Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Angels ❯ Shattered Peace ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Author's Note: This takes place a few years after the Eve wars. The GW boys are in their early 20's. My own character Benton is also used. For those who haven't read his story check out OZ Soldier. This is based on a role-playing game that Sea Fairy Sakura and I had done a while back. She has also given me some good ideas to use, many thanks to her help. In time I plan to finish this story. Depending on the reviews, I may finish this soon. Any advice is greatly appreciated. This story was also posted down in Gundam Wing Analysis. (The site has some really good stories check it out.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing nor the song Superman from Five for Fighting.

*****

"Sometimes I forget how beautiful space can be especially the view of Earth from here," Noin commented as she piloted her ship to the planet Earth.

"These simple reminders keep us from forgetting why we are fighting to keep Earth and the space colonies in peace," Sally added as she sat beside her close friend.

"Well the way things are going I am afraid we are going to need those reminders," Noin stated with a frown.

"You're thinking about all those recent attacks that are suddenly starting up," Sally said.

Noin nodded. "Especially the ones toward Miss Relena. They are becoming more violent each time. Luckily Heero has taking the job of being her bodyguard. I can tell you for one that Milliardo is not happy about this. He has been trying to find out who these people are. I have to force him to rest at times."

Sally laughed. "If anyone lays hands on Miss Relena I am sure Heero and Milliardo will make sure that that person will live to regret it. Miss Relena isn't the only one having a tough time. Quatre is too. He had to tighten his security a lot."

"So who ever this group is they are trying to target our pacifists. Quatre certainly isn't the typical pacifist. So they'll have a hard time with him," Noin commented.

"I do wish I know who was behind these attacks. These attacks are so precise and well planned. When these people do attack its very spaced out. They also cover up their tracks so well that you can't find any traces," Sally stated. "It's so frustrating."

An alarm sounded letting them know that a message was coming through. Before them a small screen appeared and Wufei was before them. He did not seem happy at all, but for Wufei he always seemed to be that way. Yet, Sally knew him well enough that something indeed was troubling Wufei.

"Preventers Water and Fire, you are needed back at headquarters. Miss Relena was just recently attacked by a bunch of assassins. She has been rushed to the hospital under critical condition. We were able to capture one of the assassins. The others had taken off or were killed. If we don't fix this quickly, war will be soon threatening to start," Wufei stated.

Noin gasped. "Our people should have been able to prevent that!"

"We're heading to the Earth right now. We should be arriving in another hour. Make sure you tighten the security around Quatre too. I want to speak with this captive of yours," Sally stated.

"Will do. Preventer Dragon signing out."

The screen before them went blank. For what seemed like a long while, silence filled the small ship. Slowly the Earth appeared to become bigger as they approached the planet.

"Do you think that this could be the end of peace once again?" Noin softly questioned.

"I hope not. We worked too hard for peace," Sally replied.

*****

Sally breathed a sigh of relief once she finally stepped in the Preventers Headquarters. She and Noin had to fight off the reporters that had stationed themselves outside the building as they tried to find sound bites to feed off to their audiences. At this stage there was nothing to give out for there were no answers.

A flood of Preventers met her instead, as they looked to her for what to do or they were trying to feed her facts and any updates of what just happened. Sally could tell that this was going to be one rough day. She searched among the crowd for Wufei. She was not in the mood to deal with the others.

"You go take care of the prisoner. I'll take care of the rest," Noin commented.

"Thank you, Lu," Sally replied with a smile. "I knew that I could count on you to back me up."

Wufei then came into the office brushing away the other Preventers. He seemed to be very agitated by this. "If I have to deal with one more reporter, they'll live to regret ever coming to me for questions. We have our prisoner down in one of the temporary cells. So far we weren't able to get a thing from him."

While Wufei was explaining the situation as he lead Sally down the corridors to where the temporary cells were kept. Sally gasped. In the cell was a young teenager. She was expecting to see a full-grown man. She should know by now not to judge a person's age for the Gundam pilots had certainly proven many wrong.

