They're not as good as you, and I expect them to make mistakes. It's just a minesweeping operation, but they won't hold out very long in a real battle."

"What do you know about real battles?" Heero could've bitten his tongue, especially because he was answered with a fierce look.

"Enough to know who survives or not, Private Lowe," Duo said, sounding irritated. "Don't make the mistake to assume I'm an easy one. I thought you were different and better than that."

They faced each other, and Heero could've sworn Duo was about to say something more, but he didn't. He walked away with the same swagger, shouting a few words to a mechanic who waved at him. The sound of roaring engines was deafening and Heero made haste to enter his own cockpit. While he was punching in the codes and bringing his own suit to life, it dawned him that this was the first time Duo had addressed him with only his surname.

The airlock closed behind them and they were in outer space. Soothing, Duo thought while he was entering the coordinates in his onboard computer system. Space was something like a comforting blanket; it could cover you with stars, wrapping you tightly with darkness. He checked the input and leaned backwards in his pilot seat. On Tubarov's orders, Duo brought a squadron of Mobile Dolls with him. The command console was blinking. It would take them fifteen minutes to reach their destination, enough time to ponder a little about private Odin Lowe. Duo grinned. He wasn't interested in the test results of the private, as they were excellent from the beginning. Nichol was whining about the remarkable resemblance to Trowa Barton's skills, and had voiced his suspicion rather loudly when Lowe even surpassed those skills.

"He's too good to be true," Nichol had said before leaving. Duo grinned again. Indeed, too good to be true. Top pilot, handsome, intelligent blue eyes to drown in 'and probably spoken for,' Duo mussed. He couldn't believe a guy like Odin Lowe to be on his own, even though he was under the impression that Lowe didn't care much for the presence of others. As long as there is no significant other, I can always try. There was the problem with his phenomenal skills, though. Officer Trowa Barton was thoroughly tested by blowing up that Gundam suit. Duo had followed the test on the screens, displayed all over the Lunar Base. He couldn't understand why he felt a strange urge to scream when the enemy suit was blown to pieces. As if, he lost something something dear. Duo hadn't been his usual self for almost three days, before he settled back in his daily routine, dismissing his mixed emotions about the blow up of the Gundam.

Odin Lowe showed the same skills as Trowa Barton, and he hadn't been submitted to a similar loyalty test. Duo shifted in his seat. He shouldn't have listened to Nichol's paranoid rambling. But two of the same skilled pilots could hardly be a coincidence had Odin Lowe something to do with the Gundams? And why did he think of that, when he only wanted to think about him in a totally other?/p> "Sir, we've arrived," his communication link flared to life.

"Excellent Peters, assume line-up position," Duo answered. He gripped the controls. The ring of floating mines came into sight. Another colony was about to be freed of the last remains of the Alliance and to be replaced with OZ's rule.

Quit it! You're here for the peace of the colonies. It was all lies! How does your revenge feel now, little Shinigami?

"Wha what?" Duo's finger slipped. What did he himself refer to?

"Sir? Awaiting your orders, sir!"

"In position?" Duo flicked the cameras on. The three pilots were lined up, and the mobile dolls were in the same line, awaiting orders.

"Alright, focus on the mines. They'll be automatically triggered when we're in reach. Think about it, this is not a simulation. Grab your beam rifles, gentlemen!"

The pilots equipped themselves with the beam rifles, one suit steadily drifting off to the left.

"Peters, you're too close! Wait for my? His proximity alarm went off.

Heero saw his fellow pilot approach the mines too fast and engaged his own suit. Within seconds, the mines broke free from their formation and, gaining speed fast, hurled themselves at the suits.

"Mobile Dolls, engage!" Duo was quick to respond and the suits immediately obeyed his command. The unmanned mobile suits were equipped with the same beam rifles and started tearing through the swirling mines. Heero made sure none of the mines came even close to him, keeping an eye on the other two pilots, apparently taken aback by the events. Peters didn't move with his suit and started firing randomly; Heero heard Duo yell over the communication link. The lieutenant's Taurus was speeding towards Peters, cutting through the defensive line, avoiding the swift space mines.

Impressive piloting.Heero noticed the outer line of space mines, about to be triggered from Duo's speed. Heero couldn't determine whether Duo had noticed -- with his back turned, he'd probably rely on the mobile dolls. He quickly checked his radar panel to see where the mobile dolls were moving to. What the they're way to far ahead! They'd never made it in time if Duo really needed help, and obviously he wouldn't notice when it was too late -- his attention was focused on Peters.

"What are you doing, Peters?" Heero cut in. "Move that suit away! Stolk, you too! Get away from here if you can't handle it! Lieutenant --"

"Mind your own business, Private Lowe! You're not in the position to give out orders," Duo's voice came through the link, rather aggravated. "Concentrate on your own work."

"Sir! Peters' suit's too slow! He'll get hit by the mines if he stays in that position! There's a line of --"

"Move your suit away, Lowe," Duo snapped. "You're in the line of fire! Follow my orders, now!"

"Sir," Heero answered and moved away to tackle another batch of floating mines. He targeted them with his beam rifle, and was about to blast them away, while he heard Duo calling the other pilots, followed by a scream from -- who? Peters? Stolk? It didn't sound like Duo Heero wished he had Wing under his control instead of the Taurus suit, which didn't have all surround camera feed. Something was wrong; the communication line seemed dead.

"Peters? Stolk? Lieutenant?" He tried different frequencies and when he got no answer, he turned his suit around to give the outer cameras the chance to pick up images. Two Taurus suits were slumped together, guarded by a few mobile doll suits, beam rifles casually in hand. Where was the third Taurus? Where was Duo? A blinding light gulfed over his cockpit. Beam rifle! So close?

"Never turn your back when you haven't finished, Private Lowe," Duo sounded rather strained. "We return back to base. I'll set the mobile dolls to guard our retreat. Mission accomplished."

Heero followed meekly, wondering what really happened.

It would take time for the suits on board computers to accumulate and process the battle data, and Heero wasn't going to wait for it. He released his buckles, took off his helmet and gave the command to open the chest hatch. He used the winch to descend, and looked around in the main hangar. Colleagues and two men from the medical services surrounded Peters. Stolk stood next to Duo, looking relieved. Heero started to approach them, but halted when Duo turned around.

"Report to my quarters immediately, Private Lowe." He'd never heard Duo so... menacing. He was about to get chewed out, and dutifully followed the lieutenant.

For some reason, he noticed Duo walking rather stiffly. He had noticed it before, especially after a long day of training. Heero couldn't wonder about it, as he saw Trowa in the hallway with a clipboard in his hands. He made the intention to come over and talk to Heero, but Duo interrupted him.

"After me, officer Barton. I'll send you to him."

Heero saw Trowa lift his eyebrow in a questioning matter, but he didn't have the time to answer him. He followed Duo to his quarters -- in a wing of the Lunar Base clearly reserved for high ranks, very high ranks.

Duo keyed in his access code and the door slid open. He motioned Heero to follow him and when they were in the room, he spun around on his heels.

"What's this, private Lowe?" He barked. "What were you thinking? I thought you could follow orders, that you were eager to learn and work your way up the ranks, not that you were an arrogant prick who thinks he can order my people around!"

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant Maxwell," Heero apologized, "but neither you nor the others seem to notice the second batch of mines. They were triggered by your speed and since you were busy helping Peters?

"I saw Peters freeze, and I knew I had to get him out of there before casualties would fall. I also saw the second batch, Private Lowe. I had a back-up line of mobile dolls waiting for them. Are you questioning my methods? Did you think I couldn't handle the situation?"

"No, not at all," Heero had to defend himself. Idiot! He wondered for a brief moment if he meant himself or Duo.

Duo crossed his arms over his chest. "I really thought you were different, Private Lowe. I thought you saw past my so-called fame and reputation, and I thought you were mature enough to value me on my own merits. I told you I'm not an easy one -- I'm not someone who lives only by reputation, but comes through for that reputation."

"Sir," Heero said, not knowing what else to say.

"Now, why didn't you show that before?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're used to giving orders, and quite naturally, I might say. You've got good insight. Why didn't you show that before, when you were with the land troops?"

Heero reminded himself of his fake resume he filled out to be accepted into OZ.

"I didn't feel it was very appropriate at the time," he answered. Duo chuckled. Something caught Heero's attention; a silver sparkle in Duo's neck. A necklace?

"Yeah, the 121 platoon can be difficult sometimes," Duo mussed. He shook his head absent mindedly.

"Sir?"

Duo seemed to blush. "I studied your resume. Quite impressive. You're just as good an officer as Barton."

Heero shuffled his feet. I have to do something about the comparison between Trowa and me. It would be too conspicuous if we're almost the same.

"I haven't even thanked you properly."

"Huh?" Duo lifted his head. "Thank me for what?"

"For taking out the mine behind me, when I had my back turned."

"Yes, that was pretty careless," Duo said. "Something distracted you?"

"I.." I was afraid that you were getting hit. "I was worried about the situation, sir."

"Don't underestimate me, Private Lowe." Duo narrowed his eyes and took a step forward. Close. "I can take care of myself."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Heero answered, almost out of breath. Duo was a few inches smaller than him and looked him right in the eye.

"Can you?"

"Sir," Heero didn't know what to say. God, so close. He decided to change the subject. "You're walking limp."

Whatever trance there was, it was broken. Duo averted his eyes and the thick braid shifted over his shoulder. Chestnut, red, and golden colors.

"It was an accident. I was shot down by a Gundam."

Heero gasped.

"I wouldn't have survived if I were the weaker person you're keeping me for. I don't depend on Treize's influence, I can take care of myself," Duo repeated, quite angered. "You're on extra duty for ignoring my orders, Lowe. And... make sure you pay attention next time."

"Yes sir, thank you sir," Heero answered and saluted. It was his cue to leave and he walked towards the door -- before he left, he looked back on a sudden whim. Duo was staring at him, deep blue eyes observing him. Deep blue eyes, as deep and blue as the ocean.That wasn't quite correct. Duo Maxwell's eyes had a hint of black in them; a dark drop in the ocean. The door slid open.

The extra duty implied, to Heero's annoyance, more kitchen shifts. He hated working in the barely ventilated kitchen with all those other privates around him; he'd rather have extra guard duty. It was, however, a good opportunity to brush up on gossip, and Heero tried to gather extra information on Duo. He even asked Trowa about him, the one time they were able to talk -- Trowa promised to 'look into it', but Heero hadn't heard from him yet. He was eager for some action. Stuck in the hot kitchen and dragging dishes around, he wasn't able to do something about the scientists and with each passing day, the Vayeate and the Mercurius were more and more complete. OZ still kept a fairly low profile, with Lady Une offering peace and prosperity to every colony she visited; the clever, shrewd disguise of cooperation didn't elude Heero.

With the kitchen duties finished, Heero had to hurry to be on time for this class it was a lecture on piloting techniques by Duo. He plopped his notebook and pencils on a desk and glared at the other students who dared to even look at him; he reeked of dishwasher detergent. Heero sat a bit to the right side, so no one would pay attention to him. He found listening to Duo's voice soothing. He feigned his attention no one needed to tell him how to handle a mobile suit. Heero ached to pilot his Wing again, but he had to be patient. Now was not the time. He drifted off on the calm tone of Duo's voice. He was called back to Earth when he heard a loud noise at his ear. He winced.

"Do you think you don't need to pay attention, Private Lowe?"

Heero rose from his chair. "No, sir!"

"Then tell me, Private Lowe, am I that boring to listen to, or don't you want to learn about mobile suit piloting? Do I have to remind you that you were almost launching missiles if I hadn't corrected you before?"

"No, sir!" Heero answered. He didn't imagine the snickering from the class.

"No sir what? I don't have to remind you?" Duo waved with the clipboard in his face.

"No, sir, I was referring to the boring lect--" he could've bitten of his tongue. Fuck! What a moment to choose to wrong word! "Sir, you're not boring to listen to! I want to learn to from you, sir!"

Heero found himself sweating under Duo's stern gaze. He didn't want to get unwanted attention, and now he had screwed up in front of the Specials officer. For the third time in a row. What's the matter with me?

He repeated, more softly: "I would like very much to learn from you, sir."

"Don't make me come up to you again," Duo said, blue eyes twinkling with... amusement?

Heero was confused. Duo turned brusquely around and went back to the front of the class.

"I sincerely hope that the rest of you are nothing like Private Lowe here, or I'll resort to equally childish manners. I'll see you after class." He shot at Heero, who ignored the glares he was receiving. He didn't care about the students and the students didn't care about him; his aloof attitude made him impossible to approach.

The bell rang. Heero closed his notebook and remained seated, while the other privates left the classroom, talking and snickering. Duo was gathering his own papers and looked up at Heero.

"You've been slacking, private. Not paying attention to my orders, not paying attention to my class. Is there something bothering you?"

"No, sir," Heero said. He gritted his teeth. He didn't want all this attention, and certainly not from Duo Maxwell. You're distracting me. I have to focus on the mission, not on you!

"Are you sure I'm not bothering you?"

"Never," Heero blurted out. He could mentally slap himself.

Duo chuckled. He came up to Heero, turned a chair around and sat across him at the desk.

"You've been looking at me, Odin Lowe. Watching me. Observing me. I wonder if you bumped into me on purpose or on accident?"

"It was truly an accident, sir," Heero said. He felt his face flush. The prickles under his hair intensified. Duo was so close to him; he could touch him. He called onto every ounce of willpower not to take him into his arms and kiss him. Kiss him? Since when did I start thinking about kissing him? He's a distraction -- and an OZ officer! I can't?

"I see," Duo simply said. He crossed his arms. "You're very fascinating, you know. So tell me, why haven't you applied for the Specials before? You could've made an excellent member of the team, instead of rotting away with the land troops."

"I..." Heero's mind worked at top speed. He had to be careful with his answers; if they didn't match with the resume he filled out, he was in trouble. "I developed an interest for space, sir."

"How come?" Duo leaned a bit forward.

"I wanted to see the beautiful beautiful stars," Heero said. Duo smiled.

"And, did you see them?"

"I see a lot of them, but only one in particular."

"Cheesy," Duo answered but he kept smiling. He was so close. He smelled of cinnamon? Heero maintained a neutral expression on his face, but he wasn't prepared for Duo's next words.

"I see," Duo, answered. "Is there something else you want to ask me?"

Oh God oh God he's so close.

"Ask you?"

"Ask me," Duo repeated. They were so close their noses almost touched each other. The classroom was empty; there was no one in the hall. It was silent, deadly silent but their breathing.

"Ask me if I like you," Duo whispered. Strands of chestnut hair mingled with Heero's own dark brown hair. So close.

It was one fluent movement, when they both moved even closer and nudged their heads for a first, tentative kiss. They only brushed their lips, a small, and feather light taste.

"I don't have to ask," Heero whispered back. He closed his hand over Duo's. "The answer is already clear to me."

"Poetic," Duo mumbled. "You're really an enigma, Odin." He closed his thumbs over Heero's palms and started rubbing gently. Heero's stomach clenched together. Odin. I'm all lies, Duo. This isn't good. I had better end this before it goes all out of hand

"There is so much to tell," were his only words. Duo smiled again.

"Where do we begin?" He suddenly shivered. The empty classroom had gone stone cold and dark; they both had lost track of time.

"Why don't you sit next to me at dinner," Duo suggested. Heero shook his head.

"It won't do any good for us, a private with an officer. Duo..." It was the first time he addressed him with his first name, and it felt familiar. Heero and Duo.

"Is there somewhere else we can meet?"

"You know where my quarters are," Duo said, eyes tingling with exuberance. "Odin, come visit me tonight."

"I will," Heero said. Duo looked at his watch, while still holding Heero's hand and wailed.

"Oh crap! I'm supposed to meet Tubarov! That impatient geezer's going to have my head!"

"Tubarov?" The mobile doll engineer, Heero's mind provided. He'd overheard Trowa talking about him; an unpopular elder man who only answered to the Romefeller Foundation. Heero didn't know a thing about the Foundation, and he suddenly realized that he could pump Duo for information.

"Yes, he's teaching me how to control and program the suits. I must say I've almost mastered their program language, but there are still some bits and pieces left."

"You handled the Taurus' suits pretty well."

"These are Virgos," Duo said, looking at Heero a bit quizzically. "Romefeller wants to deploy them to solve skirmishes on Earth. They need competent men to be at the controls, because we can't have them running rampant."

Heero forced himself to unclench his fist and to keep him from flinging when Duo tentatively pulled back his hand. How could I forget? He's OZ!

"Something wrong, Odin? Don't tell me you're regretting this?"

Heero grabbed his hands. "No! Never!"

"I have to go," Duo answered, but didn't move. Heero squeezed his hands, but Duo didn't squeeze back.

"We'll see each other again."

"Tonight? He heard the question in Duo's voice.

"Tonight."

"We'll see each other again." Duo rose and left the classroom, without as much as a look at Heero. He remained seated behind his desk, thoughts tumbling around in his head and his heart pounding in his chest.

On his way back for the last shift of his extra kitchen duty, Trowa intercepted him, rather agitated.

"Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"

It wasn't like Trowa to react to furiously, and Heero batted his hand away.

"I'm not an officer, I can't walk around freely like you do," he snapped back.

"Never mind. We've got to go to the scientists, now." Trowa yanked at his collar. "Follow me."

They didn't speak a word until they reached the relatively safe environment of the prison cells. Carefully ducking out of sight of the cameras, it was again Dr. J who came at the barred windows.

"Any news?"

Heero started. "I met an officer who's close to Khushrenada. He's in charge of the mobile dolls program, and he told me something about deploying the new mobile dolls. They're called Virgos. I figured I can use him for the information." He didn't want to inform the doctors that he had spend a great part of the afternoon looking in Duo's eyes, and succeeded in sounding indifferent. A pang in his stomach reminded him that he wouldn't be much better than a traitor if he really were to use Duo only for information. We have exchanged such precious words. Am I about to deny everything we said?

J nodded. "Excellent work, Heero. Use him for every bit of information while you still can. What about you, Trowa?"

Trowa had far more shocking news. "A Gundam has been spotted. It was reported at colony VX888, blowing up a resources satellite with one shot."

"A Gundam? What are its weapons and specifications?" J and Heero asked at the same time.

Trowa smiled bitterly.

"It transferred blueprints of its predecessor before it delivered the blow. It was Gundam 04."

"Quatre?" A smooth voice, belonging to one of the instructors Heero couldn't see, resonated through the cell. "That's impossible!"

"Did you leave the blueprints behind, H?" J snarled at him. "Idiot! Who knows who else could've gotten their hands on it?"

"We must act quickly," Trowa said, interrupting the agitated doctor. "The Mercurius and Vayeate suits are completed, and Colonel Une wants to send them after the new Gundam. I'm appointed to the Vayeate, but they're looking for another one to pilot the Mercurius. They're going to look at the top pilots and instructors here."

"They'd go after Khushrenada's prot??" Heero said. "He's the top pilot of the Specials."

"Not a chance," J said grumpily. "If he's really close to Khushrenada, they'd think twice of sending him into battle."

"He was commended for his bravery," Heero shot back.

"I'm not arguing about an OZ officer with you, Heero, we don't have time for this." Trowa didn't hide his irritation. "You are going to pilot the Mercurius, and I know just the way how we're going to do it. Report to the deck as soon as possible. If it's Quatre, then it's two Gundam pilots against one. We don't know what happened to him and why he's piloting another Gundam and why, in heaven's name, he's blown up a colony."

"What about Wufei?"

"He has to escape with the Altron suit sooner or later on his own. I trust him to take care of his own problems. We have to keep Quatre from destroying more colonies. Listen to Trowa," J ordered. "Report to the deck, subdue the chosen pilot for the Mercurius, and get into the suit yourself."

Heero had no other choice but to agree. While he was scrambling to report to the deck, he wondered what could've happened to Quatre, who had seen rather a sane type to him, to go on a rampage with an enhanced Gundam. It also dawned him that maybe he wouldn't be coming back at the Lunar Base and he wouldn't get the chance to see Duo again. He looked at his watch. He didn't have much time to warn Duo, but the mobile suit launch deck was close to the officer's quarters. Without further hesitation, Heero took the right turn and jogged towards the quarters, with only one question running through his mind. Since when isn't the mission my number one priority?