The boy could only be able sixteen. He had bright red hair and was dressed in a tan uniform. There were bloodstains on the arm in which he had been apparently shot at. A white rag was bound around the wound. The boy sat in the corner hugging his knees. His blue eyes appeared to be lifeless as he glanced up to look at the visitors.

Wufei stepped as side as Sally entered the cell. "So you're the unlucky person to be caught. Please, tell me your name," she greeted.

Silence only followed as the boy only gave a quick glance and then reverted back to looking at the floor. Sally sighed. "If I were you I would answer the questions, for being difficult will only make your situation worse. You do know that you have been accused of a serious crime in the attempt of assassinating Relena Peacecraft. Now please tell me your name."

Patiently Sally waited for the boy to answer. At the same time she sat down next to him. She wasn't the least bit afraid of him. "Don't make me have to use truth serum on you just to get your name, kid."

"My name is Benton Jansen," the boy finally answered, in a monotone voice.

Sally frowned. She recognized the tone of voice all too well. It disturbed her to see that a person at such a young age have such an emotionless voice, as if he didn't care what happened to him any more. "What group are you from and what is their purpose behind this?"

"They call themselves the Dark Angels. Most of the members were once soldiers who had fought for peace either for the Earth or for the space colonies. When peace was finally achieved they had nowhere to go. They were no longer accepted among the society. People who didn't approve of this peace then formed the Dark Angels. They had searched for soldiers who were unable to adjust to peace."

"You were once a solider?" Sally asked. Near by Wufei frowned. His eyes narrowed. He was not too happy about this.

"I had once worked for OZ, then the Treize faction. White Fang, and last Mariemaia's army," Benton answered, still showing no kind of emotion.

"You're so young, how did you manage to be involved in all these wars?" Sally asked, still not believing all that she was hearing.

"I graduated from the academy at the age of thirteen where I then proceeded to join OZ under Miss Lucrezia Noin's instruction. I was considered to be the third student to receive such high marks and to graduate at a young age."

"Just like Noin," Sally stated. She noted that when Benton had spoke of Noin there was a hint of sorrow and hope. "From the sound of it you seem to have a lot of respect for Noin. Why would you join the Dark Angels? I know that Noin would never had joined such a group."

"I was reluctant to join, for I had fought to keep peace. I didn't want to destroy it. I knew that Miss Noin wouldn't have approved of such a thing. I didn't want to taint her reputation. It had been a long time since I had seen Miss Noin. The last time I saw her was before White Fang came into play. The Dark Angels had told me that she had died. That was when I made my decision. I had no real purpose in life so I no longer cared what I did."

Sally frowned. "For record, the Dark Angels had tricked you. They must have really wanted you in the group to try and pull such a stunt. Judging from what I just heard they must have really studied your background and new that Noin would be the key to bringing you in. For Noin is still alive. She had left OZ for she no longer believed in what they were fighting for. She is now a part of the Preventers."

"Miss Noin is alive? Then I have failed her," Benton commented, his eyes full or sorrow.

"Tell me, Benton why did you harm Miss Relena?" Sally asked.

"I wasn't the one who attacked her. I was, but at the last minute I couldn't do it. I couldn't see in harming a pacifist. It just wasn't right. One of the members assigned to the mission did the job. I tried to stop them, but I was unable to. Instead I was the one who got caught," Benton explained as he held his arm that was wounded.

"Let me see your arm. I'm a doctor. I can help you," Sally stated as she reached over to study the wound.

Benton quickly pulled away. "I can handle this myself. I deserved this punishment. I don't need your help."

Sally knew that it would be fruitless to argue. Silently she got up and left the cell. She and Wufei walked off in silence.

"Do you actually believe him?" Wufei finally asked. "After all he has been on the opposite side each time we had fought."

"I am not sure right now. I do believe that the information he had provided us with the Dark Angels is true. I don't know what else to say," Sally answered after a bit. "It is not my decision to decide to though. It will be up to Lady Une."

"I don't know about that. She was part of OZ she might favor him because of that."

"Lady Une wouldn't do such a thing. Just because she was in OZ doesn't mean she may know Benton. I just hope that Miss Relena will make it. We can't afford to loose her."

*****

"Any luck, Sally?" Noin greeted once Sally entered the cafeteria. Noin had retreated to the cafeteria in an attempt to save her sanity from all the commotion that has been going on. Much to her relief the cafeteria was empty save for Sally whom had just entered.

"Yes. You're also going to find this interesting," Sally replied as she sat down next to Noin.

"Why is that?"

"Apparently our captive was once a soldier of yours," Sally explained and launched into the telling Noin the information she had just received.

"After all these years. For some time I have been searching for Benton. I was unable to find him. I had people keeping an eye out for him. One of them was Howard. No one was able to report back with information about his where about. I was beginning to think that he had died during the war. The entire time I was fighting against him." Noin sighed and wrapped her hands around the cup of tea she had.

"I gather that there is more to this then loyalty of Lieutenant and soldier," Sally commented.

Noin gave a small smile. "I practically raised Benton. He was an orphan whom I brought in from the streets. I had placed him in an orphanage along with his sister. His sister was able to get a home, but he was unable to. They found him to be too much of a troublemaker.

While I was fighting I kept an eye on him, hoping that he would receive a better home life, but it wasn't going that way. In between a mission I dropped by and suggested to Benton that he be a soldier. I saw the potential that he had. In the end he agreed. He was one of the best soldiers I had. I knew that Benton looked to me as a role model, but at the same time he saw me as a mother figure.

From what you just told me it makes sense why he joined such a group. For Benton would have never joined the Dark Angels."

"You always seem to be able to break the rules," Sally commented with a laugh.

Noin laughed in return. "But the thing is I knew how to go about it where I wouldn't get caught."

"Do you believe what Benton had said? Sally asked.

Noin closed her eyes. "I am not sure. I want to believe that Benton didn't shoot her. Even if he didn't shoot her he would still be charged with it for he was part of the group. It would save him death, but not from imprisonment. I need to ask Lady Une to send me on another mission. I am afraid that I'll let my feelings get away in this. I might do something drastic in trying to help out Benton. I can't afford to get myself in trouble nor Benton in more trouble then he is."

"If Benton is true then I am sure Lady Une will find something to get him out of this. In the mean time I am going to get something to eat. I got wrapped up in talking I forgot to get my meal," Sally commented.

Noin smiled. "Thanks, Sally. I better go and talk with Lady Une." After disposing her cup she left the cafeteria.

Sally sighed. She was not happy with the way things were going. It looked like there was going to be indeed a war. The one thing that they couldn't afford was to loose Miss Relena. Unfortunately she was unable to be Miss Relena's doctor. The hospital wouldn't allow it. Sally hated not being able to do a thing about it. She decided to check on how Miss Relena was doing.

Hesitantly she approached Miss Relena's room. Miss Relena was just placed in the room a few hours ago after her operations. She was still listed under critical condition. Guards were posted by her door and along the corridors. Sally had no fear of hospitals, but for once she was afraid to see what she was about to view.

After confirming her identification, Sally was permitted to enter the room. Tears threatened to fall at the sight that was before her. Miss Relena seemed so small She was bound in bandages and hooked to so many wires that helped keep her alive. Silently she crept to the bedside and held Miss Relena's hand.

"Please, Relena, don't give in. It is not time for you to leave. You are still needed among this world. With out you many will loose faith. Peace will be no more. Already war is threatening to begin."

Sally closed her eyes and continued to hold her hand. It was a long while before Sally let go of the hand and left the room.

*****

"I am amazed to see you here, Dorothy," Lady Une greeted. "What brings you to the Preventers?"

"I wish to provide my service. I am glad that there is peace, but I feel useless now. I felt that I could help out the Preventers. I also felt that with what happened to Miss Relena I could help her out by joining your group," Dorothy answered.

She walked over to the window, her long blonde hair flying about as stepped over. Outside the sun was setting making it seem as if the city was on fire. It was a splendid sight.

Lady Une smiled. "We will be happy to accept your services. With the way our current situation is heading, we'll need all the help we can get."