Duo yawned while finishing grading a stack of papers. It had been a long day, and he wondered why he even bothered. Odin would be here in another hour or so. He smiled and gazed at the last paper in front of him. Odin Lowe. Strong, silent, determined, just the way he liked it. Duo snickered. Sure, Odin was handsome, but he was also a good soldier and an extremely good pilot. Duo put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. There were some things bothering him, though. Too good to be true...God, he didn't adopt Nichol's paranoia, now did he? What a day. Duo hadn't been quite so sure that Odin felt the same about him; it was a risk to come up close to him and... to kiss him, but he didn't regret it for one second. Duo fondled with his silver cross again. Yes Father, I didn't forget about you. What a strange moment to think about Father Maxwell. Duo sighed. The priest had taught him to always have faith and look at the positive side of life. Thhere was still a war going on, even though the colonies were pretty subdued at the moment and OZ was still busy cleaning up remnants of the Alliance. It was still a war. They could die any moment, and what meaning did their relationship have if you could call it a relationship? They merely kissed.

Duo closed his eyes. I don't want to stay here. I'm sick and tired of OZ and their hypocrisy. I should just resign and see what happens. What could Treize possibly do if I resign anyway? He heard the soft murmur of a broadcasted report on his television and caught the name "Khushrenada".

"What the?"

He sat upright and turned up the volume. "There has been confirmation from the Dermail office," the reporter announced. "According to his latest statement, Treize Khushrenada has resigned from the Romefeller Foundation, as he couldn't see himself cooperating with the Foundation any longer after the official instalment and deploy of the mobile dolls. However, rumours are that Duke Dermail has stripped Khushrenada of his power and confined him in his Luxembourg headquarters, but there isn't any confirmation about?

Duo watched the broadcast with horror. Treize confined? Stripped of his power?It's been a while since Duo spoke with the man in person, but he dutifully send his reports on the progress of the mobile dolls to Treize's headquarters. He didn't know any better than Treize was receiving and reading them -- he never received an answer. Romefeller is in charge... they must be!. Duo clenched his fists. He knew from the beginning of the mobile dolls introduction that Treize wasn't very happy about it. He recalled his words on the matter. They took away the humanity of battle. God damn it, what humanity, Treize, what?

Something else dawned him. With Treize confined, Romefeller probably came after him Duo Maxwell!

"Fuck!" he blurted out and jumped. He needed to get out of here, and fast! Duo opened his closet and pulled out a duffle bag. Take it easy. They probably don't need you after all. He stuffed clothing in the bag. Everybody knew he was Treize's prot?? OZ would more likely than not split in two camps: pro-Treize and anti-Treize. The Lunar Base, with chief engineer Tubarov in overall command, wouldn't have to think twice about sending his men after him. Duo quickly zipped the duffel bag and pocketed his wallet. A knock on the door startled him.

No! So soon? He put his hand on his gun. It was a long shot, but if they were after him the door slid open.

"Odin?" He sighed in relief.

"Duo, I what are you doing?" Heero spotted the duffle bag in a second, and his heart clenched tight in his chest.

"I'm sorry Odin.. I have to leave. Romefeller has booted Treize and confined him I have to get out of here, before Tubarov and his men come after me. Who knows what I can provide him if he gets a hold of me."

Heero nodded. "Come with me, Duo, right now!"

"Whu-- what? Where are you going? And.."

"I'll always follow my emotions," Heero said and outstretched his hand. "Come with me."

"You want to elope or something? That's.. insubordination? Duo hesitated. Follow emotions? I did once, to get my revenge, and it got me nowhere. I've been here for too long, sitting around and doing nothing. Maybe it's time I take a side -- without OZ, without Treize, with only me.

"Where do you want to go? Why are you leaving?"

"Duo, there isn't much time. Romefeller's sending mobile dolls to Earth and a new Gundam has been spotted."

"We're under attack?" Duo hoisted the duffle bag over his shoulder and eyed Heero. "What do you have to do with Gundams?"

More than you can ever imagine. I'm a Gundam pilot and my name isn't Odin Lowe. And I'm your enemy. I can't be your enemy. I don't want to be your enemy. Why does it have to be so hard?

"Come with me," Heero repeated and Duo followed him. The hallway was still empty.

"Hopefully the news hasn't spread itself," Duo said softly. Heero took him at the wrist.

"We have to hurry."

"Odin, what's going on?"

Heero choose to ignore that question. Time was running out fast and Trowa would be furious if he didn't show up within two minutes; the Mercurius and Vayeate were about to get launched in search for the newly spotted Gundam.

"This way."

Most of the privates were in the mess hall and the Lunar Base wasn't all that large, but still they had to duck and hide in several side passages before they reached the shuttle port. Two officers were in the control room, clearing the incoming and outgoing shuttles and crafts.

"Within a few minutes, two mobile suits will be launched from the adjacent deck," Heero whispered. "While their attention is diverted, you can lift off with a shuttle."

"How do you know all this?" Duo almost bat away his hand. "I demand you to tell me what's going on, Odin. I appreciate the help, but?

"I know you can take care of yourself," Heero said. "But this is very important to me, Duo. I want to see you safe off this base. Remember what we promised each other?"

"We'll see each other again," Duo reminisced, almost sounding defeated. "Odin, this is what happens in a war. Forget about me. It was too much to ask, I guess."

Heero felt like he was punched right in the face. This is my easy escape. I can't I won't.. I don't want to loose him.

"I thought you weren't that easy, lieutenant," Heero answered, and let go of Duo's hands. "I thought you didn't give up that easy."

"I don't give up!" Duo's eyes flared with anger. "We could both be killed, and now the time is extremely dangerous for us?

"We'll see each other again," Heero simply stated. "Don't forget our promise, Duo. Don't ask this of me. I don't want to live only for missions."

"Mission? What mission?" Duo's answered was smothered by Heero's fierce kiss. He had to gasp for air when they broke off.

"I'll find you, wherever you are. Trust me, Duo. I'll find you. I have to go now but I'll find you."

The red alarm lights were flashing, meaning that mobile suits were about to be launched. Heero couldn't wait for another second. He had to pilot the Mercurius.

"I have to go."

"Wait wait a second. Bring..." Duo reached behind his neck and took off his silver crucifix. "Bring this back to me."

Heero took the jewellery and hung it around his neck. "I have nothing to give you. You already own my heart and soul."

"Funny," Duo smiled, albeit wanly, "I thought you were so straight headed and focused, but you're just a little sap inside."

"Sap?" Heero caressed Duo's face. "If being sappy brings this smile on your face, I'll be happy to be a sap."

They kissed again.

"We don't have more time. Remember, Duo, I'll find you wherever you are."

"I trust you," Duo answered and picked up his duffel bag. "We'll see each other again." He turned around and made his way to the shuttle port.

It pained Heero that he hadn't any time left to see Duo leave. The news about Treize was shocking, but not surprising; Trowa had already discussed with Heero about the Romefeller Foundation who had taken over control on Earth. Heero felt suddenly tired and aggrieved by the situation. God, Duo. You have to survive this. I'll find you wherever you are.

Duo strapped himself in the pilot's seat and waited. He checked the control panel and everything seemed to be in order. He checked the fuel meter -- enough for a flight to Earth -- and fed the coordinates in the board computer. He didn't have a clearance for take-off yet, but he didn't dare to contact the shuttle control room. Suddenly, the hatch of the shuttle port opened and OZ carriers were taxiing to the take off runways. Duo noticed the two gigantic carriers for one red suit and one blue suit. Gundams? But... how? And how did Odin know they were going to take off? He fired up the engines and moved the shuttle to get in line.

"Shuttle FT-345, acknowledge. Pilot, acknowledge."

Fuck! Duo pulled the levers for more thrust. The last of the Gundam carriers went through the hatch and it was closing again. He couldn't miss this opportunity!

"Pilot of shuttle FT-345, you do not have clearance for take-off! Stop immediately or?

The engines roared and Duo pushed the craft to its limits. The hatch was closing, he estimated that he could make it through if he lifted off now -- he ignored the wailing alarms and the flashing red light, he pushed himself forward and the shuttle took a dive into space. Not a second later, the hatch closed.

"Phew!" He released the breath he was holding and quickly re-aligned his course. He was going back to Earth. Earth. He didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. I've had so many troubles coming back to space and now I'm going to Earth again. There was no use moping about it. Duo switch over to the autopilot and allowed himself to think it over. He had to find out what was going on with the Romefeller Foundation. The Foundation had always backed up Treize and OZ; it would take something very drastic to sever that connection. Duo had already gathered that it had something to do with the mobile dolls. Romefeller really pushed to use the mobile dolls in war, perhaps just for the main fun of it; the foundation thrived on the sales of war machinery. It all boiled down to fighting for control over Earth, over the colonies, over the whole universe. Fighting with guns and suits that grew bigger with each generation, causing more bloodshed in every battle.

When will people stop fighting? When will people stop using the war as a mere excuse for their instincts to kill?

Duo unbuckled his belt. The autopilot was set, and it would take him some time to arrive at Earth. He was considering a nap when his proximity meters went off.

"What the? Duo switched on the main external cameras, but one malfunctioned. He glanced at the other one -- and knew enough. Virgos! He knew the same second that he wouldn't stand a chance with this shuttle, that was used for commercial supply flights only. The craft had no weapons on board, no shields, and would go down with one shot. Duo switched to the main board computer. He was about to re-enter orbit, but it looked like he wasn't going to make it.

The impact of the blast rocked the shuttle and hurled Duo out of his chair. The wailing alarms of a malfunctioning engine sounded too familiar; it brought back memories of his fight with the Gundam. The shuttle was thrown off coarse and he mustered up all of his strength to return to the command console, checking his stats. The Virgos backed off when he made the re-entry, but his luck ran out nonetheless.

The fuel tanks were running on empty and the main control panel flashed warning lights. One engine down, too many damage to make a proper landing. Duo was morbidly calm as the shuttle went down. He didn't even pray. He didn't fondle his crucifix. I gave it away to you, Odin. Would you care? Would you care if I'd die? He felt a wave of self-pity. Another promise I couldn't keep.

Duo tried to slow down the shuttle, but he had too much speed for a belly landing. Treetops hit the shuttle, thick branches breaking off like twigs. The eject seat didn't work and Duo strapped himself into the seat belts again.

The nose of the shuttle hit a fairly big treetop and the thing stumbled, jerked up and down and crashed into a hill. Glass cut his face, the seat belts cut in his flesh and he felt his muscles rip of the force of the impact. He was screaming until he deafened himself?hen silence fell.

Heero closed his eyes. He was exhausted and his body hurt pretty badly. For once, he was glad he wasn't behind the piloting controls of this shuttle, scrambling to get off the Lunar Base. Things had gone downhill from the moment they'd set out to meet the new Gundam who had blown up an entire colony. Their suspicion was confirmed: it was indeed Quatre, piloting the suit. Something was terribly wrong with the charming and usually composed 04 pilot. He had gone mad and the confrontation came to an apotheosis when he fired at the Vayeate, Trowa's suit. No suit, no matter how protected or armoured, could withstand the blast of the improved twin buster rifle. The shock of seeing Trowa sacrifice himself brought Quatre back to his senses. He was distracted long enough for Heero to take him with his mangled Mercurius into a headlock and they crash-dived into the airlock of the colony Quatre intended to blow up. Heero had lost consciousness by then, but when he woke up, he found himself and Quatre captured and reunited with the doctors.

"A penny for your thoughts."

Heero couldn't suppress a wry grin. So Quatre had noticed he was still awake. It was so easy to overlook the innocent looking young man's talents and skills; he was no less of a Gundam pilot than the others.

"Still thinking about the Zero System?"

Heero frowned. Zero System. A complex battle data computer, with the possibility to tell the outcome of a battle by predicting the opponent's moves, and enhancing its own pilot's fighting abilities beyond comprehension. The system could give the pilot a glimpse of the future, but had overwhelming side effects, literally: it warped the mind. Quatre, overcome with grief about his father's death, was more susceptible than otherwise to the system and went berserk because of the effects.

"Still thinking about your father?" Heero finally retorted.

"My father is... was a good man. He always put the interests of the colonists before his own, no matter what people say. OZ's campaign of 'bringing peace to the colonies' has effectively blinded everyone. He never stood a chance." Quatre shuddered, emerged in memories.

"You need your rest," he added, almost sounding casually.

Heero closed his eyes again. So much had happened in so little time. He had been exposed to the frightening Zero System himself. Their captors had claimed to be members of the Treize Faction, but before Heero could ask what was going on; OZ had stumbled upon their hideout.

Together with the five scientists, Heero and Quatre were turned over to OZ and to a certain officer named Trent, who was anxious to test the Zero System himself. He had Heero test it first, however. Wing Zero had unsurprisingly survived the fight with the Mercurius without as much as a scratch. It would take more than a simple explosion to damage the upgraded Gundam. Heero was convinced he would never forget his experience with this system. He wiggled in his seat. He longed for a bed.

"What do you think the Treize Faction is all about?"

Quatre checked the controls. "Obviously, they disagree with Romefeller. They'd kill for Treize Khushrenada. Something must've happened that caused OZ to split."

"That must've been something pretty big." Would Duo know the reasons behind the split? It happened all so fast. Where was he? We'll see each other again, Duo. He felt cold. Khushrenada was the centre of attention. How long would it take before someone would come up with the idea of using the lieutenant against him?

His body hurt and he still felt queasy about his exposure to the Zero System. It had warped his mind temporary as well, and it had caused him to run amuck on the Lunar Base. Heero moved his lips in a bitter twist. The only good news was that Chang Wufei had managed to escape from the base, after a ridiculous adventure of the air circulation in his prison cell being cut off. Apparently, that Tubarov guy had acted on his own. The air had come back on, but in the confusion, the mobile suits were also released. Wufei had left the Lunar Base, taking the upgraded Deathscythe with him, an extremely high risk, certainly for a pilot that still didn't exist?

It was something to contemplate later. The lingering effects of the Zero System had thrown him completely off balance. He also had Quatre to think about, who managed to save him from the mind warping effects. Gentle, noble Quatre who would have to live the rest of his life to come with the burdening guilt and horror of blowing up a colony. It wasn't in Quatre's nature to claim he was under the influence of the Zero System, even though he was -- he took full responsibility for his behaviour. Heero felt at ease with him, trusting upon Quatre's skill to pilot back to Earth. I will find you, Duo. His fingers caressed the silver crucifix around his neck.

"We can't stay here forever, Heero." Quatre put aside his cup of tea. Heero looked up from a small stack of papers.

"Just a minute."

He was scanning a list of names of people who'd left the Lunar Base in the turbulent mess of recent events. He couldn't suppress the wave of relief when he saw "Maxwell, D." neatly printed. Good, he made it out alive. He hadn't expected anything else from Duo. He was a survivor. Heero touched the silver crucifix he wore, unaware. He felt bad. Duo Maxwell was an enemy.

His enemy. He was supposed to kill any enemy and now he was thinking about one. Thinking about them together made him feel loved and sad at the same time. Heero wanted to put the list away, but then he saw the note attached to the name.

'Wanted? Immediate apprehension when encountered'? What the hell...?

He searched through the rest of the papers, but he didn't found out anything new. Heero mulled over the attachment. Was OZ searching Duo because of his relation to Treize, or did they want to use him for the Zero System, just as they had used him, Heero? He couldn't care less about himself, but concerning Duo Duo was well known in the OZ ranks for being Treize's favoured soldier. There was something bad for him in stock if he was to be submitted to the Zero System. There was a slight chance the system would show him a new insight in his future, but the side effects would probably cause him to go mad. If two Gundam pilots lost control over themselves because of the Zero System, what chance would a third.. Gundam pilot have? Duo?

"Something wrong?"

Heero had forgotten about Quatre, and managed to look indifferent as ever, though it felt him hard to upkeep that look.

"I was just checking on something."

"We can't stay here forever," Quatre repeated.

The Arabian was eager to return to his private army, the Maguanac corps, to claim back his Sandrock Gundam and to resume the fight. Heero wasn't so sure what he was going to do. Even without a Gundam, he was able to fight, but was it all worth it? New factions sprouted every day and enemies and friends changed sides so quickly he could hardly keep up. He was sure about Relena, who had taken upon herself to rebuild the Sanq Kingdom, not far away. She was undoubtedly loyal to him and that made him feel bad. I still have to kill her. He would laugh hysterically if he could. The girl had matured into the universal symbol of total pacifism, an ideal her ancestors died for. Heero ached to search for Duo's whereabouts. Duo can take care of himself. We're soldiers. The mission, remember?

"Romefeller can come any moment now." Quatre had a similar soothing voice, but missed the deep, rich timbre Duo had.

"I'm coming with you."

Heero was aware of the difficult situation they were in. After their arrival on Earth, Quatre and Heero had stumbled upon Count Townsend, the man in command of this local OZ patrol. Both pilots were astounded to learn that the Count sympathized with their ideas. Romefeller headquarters had issued universal execution orders for Gundam pilots and the Count, following his orders, had contacted Romefeller to come pick up the pilots; meanwhile, he neglected conveniently to place guards around them.

"There are only two dogs outside. Let's go."

"Ever heard of Sanq Kingdom, Heero?"

"Yes, sure. Relena is there."

Quatre smiled. Heero blushed and Quatre smiled even brighter. He must think I'm feeling something for her. Thank God he doesn't know about Duo and my love for him. Love?

"We'll be safe there. I'm positive Relena will let us stay there."

"It wouldn't be wise, with those execution orders."

"No one has to know we're staying with the princess. Let's go, Heero. Oh, and another thing..."

"Yeah?"

"I know Sanq has expressed an interest in Gundam 01, currently lying on the bottom of the sea," Quatre said. "Someone's trying to raise some line of defence there. I don't know if Relena knows about it, but it sure is fascinating enough to find out."

"Let's go," Heero nudged.

They left the camp unseen and commenced their trek to the Sanq Kingdom. Quatre had a map with him with their destination outlined. Walking through the woods, Heero suddenly raised his hand, the sign for silence. Quatre immediately crouched.

"What is it?"

"People are nearby. I'm going to find out if they're with us... or against us." Heero quickly moved forward and disappeared in the shrubs. Quatre remained still, but as tight-strung as necessary in case of an attack. Within fifteen minutes, Heero returned.

"They're members of the Treize Faction," he said. "We're technically on Sanq Kingdom territory. There's nothing we can do about it. They have injured and wounded men, and they're almost out of ammunition and provision."

"Romefeller's going to use them as an excuse to attack this country," Quatre answered. "Are they friendly, as in pro-Gundam?"

"I haven't talked to them," Heero snorted, "but we could always try."

They moved forward, into the group. Heero had already counted them, fifteen men. Both pilots approached the group without making a sound, still prepared for an attack. People were jumpy these days and it wouldn't do them any good to get shot at with bullets. Heero stepped into the group, hands held high, and said, "At ease. We're not here to do you any harm."

He certainly didn't show any sign of impression with the fifteen guns pointed at him. Quatre came to stand next to him; apparently, not that impressed either.

"We're here as friends. We know you're from the Treize Faction. You're endangering this country."

"We know," one of the soldiers answered. "And who are you to come to tell us this, snotty brats?"

"Names aren't important. Take us to the one who commands this group."

"I am the officer in command." The man answered grumpily. "The name's Gerich. What are you doing here?"

His head was wrapped in bandages and he looked miserable. Gerich and his men obviously had suffered terribly in fights. The others formed a protective circle around their officer, guns still drawn.

"We're on our way to the capital. That's all you need to know."

"Two boys on their way to the capital. You trek around for fun, without backpacks? What do you think this is, a holiday resort?" He made an impatient gesture with his hand, and the men lowered their guns.

"I don't know if that's wise. You don't know who we are." Heero remarked.

"I don't care. I don't know what to do anyway." Gerich snorted. "We're outcasts. We're not considered fugitives and Romefeller's only after us because we provide an easy excuse to trample this country."

"Haven't you considered going to the capital yourself?" Quatre inquired. "Relena's bound to give you shelter."

"Relena certainly would. She promotes total pacifism and I'm sure she will give us food and medications, but we can't just barge in on her. Like I said, Romefeller's trying to use us as bait. We don't know where Treize is and we have someone very important to him amongst us."