"It is my pleasure to be of your service," Dorothy replied and with a quick salute she left the room. After closing the door behind her Dorothy stopped and smiled. "Step one completed. Now it's time to move on to the next step." She then walked off, blending into the crowded corridor.

*****

Quatre sighed as he looked out the window. Millions of tiny stars lit up the dark night. Easily Quatre could pick out the different constellations. The beauty that Mother Nature provided him didn't comfort him one bit, when it usually did. His mind was turmoil of the recent events.

It hurt him deeply to see that Relena could possibly die. Her fight for peace had kept him fighting. He was a pacifist too, but he didn't' exactly follow the rules that a pacifist would normally follow.

Someone knocked on the door. "Come in," Quatre answered and turned to face the door. Abdul stepped in.

"I am sorry to have to disturb you at such a late time, Master Quatre, but you just received a phone call from the Preventers. They need you at the headquarters. They are calling in every one they can reach."

"The situation most have grown worse if they are bringing us in," Quatre commented. "How about the rest of the Gundam pilots?"

"From what Sally told me she managed to get a hold of the rest. They are on their way now.

"I didn't think that we would be able to keep peace for long," Quatre replied after a while.

"I'll start making the arrangements for a shuttle, " Abdul stated and with a salute he walked out.

Quatre returned his attention back to the darkened sky. "It looks as if we will all meet once again my friends. Could this be our last battle?"

*****

Benton buried his head in his hands. He couldn't believe what he had done. He was afraid to think of what Miss Noin would think of him once she found out. For as long as he could remember he always seemed to be on the wrong side of things. Every war fought he was considered the bad guy.

The one time he was actually trying to do something right he was accused. He was part of the group, yet it still confused him. All his life he was trying to do the right thing, but it never seemed to turn out well. Miss Noin was the one thing that actually turned out right. Now he screwed up things again.

At this point he didn't care what happened to him. He had no clue what to do any more or of what to believe in. His mind was in turmoil. All he wanted to do right now was to simply fade away. Slowly Benton lifted up his head and blankly stared up into the metal ceiling.

*****

"I thought you said that you weren't going to fight no more," Cathy angrily commented. "Even after the wars were over you didn't last for long with out fighting. You had to go and join the Preventers. After a few years with them you finally came back. Now you have to leave again!"

"Cathy, they need my help again. You heard what happened to Relena. This group called the Dark Angels wants to destroy the peace that I fought so hard to bring. If I don't help the Preventers we may never have that peace again," Trowa replied, in a calm tone as he continued to pack his few clothes.

Cathy closed her eyes. Her expression was one of concentration as she seemed to be battling with an inside conflict. After a while she opened them. Her eyes glistened with tears. "I know that I can't hold you back. I worry though, each time that you fight. We just found out we were recently brother and sister. I don't want to loose you again."

"I know, Cathy. I don't want to loose you either. That's why I have to fight. If I stay here I could end up loosing the very people I love, when I could have help prevented that."

Cathy quickly cleared the tears away. She suddenly had a stern expression. "I am coming with you. I want to help this time. I am tired of being a bystander. At least this time I will be able to help you."

"If that is your decision, then I can't stop you," Trowa answered after a slight pause.

*****

"You seemed troubled, Lucrezia," Lady Une greeted, once her friend entered the office. "Please sit down and let's discuss this."

Noin sighed and took the seat Lady Une had offered. "I need to go on another mission. My feelings will prevent me from doing the right thing with the recent case."

Lady Une closed her eyes. "This is about our young captive. Sally had informed me of the information she had received. I believe what Benton had told her is true. I have plans for him."

"You actually believe him?" Noin asked, surprised.

"Crazy enough, I do. My heart tells me that he is right. He just got mixed up with the wrong crowd like Mariemaia. He just needs to be put on the right path once again. I think by having him join the Preventers would be the best thing for him," Lady Une answered with a smile.

"But he was part of the Dark Angels," Noin pointed out.

"And many of us were part of different groups. By joining the Preventers this will be his punishment."

"I appreciate your help, Lady Une," Noin replied with a smile.

"We all have those that we love. We can't afford to loose them. I understand how much Benton means to you. By helping others in the end the kindness will be returned," Lady Une softly answered, her eyes holding a far away expression. Noin already knew that she was thinking of Treize. "Do you still wish to go on another mission?"

"Unless you need me to, no," Noin replied. "When will Benton be informed of this news?"

"I plan to inform him tomorrow. And by the way when were you going to announce that you are pregnant?" Lady Une asked with a mischievous smile.

Noin's face turned a bright shade of red. "How did you know? Milliardo and I had agreed not to mention this. We were afraid that this would bring more problems to the current situation."

"I have my ways," Lady Une simply replied. "If this were still OZ you could have gotten into serious trouble, but since this is not OZ I am just going to say be careful and take care of yourself. You will have to understand that I may not allow you to take part in certain missions."

Noin nodded. "That is understandable." With a quick salute Noin existed the room.

Lady Une sighed and sat down in her chair. She hoped that they would be able to stop this before a major war broke out. She really didn't want another war, especially since they had fought so much to obtain this peace. "What would you do, Mr. Treize?" she softly asked herself.

*****
Duo ran down the hall way as he rushed to answer the doorbell. At the moment Hilde was taking care of a costumer. Duo wondered whom it could be considering that he rarely got visitors. He and Hilde pretty much kept to them selves running the small business that was starting to grow. Duo opened the door, at the same time trying to catch his breath.

"Well it's quite a surprise to see you, Heero. What brings you down to the L2 Colony?" Duo asked with his usual smile.

"We have problems," Heero stated in his usual monotone voice. "I gather you keep in touch with the Preventers?"

"And here I thought you were just coming for a visit. It's been a long time since I have seen you," Duo stated as he led his friend into the living room.

"Did you here about Relena?" Heero asked.

Duo sensed a touch of sorrow when he spoke Relena's name. "Yeah, I heard about it. I'm not too happy about this either. I was sort of hoping that this was going to be a casual visit, but as usual it's always business."

"Did the Preventers call you?" Heero asked.

Duo nodded. "I had planned on leaving tonight. I made some kind of excuse so that way Hilde doesn't think she has to help out. I want her to stay here and not have to worry about fighting for once. I should be the one to have to do the fighting, after all."

"What's this about fighting?" Hilde asked as she came in after dealing with the costumer. "Hi, Heero!"

"Uh, nothing... Hilde, Heero and I were just talking about the past that's all..." Duo quickly explained with a look of exasperation. While Heero nodded in acknowledgement.

Hilde's eyes narrowed. "What's the real deal behind this, Duo? I know that you're lying."

Duo sighed. "Alright, I give in. The Preventers need Heero and my help."

"It's about Miss Relena, right?" Hilde questioned. "If it is I'm going to help and you can't stop me, Duo."

"Then I guess you're coming along," Duo reluctantly replied. Hilde smiled.

"I knew that you would see it my way," Hilde replied.

"So have you kept in touch with the other Gundam pilots?" Duo asked Heero.

Heero shook his head no. "All I know is that they'll be with us too. I've been too busy playing as Relena's bodyguard. Which I failed to do. If I had been there a few seconds earlier I could have stopped this."

At the mention of Relena there appeared to be a look of sadness in Heero's eyes. There also seemed to be a look of defeat.

"No one is perfect, Heero. No matter what they can do. We all make mistakes. Even if we do make mistakes we can amend them. I am sure Relena knows that. There is no use worrying about what you could have done. It's the matter of what you can do now to help," Duo stated trying to comfort his friend.

Heero nodded to show that he understood. He wasn't in the mood to talk. Despite what Duo had said he still blamed himself. Nothing was going to change that, except for himself.

*****

"People of the Earth and Space Colonies my name is General Gavin, leader of the Dark Angels. This is a declaration of war. The Dark Angels no longer accept this nonsense that you call peace. Ironically, we were once the soldiers that helped achieve this peace. But, once peace was achieved we were simply discarded and forgotten. We will not allow ourselves to be forgotten. This is the path that you have chosen for us."