"What do you mean?" Quatre asked.

"Lieutenant Maxwell has joined forces with us, but was injured in battle," Gerich answered.

Heero almost choked on a breath. Duo?

"Can I see him?"

"Why? You're not allowed to come even close to him, you," Gerich snarled, suspicion clearly in his eyes. "We don't want anything to come over him."

"You'll have my word. I want to see him." Heero insisted.

"Why?" Gerich repeated, and even Quatre looked quizzically at Heero. He couldn't muster up a plausible excuse and he fondled under his clothing, to show the silver crucifix.

"I have something very important to give back to him."

Gerich nodded. "All right then." He motioned to two other soldiers to accompany Heero to the only tent of the camp.

Heero gasped when he saw him lying there. It was Duo, but he wasn't safe and sound. He was covered in bandages and looked sweaty and feverish. Heero had to restrain himself forcefully not to fling himself into Duo's arms. He could see he was in great pain and that he needed professional, medical help. Behind him the curtains of the tent rushed; Quatre had followed him. Heero unconsciously licked his lips. He had to be very careful with his attitude towards Duo with Quatre around. Heero cherished those precious little kisses they'd exchanged, and savoured it like there was no tomorrow. If he closed his eyes, he could vividly imagine the tastes, the flavours, everything of those kisses. And now, Duo lay before him and he couldn't touch him. Quatre went past him and kneeled next to Duo.

"What happened to him?" He carefully touched the bandages, and Heero was amazed that the Treize Faction members let him do as he pleased. It was more than ever that look about Quatre, that ever-deceiving first look that made people think he was innocent and not dangerous. Heero was well aware of his own stern looks and aloof attitude that made people jump or even back away from him. He knew he often looked grim and dangerous, but there wasn't a thing he could or wanted to do about it, and certainly not now.

Quatre had already opened the top button of Duo's blouse and read the military dog tags.

"Lieutenant Duo Maxwell, Specials, Aries Force 4. And he is related to Khushrenada?"

"Not related family-wise," Heero hasted to say, "He's favoured by him."

"Favoured?" Quatre put the dog tags back and carefully buttoned the blouse. "What do you mean by that? How do you know?"

"He was my instructor at the Lunar Base," Heero answered stiffly, quickly thinking up and dismissing possible other answers. "We just talked."

Quatre shivered. Every time the Lunar Base was mentioned, he got distracted in his own experiences with the Zero System and the period of his madness. He focused on Duo again.

"I think we..."

"Are we there yet, Solo?" Duo's voice sounded young, but had the same confidence, the same boast Heero had heard him speak with. "We need to get to the young ones, ya know."

"He's delirious from fever," Quatre murmured, and looked at the nightstand. It held a few empty cups of water. Gerich, who had also followed them into the tent, shuffled with his feet.

"We use the water from the nearby creek. We boil it, of course. We don't have any other medication with us."

"He needs to get to the capital," Quatre said. "You don't have the proper equipment and medication to care for him. We have to ask Miss Relena for support." He looked strangely at Heero. "We're good friends of her."

Gerich looked dubious. "I bet, and that's why you're strolling around in the late night?" He shook his head. "For what it's worth, you could be a Gundam pilot..."

Heero flinched, and so did Duo. He cried out something intelligible in his fevered sleep but quieted down when Quatre placed his hand on his forehead.

"...but you don't have Gundams with you," Gerich finished his sentence, a few pitches lower. Heero looked at Duo again. He wanted to sit where Quatre was sitting, so close, still checking for injuries.

"Could you tell us what happened to him?" Heero succeeded in sounding neutral. It was almost second nature to him. Gerich sighed.

"We found him at a crash site. He was already injured from the landing. The shuttle was from the Lunar Base, we already gathered he had to make a hasty escape. Duo's connection to Khushrenada could be used against him, and he didn't want that to happen."

Gerich continued. "As so many fellow Treize Faction soldiers, we were lured into here by means of OZ. They're probably contacting Miss Relena for a request to wage a war here. The girl is pretty and all, but her ideas on total pacifism are just plain naive. I bet there are a lot of people wanting peace, myself being one of the greatest among them, but it's not going to happen as long as..." He stared into Heero's bland eyes and cleared his throat. "Forgive me. I was just expressing my... Well, Duo joined us immediately and fought off the platoon that was sent after us to chase us deeper in the woods, and he would have come out unscathed if a multiple missile attack hadn't been fired at him at the last moment. He couldn't get away clearly, not without endangering others. Duo chose to sacrifice his own life rather than make victims under our platoon. He's an amazing pilot; he just tore through the attack lines. I had already heard about him, now I know all those rumours were true. That's why I want to hand him over to Treize in person, even if it's going to kill me."

"No doubt about it, OZ has split in two," Quatre said, stretching and getting up. "Why else is there a Treize Faction?"

"We are loyal to His Excellency," the commander answered proudly. "He chose not to battle with mobile dolls."

"Mobile dolls... the ones manufactured at the Lunar Base. It's a new era in warfare: unmanned mobile suits will do the fighting. No more casualties, but no more victories."

"No more bloodshed, just an ultimate power struggle." Quatre shook his head, looking sad. "They don't understand."

"We can all go to the main city," he continued. "And we can all ask for support from Miss Relena."

"Are you nuts?" Gerich asked. "Maybe she'll hug you two because you're friends of some sorts, but we... we're a walking declaration of war! She should sacrifice us instead of offering us shelter. She'll only inflict the wrath of Romefeller on herself."

His words echoed in the tent and a silence fell. Heero blinked.

"We'll help you. What do you have for suits?"

"A few Leo's, three or four Aries. Listen, kid --" he didn't hesitate to correct himself, looking at Heero, but was mere floundering for words -- "whatever you're planning to do, or you think you can do, you have to promise me one thing. I want to get Duo to His Excellency, no matter what. I'd rather have you promise to look after him than to try to save us."

"Show me the suits," Heero said determined and looked at Duo once again, before tearing himself away and leaving the tent.

They spent half the night discussing their plans. Quatre proved to be the real master of strategy coming up with a sound plan in case Romefeller should attack. Finally, he suggested that everybody should get some rest; it would be of no use fighting off Romefeller if they couldn't keep their eyes open from lack of sleep. Heero waited until Quatre and the others were sound asleep in their makeshift beds; then he hastily discarded himself of the covers and moved to Duo's tent.

He carefully removed the tent flap and entered, kneeling besides Duo's bed. He stroke away a few sweat-soaked bangs and looked in the face of the man he loved.

"Duo... Duo can you hear me?"

"Where are we?" Duo answered, but with his eyes still closed. His face was unnaturally hot and Heero could almost feel the intense burn of his fever.

"I'm with you," Heero answered.

Duo continued, voice faint and slurred: "I don't get it. What do you want me to do with those controls, you old geezer?" It looked like he was going to laugh, but he went on: "It's so hard... I want to get some rest, Professor. Let me sleep..."

Heero took some of the damp cloths and dipped Duo's forehead with it. "I told you that I would find you. It'll be all right. We'll get you to Sanq and we'll get you all the medication and attention you need." Given the capital city isn't shot into ruins yet.

He sprinkled more water onto Duo's brow, until a hand closed over his.

"That won't help," a familiar voice said, "you're going to drown him if you'd get him wet like that."

Heero stood up, if only to look Quatre Raberba Winner right in the eyes.

"I thought you were," he simply said.

"You thought I was what?" Heero demanded and ignored the knots in his stomach. Quatre smiled, tapping at his own chest, at his heart.

"I thought you were in love with him. I first thought you were in love with Relena, with all these emotions swirling in you... but when we reached this camp, I could clearly feel your love for this young man. It took you a lot of self control not to embrace and kiss him, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

His voice faltered. Quatre continued to smile, but answered sternly. "Don't play me for a fool, Heero. I could've gotten flaming mad at you, if only for dipping water onto an enemy."

"He's not the enemy." Heero shot back.

"He's still an OZ officer and he served Khushrenada. We don't know his position. Just because Khushrenada refused to work with Mobile Dolls, doesn't give him a license to be our friend. Romefeller has stripped him from his power, but as long as his supporters still roam the area, he's involved with the war and therefore an enemy."

Heero nodded. "You're right, Quatre. It doesn't mean that..."

"I'm not judging you, Heero. I'm happy for you that you've found someone to love. I only ask of you to think about the consequences. This war is changing; there are more allegiances than anyone can count. These are confusing days, and it's not always clear who's your enemy or friend -- but Duo Maxwell has been in OZ's service and as far as we know, he still is."

Quatre interpreted Heero's silence as agreement and continued. "I know you want to help him, Heero. It's pretty dangerous to take him to Sanq's capital city. Relena will certainly welcome him she does that with every fugitive, and certainly those who are injured but his past will betray him. We don't know Treize's position, and what danger he still can prove to be to us."

"There is something else, Quatre." Heero sounded like he was mulling on rocks. "I think he's the designated, original pilot for 02."

"What?" He gasped. "You can't be serious, Heero. He's from OZ!"

"No one knows who he was before he joined, and no one knows what exactly happened, except for himself and the professor that trained him, Professor G." Heero remembered his encounter with the old man pretty well. 02 is here. 02 is here! The old man had been pretty vehement about it. Heero took a deep breath.

"I don't see how else it could be. G saw him on the Lunar Base. His excellent fighting skills. He was trained to pilot a Gundam, not a standard Aries!"

He waited for Quatre to laugh and to declare him insane, but he should've known better.

Quatre's voice was soft and inquiring, not judging nor condemning: "How are you going to tell it to him? If he survives his illness, how are you going to deal with it? Saying: Hey, I think you're supposed to be a Gundam pilot, here's one, have a blast?"

"No, of course not." Heero felt his face flush. "Who knows what he's going to do if he had a Gundam under his command."

"We're not certain of his position," Quatre reminded him again. Heero shook his head.

"We have to get him to Sanq so he can recover. After he's healed, I'll get him up to meet his Gundam somehow."

"Do you know where the Deathscythe is? Wufei was the last one to see it."

"I'll find it." Heero leaned forward. Just as I've found you. He kissed Duo on the cheek. His cool lips met burning skin and he shivered. He didn't want to know what Duo was dealing with now.

The capital city of Sanq Kingdom was a comforting heaven of peace and silence. Heero and Quatre arrived late in the night, fortunately without encountering any troubles, carrying Duo on a makeshift stretcher. Heero feared for his dangerously high running fever and he was afraid that Duo would slip into unconsciousness.

It took them precious time to reach the sickbay and Heero snarled at the elderly woman in charge, overcome with fatigue and irritation himself. The nurse merely snorted at him and slammed the door shut from the room Duo was in. Heero had to refrain himself violently from knocking on the door and demanding his way in.

"It'll be all right, Heero. He'll be all right."

That voice. Relena.

"I welcome you to the Sanq Kingdom," she said formally. She was dressed in a school uniform, a white, billowing skirt and a dark red jacket with black accessories. Her hair was, as usual, pulled back into two braids.

"How are you doing, Heero? Do you still want to kill me?"

It certainly was a good thing that Quatre didn't overhear it. Almost passed out of fatigue, the blond Gundam pilot stood a little further away, resting against the wall, eyes closed.

"I guess not," he answered, voice soft. She looked at the closed door.

"He's important to you, isn't he?" She continued when he didn't answer. "Is he one of the Gundam pilots?"

"We could all use some rest now," Heero answered. He was taken aback with her smile. Why would she smile?

"I'll show you your rooms. Aren't you going to introduce me to your other friend?"

He waved at Quatre's direction. "He's Quatre Raberba Winner."

"Winner?" Her eyes lit up. "I can't wait to talk to him! We have so much catching up to do, Heero. Follow me to your room. We'll talk in the morning."

"What about Duo?"

"Duo?" She hesitated. "Oh, your friend? He's in good hands. You're allowed to visit him, of course. The nurse is checking up on him, she'll tell me what's going on."

Heero decided not to push it and followed Relena to his room. She talked fervently with Quatre before they parted and bid each other good night. He took a shower and noticed that someone had been in his room while showering; his clothes were gone, and a pristine school uniform was carefully folded on the stool. He didn't care and flopped down on the bed, forcing himself to sleep without thinking to much about Duo.

"Wake up, Heero, it's time for breakfast."

Heero opened his eyes, realizing that he hadn't heard her come in. His hand was tucked under the pillow; but there wasn't a gun to pull out.

"Lucrezia Noin," he spat out. "Aren't you supposed to be with Zechs?"

The woman smiled bitterly. She hadn't changed a bit since he last met her; on Antarctica, when he'd battled Zechs in a duel. Her short-cropped dark hair was still moist from her shower, and her blue eyes gazed at him.

"You're still abrasive," she shot back, "but you're right. I'm supposed to be with Zechs... but our paths have diverged."

"Diverged in what way?"

"Don't keep the Princess waiting," Noin averted his question and turned around. The door swung shut. Heero leapt out of bed and started dressing himself. More allegiances, friends, and enemies switching sides than I can count. Who can I call enemy aloud, and not wondering which side he has taken the next morning? And what does that make Duo?

Relena had taken residence in a school building, where the daughters of leaders of pacifist nations studied and lived with her. Sanq Kingdom was the last embodiment of peace; and she was the shining symbol, the centre of the total pacifism movement. Beautiful and vulnerable, Heero thought while walking through the corridors, following Noin. He remembered that she called Relena "Princess", and that's what she truly was -- a princess of a fairy tale glass kingdom, without any barrier or defence. His military trained mind cringed at the thought.

"Here you are." Noin opened the door to a large room, with an exquisite view over the kingdom. Relena sat at the centre table, while her butler served breakfast, a simple meal of wheat bread, fresh fruit, marmalade and cheese. Heero looked around before taking a seat.

"Quatre isn't awake, yet?"

"He wanted some peace for his own," Relena answered him. "I heard him play the piano in one of the music rooms. He seemed a bit distraught."

"He's been through difficult times."

"So have you."

"And you."

She tried to hide her blush behind her tea cup. "I... I have to ask you for forgiveness, Heero."

"Why is that?"

"After my father died... I needed someone to hold onto, until I found my strength to continue living." She put aside the cup. "You were the person I was holding onto, Heero. You're so strong. You're so focused, so intense. I know about your goal and that you'd die to achieve it. I admire you, Heero, because of your strength and determination, and I wanted to learn from you to become like you."

I want to learn from you. She sought out his hand, putting her slender fingers over his.

"Along the way, I realised I was feeling something else for you. I... I'm so glad you're here, Heero that we're together. I think... no, I know... I'm feeling more for you than I could tell at the moment."

"Relena..." He felt incredibly awkward. She doesn't deserve this. "I'm sorry, Relena." He put his hand over hers. Blue eyes as deep as the ocean. Not your eyes. I'm so sorry. She nudged her head, but didn't start to cry.

"I see." Her voice came with an audible hitch.

"I'm sorry, Relena. As soon as I have Wing at my disposal again, I'll leave..."

"It's Duo, isn't it?" She looked him right in the eye. "I thought I saw something in your eyes... on your face, when you looked at that door. It was meant for him, right?"

"Yes," he stated calmly.

"I see." A tear started to trickle down her face. "I'm sorry, Heero, I... I just wanted to hear something else."

"I understand." He still held her hand. "I'm sorry too."

"Don't be." She lifted her hand and touched him on the cheek. "You deserve happiness and love. If I'm not the one, than I certainly hope he is. I hope he'll make you happy, Heero."

"He does."

"I heard from the nurse that his fever broke during the night. You'd better visit him."

"Are you sure?" He eyed her.

"Go on," she tried to smile, but failed. "I'll be fine."

He stood up, but leaned forward and pecked her on the cheek. He left the room quickly, and when he closed the door, he heard her cry. Heero walked to the sickbay, still feeling awkward and a bit nauseous himself.

The nurse let him enter the sickbay, albeit grudgingly. Heero gasped when he saw Duo lying in bed, as pale as a porcelain doll. Heero approached him carefully.

"Duo," he said, "Duo, how are you feeling?"

The moment when Duo opened his eyes and smiled at him was a moment he'd never forget.

Heero was warmed immediately by his smile and he quickly sat down at the bed.

"Odin, where am I?" Duo sounded hoarse. He looked fragile, the harsh fever having drained him of all his strength.

"We're in the Sanq Kingdom, under Peacecraft rule. You're safe, Duo. Safe with me."

"Thank God," Duo said. "What's the status? What's going on?"

"Treize has been stripped of his powers, but his current location is unknown. His criticism at the Romefeller Foundation wasn't really appreciated."

"I know," Duo mumbled. "They're a bunch of aristocrats who want to make profits from the war. I knew they were going to clash with Treize."

"Don't worry about it now," Heero stroked the skinny arm. "You need to rest and eat and regain all your strength. I can't wait to see you up and about again."

Duo smiled again. "Odin, you saved my life, didn't you?"

"With a little help from the Treize Faction. They were very concerned about you."

"Oh, Gerich's platoon. How are they doing?"

"Romefeller initiates skirmishes at the border, and harass Relena with statements about the war. She offers refuge to every fugitive or victim, and they accuse her of collaborating with the enemy. I'm afraid war will break out in the Kingdom, and we have very low defences at the moment. Two Tauruses and a Gundam isn't enough." It was out of his mouth before he realised it.

"Gundam? There's a Gundam here?"

"There's a Gundam here," Heero confirmed, taken aback, and suddenly feeling cold and afraid. He hadn't felt like this for a long time.

"Who's the pilot? Are you the pilot?" Duo was pale as a ghost and Heero was sure it didn't come from his recently battled disease.

"I am a Gundam pilot," he confirmed. It was no use to beat around the bush any longer. What was I thinking? I was planning to die in this war. Why would I be so honest with someone I wasn't supposed to see again anyway? Why didn't I lie?

Duo smacked at his hand. "Were you at the Corsica base? Well, were you?"

"I've never been at the Corsica base," Heero answered. It must've been one of the other pilots. "What happened there?"

"You killed a lot of our men," Duo said. Walker.

"You've been in battles too, in the name of the Alliance and OZ," Heero shot back..

"In the name of peace! To prevent them from fighting! They were obstructing peace! What do you think I am? A monster?"

"You seem to think I am one!"

"You Gundam pilots have caused a lot of grief, attacking randomly and viciously! We were fighting to obtain peace for the colonies and establish a new order!"

"OZ's order! That's not real peace! It's domination!" Heero rose, angered, hurt and disappointed. He didn't know what to think or to say. He should've known this discussion was inevitable, but he wasn't prepared. He hadn't counted on seeing Duo again and establishing some kind of relationship. His stomach turned itself in strange knots and he was about to throw up. Duo wasn't doing any better. He was still pale and sweat appeared at his brow. He clutched at the sheets as if they were his last remaining lifeline.

"I want you to understand us, Duo. You're from the colonies yourself. You made that pretty much clear when you had fever hazed dreams. How did you end up with OZ? And why are you such a good pilot? You're far above any trained pilot, Alliance, OZ, whatever."

"I was raised on the streets of L2," Duo admitted, tired. "I don't know much about it anymore. I can only recall the hunger, the starvation. There was a plague... I stole the medication for the gang I was in. I wasn't exposed to it, but lots of people died."

"Solo too?"

"Did I talk about him too? Yes, he was our gang leader. He died of the plague. I wandered on the street until I was taken in by a church. The church was blown up by the Alliance."

He looked very fragile and even more tired. "I met an old man... a professor. I agreed with him training me. I wanted to learn, I was off the streets and I wanted to fight. I wanted to fight so others didn't have to. I always felt I was missing something. The professor talked to me about Operation Meteor and how I was going to Earth."

Operation Meteor."What happened?" Heero's curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to learn why Duo hadn't continued his training and why the pilot of 02 hadn't met his Gundam yet.

"There was... a raid. In the suburb we were in, a raid broke out because of the elevated prices of groceries again. The Alliance used military force to suppress the raid with lots of mobile suits. I was in the neighbourhood and saw a Leo crashing down... the suit was on fire and the cockpit broke. I ended up saving Treize's life, even though I didn't know who he was. I just figured he needed help; it was in the blur of the commotion. I never knew what happened to the professor or that he was involved in the raid. I thought he was dead and agreed to go with Treize."