Silently Lady Une watched from the monitor as a young man continued to announce his declaration of war. The young man was dressed in a tan uniform. A headband held his black hair back. Behind him were a handful of soldiers that wore similar uniforms. Lady Une sighed. She had hoped that she would be able to prevent this from happening, but it appeared that they were too late.

*****

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me

"I can't believe it. I thought this war was over long ago. So all that fighting was for nothing," Duo muttered to himself. "Why must we always fight?" Duo frowned as he stood beside his window looking out at the sunset that seemed to light the sky on fire. His hand grasped the cross that hung at his neck.

More then anything Duo wanted to put his past behind him. He was tired of always remembering the past, yet at the same time he didn't want to let it go. His past was all the people he had loved and fought to protect. And it didn't seem as if the world was going to let him forget it either.

I'm more than a bird
I'm more than a plane
I'm more than some pretty face beside a train
And it's not easy to be me

Quatre sighed. He really wished that there were a way they could have prevented this war from happening. There was no way to go about it save to fight. He really didn't want to fight at all. He had thought that he no longer had to. That he could go back and follow his father's footsteps. It wasn't going to be that way at all. Some how Quatre knew that it wouldn't be that way for him. No matter what he thought.

He wondered what this war would bring. Would they all survive this time? So far they had all been lucky and managed to survive each fight and come out on top. Will their luck continue? Quatre hoped so, but at the same time he was still troubled. Even though he was young he felt like an old person weighted down with past and of today's problems.

Silently he watched as the sun began to rise. It was a beautiful site as the pastel colors began to entwine and spread across the darkened sky. Quatre's thoughts were interrupted as someone knocked on the door. It was only Abdul announcing that it was time to head to the shuttle. Reluctantly, Quatre followed his faithful friend.

I wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home I'll never see

As the sun began to set Trowa drove away from the circus, with Cathy beside him. He had often left the circus many times for his missions, and yet this time he slightly saddened by it. Trowa looked back at the circus tent that seemed to slowly fade from him. He wondered if he were going to see the place again. This was the only place that he was able to call home.

Before he had believed that he would never have a home, until Cathy made it clear to him that he did. He was glad that Cathy had agreed to fight alongside him. Although at the same time he felt that she shouldn't fight in fear that he might loose the only family he had.

Next to him Cathy had glanced over to watch the circus tent fade away. There were tears in her eyes. As he glanced at her, he realized that he was crying too. The tears surprised him. This was probably the third time that he had ever cried in his life and in a way it felt good to cry. It let him know that he couldn't hide away all his emotion that he tried so hard to do.

It may sound absurd
But don't be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed
But won't you concede
Even heroes have the right to dream
And it's not easy to be me

Silently Heero sat by himself in the darkness of the room. He couldn't believe that he had failed. His mistakes always seemed to bring about war. It was war that he was trying to stop. Now the one person who brought him peace was Relena. Now she was fighting for her life. If she were to die, Heero wasn't sure what to do with his life any more. It always seemed that whenever he tried to die, Relena was there to stop him and remind him that his life was precious too. Relena, indeed, was stronger then he would ever be.

Dawn slowly crept up to him. Reluctantly Heero got up and stretched. It was time to head over to the Preventers base and do what he can to amend what he had done wrong as Duo had stated the day before.

Up, up and away, away from me
Well it's all right
You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy or anything

"I figured I would find you here," Sally greeted as she sat beside her friend. Wufei nodded in acknowledgement. The sun had slowly begun to rise. A cool breeze blew as the two friends sat a small grassy hilltop. It was a few miles away from the Preventers Headquarters. Every morning Wufei would make the trek up there to watch the sun rise.

"Are the rest of the pilots coming?" Wufei asked.

"They should be here sometime today," Sally answered. "You seem troubled."

"I'm just remembering the time when I lost my wife. I didn't want to fight, so she had gone to fight for our colony. To this day I feel I'm still continuing to fight for her beliefs, because of my weak actions," Wufei answered.

"You have come along way from when I first met you, Wufei. You seem to have finally found yourself. I am happy that you have. More then anything I wanted to see that," Sally stated after a while.