"Is that why you became a Specials squadron leader?"

Weakened and sick he might be, but the well-known anger flared up immediately in Duo's eyes. "I didn't need his name and I didn't need it now! I came there on my own, remember?"

"Yes," Heero hastily corrected himself. He could mentally smack himself on the head. The silence was uncomfortable, until Duo started to speak again, voice hoarse.

"I agreed to come with him... out of revenge. I... It wasn't the best decision, I guess. I could continue my training at OZ's facilities, but I soon found out they were far below my capacities. Treize promised me revenge on what the Alliance did to me, and I got it with Operation Daybreak." He looked up, face distorted. "Why did you become a Gundam pilot, Odin?"

"It's Heero," Heero answered. "Heero Yuy."

Duo chortled. "Great."

"I was a wandering kid, too. It was a different situation, but another scientist picked me up... Dr. J. He trained me intensively for the same reasons. I'm fighting for the peace of the colonies."

"The colonies don't care about peace. Nobody cares about peace. They only want to get a visit from the God of Death. Why else would they keep on fighting? I tried to bring peace, even if it was under OZ's rule, just to keep them from fighting. Artificial peace is better than no peace at all." He coughed violently.

"Duo..."

"Please don't, Od-- Heero. You can't ask that of me now. What we have... is more fragile than a spider web."

"But as strong as," Heero said. He didn't get a reaction; Duo had fallen asleep, completely exhausted.

"And?" Quatre lifted up his cup of tea, meanwhile studying the newspaper.

"He took it pretty badly. It was to be expected, though. I haven't even told him that he's supposed to be a Gundam pilot as well."

"He's too confused now and we don't have much time, Heero. With Trowa gone," he gulped audibly, "we need all the help we can get. I've got news from Wufei, though. He has left the Deathscythe at L2, where it remains stored until... the right pilot shows up to claim it."

"All right. Duo must go back to L2 and meet the Gundam. I know that every missing piece of the puzzle will fall into place once he sees Deathscythe."

"That's an awful high risk you're willing to take. It's dangerous. And what if Duo is the so-called 02 pilot, can we rely on his liability? Is he true to us, or to Khushrenada? Don't you see the implications when he starts, for example, using the Gundam to help the Treize Faction? We don't need that!"

"We don't know until after the confrontation. I can accompany him to L2."

"No, you can't. We have enough on our hands, as it is, Heero. If you'd be leaving now, it would cause severe consequences."

Quatre threw down the paper. "Relena has been invited by Romefeller for a formal talk. Things aren't going in the right direction, Heero. If Romefeller attacks, we have a huge problem. The one thing I can think of is going back to my hometown to retrieve Sandrock and to persuade the Maguanacs corps to follow me. I know they'll follow me, but I don't know if we'll get back in time. Noin can't hold off everything herself."

"You always come up with good strategies. We'll think of one." Heero forced himself to look Quatre straight in the eye. "If we could only get the Deathscythe back to us, with Duo... we would win the war."

Duo Maxwell stared out of the window of the commercial shuttle and didn't feel at ease.

His customary braid was tucked away in the priest outfit he was wearing. He didn't know why he had chosen to wear this outfit. It reminded him of the church, naturally, and of the massacre that took place. I was just a kid. I swore revenge and I got it. Duo shifted in his seat. How could I've been so blinded by OZ that I left everything behind? Why?

He carried fake papers with him, giving him access to L2. Home. He was going home, but it certainly didn't feel like it. He carefully memorized the location of the salvage yard and the name of his contact. Hilde Schbeiker. Duo tapped his finger against his chin. It would be interesting to learn what this fanatic volunteer for the OZ regime made her switch sides. Why should I take a side? I've always chosen the wrong one before. Meeting the Deathscythe, as Heero wanted him to do, would be interesting. Heero He wasn't Odin any more.

The shuttle docked and he took his duffle bag. The Peacecraft girl had provided the bag and the clothing; the last thing Duo heard before he left was her acceptance of the position as chief representative of Romefeller in order to avoid any bloodshed in her country.

You're very strong and very noble, dear Princess. But even if you are the Queen of the World, you're nothing but a beautiful sock puppet, dancing at the hands of Dermail and his friends.

"Sir?"

He jumped up, shaken out of his thoughts. "What?"

The flight attendant smiled at him. "We've boarded. You can safely get off now."

"Thank you, miss." He quickly whipped out his sunglasses, and put them on. The climate on L2 was harsh and the sun shone much stronger here than on Earth. The artificial weather controls were obviously not any good here.

Duo decided to walk, if only to rearrange his thoughts. He was on familiar grounds, yet he felt rejected. I'm not being accepted by this colony, I've been gone for too long. He hated that he remembered so little from his youth. He'd talked in his feverish sleep about Solo, how long had it been since he thought of the leader of the gang he'd been part of? And Heero... Heero was a Gundam pilot. It was strange to think of Odin as Heero. Duo pushed the sunglasses back on the bridge of his nose. There was so much to think about. He felt betrayed and disappointed, yet he didn't know why. Why should he be mad at Heero? For lying? I never lie. I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie.

"I'm not the liar," he fairly screamed. Nobody paid attention to him. This was L2. He heaved a sigh and continued to walk. Heero wasn't a liar either. He had seen a fire burning in his eyes, a fire of truth. Heero was the true fighter, acting on his emotions, with heart and soul. I fight only for myself. I've never even taken a stand -- I just did it for myself and the hollow promise of revenge. He squinted his eyes. The sunglasses didn't help very much with the burning intensity of the sun. The junkyard was half a mile away. It was strange to meet Hilde Schbeiker again. He remembered her very well. Do all people change, and if they do, why am I the one standing still? Am I standing still or don't I want to see what's changing?

His head hurt from all the questions he was asking himself. Duo walked along the curbs and carefully approached the junkyard. Heero had persuaded him to meet a mobile suit, a Gundam that was supposed to be destined for him, if everything had been different. Claim it as your birthright, he had said. I don't have any birthright. I don't even know where I was born. My youngest memories are of my life on the streets, but I could've been born on Earth and taken to space. I don't know why, but I don't feel at home. I never feel at home, and with this war and all, things are even getting more difficult.

The name of his Gundam was Deathscythe, and the upgraded version he was about to meet was named the Deathscythe Hell. He couldn't imagine how it would look like. Heero had refused to describe it for him, but Duo had heard the respect in his voice. He had laughed aloud when Heero told him about his theory; that he, Duo Maxwell, was the original pilot for Gundam 02. In the little time, they had, Heero had told him about the prisoners on the Lunar Base, one of them being Professor G. Before Duo could ask more, Heero had kissed him and pressed the silver crucifix in his hand. Bring it back to me. He shrugged. If he really was to see a Gundam, that would mean that the old professor had finally succeeded in his plans.

Duo looked up and saw he had arrived at the junkyard. Gigantic piles of metal scrap surrounded two, three shacks. Junk was piled up high in the sky. He hollered.

"Hey! Anybody here?"

He didn't receive an answer and tried the front door of the first shack. It wasn't locked.

"Anyone here?"

"Hey! Wait a sec!" Someone hollered back, coming from afar. Duo put his duffle bag on the floor, looking around. It was very simply decorated for living, an open kitchen, some furniture and a small niche containing a bed. A staircase led to the first floor.

"Hi, what can I do... for you?" The girl was the same as he remembered. Her voice failed when she saw him.

"Lieutenant Maxwell?" She squeaked.

"I'm no longer in OZ's duty, officer Hilde," he replied.

"I'm not either," she grimaced. "Permanently."

"I'm here for the Deathscythe," Duo said. Her eyes grew wide.

"No way. No way I'm going to let you get close to the Gundam!"

"May I remind you that you were once part of OZ yourself, if that is what you're keeping that against me."

She swallowed. "Do you have any proof you're allowed to get near the Gundam?"

Duo was about to answer, when he heard a rumbling sound, rapidly approaching.

"Is that a mobile suit?"

Hilde quickly tucked away a gun, but not quickly enough for him not to notice. She's really changed.

"It sounds like one. Let's take a look outside."

"Are there any plans for attack on this colony?" Duo followed her outside the shack.

"Not that I know of," she answered. "L2 is pretty much left alone these days."

Duo pointed at the sky. "Look! Over there!"

A mobile suit approached them, engines roaring and wings wide spread. It carried a huge rifle and an even huger shield. The suit came to a halt and landed in front of the junkyard, squashing whatever there was under its feet. Duo recognized it from the pictures he was once shown by Zechs Merquise; the suit looked a bit different, but it was definitely the 01. The strongest one. Could that be Heero's suit?

The hatch opened with a steaming hiss and a man crawled out of the cockpit.

"Duo Maxwell, or rather Lieutenant Maxwell. What a convenience."

"Trent. What a pleasure." Duo recalled the man. He was a friend of Nichol in his last days on the Lunar Base, and Duo remembered him for being rather ambitious and zealous. He couldn't fathom what the man was doing here, looking for him. Was it to bring him back to OZ, to keep him hostage for Treize? Duo regretted that he didn't bring a gun, but he wouldn't have gotten past the controls on the spaceports. Somehow, Hilde felt his tension and moved a little bit backwards. She had a gun, and he didn't need to look around to see her reaching for it.

"Stay where you are, lady, or I'll fire the cannon," the man threatened.

"I wouldn't fire a beam cannon in a colony, if I were you." Duo tried to remain calm. "You'd breach the hull and we'll all be dead."

Trent snorted. "I couldn't care less, Duo Maxwell. Now, are you scared or is Khushrenada's favourite soldier really a wimp?"

"What are you talking about?" Duo didn't give into his rising anger. It would be of no use. What was with the man?

"Whatever you're doing now, you're still the top pilot of the Specials. I want to know how you'll handle this Gundam. This is not a normal suit; it's equipped with the Zero System. It predicts the outcome of battles based on pilot data. I want to know if an ace like you can compete with it."

"You're talking nonsense. I don't know what you're up to, Trent, but you need to leave the colony right now."

"Don't be ridiculous. If you don't come with me, I'll kill you. Or even if you don't care getting killed, I blow up the colony if you refuse. Aren't you that noble, to have all these inhabitants getting killed for your refusal?"

"You're nuts," Duo replied. "I haven't even been inside a Gundam!"

"Come with me or you'll regret it," Trent threatened again.

"Does Tubarov know about this?"

"He doesn't have to. What's your answer?"

"I have no choice," Duo sighed. The knots in his stomach tied together. Why this lunatic wanted to have him in this Gundam... but the man had made a severe threat and Duo didn't doubt he would live up to it. It must've been because of Trent's failure with piloting the Gundam; Duo knew the man wasn't in the highest pilot rankings. He grabbed the cable winch and he was hoisted up to the cockpit.

Escorted by a fleet of mobile dolls, Trent took Duo outside of the colony, into space and positioned him in the Gundam. Duo took a quick look at the control panels. I haven't been inside a Gundam. Why does it feel so... reassuring? Memories came rushing back to him. He knew this. He could do this. It was his training that kept him calm at the moment; everything that Professor G had taught him, came back to him, and strangely comforting him. His stomach had settled down and he felt another emotion boosting through his body; adrenalin. He knew this.

Trent put a helmet on him, complete with cables and floats.

"What's with all the junk you attached?" Duo asked, rather irritated. The man grinned at him as if he had hatched an evil plan for world domination.

"Just a safety measure. To prevent you from doing something funny, I've set the mobile dolls to target the colony if you try something. I want to learn from you and the data, nothing else, kid."

Duo gritted his teeth. Nobody called him kid but Howard... Howard who? Why did I think of him? And... why does it sound so familiar? The silver crucifix burned against his skin, as if it wanted to burn a mark on him. I have to give this back to Heero.

"Begin!" Trents' voice came from far, far away. An elder man with mushroom shaped grey hair, shouting the same, replaced him. Begin!

Professor G. How could he forget about the professor? Duo had been a stowaway on his ship, raiding the food storage because he was so hungry. Members of the Sweepers group had caught him, and handed him over to the Professor. Duo had no time to get lost in memories.

The mobile dolls were attacking him according to their pre-programmed data. So Tubarov must've taught others how to handle them. Duo moved the Gundam alongside. He was too close to the colony to use the powerful buster rifle; he needed a more manageable weapon. He remembered Professor G telling him about other Gundam designs and in a split second, he found the button for the release of the beam sabre. Duo busied himself with slicing through the mobile dolls, when the cockpit went haywire. A yellow light flooded over him, possessed him and he began to see things double.

"Whaaaat....?" It was his fever, coming back at him. He wasn't completely recovered. It was either that, or the Grim Reaper was spitting in his face. A humanoid monster, something akin to a Gundam, was flashing in front of his eyes, swirling with a scythe. Duo screamed and he moved the Wing Zero around. His senses seem to burst, seeping out of him, when suddenly calmness overtook him, and he breathed evenly.

My name is Duo Maxwell. I lived on the streets of L2 for seven years, in a gang run by a kid named Solo, who died of a plague. Maxwell Church took me in, but I was there only to see it burned to the ground in a fight between the Alliance and rebels. Father Maxwell himself gave me this crucifix. I stowed away on the ship of Professor G and he trained me until I was around thirteen. Then I was involved by a raid and ended up saving Treize's life, and I took his offer of revenge and I went with him. I became an OZ officer out of delusions. Now I know who I am. I was destined to be a Gundam pilot and I betrayed my destiny. I shouldn't be disappointed in Heero; he should be disappointed in me.

He didn't even realize he was fighting off the mobile dolls as soon as they approached him.

The last doll positioned itself in front of the colony, and raised its beam cannon. Duo had somehow discarded the beam sabre and, still perfectly calm, he took the powerful buster rifle and aimed it. With serene calmness, he fired. At the same moment the Taurus went up in flames and the hot plasma beam of the rifle bored its way into the colony, he realised what he'd done. He never realized he screamed aloud. Duo cried, and the next second he came to his senses.

To his horror, he saw the last Taurus in front of him... impaled on his beam sabre. Duo pulled back and the lifeless unmanned mobile doll drifted away from him, only to explode a few seconds later.

"What is this?" Duo realised his voice was hoarse, almost broken from the force he had used to scream with. Debris of the destroyed Taurus suits was scattering around and it dawned him that Trent yelled in his ears.

"What did you see? What did the Zero System show you?"

"Inhuman... it's fucking inhuman." Duo let go of the controls, slowly and steadily. He almost growled. How shocking the Zero System was, it had shown him the way. He looked up, tears welling in his eyes. He knew who he was and what he was doing. He registered the proximity meters blaring. He looked at the screen, alienated as if he had stepped outside his body. The meters showed a whole fleet of approaching Taurus suits. Through the open communication line, an angry voice shouted: "Lieutenant Trent! Hand over the Zero now!"

Before Duo could react, Trent stood in front of him, and yanked him out of the chair.

"I haven't seen enough! I can take more!"

"You would be losing to the Zero," Duo mumbled, drifting away in space, watching a maniacal Trent taking place in the cockpit, shutting the hatch and arming himself with the buster rifle. "That system isn't right. If anyone is capable of mastering it, it would mean they're inhuman."

He closed his eyes. What good did this news do him, now he was drifting in space? He felt as if he had no weight and no destiny. No worries, no haste. He stretched out his fingers as if he could reach a star. He saw lights from explosions, bright lights colouring the dark sky as someone had gone crazy and smeared out a whole palette of yellow and red. It must be the Taurus suits against the Wing Zero. Tubarov had decided to get rid of his subordinating officer. Duo couldn't care less. He drifted, feeling numb. He was rudely jerked awake when a voice yelled at him: "Duo! Duo!"

"Hilde?" She must've been on his intercom frequency. He turned around and the fear clutched at his stomach. What had seemed comfortable one minute ago had turned into a horrifying experience. He was looking in the dark outer space, without an anchor. A mobile suit carrier was approaching him, and Hilde yelled at him via the intercom.

"Here I am, Duo. Hold on!"

She steered the vessel towards him and threw out a tether line he grabbed. He still didn't utter a word when he was inside the airlock and waited patiently until he was admitted in the ship.

"What happened?" Hilde was behind the controls, looking frazzled and shocked.

"The man was insane," Duo said, while taking off his helmet. He was shaking in his boots, the events replaying in his mind and in front of his eyes every time he closed them. He forced himself not to think of it and took a seat next to Hilde, who was steering the vessel towards the colony.

"Who are those soldiers who followed you? What did the guy want from you?" She asked him multiple times, then looked at him and finally inquired if he was all right.

"I'm fine," he snapped, followed by an apology. Hilde was not the bad guy here. He waited before he answered. "It was Lieutenant Trent, with a very powerful Gundam."

"Just as powerful as yours?"

It shook him that she referred to 'his' Gundam.

"I don't have one," he answered.

"Sure you do." She looked more confident than ever. "Duo, what happened in the Gundam?"

"It was equipped with a special system; Trent kept referring to it as the Zero System. It had the possibility to show several outcomes of data, based on real battle data."

"It predicts the future," Hilde summarized, looking extremely shocked. "Dear God, who comes up with such a sick system?"

"I don't know, I just don't know." He shook his head and regretted that immediately. He was about to puke.

"These are the kind of people who keep prolonging the war," Hilde said. "If it wasn't for this far-fetched fanaticism and people would talk more with each other, all this wouldn't be happening."

"Take me to my Gundam," Duo said, looking unfazed. My Gundam, as if I've always possessed one.

"Sure," she confirmed and reached to adjust the main console.

If she was disappointed that he didn't go in on her remark, she didn't say a thing about it. Duo searched the communication links, but couldn't find anything on the Zero frequency. That meant that the suit was probably unmanned and Trent was dead. He registered the outbursts of heat and he assumed that the suits sent by Tubarov had carried out their mission successfully; they killed Trent and captured the suit to haul it back to wherever the delusional Chief Engineer was.

Hilde piloted skilfully the carrier back to the docking port and when they had solid feet on ground, Duo noticed how much he swayed. Sweat broke out on his face and Hilde asked him again if everything was all right. He denied her an answer and almost screamed:

"Take me to it!"

She didn't answer him, but went before him to the junkyard and passed all the piles of scrap metal and other junk. They finally stopped in front of a large hanger.

Hilde opened the doors. "Here it is, Duo. It's been waiting for you."

The lights went on and revealed the Gundam, standing up in the back of the huge hangar. Duo didn't need to think twice. This was the Gundam that he saw when he was in the Zero and he was almost about to sink on his knees and pray.

Gundam Deathscythe Hell rose above him, dark and silent, cloak closed. The samurai shaped head seemed to look him right in the eye and Duo walked towards it as if in a drunken haze.

"No one has opened it. Chang Wufei brought it here and he was glad to get rid of it, as if it scared him. Chang Wufei! No one has the enter codes, Duo."

"I do." Duo put his hand on the console in front of him and clicked on 'on'. The yellow letters flashed in front of his eyes and he keyed in the code. Shinigami. For you are the God of Death, created by the God of Plague, and I'm your henchman. Let me in, Shinigami, for there are battlefields to reap and souls to harvest.

Hilde sucked in a deep breath. After he had keyed the code, the eyes of the Gundam responded by turning green and with one swift move, the cloak unfolded and spread its bat like wings.

"Dear God..." she stuttered.

Between the protruding golden ribs on the chest, the hatch of the God of Death opened invitingly. Duo waited until the cable winch came down, took it and rode up.

"Duo, what are you doing? Duo!" Hilde screamed.

Duo took his place in the cockpit and he felt at home. He was calm; a different kind of calm from when he was in the Zero. He was home. Duo clamped his hands on the controls and the hatch sealed close. Hilde jumped aside when the massive Gundam lifted its leg and started to move forward.

Another leg moved forward. Duo had set the walking control in motion without really realising what he was doing. It was second nature to him. The professor had trained him beyond belief, burning his training into the marrow of his bone and the core of his brain. He wondered why he had forgotten about the man himself. Was he so really occupied by his revenge, and he had betrayed it all for this? Duo heaved a sigh. The Gundam was walking out of the doors, Hilde following suit.

The external cameras of the suit fixed on her and he saw her small figure, clad in tender purple and pink colours.

"Hilde, I didn't even thank you properly." He switched on the communication link and opened a line to repeat his words. "I thank you, but now it's time I do something for you."