Wufei smiled. It was rare to see him smile and when he did, it was like seeing the person he was trying to hide from the world. "Tell me though, do you think that peace is actually just a dream? It seems that way, for we can never seem t hold this peace for long."

Sally sighed. "I don't know, Wufei. I am still trying to figure that out my self. Either way I am still going to fight so that someday others can enjoy the peace."

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees

I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
I'm only a man in a phony red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me, inside of me
Inside of me, yeah inside of me, inside of me

I'm only a man in a phony red sheet
I'm only a man looking for a dream
I'm only a man in a phony red sheet
And it's not easy...
It's not easy to be me

Sally smiled as she happily greeted each Gundam pilot as they entered the base. "I am so glad to see all of you, it's been such a long time since we all worked together."

Quatre nodded. "I just wish that war wasn't the reason why it brought us all together."

"Yet, it was war that gave us all a family," Trowa commented.

"After it had taken our families away from us," Duo softly commented. "At the same time it gave us a reason to fight," he quickly added, feeling that his comment was way out of character especially since Hilde have gave him such a strange look.

"What ever happens I just hope that Relena makes it through this," Heero commented in a distant tone.

*****

"Question, now that we are all here, how are we going to fight?" Duo asked. "For each war we managed to have our Gundams, but we kind of self destructed them."

"Actually that won't be a problem," Milliardo replied as he joined the group. "To the people you never self detonated the Gundams."

"What do you mean by that? We self detonated them together! Save maybe you," Duo protested.

"We know that we did but the people don't," Wufei commented and produced a handful of pictures.

Puzzled the rest of the Gundam pilots picked up the pictures. To their surprise they found that each of the pictures were photos of their Gundams. Each of them was attacking a colony or some kind of base on Earth.

"I can't believe it," Quatre commented. "We would never do something like that though."

"We learned before that people's minds are easily manipulated. We were seen as enemies before. It looks as if we'll be the enemy again. The Dark Angels managed to find blue prints of the original Gundams and made them into mobile dolls with our data programmed into them," Wufei stated.

"Why don't the people understand that we are here to help? They never seem to understand that," Quatre stated as he studied the pictures.

"So back to my original question. How are we going to fight?" Duo asked.

"By retrieving those Gundams," Milliardo replied.

"Again how are we going to fight?" Duo repeated.

"That is where our captive will come in hand. He will be able to get the Gundams for us," Noin replied having stepped in.

Wufei frowned. "How can we trust this captive of yours? We've been fighting against this kid since we were fighting against OZ."

"We are going to have to trust him if we are to retrieve those Gundams," Noin replied in a strict tone. "Benton, please come in," Noin called.

A young man stepped into the room. His hair was a bright red and rather shabby. His eyes were blue. He was dressed in what looked like the Dark Angels uniform. The same uniform that the leader of the group wore when he gave the announcement of war. He was indeed younger then the Gundam pilots. None of the pilots could read any kind of expression that Benton had.

"I know that you don't trust me one bit, and you have every right now to trust me. I know the location of the base where the Gundams are located. I can get in and retrieve them for you, but we will need to work together," Benton stated. His tone was emotionless; yet there was the distinguishable English accent. At the same time though, his eyes seemed to plead.
"Got a plan on how to go about this?" Quatre asked.

Noin stepped over to the table they were all sitting around and placed a hologram projector on to the table. Using a remote control she managed to pull up a 3-D map of what looked like a base. "After we had captured Benton we managed to gather some interesting data from him. With the information Milliardo was able to find the location and layout of the main base of the Dark Angels.

"What if we go to attack this base and we find the Gundams aren't there?" Trowa questioned.

"They'll be there," Benton answered. "Right now the Dark Angels will want to lay low for now. They already announced war. From what I am seeing they are trying to focus the Gundams of being the main enemy. Once they succeed in that they'll step in and try to make amends and secretly control the people."

"Sounds just like OZ," Quatre muttered.

"These people used to be part of OZ and other affiliations," Trowa pointed out. "It would be natural to follow such examples. These people know us very well. I would assume that they know we want our Gundams. And that they would do anything to prevent us from obtaining them."