"What?" He could clearly see her mouth forming the word.

"By leaving," he simply stated. "As long as I'm here, I will pose a threat to this colony and its inhabitants. It's for the best if I were to leave. Trent isn't probably the only person who knows that I'm here, and seeing my relationship with Treize, maybe more people are out for my life. Farewell Hilde, take good care of yourself. Maybe we'll see each other again."

He saw her lift up her hand, as to wave at him -- he smiled at the gesture. Even though she couldn't see it, he put up his hand to wave back and with one swift movement; he set the walking mode back in motion. The suit walked to the air lock, not far away located from the junkyard. He raised the hand to push the buttons to open the lock and stepped inside. He felt strange. At ease, but still strange. What was going to happen? What was he going to do, and what was Heero up to? He remembered their exchanged kisses as if it was yesterday, and Heero had cared for him when he was sick in the Sanq Kingdom.

Heero had talked about this girl, Relena Peacecraft, with a fierce passion in his eyes that Duo wasn't sure if it was love or devotion. He snorted as tears almost sprang into his eyes. He wasn't going to cry over Heero. They were soldiers, and the fact that they could die any day was very clear. What was it that held them together? The few kisses they shared in the class room? No, it weren't just kisses; it was something more, something he couldn't put his finger on. He didn't really believe in love at first sight, but he'd felt an instant bond with Heero, from the moment he bumped into him at the Lunar Base. Duo shook his head again and tried to get rid of the headache. The air lock beeped the signal that it was safe and the outer hatch opened. Duo hit the boosters before the Gundam would fall out of the air lock and they came to life with a grumbling sound, as if they weren't used in a long time.

Duo flinched. He knew how long the Gundam had been standing there, unused.

"I'm sorry old buddy," he said, "Do you still think we could fight again?" He kept the cloaking device activated because he didn't want to be picked up by any radar device. Where to go to now?. There was only one thing to do -- return to the Sanq Kingdom and find Heero. And then, then what? Was he going to proclaim his undying love for Heero? Heero had cared for him, but did he care for him because he was useful in this war or because he really loved him?

The travel was long, and blissfully silent. Duo sat back in his pilot chair, mulling over the recent events, and the impact of the ZERO system on him in particular. He wondered if he'd meet the other Gundam pilots. Duo was curious about them. They probably won't accept me.

Once again, Khushrenada's name felt like a millstone on his neck. The other Gundam pilots wouldn't be too fond of him when they learned about his past and his connection to the former OZ leader. Duo gritted his teeth. He had overcome worse.

"If necessary, I'll descend on Earth and set everything right myself," he repeated over and over again. "I will now fight for others so they don't have to, as I promised; I won't be fighting only for myself." He was now a Gundam pilot in name, but he severely doubted if the others would be waiting for him with open arms.

A proximity meter went off and the heat detector measured increased heat waves. Duo switched on the external cameras and searched for the source of the heat. He found it: two white Taurus suits were fighting off mobile dolls of the OZ space forces. It brought him a foul taste in the mouth. OZ!

The closest white Taurus had run out of firepower. The pilot threw its empty weapons at the black Virgo mobile doll, who simply discarded them with one blow. Duo moved his hand towards the buttons that made the uncloaking device uplift its wings. He waited until his warmth meters skyrocketed. A huge explosion had caused the rise in the meters, and Duo was even more baffled when he saw a mobile suit hurling towards the white Taurus. He had seen the mobile suit before, the white massive Gundam with the curved cutting weapons. It rammed the Virgo, sending them both sprawling through outer space. Without a second thought, Duo allowed Deathscythe Hell to open its hands and he caught both of them.

Silence reigned in space. Not a single sound. Duo felt a little smug, knowing that he couldn't be detected by any radar system. Thank you, Professor G. I remember your lessons about stealth. You were right, all the time. The pilot of the second white Taurus seemed to search, hesitantly moving from left to right. Duo decided that now was the time to reveal himself and he uncloaked the Gundam. Deathscythe Hell opened its massive wings, strengthening its demon like appearance and instantly causing fear and terror in his opponents. He released the white Gundam that carefully put itself in an upright position, and pushed the Virgo suit away from him. With one whirl, Deathscythe grabbed its massive twin beam scythe and the green plasma energy flared, describing a huge arc. Duo didn't hesitate. He cut the enemy suit with one swift swipe, neatly and exactly in half. It exploded on impact. Duo launched his buster shield towards the other suits. He moved with grace, he moved with an ease that came naturally to him. Deathscythe dealt with the enemy suits and Duo felt the power... and felt that he was alive. Death has never made me feel so alive before.

With all the enemy suits defeated, Duo followed the example of the other pilots; he opened the chest hatch and carefully prepared to tread outside, safely secured with a tether line. The white Taurus opened its hatch and a young boy stepped out, looking confused.

The Gundam brought back memories. Duo recognized it from the transport debacle in Siberia: it was the one who had launched the missiles at him. He'd managed to dodge the attack because of his cunning pilot skills, but his Aries had been ripped to pieces. Duo snorted. His Aries was a mangled bicycle compared to the Gundam. He stepped out of his cockpit and carefully placed his feet on the hatch. The Gundam pilot also stepped out and Duo didn't pay attentions to the third one, the other white Taurus suit.

The communications lines were open and he was startled by a male voice, asking: "Duo Maxwell, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me, Duo," he answered, wondering why the pilot knew his name.

"Do I know you?" It was the pilot of the Taurus who had run out of firepower.

"I'm one of the best friends you ever got!" Duo said jokingly, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. He miserably failed.

"I'm sorry," the pilot mumbled, sounding young and clearly confused.

"Lieutenant Duo Maxwell, from the Specials?" A female voice shrieked in his ear. Duo almost cried out of the sudden impact of the voice. He cringed because the woman didn't even try to hide her fear and horror.

"Is that you, Lucrezia Noin?" He wasn't entirely sure. He'd only met her once at Lake Victoria, and had caught rumours of an attack, targeted at the pilots in training there, supposedly caused by another Gundam pilot. And now I'm one of them. How can I be one of them if I can't even make up my own mind and feel the way I'm supposed to feel? If I'm such a mess myself, how can I expect them to accept me amidst their ranks? He carefully steered his train of thoughts away from there. He took her silence as a confirmation.

"Lieutenant Noin, how are you," he answered, almost drawling. He couldn't see her face because of the grotesque space helmets. He didn't receive an answer, and saw the three exchanging looks. Even Lucrezia Noin has switched sides. How come I'm not the one changing?

"I thank you, from the bottom of my heart," she suddenly said and it startled him again. Was it for saving those two?

"Are you coming with us, Duo?" The Gundam pilot sounded like he was inviting him over for tea, as if they knew each other for years.

"Are you sure?" He couldn't think of any other answer.

"I'm sure. There's a resource satellite nearby, owned by my family. We can talk there." His voice was perfectly calm and normal, yet Duo was sweating like a pig. He tried to get a grip on himself. What was he thinking? He used to command guys twice his age around!

"Lead the way," he answered meekly and stepped back into the cockpit. His cameras fixed on the suits before him and he followed them like a lamb to the slaughterhouse. He couldn't keep from fondling his crucifix.

Duo hadn't realised how tired he was until the Gundam was safe and docked. Next to Deathscythe stood the other Gundam, as if they were the best buddies of the world. He lowered himself down with the cable and when his feet touched the ground, he suddenly felt like a traitor.

A blonde boy, a teenager like him, approached him with open arms.

"We haven't been officially introduced, Duo. My name's Quatre Raberba Winner."

"The Winner family?" Duo was impressed, and shook hands with him.

"Thank you, Duo."

"Thank you, too," Duo answered confused. He looked at the other boy, slender and tall, with auburn hair in a uni bang, covering the left side of his face.

"What the officer Barton?" Was everybody a Gundam pilot in disguise? He was shocked to see him looking at him with a blank expression. "Officer Barton?"

"I'm Trowa Barton," the young man repeated, but didn't sound very confident. Duo noticed Quatre to avert his eyes and focus his gaze at the floor.

Lucrezia Noin hadn't changed much since the last time he'd seen her, but the determined look in her eyes was undoubtedly as strong as ever. She stepped in before Trowa.

"A lot of things have happened, Lieutenant. Too much to discuss in a few minutes. I take it you have some news to report yourself."

"Well, yes, sure," Duo answered. "How's Zechs?" Duo had lost contact with the Lightning Count after Operation Daybreak, but he had picked up rumours about the man. Treize had mentioned that Zechs was also diverging from OZ' path.

She flinched, but saluted for him. "I hope Zechs' doing all right." She sounded strained and extremely under pressure. "With your permission, I would like to retreat now, sir."

"Sure," Duo answered and watched her walking away. Why in the hell would she salute for him? Trowa looked like nothing really mattered to him. Quatre wore a shocked expression; maybe because he casually used the name Zechs, he didn't know. He stifled a yawn.

"Please accept the hospitality of the Winner family, Duo," Quatre finally said, still in his calm but quite commanding voice. "Before we talk, it's better to get some rest and something to eat. I know you're full of questions, so am I -- but it has to wait for now. I'll have someone show you your room and bring you some dinner."

"Thank you very much." Duo couldn't do anything but to thank him. He had to earn their trust and he couldn't really blame them for not exactly immediately trusting him. An Arabic looking guy bowed before him and said: "This way, sir."

Duo felt smelly and stinky after the hour-long flight and really hoped he could discard his old clothes. He was brought to a room with an adjacent bathroom and he could almost howl with relief. Duo stripped himself of the smelly clothes and made a beeline for the shower.

When he felt the hot sprays of water, he sighed aloud. The empty blackness of space flashed shortly in front of his eyes, but it didn't frighten him anymore. I was born between the stars. I've never been really a child of the Earth, though Earth was kind to me. I'm not a child of the colonies either. How can I ever relate to them, to the toiling and suffering, if I'm not one of them? Tiredness overcame him. He washed his hair, marvelled about the rich stock of supply of hair lotions and conditioners and gave into the luxury to rinse and lather twice. He turned off the tap, stepped out of the shower cabin and noticed that his clothes were gone. He was embarrassed by the sheer thoughts of the smelly clothing and hoped they had a good washing machine. He dried himself off and dressed in pyjamas.

Duo saw a covered tray on the small side table and he took off the lid. It was a simple meal of meat, vegetables and a few bulky potatoes, but it tasted like heaven to him. He couldn't remember how he reached his bed; when his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.

Someone poked at his shoulder and he grudgingly opened an eye.

"My apologies sir, but it's time for your breakfast. Master Winner has asked for you to join him."

It was the same attendant from yesterday, smiling a bit wanly. Duo yawned and stretched his arms. On a short command of the attendant, two others came inside the room, reeling a rack of clothes. Duo questioned about his old clothing, and got the short answer that 'they wouldn't do for Master Winner'.

Duo complied and dressed himself in black attire, and made sure the white collar of his shirt showed. I'm sorry, Father Maxwell. I royally fucked up.

After he was fully dressed, he was bid by the servant to follow him. Duo drew a deep breath. How nice Quatre appeared on the outside, he couldn't assume he was also nice on the inside. Heero hadn't told him much about the other pilots. Nervously, Duo hardly paid attention to the furniture and the rooms they passed on their way to 'Master Winner'. The guy has his personal army of servants. He was suddenly afraid.

They halted for a door and he was announced.

"Mister Maxwell for you, Master Winner."

"Thank you Auda, that'll be all."

Duo tried not to feel uncomfortable. Quatre was sitting at the breakfast table, lifting up a gigantic porcelain cup.

"Won't you join me for breakfast, Duo?"

"Eh, sure," Duo answered and took a chair. A servant popped out of nowhere, asking him if he wanted tea or coffee. Duo settled for coffee.

"Have something to eat," Quatre encouraged him. There was a lot to choose from: loafs of bread, fresh fruit, jams and cheese. They finished eating in silence, sometimes disturbed by servants who replenished the dishes and the cups. Quatre finally dismissed them and took a sip at his tea before speaking up.

"You've come quite recommended. You have an outstanding record, mentioning your superior piloting skills and excellent insight on mobile suit engineering and tactics."

"I don't have anything to complain."

"You may be angry with me, for doing a background check. I was longing to do so the day I heard about you."

"I don't blame you for not trusting me," Duo said.

"You saved me and Trowa, that's all that counts for me. And Heero, of course."

"What about Heero?"

"He vouched for you." Quatre took another sip. "He really didn't need to, you know. I've never seen someone so in love before, and any friend of Heero is my friend, no matter where they come from."

In love?Duo realized he was tearing up the napkin and put it quickly aside.

"Even when they belonged to OZ once?"

"Belonged or supported? There's a great difference between those two."

Duo averted his eyes. "I served OZ, convinced that I was doing the right thing. After the Alliance was overthrown, I really thought I was helping the colonists by sticking to OZ and their ideals. Little did I understand that I was only replacing the ones behind the helm. It didn't make a difference. Still.." he hesitated, "I don't want to sugar coat my words or actions."

Quatre nodded and finished his tea. "Let's go to the living room."

While the servants bussed the breakfast table, the two pilots moved to the adjacent room, furnished in the same style as the other room. Quatre seated himself in the comfortable looking couch, while Duo took a seat on the opposite end of the couch.

"How's Heero?" he asked.

"The last thing I heard from him, was that he somehow managed to get into contact with Treize." Quatre looked pensive. "I haven't talked to him since we both left the Sanq Kingdom."

"What would he want from Treize? Is it about me? Don't they hate each other?"

"I know it has nothing to do with you." Quatre heaved a sigh. "It's about a new Gundam, I'm not sure. The Winner database is large, but not large enough. I left Sanq Kingdom to return to my own men."

"I see." Duo was confused.

"I'm glad Deathscythe Hell accepted you, meaning that you're the right pilot. That's what I know and that's what I accept. I esteem the scientists wise enough to not let someone they don't trust, open a Gundam. I don't have to know everything." He leaned forward. "However, you piloting Deathscythe doesn't mean immediately that you're on our side... does it?"

"I don't even know what sides there are to take."

"What were you thinking when you entered Deathscythe?"

"Do you really want to know?"

Quatre smiled and put his hand over his heart. "Yes, I really want to know."

"I wanted to go back to Heero."

"I thought so." There was no judgment or condemning in his voice. He opened his blue eyes and said, "We were fortunate yesterday having you around, Duo. As you've noticed, Trowa isn't really the Trowa you know. He's one of us Gundam pilots, but he has lost his memory due to an... unfortunate accident."

"The Zero system?" Duo asked, breathless. Quatre looked pained.

"Yes, it had something to do with the Zero System. It's terribly dangerous and... well, never mind. We were talking about you." He smiled again.

"Do you know how the colonies are treating us? They deny every relationship with us. We're considered outcasts, Duo. There couldn't be any more wrong moment to join us."

"I don't know if I'll join you," Duo objected. "You seemed to have accepted me, but what about the rest of the pilots?"

"I can't speak for the others. You seem to be on the good side. I can't say that I'm very happy if you should only do this for Heero. I want people to join with one hundred percent dedication for the cause, not because of other feelings."

Duo remained silent.

"We'll be leaving for a search in an hour," Quatre said softly, looking at Duo. "There still is the fifth Gundam pilot to encounter. Chang Wufei."

The vessel slowly moved through space, crawling its way through the dark vastness. The silence was deafening. Lucrezia Noin was at the controls and steadily steered forward. Trowa was silent as usual; he only exchanged words with Quatre. Duo looked out of the window, seeing nothing but the dark carpet covered with stars. I don't belong here. I wish you were here Heero, but you can't make it better for me. I must do it myself.

A red light started flashing.

"Incoming message," Trowa read out loud, voice monotonous. "It's a message for... the Deathscythe?"

"Huh?" Duo immediately looked up. Trowa engaged the video link and an image appeared. An elderly man, dressed in a horrible Hawaiian t-shirt and wearing sunglasses, aimed his greeting at Duo as if they were old friends.

"Greetings and salutations to you, pilot 02!"

Duo looked at the screen. He had a strange feeling of d? vu.

"Howard? Howard, is that you, old man?"

The smile beamed at him was enough to send him into a spaz.

"You recognize me! Come to the Peacemillion, kid, where I can refuel and repair your Gundam just like in the good old days!"

He signed off before Duo could ask what the 'good old days' were. He looked frustrated at the screen and Noin turned around in her seat.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he brusquely answered her. Howard had triggered something inside him. The professor used to talk about him, saying that I was going to meet him when I descended to Earth, eventually. Even though his experience with the ZERO system had shown flashes of his past and his future, he still felt he was missing pieces of the puzzle. He didn't suffer from memory loss, but he knew he had suppressed a lot -- especially to fulfil his goal, his revenge, that had left him even more at a loss than he could ever imagine. That's about to change. I'm going to fulfil my real goal. He grinned wickedly. Deathscythe would assist him and Howard would help him -- those were the good old days, he felt it.

Trowa suddenly stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't remember who you are and your face certainly isn't familiar to me," he said, "but I share the sense of feeling lost, unfound and unwanted. If there's anything I can do..." His voice trailed off. Duo was thankful for these words.

"Thank you," he murmured and went back to his chair. "I appreciate it." He sat down and resumed looking out the window. Lost, unfound and unwanted. Well, that's all going to change.

During their conversation, Noin had discussed options with Quatre. "We have to go to the Peacemillion. We can't stay much long outside anyway. We have to rely on other measures to get Wufei or Heero back. We don't have enough fuel to drift around and OZ forces are in the vicinity."

"Set course for the Peacemillion," Quatre confirmed. "Sandrock needs a good repair and I want to see Howard. Heero told me a lot about him."

Duo felt suddenly quite envious. Heero had already met the man who was supposed to be his contact? He curled himself up into a ball. His emotions were a jumble and he couldn't really distinct his true feelings at the moment -- despite Heero's talk about 'act upon your emotions' he wasn't so sure about what to do next. He hated this feeling. It felt vulnerable, and that was something he didn't want to feel ever again.

Peacemillion was a gigantic space ship with plenty of room and supplies. Upon arrival, the Gundams were loaded out of the spacecraft and stored in the bay. The minute they were docked, the man with the Hawaiian shirt came running towards Duo. Before he knew it, Howard was enthusiastically pumping his hand.

"I'm so glad and honoured to meet you! Deathscythe accepted you as its pilot, no doubt about that. Do you still go by your name, Duo Maxwell?"

"Yes, why?" Duo was taken aback by the energetic attitude of the man, not to mention his arm was starting to get dislocated from the enthusiastic pumping. Howard let go of his hand.

"So many things have happened, young pilot. You so suddenly disappeared after the raid and many messages reached us that you were serving the case of OZ. It made us very sad and desperate."

Duo shivered. "I don't belong to OZ any more."

Howard nodded. "I know. You made it so swiftly through the ranks that it made us proud. Yes, we kept tabs on you, looking and wishing for an opportunity to win you back. You showed no sign of recognition, even when I managed to walk past by you."

Duo felt his face flush. "You were at an OZ base? When?"

"I was at the Nairobi base, just before Operation Daybreak. After that, things got heated up. I even met Zechs and his Tallgeese and I offered him help, as he was a Gundam pilot. I was under the impression that Zechs could turn out to be an official Gundam pilot, but it all turned out for the worse."

"Zechs? What's he doing?" Duo's head rolled with all the information and rising questions.

"I don't know," the elder man answered. "He's with White Fang, as far as I know. Every faction is claiming to voice the true feelings of the colonies."

"White Fang? How do you know Zechs and Heero?"

"While we were waiting for you, I was assigned to be Heero's contact person when he descended to Earth. An intense young man, but he has his heart dedicated to the good cause."

"I'm not for the good cause. I was an OZ officer... I don't know where I belong."

"You've got a lot to sort out, young man," Howard continued, sounding sincere. "You pilots need the rest whenever you can, so I suggest you get some. You can always ask me questions later if you want to." He grabbed Duo at the shoulder.

"I always knew you would come back to us, Duo. You wouldn't be someone who betrayed his own nature. Diverge, maybe, but not betray. Welcome back."

Dinner was served and Duo hungrily wolfed the hot food down. Trowa and Quatre were having a conversation, but he didn't participate -- he noticed the two were sometimes so close that he felt like a fifth wheel. When Duo was finished, he excused himself and went to look for Howard. He was at the bridge, behind the main controls and wasn't in the least surprised to see Duo looking for him.

"I'm over here, kid."

"Hey, Howard. How's the situation?"

"Tension's rising, son. White Fang is hunting down OZ troops who were formerly hunting down Alliance forces. It's a big mumbo jumbo out there; we better not stick our head in it."

"What's with the White Fang?"

"A colonial independence movement, who has resorted to violence. Lead by Quinze and Milliardo Peacecraft, who you'd know better as Zechs."

"What? That means... Zechs is related to that Relena girl? How?"

"They're siblings," Howard explained. "Relena has obviously chosen for the pacifist way, and Zechs for the violent way. Both ways have their advantages and disadvantages. Relena is still head of Romefeller in name, but Duke Dermail's just using her as a charm offensive against Zechs. He has a lot of good soldiers on his side, though. White Fang wants to take over..."

"Barge," Duo filled in the blank. "The last symbol of OZ in outer space. Whoever gets control over Barge, controls outer space."

"Very good." Howard grinned, as if he hadn't expected anything else. "I know why we wanted you to become a Gundam pilot. We're heading for Barge, but I don't know if we'll make it on time. White Fang has been sending a lot of mobile suits there."

"A splinter faction has the disposition of mobile suits?"

"They've taken over the Lunar Base. You didn't know? Tubarov was killed."

"Lady Une?"

"Presumed dead."

"God, everything and everyone is going mad." Duo was horrified. Nichol was probably dead by now, and if he were at Barge, he'd soon find his death at the hand of White Fang... or the Gundams. Duo never really liked the man, but didn't wish for his death. He felt terrible.

"We must keep Barge," he finally decided. "I don't care if I'm fighting in name of Earth, OZ, or my own... we can't let Barge fall into the hands of White Fang."

"I agree with you there, buddy," Howard said, totally relaxed. "Get some rest. It'll take time before we're there, and the White Fang troops won't make a move before they get there either."

"Howard?"

"Yes?"

"How's the professor?"

"Presumed dead." Howard turned around to face Duo. "I'm very sorry, kid. The last thing I heard from him was before he got arrested by OZ and taken to the Lunar Base. Execution orders have been issued, but I don't know if they're well, you know.. executed. Communication is difficult, especially between the colonies. News travels slow. Too many troubles in this godforsaken war."

"Don't you want to know why I left?" Duo twiddled with the end of his braid.

"Those are your reasons," Howard answered him. "This is a war, Duo Maxwell. Everybody has his or her reasons. I don't need to know them."

"I betrayed you all for an empty promise," Duo said. He was angry with himself. "Lulled by empty words and a hollow promise of of?

"Like I said, this is a war. Nothing is easy in a war. You're back on track now, with us. That's all that matters to me."

Howard turned back to the controls and Duo nodded, unbeknownst to the elder man. He knew the conversation had ended and he turned to leave the bridge.

Duo was half asleep when the alarm sounded. His nightmare had made him scream in horror with memories of the dreadful Zero System and he was glad to be woken up. He scrambled out of bed, dressed himself in his usual black and white attire and jumped to the door. Quatre was already in the hallway, dressed as well.

"They're assaulting Barge! Come on! Zechs will be there as well."

Duo followed him and noticed the two pilots waiting with the white Taurus suits. Trowa, and Noin. Men were scrambling to clear the platforms and orders were hollered back and forth.

"Are you sure, Miss Noin?" Quatre looked at her as if he expected her to back out. She was struggling to keep her emotions under control and it took a precious moment for Duo to figure out that she didn't know how to react to Zechs' actions, the man she so obviously was in love with. She finally managed an "I'm sure", though less confident as he knew her to be. Duo made a mental note to ask her later about her experiences in the war. He wanted to know what made her choose the side of the Gundam pilots.

He opened the locker and pulled out his space suit, changing and dressing himself with ease. Duo heard Quatre talking to Trowa, who stubbornly wanted to go with them, if only to be the back up.

Quatre objected that the firepower in Trowa's Taurus wasn't nearly enough as in his original suit, the Gundam called HeavyArms. Duo never saw it in person, but he recalled the pictures of the Gundams that Zechs had shown him. 03 was the one with the red and orange colours... and the massive gattling gun on its left arm. He shivered. He took out his helmet and quickly made his way over to Deathscythe.

"I'm back again, buddy," he whispered and chortled while he was buckling himself up. God, I'm really expecting an answer from him.

"Duo, are you ready?"

He flipped open the communication line. "Ready whenever you are."

"The battle's already in progress. Be warned there are lots of Mobile Dolls."

"And Deathscythe is here," Duo mumbled. The wings of the cloaking device spread out as if the suit wanted to affirm his remark. Stealth had no use right now, and Duo and Quatre hacked their way through the unmanned mobile dolls, who were already swarming around the Peacemillion. Quinze and his White Fang must've figured out the space ship was a symbol for the enemy as Barge was a symbol of OZ's power. The intensity made Duo sweat and he cursed aloud when his proximity meter went off.

"Gundam detected," he yelled, and his cameras were picking up an image of a suit in bird mode.

"Heero?" It came out as out of sigh and Duo cursed himself for sounding like a damsel in distress. Quatre's voice came hesitant. "It doesn't look like Wing in bird mode.."

The suit passed them with such a high speed, that it threw them both off balance. Climbing into the sky, the Gundam transformed into suit mode and Duo and Quatre gasped. A demonic, crimson red Gundam stood before them, heating up its main weapon; a dangerous looking energy rod. It attacked them. Duo swung his scythe to cut the whipping rod, but he was too slow. Deathscythe suffered a major blow when the red Gundam pounded at him with the rod.

"This isn't Heero!" He yelled and screamed in pain.

"You're here," a masculine voice echoed in their cockpits.

"Zechs?!" Duo was baffled.

"Lieutenant Maxwell, what a pleasant surprise. I already wondered what happened to you after Treize sent you to the Lunar Base. He sure is a good nanny."

"Shut up," Duo snarled.

"So, you've now switched sides?"

"Look who's talking. You're a hard man to track, Zechs, because you seem to switch sides every day."

"Interesting you have a Gundam as well," Zechs responded, chatting as if they were having a tea party. "Treize was right after all."

"What do you mean? Answer me!" Duo didn't notice he almost leaned out of the pilot seat. "What has Treize to do with it?"

"You don't remember much of the raid, now do you? It was a raid to flush out the engineer that professor of yours. The Alliance suspected him longer of building suits illegally, and they wanted him dead. Treize wanted to use him for OZ, but the old man escaped. We took his apprentice to see if he passed on any knowledge. Though you served us well, we didn't learn as much about Gundams as we hoped to." Zechs sounded amused.

"Used me you all used me? Duo snarled. Fuck!

"Enough," the man snapped back. "You're not needed here. The..." He couldn't finish the sentence as a white Taurus, sneaking up from behind, took him into a head lock..

"Go to Barge!" Noin yelled over the intercom. "They're firing their main cannon!"

"Miss Noin!" Quatre yelled back, but Duo immediately turned Deathscythe.

"We've got no time for this Quatre, let's go!" Thank you Zechs, now you've certainly made my goal clear. I'm going to fight you and Treize, and everything OZ, Alliance or White Fang.. for peace, and for myself!

They hurried, leaving the former lovers to their own. A massive slew of unmanned Mobile Dolls had taken on an offensive position and it took both pilots precious time to get to Barge.

"We're not going to make it!"

"Not again!" Quatre sounded horrified, and Duo knew why -- the space fortress was trying to fire again. Barge's main cannon were so ridiculously strong that a single fire could wipe out an entire colony. The epitome of a man's deluded thirst for power.Barge had fired before; that hit had severely damaged a nearby colony. Duo didn't know how he felt. Where did his liabilities lie? I'm judging everybody for taking lives of people, but am I not one dealing death myself?

"No, damn you, no!" He struck down another Mobile Doll. He wanted to fire his buster shield, but it wouldn't damage the main cannon much. Quatre would have more chance of maiming the cannon with his main weapon, but they were too far away.

"Incoming!" Quatre yelled a mere second before something went rushing past them.

"Zechs?" Duo sat on the tip of his chair, blinking eyes rapidly to keep the sweat out. The Gundam swirled upwards, taking out a beam sabre. It turned around to face Barge. It dawned on Duo what Zechs was going to do and he couldn't make a noise -- his throat was hoarse.

"There is no need for you in outer space!" The communication link was open and everybody heard Zechs' cry in outer space. Duo didn't know what to say. His eyes went wide. The crimson Gundam swirled the beam sabre above its head and plunged it into the space fortress. The powerful plasma beam cut through Barge, exploding on impact. The heat meters were screaming silently and Duo saw the last bastion coming down before his own eyes. The intensive light of the final explosion almost blinded him but he forced himself to look, to look how it came down. The ultimate power symbol of OZ was coming down hard and the final explosion ripped it to pieces. Zechs was nowhere to be seen.

"We better get back to the Peacemillion," Quatre's voice came, hitched. Duo hesitated.

A part of him wanted to flee, flee far away from this. I'm not used to this. I can't do this. Barge was going under. Duo picked up the radar spots of a few fugitives in escape pods, but there weren't many of them. Would Nichol be on one of them? I'm not carved out of the right wood. I can't do this. I'm not a real Gundam pilot.

"Duo?" Quatre's voice sounded cranky. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," he answered, almost too soft to be heard. He moved his hands over the controls and turned Deathscythe around to follow the others. They boarded on the Peacemillion, docked, and locked the Gundams down. Noin was as white as a sheet, but when Quatre walked up to her, she made a motion with her hands that she wanted to be left alone. He respected her wish and went away with a confused Trowa. With the loss of his memory, he probably wouldn't remember anyway what Noin and Zechs meant to each other. It must've been a hard blow for the woman.

"It certainly was," Howard said, close to him and Duo jumped.

"Jeez old man, could you make some noise, will ya?"

"I was here all the time." He grinned. Duo realized he had voiced his thoughts aloud and could do nothing but to shuffle with his feet.

"What now, Howard?"

"Zechs has chosen for the path of violence, and the Gundams are going to make a stand too. We have always fought for the colonies, but maybe now there is the time that we should fight for Earth. Not even the colonies wish for total destruction of Earth, something Zechs advocates. He wants everybody to see the horror of war, and he has chosen to embody that horror himself."

"I'm not one of you," Duo objected. "I don't belong here!"

"Yes you do. I believe in you."

"You're the only one who does, then. Why?"

"I've seen you as a young kid Duo, and you have the ability to make good choices. Whatever happened that made you choose the side of OZ is for you only. You don't have to talk about it. I've always known you'd come back to us."

"Like a lost sheep returning to the flock," Duo mumbled.

"Something like that. I've got good news for you -- Heero is on his way to here. He's probably got news for you, and you get to see him again."

Duo didn't know why this wave of nausea hit him and his knees buckled. Heero. Now you return, and what are you hoping to find? Who are you hoping to find, if I don't know who I am myself?

The alarms went off, one again depriving everybody of their sleep. Duo hurried out of the bed, scrambling for his clothes.

"What's the matter?" He screamed while running down the corridor, meeting Quatre half way.

"We're under attack from a large fleet. White Fang is attacking us. Get in your Gundam!"

Duo climbed up to Deathscythe and he entered commands in his console desk with practiced ease. It felt like he was home every time he stepped into the cockpit, and he felt close to this old friend. He winced. I'm not supposed to feel like this. Peacemillion opened its outer hatches and Duo lifted Deathscythe's feet from solid ground.

"Let's go buddy," he said. The pilots all went outside into the dark vastness of space. Duo felt comfortable and steered Deathscythe along the others. Nataku drifted away from him. Chang Wu Fei was very determined not to acknowledge his existence. Duo shrugged. The fifth Gundam pilot had made no secret of his disdain for Duo, but he seemed to treat everybody with the same disdain. He had erected a shell too thick to crack; Duo had decided to leave him alone until things went better.

The Mobile Dolls came in sight, forming a huge swarm of suits. Nataku sprinted forwards, dashing the beam glaive towards the first upcoming doll.

"Wufei, wait!" That was Quatre's voice. Duo didn't hesitate for a moment and motioned the massive Gundam forward. He saw Sandrock and HeavyArms coming from behind, but at one moment the red Gundam swayed away, longing to attack the other upcoming flow of mobile dolls. The HeavyArms had been recovered thanks to a certain Sally Po; Duo hadn't met her in person yet, but from what he gathered, she was a big name in the resistance. Trowa hadn't shown any sign of recognition when he saw the Gundam; he was only glad that it was far, far superior to the Taurus suit.

"I'm going to help him!" Duo dashed forward, without awaiting Wufei's usual objection.

"No Duo, wait!" He ignored Quatre's voice too.

From a distance, he still saw Heavyarms, but his main focus was Nataku, who didn't seem able to get through the hordes of mobile dolls. Duo didn't have his communication link to Wufei open; the guy didn't like him anyway. Duo operated his scythe and sliced his way through the unmanned suits. Slowly but steadily, they managed to get the upper hand. Duo was extremely busy, when he suddenly heard his communication link crackling to life.

"Duo! Duo, are you there?"

"What the hell?" He recognized Hilde's voice. She was supposed to be on L2, guarding her junkyard and staying out of trouble, as far as he knew. He gritted his teeth.

"Duo, go to her!" Quatre's voice was as much as an order, especially because they heard her scream. She was under attack. Duo consulted the heat seeking controls and located her -- she was floating in a heavily damaged Taurus, surrounded by Mobile Dolls who were targeting her

Duo yelled back. "What about you guys?"

"We can handle it from here, go to her!" Quatre put down another Mobile Doll. Duo didn't hesitate for a second and sped forward. He found the Taurus, drifting and damaged.

"Hilde?"

"I'm here," she whispered. She must've been in pain, as her voice was hoarse and raspy.

"What are you doing here?" He couldn't hear her answer. Two Mobile Dolls locked onto her and fired. With a last sprint, Duo reached her suit and pulled up the upper wings of Deathscyhe's cloak to shield her from the blast.

"Are you all right?"

"Okay, I guess." She sounded a bit chipper already.

"What are you doing here?" He repeated the question.

"I have data for you on the Libra," she answered, heaving a sigh and coughing. Info on the battle ship of the White Fang?Duo was stunned, but then his attention was directed to something else. Two mobile suits were approaching, and they were not ordinary dolls. One was a huge red machine, equipped with a deflecting shield consisting of separate units, and the other was a blue suit, equipped with a monstrous huge cannon. Duo was immediately taken in a pincer movement, with the blue suit firing at him. He lowered the cloak and it deflected the shot, but it took more effort than with the ordinary beam cannons. Duo was rocked in his chair and the straps of his chair were cutting in his flesh.

"What the hell?" He swung his scythe to no avail. The separate shielding units of the red suit ducked his every move. "They're way to powerful for just mobile dolls!"

"Duo!" Hilde had overheard him. With a rasping breath, she told him that the mobile dolls were programmed with data of the Gundam pilots; the blue Vayeate to Trowa's data, and the red Mercurius, to Heero's.

"You've got to be kidding me!" He swung again and used the speed of his Gundam to get away from them. Quickly he spun around and chopped the Vayeate in half, slashing the separate shielding units of the Mercurius and finally defeating the red suit with one gash.

He felt triumphant, especially now he knew that the suits were programmed after data of the other two Gundam pilots.

I must be a real Gundam pilot if I can defeat those two. He yelled aloud, rather brash: "Next time you're better off trying to program to my data!"

His triumphant mood quickly disappeared when he realised Hilde wasn't answering any more. He screamed in her communication link and finally she gave a sign of life, albeit weakly. He had to take her to the infirmary fast. Duo made sure his suit clamped on the damaged Taurus and started to tow the suit. Sandrock Gundam was waiting patiently for him; the battle had been short, and in favour of the Gundams. A test. It was either a test, or White Fang is trying to wear us out.

Back on the Peacemillion, Hilde was taken into the sick bay to be properly attended to. Duo looked at her lying in the bed with IV's attached to her.

"We can't let the data she brought us go to waste," Quatre said. Duo nodded. He wished that Heero already were here.

"What are you planning to do with it?"

"I'm going to study it. You can help me, if you want."

Duo looked at Quatre, because this was the first time he openly asked for his help. Well, not asking for help, but merely offering him an opportunity to help.

"Thank you," Duo said and followed Quatre to his room. He ignored Wufei's snort and wondered once again how long it would take before the Chinese young man would accept him.

"Don't worry about Wufei," Quatre said.

"How did you know I was thinking of him?"

Quatre laughed shortly. "I'm sort of an empath, Duo. I pick up the strongest emotions from people. You were worrying so hard about him that it was impossible for me to miss."

"Oh okay."

In Quatre's room, they booted up his laptop and studied the lay out plans for the Libra until midnight. When both were only looking with eyes half wide open, they decided it was time to go to bed and they parted.

"Thank you for asking me, Quatre, even though I wasn't much of a help." Duo swung the door open. Quatre nodded.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Duo. You're a very competent young man. However, your past will be playing a significant part in how people are treating you."

"I wouldn't trust someone like me either," Duo said and it came out more bitter than he'd intended to. "I'm sorry. I don't want to sound as if I'm feeling sorry for myself."

"You don't sound like it. Your heart is in the right place, Duo. I'm confident that everything will work out just fine. Don't feel so insecure. You're not the person to feel insecure about yourself."

Duo mumbled goodnight and when the door slammed shut, he muttered: "You're more confident then me."

Duo, Trowa, and Quatre were in the mess hall, playing chess and relaxing, when Quatre suddenly stood up, beaming a huge smile. Seconds later, Heero came into the mess hall, with a duffel bag in his hand.

"Heero! We didn't hear that your shuttle docked! So good to see you."

"Quatre, Trowa, how have you been." He sounded as stoic as always and ignored Trowa's gaze, but Duo saw the frantic look in his eyes, dissolving when his eyes finally settled on him.

"Duo! You're here."

Trailing behind Heero was the stern fifth Gundam Pilot, Chang Wufei, who immediately pointed at Duo.

"Yuy here tells me you're related to Treize Khushrenada?"

"I'm not family of him and I don't need his name," Duo snapped. He was sick and tired of his ties with Treize.

"Forgive me for not shaking hands," the Chinese boy answered him, "I do not shake hands with friends of the enemies."

"That's enough, Chang," Heero interrupted. "Duo's on our side."

"I don't trust traitors," Wufei immediately gave back. Duo paled.

"You're calling me a traitor?"

"To think that I've carried the Gundam that's supposed to be yours. It doesn't become you."

"Enough with this," Heero cut in again. "Chang, don't spout your accusations without foundation. It could cost you your head in these times."

Wufei bowed. "I'll leave for my quarters, now." He walked away with his back ramrod straight.

"Well, at least he's honest," Duo sighed. Heero looked at him fiercely.

"Duo, meet me in my room, if you please?"

He didn't need to watch the others. Trowa had picked up a magazine and Quatre was nowhere to be seen; he'd followed Wufei, maybe to catch up on news. Lucrezia was never close to the boys, certainly not in the mess hall.

Duo walked behind Heero and when they were finally in his room, a cold rectangular shaped room without daylight, he closed the door.

Heero stepped towards him and took him in his arms. "Duo..." he sighed.

"Heero." His name tasted a bit strange. It had been "Odin" for so long.

He watched Duo intensively. "What's the matter? I'd hoped for a warmer welcome."

"What are we?" Duo looked at him with an intense expression. "Tell me what we are."

"We're soldiers." Heero let go of him, the disappointed look on his face slowly melting away. "We fight for freedom and peace for the colonies."

"It's not simple as that. Earth and the colonies are shuddering violently under each attack, whether it is from the Gundams, OZ or White Fang. There are more factions than I can count. And I'm... I'm not sure what to choose."

Heero sat down on the bed. "I thought we could leave politics for what they were, for a moment."

Duo sat down next to him, without Heero asking him to. He took Heero's calloused hand in his.

"I don't know what we are. Are we soldiers, lovers or friends?"

"You know what we are." Heero caught his lips and they kissed. Duo broke free of the kiss and shook his head.

"You're walking a fine line."

"Excuse me?"

"You saw Chang's reaction. I'm never going to fit in. I'm never going to be accepted by him. I'm not a part of your Gundam group, of your collective pasts. I've missed so many things."

"We didn't grow up together. We all saw each other for the first time at the New Edwards Base. We have been in and out of communication with each other for months. I saw Quatre again with the Zero."

"The Zero System?"

"You know, when OZ panicked about the appearance of a new Gundam. You were on the Lunar Base, we were all there at that time."

"You mean Quatre designed that hellish thing?" Duo shivered, remembering what Zero did to him.

"You've been exposed to it too? What did it show you?"

Duo related shortly his experience with Trent and the images of the Zero System.

"It showed me the Deathscythe, so I suppose it wanted to show me that I had to join you. I went into the hangar with Hilde and I knew the access codes."

"Then you are the true pilot for Deathscythe. I knew the Gundam would only grant access to its right pilot. No one knew the right codes, not even me."

"Heero, stop it." Duo didn't know what to say. "I don't know..."

"Chang has recently been into the Zero and he saw something that made him decide to join us. He's fought all this time alone and has his own sense of integrity and justice. Think about it, Duo. If he can find the strength to join others he apparently dislikes, so can you."

"He only joined because he thinks he can reach his goals by joining us. He wants to kill Treize, that's one thing he made clear. And I'm next. It reminds me of myself, when I only was out for revenge on the Alliance."

"You're a Gundam pilot. You're not going to do this to yourself. Come here." Heero took Duo in his arms. "You're strong enough on your own and I don't care if you want to lean on me for support. Lean on me as much as you want."

"My little sap," Duo teased and lifted his head. "Just stay with me."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," Heero simply answered and they kissed.

The first kiss was tentative, as though they were out of practice and had to taste each other again. Soon, they became frantic, feverish, and Duo pushed himself onto Heero. He wanted to be with him so bad he hurt, physically and mentally. He let go of all his frustrations and expectations and they both dissolved in a heap of bliss, to become one and the same.

"D? vu," Heero whispered when they both looked at the ceiling. Duo was sprawled on his chest, long chestnut hair unravelled.

"How long has it been since the Lunar Base?"

"Too long." Heero played with the long strands of hair. "Did you miss me?"

"God, how I missed you. I thought about you every day."

Heero kissed him and his hands moved over Duo's left side. He felt the scars and the burn marks. "Duo.. what's this?"

"Gundam attack.. the Siberia transport," Duo mumbled. "I told you I survived."

"I know." Heero traced the outlines of the marks. "That must've been some pain."

"Says you, mister "I-blow-myself-up-for-the-sake-of-the-colonies"."

"Some topics are hard to talk about," Heero said and looked away. Duo kissed him chastely on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, that was below the belt." He trailed Heero's face with more kisses, eliciting soft moans.

"How do you feel now?"

"Confused. I don't know. What do you feel?" Duo moved to sit upright.

"Estranged," Heero, said. "So many things have happened. I've piloted the Epyon."

"Epyon? You mean the suit Zechs was on?" Duo lifted up his head so fast Heero heard muscles snap. He looked at him with big, bright blue eyes. "But that's a troublesome suit!"

"I can handle it," Heero answered brusquely. "I can handle it, Duo."

"I hate that Zero System," Duo murmured.

"Did you know Treize took back his position as head of OZ?"

"What? Oh God, no..."

"Relena was lifted from her representative duties for Romefeller. Treize has come back to take matters in his own hands. He's fighting for Earth now, against the White Fang."

"Zechs and Treize against each other. Do you know Zechs' point of view?"

"No, but I'm going to find out anyway. Relena is on her way to him at the battleship Libra. Duke Dermail was killed in battle, so I assume Dorothy is going to him too."

"Who?"

"Dorothy Catalonia, the granddaughter of Dermail. You don't know her, but I saw her when I was at Sanq Kingdom. She is morbidly fascinated with the grandeur of war... or so she claims to be. I'm not certain of her loyalty."

Loyalty. "You're going after the Peacecraft girl to protect her?"

Heero caressed Duo's cheek. "Yes. She's the universal symbol of peace, Duo. I can't let her get killed. It's a promise to Zechs."

"You're out of your mind," Duo yelled at him as he got off the bed. "We're standing outside this war, do you hear me?"

"No, we're in the middle of it. And it's better that we're at the centre, Duo. It's better that we fight than innocent people."

"And where does that leave us?" Duo sounded sad and Heero wanted him to come back to lie on top of him. Duo shook his head.

"Where does that leave us, Heero? Aren't we supposed to get sick and tired of it, or do we have to keep fighting like brainless machines? We're human too, Heero. And that's the difference between you and me. You've had this devotion from the beginning and I... I don't even know where I stand. I don't even know where I stand!"

Duo shook his head again, chestnut strands flying around. "This is so useless."

"No it's not. Even though you missed a lot, that certainly doesn't make you any less. Look at me Duo! Look at me. Don't do this to yourself, or to me."

"What do you care?" Duo slapped at Heero's hand. "What am I, your little fuck friend you can come back to and keep around until it's time for another fuck? You can die every time, every day, and you don't care. Well maybe you don't care, but I can't stand it!"

"That's not fair, Duo!" Heero watched with horror when Duo started to scramble frantically for his clothes.

"Don't you get it? Life isn't fair!" Duo was out of the room before Heero could do a thing to stop him.

The hallways were cold and deserted. Peacemillion was a huge battleship and without knowing the way around, someone could get easily lost. Duo put on his wrinkled clothes. He didn't pay attention to it. It was late at night, half the lights were dimmed and nobody was in sight.

Heaving a sigh, Duo headed for the kitchen. He was busy pouring himself a glass of milk when he heard a strange noise. Curious, he picked up his glass and went to see where the noise came from. He entered the large mess hall and immediately noticed Wufei, standing against the reeling with some kind of arm muscle device, bending it with a rhythm that spawned the repetitive noise.

"The ghosts don't let you get any rest, Maxwell?"

"You're up late too, Chang."

He went on with the maddening bending of the steel. The sound would make anyone insane.

"You're not honouring yourself by tailing behind us like a puppy dog," Wufei said, calmly and evenly bending the device again. "You came to us looking for what, Maxwell? Revenge?"

"I had my revenge, thank you," Duo sneered. He had to concentrate on not breaking the glass of milk. "Something the matter?"

"I didn't even acknowledge the possible ally of an unconfirmed Gundam at the time and I'm certainly not going to acknowledge you. You have no honour in switching sides. If you have switched sides at all, that is."

"So where's the honour in you, then?" Duo gritted his teeth. "Why did you ally with us, after you've been so long on your own?"

Wufei looked at him with a piercing glaze. "Don't talk to me about honour! It's bad enough that you're related to Treize!"

"Stop ragging on my ties with Treize," Duo snarled. "I'm not related to him, I don't need him! The way you obsess over that, sheesh, you'd almost think the man beat you once!"

When he saw the heated flame in Wufei's eyes, he thought with a shock that maybe he wasn't far from the truth. The Chinese warrior spun on his heels and left the mess hall. He had dropped the arm press and Duo picked it up. The sound of it had almost driven him insane. He put it on the couch. It was dark and silent and he left the hall as well.

The sickbay was dimly lit. Duo moved stealthily towards Hilde's bed and checked her vitals. She was doing fine and she would recover completely when she'd followed the prescribed rest and medication. He touched her hand absent-mindedly. She had taken care of Deathscythe and babysat the Gundam until he had deemed it necessary to show up. What in the hell was she doing with plans of the Libra, had she taken up again her soldier career?

Heero didn't walk that silent that he couldn't distinct his footsteps.

"Duo. Come with me. This isn't a place for talking. You're about to catch a cold."

"It doesn't matter if I'm sick," Duo said. "You could do without one Gundam pilot."

"No, we can't. Come on, Duo. What happened to you? I understand that you're frustrated and that things are not going smoothly but why are you taking this out on me?"

Duo turned around to face him.

"I know, Heero. It wasn't fair of me. You're the only one believing in me. I don't think I can go up against the others. I want to leave all this fighting behind."

"Come." Heero pushed gently and Duo followed suit, forcing his feet to follow Heero's moves. They went back to his room and Heero opened the covers of the bed. Without a word, he slid under the sheets and Duo curled up against him.

"Tell me," Heero said simply. Duo didn't need much more encouragement. He talked until his voice was hoarse; from his experiences with the Zero System, the mistrust he felt in the crew, to Wufei not accepting him, and the uncertainties he felt himself.

"What Quatre said, is true," Heero said when Duo fell silent. "Your past will be held against you, no matter what. You'll have to work hard to show who you are and where your loyalty is, Duo. I can't do that for you. The only thing I can do is show my own faith in you."

"Yeah, I know. I shouldn't have taken all of this out on you, Heero, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's okay. Come here."

"Kiss me," Duo answered and they kissed again. He cocked his head.

"Before I forget, Hilde confirmed Relena's presence on the Libra before she went to the sickbay. Are you still going down there?"

"I have to," Heero answered and put his finger under Duo's chin. "I have no choice. Like I said, she's the universal symbol of peace. If she were to die, we're in a lot of trouble. Don't break your head about it now, Duo. Let's get some sleep."

For some reason, someone had set up a chess game in the mess hall where they were having breakfast. Duo was extremely pleased when Trowa invited him into a match. Quatre was talking to Heero, and Duo caught the words of the Zero System. He shivered. That system was good for nothing, but it had somehow given Trowa's memory back. In the extreme stress of an upcoming battle, he wanted to try to protect his sister Catherine on the endangered colony. The system somehow cured Trowa's amnesia, so the system had his advantages -- but Duo still broke out in cold sweat remembering the painful Zero experience, with the Grim Reaper flashing before his eyes.

Now that the space fortress Barge was gone, OZ had nowhere to go to and Romefeller as well as White Fang were hunting for the renegade soldiers, just as they used to hunt for renegade Alliance soldiers. Tensions were growing high. The pilots were ordered to rest and relax until they were needed. Quatre had discovered that the Catalonia girl was the brain behind the mobile dolls attack, and told that to the other pilots.

"We only have five pilots. White Fang has an army of Mobile Dolls, and they're bound to outwear and deplete us." Quatre looked at Heero, who seemed strangely absentminded.

Duo pretended he never saw it. Heero and he hadn't discussed if or how they were to announce their relationship to the other pilots. Duo suspected Quatre being the only one to think they were involved. It spoke volumes about the density of Chang Wufei that he was convinced that Duo and Heero were only bunking together in the soldier way; he preferred the solitude of a single room.

Duo was irritated. If Heero was still thinking about Relena maybe the girl was important for the peace process, but Duo didn't see her that way. She's one brave girl however, to uphold those naive ideas of 'let's talk and discard weapons and everything will be all right fa la la'. It doesn't work that way. Duo suddenly touched the silver crucifix. It'd been a while since he'd done that. Sometimes it still burned, but he didn't know why. I have to give it back to Heero anyway. For what? For their game of "Bring it back to me?" I'm not on the wrong path. I'm not!

"I'll make my move," he announced, to no one in particular. He was about to move his bishop, when Wufei, who had been observing the game, dashed forward, took the king and placed it before Trowa's one. Check mate.

"Offence is the best defence," he said. Duo looked at him with wide eyes, but the Chinese young man didn't return the look.

Before Duo could react, an alarm sounded.

"We've got to get going!"

The pilots scrambled for their Gundams, buckling themselves in and opening the communication line like a well-oiled machine.

"This is it," Heero said. He didn't need to stress the importance of this battle. Everybody knew what was coming up.

"I'm not going to fight with you. Zechs will be there with the Epyon and I'll have my hands full with him."

"We won't be in your way," Quatre acknowledged. Duo almost squashed his controls.

No reply out of Trowa or Wufei. If the Chinese boy would've made some comment Duo was sure he would've opened his foul mouth to tell the guy what he was really thinking and that he could stuff it somewhere his precious Nataku couldn't reach.

He didn't open a private communication line either and didn't know if Heero'd appreciate it or not. This was a decisive battle and he knew it. Treize had taken control over the Earth Forces when he dismissed Relena Peacecraft. Why Treize was fighting for Earth with his absurd ideas about morals and etiquette was beyond him. Duo didn't care. He was making his own stand by fighting alongside the Gundams. Whatever Treize was thinking was out of his reach. Nataku marched in front of him and the Heavyarms came loose from its restraints. Sandrock stood where it was; Duo understood that Quatre gave way to him. He operated the controls for the walking mode and Deathscythe Hell walked towards the air lock. He peeked at the keyboard, no flashing light signalling an incoming message from Heero. No goodbyes.

"Well fuck you too!" He snarled out loud and to prevent everybody from asking whom he'd mean, he engaged the hyper jammers and Deathscyte was out of the airlock, totally masked for radar movements.

Nataku, HeavyArms and Sandrock were coming after him while Wing, in bird mode, flew ahead and straight into the stars, until he was out of sight.

"Fuck you, Heero Yuy," Duo repeated and tried to hide his disappointment. Mobile dolls appeared on the screen, the sign for him to activate the scythe.

"Remember our plan!" Quatre yelled and Duo wasn't sure if it was meant for him. He had memorized the orders and steered immediately towards Nataku. Why he was paired up with the guy that hated him wasn't very clear to him. The first wave of mobile dolls hit them and Duo didn't have any more time to contemplate.

He was sweating after hours of intense battle. The mobile dolls kept coming, but not in huge numbers as before.

"What gives, Quatre?" He yelled. "Have we defeated them?"

"The Libra's going to fire," Quatre said back. "Get out of the way, Duo, or you'll be toast!"

Duo saw the heat detectors rising and cleared the way. At the same time, Nataku flew away with great speed.

"Hey Chang! Where do you think you're going?"

"Leave him, Duo, we can handle this," Quatre told him. "We have to stop Libra from firing. It fired a warning signal at Earth before; we can't have it firing again!"

Duo wondered briefly, why a giant cannon like the Libra's couldn't fire repeatedly. Stupid fucking Tubarov and his megalomania. He gritted his teeth.

"Let's go!"

"Movement from the Peacemillion," Trowa's monotonous voice came.

"What the hell?" Duo swore. The giant ship had moved towards the Libra and was in the line of fire. He flipped open another communication line.

"Howard! Hey Howard, old man! Get out of the line of fire!"

"We can't make it, Duo," the man calmly answered as if he was sitting next to a blazing campfire.

"The Peacemillion is too big to move that fast. We'll get hit in the upper wing if we're lucky."

"Fuck!" Duo dashed forwards. "I'll slice that thing into pieces!"

"Get away from there, Duo Maxwell!" Quatre yelled again. "We can't afford to lose you! Get out of there!"

Duo saw the HeavyArms approaching, double gattling gun toting at him as if he was about to shoot. A devastating beam of energy rippled through space and hit the Peacemillion.

"God, no! God damn you, Howard, you fool!"

In a whim, he calculated the course of the ship and swore. Quatre and Trowa understood it too; they cleared the way. Peacemillion was on its way to collide with Libra.

Heero knew the Peacemillion was going to collide into the Libra. He held Relena close to protect her from the scattering debris. She screamed when metal was torn into pieces with screeching, deafening sounds. Heero knew enough. The Gundams would soon board the Libra to clean up the remnants of the White Fang. He knew what to do, and Relena was not part of his plan. He found two space suits in a locker and silently they suited up. He ignored her worried complaints about his injury; it was only a scratch on his shoulder.

"Relena, we have to hurry. Be careful, I don't want you to get sucked out in to space. This is a protective suit, you'll be pretty safe in it. Come on. You need to get back to Earth, to assume your position as Queen and bring peace in the world."

"Heero, you're nuts," she said while struggling with all the belts and buckles. "What are you going to do?"

"I've got obligations," he answered, "and one of them is getting you into safety." He pushed a button and they were granted access to the hangar where Wing Zero was standing, as tall as a skyscraper and as proud as ever before.

"What about you?" She asked, voice lilting. The visor of her helmet was still open and he moved his hands to close it. She put her hand on his.

"What about you?" She repeated.

"I'll be fine," he answered.

"You still have to kill me."

He looked her in the eyes. They were the same blue as Duo's, but Duo's eyes had a hint of purple and violet... but they both shone, no, glared, strength and passion. It had been a while since he'd seen Relena, after their emotional exchange at the breakfast table in the Sanq Kingdom.

"I'll never kill you."

"You've changed," she said, touching his visor. "Is it because of Duo?"

"It is," he answered matter-of-factly and he was glad to see a wide smile on her face.

"Visit me in the Kingdom," she said and they closed the visor on each other's helmet at the same time.

Heero took place in Wing's cockpit and fired up the boosters. He threw a last look at Relena, who was standing close to the airlock, hands secured. She waved at him before he stepped down to make his descent from the Libra.

Deathscythe Hell entered the Libra from a breach in the hull. Duo made sure he was completely secured before he left his Gundam. He took his bag of explosions with him. His orders were to set the explosions to destroy the last stranglehold and symbol of human domination.

"It looks like these rooms were used for confinement," he thought out loud, seeing the row of doors in the hallway. He thought he heard some noise behind one door and decided to blow it up.

Duo attached the little explosion device on the wall and jumped away. It exploded with a barely audible bang and the door went open. He peeked inside.

"Who's there?" A croaked, barely audible voice.

"It's the God of Death," he answered and went inside, gun ready. The voice that welcomed him, sounded old and squeaky

"Finally," another elderly voice sounded and Duo aimed his gun. There were more people here?

"Welcome, 02. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Five elderly men, clad in white lab coats, sat huddled together, not in the least bit scared or frightened. One man with mushroom shaped grey hair caught Duo's immediately attention.

"Professor G?"

The man smiled, as much as that was possible. "Duo, I'm glad to see you again, finally."

"I thought you were dead!"

G shrugged. "We're all supposed to be dead, many times over. Unfortunately, there isn't much time to chitchat, Duo. We need to get to the core of the Libra to make it explode. Are you with Deathscythe?"

"Of course I am," he sputtered.

"Death really came to life," G answered, hardly audible to overhear.

"Find us some space suits," the tallest of the five ordered. "We'll go with you to readjust the main calibration engines. We can prevent Libra from falling on Earth if we hurry. We'll hitch a ride on your Deathscythe, and don't worry if someone falls off."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Duo asked, while he opened lockers and chests to find the requested suits.

"The story is too long to tell, young God of Death," G answered him. "We've got a lot of work to do. We're responsible for so much, even for the Libra. Tubarov forced us to work for him."

"The idiot," Duo mumbled.

"We made it so that the main cannon has a major fluke. It can't fire consecutively. It bides us some time."

They suited up. Duo was silent and looked at his mentor.

"G?

The professor looked at him. His words stuck in his throat.

"This way."

It was a risky business, but the five scientists insisted on holding onto the upper body of the Gundam while the cloak would be folded down to shield them.

Duo circled around the rammed spaceship until he found an entrance to the core. He lowered his Gundam in front of the airlock and uncloaked. The wings folded open smoothly; Duo could've sworn he saw a smug look on G's face when he left.

"We're going to set the motors of the Peacemillion into explosion," one of the doctors explained. "Because of the blast, the Libra will be thrown off this trajectory to Earth."

"Affirmative," Duo answered. He focused again on the man who had been his trainer

"G," he said again.

"I would be very happy to talk to you again, but I'm afraid that won't happen. I'm glad you've found whatever you've found, Duo Maxwell. Make the God of Death proud."

With these parting words, the professor disappeared with his colleagues into the bowels of the ship. Duo didn't know what to say. He steered his Gundam away and saw another huge row of mobile dolls.

"Dear Lord..."

Energy blasts coming from the left and right sending his data receptors and meters through the roof. I'm never going to make it! He was going to die even before he could say... but then he was contacted via his communication link.

"Gundam 02, leave this to us. Concern yourself about the Libra. We're a part of Master Quatre's team."

Duo recognized them. It was the Maguanacs Corps. He hurried to join the other Gundams into slicing and chopping away the biggest parts of the ship, before it could fall on Earth.

He didn't know where the others were... incoming message?

His screen showed him the image of a dishevelled Lady Une, declaring the total surrender of the Earth Nation.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed.

Treize was dead? That son of a bitch Chang Wufei killed him! Earth's leader was killed. They called for their immediate surrender, but to whom? Heero was fighting off Zechs, who clearly didn't accept the surrender. There was no one to surrender too. Libra was falling towards Earth and would destroy it nonetheless, until someone was going to do something about it. It can't be in vain! It can't be!

"Duo, in here!" It was Quatre. He sounded as if he was in pain.

"Where are you?"

"We're inside the Libra, smashing things up," he answered. "Come help us Duo, we need to break off every chunk we can get."

"No Quatre, you get the hell away from there! I've delivered the scientists to the core and they're going to rectify the problem by calibrating the engines. Get away from there! If the engines explode before you vacate, you won't stand the impact."

"The scientists?" Quatre was amazed, but he was clever enough to draw his own conclusions. "Okay, we need to get out of here!"

"Yes, Master Quatre!" followed the answer, in chorus, of his fellow Maguanac fighters.

Duo smiled inwardly. Those guys would go to hell and back for their young master.

It didn't take long before he saw Quatre and Trowa vacate the Libra, followed by the typical Maguanac suits.

"Where's Heero?" He asked over the open line.

"I don't know," Trowa answered. "He's still fighting off Zechs. We don't know his exact position. We've got to stay together."

If that was an implemented warning, Duo wasn't so sure. He mulled over the words. He wanted to do something badly and this uncertainty was killing him.

An explosion rocked the Libra and it dissolved in pieces. The scientists had succeeded; they had calibrated the engines! A loud cheer went up through the open lines. Duo was cheering himself but fell silent when he realized with a pang that his mentor now was truly dead. It pained him more than he'd care to admit. Duo reached slowly to close the communication line.

"Wait look at that!" Trowa sounded agitated.

A massive chunk of the Libra was still falling towards Earth, big enough to cause a nuclear winter.

"Dear Allah, it can't be!"

"What are we going to do?"

"We can't give up like this!" Duo smashed at the controls. His scythe was almost out of power after the hard long battle. He had to do something, if only to slice away at the chunk, to lessen the impact...Wufei's voice crackled through the air.

"Everyone, I gave Heero his beam rifle."

Duo heard cheering, but didn't understand the excitement. His motion sensors had picked up a mobile suit flying in front of the falling piece. Heero. Duo swallowed. I have never felt at home. I thought I found something... someone... and now this. He watched the former battle ship explode. The last piece of the falling Libra was destroyed. He was silent. He was looking past it. Where's Heero?

The fierce light of the explosion diminished and faded away. It became silent in every cockpit. Where was he?

"There he is! He did it!" Duo screamed so hard it was a wonder no one turned instantly deaf.

"Naturally," he heard Chang say, and the rest got lost in a massive cheer of joy. Wing Zero went past them, and took off with great speed. Duo was given the chills. Where is he going?

It was Trowa who cut into the silence. "Guys, we need to get to a hospital. Quatre is injured."

"Where's Howard?" Duo wondered.

"I'm right here kid," the elderly man answered; apparently he had been listening on their frequency. "We're all evacuated to MO-II, a resource satellite. We're going straight to Earth now, care to join?"

"We have to," Trowa made the decision before them. "We'll follow you, Howard."

Duo set grudgingly his Deathscythe into motion.

With the Gundams locked down into a suit hangar, Duo climbed out of Deathscythe and descended with the winch. To his amazement, Wufei was waiting for him on the base of his Gundam. His face wore a strange expression; Wufei's was struggling not to let his emotions show.

"Maxwell, I offer you my condolences," he said so stiffly that Duo was wondering how he could pronounce the words. "I it wasn't my intention to depart from Treize this way."

Duo was lost for an answer. Wufei expected him to do something, so say something and he didn't have any words. Silently they stood opposite each other, and with every second passing, Wufei became more rigid.

"It's okay," Duo said.

"What?"

"It's okay," Duo repeated. There wasn't really anything else he could've said. Treize was gone now, but his tie to him would linger for a long time to come. Duo had suffered the weight of the Kushrenada name when he was alive, now Wufei would suffer the weight of Treize's death.

"I? Wufei was about to say something else, but Duo shook his head rather roughly.

"Not tonight. Not tonight."

Duo walked away from him and at that moment, he couldn't care less about what was going on in Wufei's mind. He only longed for a bed. When Duo entered the main hall, Howard came running to him.

"Kid!" He hugged him as if he were returning as the long lost son. Duo acknowledged the hug but quickly let go, to have a look around. He recognized Lucrezia, next to her, a woman with honey coloured braids -- that must've been Sally Po, he thought --, he saw Relena and

"It's been a while, Lady."

She smiled at him, face completely free of frowns and sorrow, even though the man she loved dearly had died. "Lieutenant Maxwell, what a pleasant surprise. It's an honour to meet you again."

Duo shrugged. "I have no honour."

He doubted if she heard it.

"So, what's the plan now, Princess?" Duo addressed Relena. She looked tired and sad.

"We finally can build peace from the ruins, but there was a high price to be paid." She shook her head. "Such a high price."

"Tell me about it," he murmured. He figured that Zechs must be dead and he felt sorry for her. "Do you know where the others are?" He asked softly.

"Trowa raced off with Quatre to the hospital. Apparently he was injured in battle," Howard took over. "And your guess is as good as ours as where Heero went to."

He saw Relena's eyes lit up and focussing at him; she thought he knew where Heero was.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know."

The door opened and everybody held his or her breath, but it was Wufei coming in.

Ironically, he was now the only other Gundam pilot people could relate too. Duo felt like he was coming down from a crash landing.

"Aren't you going to celebrate, Duo?" Howard said. "The war's over."

"I don't know," he answered and he looked very pale.

War couldn't be over like this. All his life he had been in the service of war, and now everything was suddenly over? Howard seemed to feel his mood and admonished him to take a rest.

"I will show you your quarters, Duo. Get some rest. You've done great work, but now you've got to rest."

He followed the elder man as if he was a toddler, not giving a damn about the excited celebratory sounds. He'd never felt lonelier in his life. The silver crucifix burned hot against his skin. I wish I'd given it to Heero after all. Where are you? He couldn't remember whether he undressed himself or got into his bed.

The following morning was strange to wake up too. The room was as silent as a grave and for a moment, Duo couldn't recall the location. It finally dawned on him that he was on friendly ground, Howard's hangar. There are no friends or foes anymore. War is over. Next to him was another bed and his heart jumped up. Someone was sleeping in it.

"Heero?" he whispered. There was no movement. He slipped out of bed and crossed the room. He was even more astonished when he saw loose, ebony black hair spread out on the pillows. He took a step back as if he had burned himself. Chang Wufei was sleeping in a bed next to his, in the same room.

He felt dirty. Not because of Wufei, but in general. He quickly grabbed a towel and took a long shower. It was early and it surprised him that Wufei still wasn't awake. Duo dressed himself and made his bunk out of routine, avoiding to make any sound.

"What are we going to do now?"

The question was coming from no one than Wufei himself.

"Find our own justice, I think." Duo slowly turned around. "What's there to do? We're soldiers. I can't talk in the past tense about us yet."

"This is going to be difficult," Wufei said.

"No matter how Relena thinks about it, peace isn't established in one day. There will be people opposing it. So many remnants of factions are left Romefeller, White Fang, OZ, even old Alliance members. Not everybody will accept peace."

"You're wiser than I thought, Maxwell. You appear easy on the surface, but you run much deeper. I offer you my apologies."

Wufei looked very vulnerable, still lying in bed, supporting himself on his elbow.

"Why do you feel the need to apologize now? Yesterday you did it too."

"Maybe I feel the need to start all over."

"Yeah," Duo answered. He felt strange. "I'm going to see what's for breakfast."

He left Wufei behind in his bedroom, still feeling strange. Why in the hell would Chang Wufei choose this moment to open up?

Because he feels too that things are going to change, big time.

Only Howard was out of bed, and this time Duo was sure the man needed his sunglasses to cover his bloodshot eyes.

"Hey Howard."

"There's some cake and pretzels left over from yesterday," Howard greeted him back. "We missed you at the party, Duo. At least I did."

"You'd be the only one." Duo took a slice of the cake and tasted it. "My first bite of freedom."

Howard didn't respond and Duo felt worse.

"Things aren't going to be easy, Duo." The man shoved the glasses back on the bridge of his nose. "Peace can't be established in two days."

"I figured that out myself," Duo answered dryly. Howard had the decency to chuckle.

"I thought so. I never marked you for someone without intelligence, that's for sure."

Duo munched on the cake. "So... what are you going to do now?"

"Me and the Sweepers? We'll have our hands full. We basically received the orders to clean up after everybody in outer space. It's going to take a while before everything is recycled and all the scrap metal is collected. What do you think, wanna come join us? Most of us haven't forgotten about you and would like to see you back."

"Thank you, but I need to think about it."

"You can contact me anytime," Howard said. "And maybe you can bring your Heero with you, even though I can't peg him as a guy interested in scrap metal."

He laughed uproariously seeing Duo spit out nearly all of the cake.

The hospital was a few blocks away and Duo walked on the streets, hands in his pockets. It felt awkward. Heero still hadn't returned from wherever he was, and everybody was eagerly awaiting his arrival to welcome him as a hero. Duo shrugged. He didn't care that much that the ones speaking to him, always and only asked about Heero. He didn't care much that practically no one had interest in him. He did care about the looks he received and he knew many people knew of his past. He kicked away a pebble. It was going to be difficult. Going with the Sweepers to space and residing there pretty anonymously was looking better and better every day. He made a decision; if Heero didn't show up in the next two days, he would take up Howard's offer. He was still on Earth, busy signing salvation contracts and assembling his group and equipment.

Howard had told him where Quatre was hospitalised and Duo took the stairs to the fourth floor. He heard voices coming from the room.

"What else is there to do?" Trowa.

"I need to go back to the company and take over from what my father left me." Quatre sounded sad. "I think I have to give up all my freedom to become a boring manager."

"Good morning Quatre," Duo said and waltzed into the room. "Trowa, nice to see you."

Trowa rose to give him a hand, and Quatre waved. Duo took a chair.

"How are you?"

"Doing better now. The wound was thankfully a clear cut. I'll tell you about it another time. I need some rest and I'll be up and around before you know it."

"I'm glad you're okay, both of you," Duo said and he meant it genuinely. He didn't know if the others could hear it from his voice, but they both said the same to him.

Silence fell.

"What are your plans, Quatre? Did I hear something about returning to your father's business?"

The blond Arabian nodded. "You may not know this Duo, but my father died in the war too. I witnessed his death and..." He swallowed. "I have to take up the business. We can do a lot of reconstruction work on the colonies and help the colonists out by rebuilding their homes."

Trowa cut in. "I'm going to go back to the travelling circus I used to use for undercover purposes."

"Back to Catherine?" Duo asked.

"She's going through official paperwork to establish our kinship," he said. "Soon we'll officially be brother and sister."

"Congratulations, that's great news," Duo said. He didn't even feel jealous.

"Do you know something about Heero?"

"No, he's still gone. I think it's maybe for the better too."

"Why is that?"

"You can see for yourself. Everybody wants to lure him into a trap. They want to celebrate big of course, and make him the hero of all times. Without a doubt, he anticipated something like that and is keeping a low profile at the moment."

"Good thinking, I was going to get worried about him. How about you, Duo?"

"Huh, me? Well, I'm thinking of returning to outer space with the Sweepers." He quickly explained what they were doing. "They're as close to family as I ever got."

"You need a comfortable place and if you find it with them, you'd better go with them," Quatre said. "You and Heero will be both easy targets, Heero because he saved the Earth, and you, because of your past and your switch to the Gundam side."

"Yeah? Duo flinched, feeling cold inside, so cold.

Trowa changed the subject. "How about Wufei?"

"He was suddenly very talkative," Duo answered, thankful for the change of subject.

"He's probably just as confused as everybody. We're on the brink of a new beginning, reconstructing rebuilding."

"His colony was blown up. He's got nowhere to return to."

"Dear Lord, that's harsh."

Again, silence reigned, but Duo wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable. He decided he stayed out his welcome and that it was time to leave. He stood up to say goodbye.

"Come visit us again, Duo," Quatre said and from the look in his eyes, Duo could tell he really meant it. It made him feel a little bit better and he smiled. He made his way back to his bedroom virtually unnoticed. Wufei was nowhere to be seen and Duo felt suddenly so lonely and sad that he sat down on his bed and almost choked on his tears. If this is how war ends maybe I don't want it to end after all.

Two days passed by and still no sign of Heero. People were getting worried, until Relena came with the news that she had seen Heero. On her way to another meeting, on the day of her birthday event, she was walking towards her plane when a mechanic had bumped into her.

She hadn't recognized him at first sight and was surprised to find a teddy bear on her seat. That made her think of Heero and when she looked outside, she had him seen walking over the ramp. At the same moment, he had looked back at her and waved a little.

"So he's still alive," Quatre murmured when Duo brought him the news. "I'm curious to find out when he returns."

"I'm not going to wait for him," Duo said and it sounded a lot harsher than he intended. "I've chosen to go with the Sweepers. I can't I can't stay here."

"I'm sorry that you feel that way," Quatre said, "but I understand. It's going to take time, Duo. You're strong enough to find your way back to us."

"You're kidding. Not one of you wants to see me back."

"You've come through for us during the war and you were on our side in the decisive battle," Trowa said voice calm and low. "That says enough to me."

"My instructor, H, who built the Sandrock Gundam for me, told me about you. The scientists kept in touch, albeit sporadically in the war. H knew, as well as the others, what happened to you. I know that you're the one and only pilot 02. For all that matters you were the one who opened Deathscythe's hatch, even though the world's most known hackers and Heero had tried to enter it. That says enough."

"Hmm," Duo barely mumbled. "I still stand by my decision. I'm going to leave Deathscythe here, as you asked, Quatre."

Quatre had told him about his plan to destroy the Gundams. The suits weren't regarded as a symbol of peace, as they had been the harbingers of death and destruction. Quatre thought it would be a good gesture for the world to see if they were destroyed. The Gundam would be the first in the movement of discarding all weapons in the world. Duo wasn't really sure if he agreed or not, but seeing that both Quatre and Trowa gave up both their Gundams so easily, he felt like he really had no choice. He regretted it anyway. He'd had such short time to get to know Deathscythe and he was a reliable partner.

"Thank you," Quatre said. "Do you want to leave a message for Heero? I'm sure he's going to come here, sooner or later."

"Just tell him I went with the Sweepers. If he's the great hacker and searcher as everybody's making him out to be, he'll find me." I know he'll find me. He has found me before.

Trowa nodded. Quatre looked at him expectantly. Duo rose from his chair and shook their hands.

"I hope you both fare well."

"Fare well, Duo Maxwell. Until we meet again."

Duo had very little to pack. The clothes he wore were donated by a first aid institute, and almost everything he owned he had left behind during his scramble from the Lunar Base.

According to the latest rumours, Chang Wufei had gone back to China. Duo didn't need to go to the hangar to see Nataku gone. He wondered if Quatre was ever able to reach Wufei to ask him to give up his Gundam. He doubted the Chinese warrior to give up his beloved Nataku without a second thought.

He stood in the middle of the room as if he was going to say goodbye. He took off his silver chain with the crucifix and put the jewellery onto the desk. Heaving a sigh, Duo turned around and left the room.

Duo found Howard busy giving instructions to a few young kids. Howard waved at him when he saw him approaching.

"Do you still have a place on your ship?"

"For you always," Howard said with a smile. "We're leaving tonight after dinner, make sure you've got everything you want to bring with you. We're heading for L2 first. We already have a branch office there."

"Hilde," Duo nodded.

"You got it. She has a clean bill of health again."

"I'm glad to hear that. It'll be nice to see her again." Duo was relieved. "All right, I'll join you tonight."

After dinner, Duo made his way to the ship. Howard waited for him and looked at him over the brim of his sunglasses.

"Everything all right, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Duo answered and hurled the duffle bag into the cargo room.

"Let's go."

The launch went smoothly and Duo gazed outside the window, while the large vessel slowly moved throughout space. So many memories.He felt empty, even though he was returning to space. A few fellow Sweepers came to him to congratulate him. Their warm welcome lifted Duo's mood; he was really starting to convince himself that he had made the right decision -- for once. Maybe he could cast off the shackles of his past and rebuild his own life, preferably with Heero -- finding love, gaining a new life. He smiled at the thought.

It was getting late and the majority of the crew was looking for a place to bunk. Duo was assigned a room on the other side of the hallway and he opened the door. When he clicked on the light switch, Heero jumped up from the little desk in the middle of the room.

"Where did you come from?" Duo was baffled. Heero closed his laptop and turned around.

"I've been on Earth all the time."

"What were you doing?" Duo closed the little distance between them and put his hands on Heero's shoulders.

"I had to... get my mind straight." Heero was shaking, not from the cold. "Is it really over now? Really?"

"From what I know, Relena has assumed her father's office. I can't think of anyone else more suitable for the job. She's constructing a good, healthy organization, the Earth Sphere United Nations. With a bit of luck... we're going towards the path of total pacifism."

"You don't sound too convinced." Heero moved to the bed. He didn't need to motion Duo to come over. "I saved the Earth and the war is over. What am I to do now?"

"There are wars everywhere." Duo touched him again at the shoulder. "Relena's a good-hearted girl and she's got great plans, but they'll fail as long as she wants to suppress the desire to fight in mankind."

"Are you suggesting we should look up another war?"

"No. I don't want to get involved into a war. That would be killing me, and you, Heero."

"Are you going to follow me?"

"Maybe. I don't know." Duo hung his head. "I'm not really myself, you know."

"Treize is dead. You're no longer bound to him."

"He'll follow me from the grave. I'm reminded of him everywhere where I go. I don't even know who I am. What am I going to do? Be a burden to you?"

"You're not a burden."

"Oh yes I am. You don't realise it."

"I didn't think you could wallow in that much self pity, Duo. I'm not going to give it to you. You were strong enough to survive a war on your own. You were the last to fully join us, but I think you're even more of a Gundam pilot than we're all together."

"Stop it. Don't lie."

Heero dangled the silver crucifix in front of Duo. "I didn't go through all that trouble to give this back to a coward."

"I'm not a coward," Duo said. He trembled. "I'm a liar, an ex-OZ soldier, a..."

"You're an idiot," Heero stated. "An idiot for even allowing yourself to so much self pity. That's not how I know you. That's not how I want to know you."

"Maybe you were wrong all the time," Duo said, eyes narrowing slightly. "Maybe you now see the true me, and it doesn't please you."

"What crap for someone who calls himself the God of Death," Heero mocked him.

"More crap for someone who saved the world, and ran off like a frightening bird! You never even told me that you needed to get your mind straight, you you loser!"

He pounded at Heero's shoulder, and suddenly the dam broke. "You are so fucking perfect! Everybody and the world is looking up at you, gushing that you're the hero, the great and good soldier who didn't even hesitate to sacrifice his life! And me?"

He waited for Heero to answer, but when he remained silent, Duo continued himself. "I'm an ex OZ officer, stripped of rank and honour, who doesn't even know where he stands and can only nag and whine about his place on the Earth or in space. God, what makes you even think that I can be of any good to you our relationship?"

Heero held up his hand, with the silver crucifix still dangling from his fingers. "I think I keep this for a while. You need to deserve it back from me."

"It's a priceless gift," Duo growled.

"And you gave it to me first," Heero answered. "You gave more to me than this, Duo. Why can't you see what you all gave to me?"

"I don't understand?

"Come closer to me."

Duo complied, anxiety and confusion written on his face.

"What are we?"

"What?" He didn't know what Heero meant.

"You asked me the same question on the Peacemillion. What are we?"

"We're not soldiers anymore." Duo gazed into Heero's eyes.

"What are we?" He repeated.

"Friends or lovers?"

"What are we?" Heero asked again and Duo saw that it wasn't a game. Heero's expression was deadly serious. The silver crucifix tingled.

"We're lovers," Duo answered. "We're friends. We're partners. We're us."

"That's all I wanted to know." Heero lifted up his hands. "I don't need to know more."

"As long as we're together." Duo leaned forward.

"As long as we're together." Heero repeated. They kissed a long, fierce kiss.

They didn't exchange any other words until the morning came, watching a sunset in space, hands intertwined.