"Maybe, but I think you are wrong on that one," Benton commented.

"Why would they want us to have our Gundams back?" Wufei stated. "That would be spelling out their destruction."

"One it is part of their way of making amends. Two if you have the Gundams again then you are the bad guys. What ever destruction they plan to cause will be blamed on you," Benton stated.

"Basically what ever direction we take will lead us to a trap," Quatre stated. "What they don't know is that we have Benton on our side. That could play a key part."

"Don't tell me we are going to have to regain everyone's trust once again," Duo muttered. "This time we didn't even do a thing!"

"Actually I think the Maguanacs could help us here. They are one of the few groups that were allowed to keep their mobile suits. If we can pull this off we could easily obtain the Gundams once again. I'll have the Maguanacs attack their main base. While the Dark Angels are busy trying to defend we can have Benton come in and locate the Gundams and have Duo and Heero grab a carrier for them."

"The place is going to be heavily guarded. I don't think Benton alone could retrieve the Gundams even with Duo and Heero's help. Even though they may want to make amends they are bound to put up a fight especially with how powerful these Gundams are," Trowa pointed out.

"I don't think this plan will work out completely. They'll be glad to see that I am back and I could easily come up with some kind of excuse as to what happened. To make this believable I am going to have to fight with the Dark Angels. Other wise they would see through this right away. Someone else is going to have to retrieve the Gundams. I can sneak one of you in, but that is all I can do. And when I see that things have gone well I can leave the Dark Angels. But that will announce that I have turned against them so I won't be able to pull a stunt like that again," Benton explained.

"And if you aren't able to escape?" Duo asked.

"Then you'll keep going," Benton simply replied.

"So are we decided?" Noin questioned. All pilots nodded. "Since we are all decided then, this mission takes place at dawn."

"I'll go contact the Maguanacs," Quatre announced and left the room. One by one the pilots exited the debriefing room.

*****

"Hey, Benton," Duo called as he saw him leave, "Wait up!" The soldier stopped and waited. His expression was of one deciding whether to trust him. "Relax, buddy, we're in this together."

"I've heard that expression many times and half of the time they never mean it," Benton replied, in his usual flat tone.

Duo shook his head. This kid reminded him much of the way Heero and Trowa used to be when he first met them. At least now they were finally opening up and finally trusting others. Duo could tell it was going to take a lot to earn Benton's trust. Yet, he made it his goal to handle that task. For everyone needed a friend.

"So, Benny, mind if I call you Benny?" Duo asked. Benton shrugged in reply. "I'll take that as a yes then. I was wondering are you always this serious?"

Benton gave an odd look in reply to the question. At least it was making some kind of break through. "I never pictured a Gundam pilot to be such a chatter box," Benton answered.

Duo grinned. "Surprised? We actually have personalities will some of us do. You'll find that out of the Gundam pilots the ones to reach would be Quatre or me. The others are hard to start a conversation with. So you never did answer my question."

"I can see that you aren't going to be easy to shake off," Benton stated. "Unfortunately the only thing I know how to be is a soldier. I've been a soldier most of my life. Some would say that I grew up really fast, at least according to Miss Noin. I never had much of a child hood.

Now with the change of events and what I had taken a part in I don't care what happens to me. If I die, then so be it. That would be my punishment for what I had done. If I had known that Miss Noin was still around I would have never joined the Dark Angels. That's something I can't change now. So I hope to make some kind of amend before my time is up."

"You know, most of the pilots feel the same way you do, Benton. We all had rough pasts and had done things we regretted we had done, but we also try to look about life differently. We try to live our lives, if we don't we would have all gone crazy by now," Duo commented.

"That's why you don't take things seriously?" Benton asked.

Duo nodded. "We can't all afford to be serious. Maybe you should try living your life."

"Why are you telling me this? I used to be your enemy in fact most your teammates still see me as an enemy," Benton asked, his expression one of frustration.

"I have a good friend who once worked for OZ. She thought a lot like you did. Truthfully I don't know why I am trying to help you. I do know that every one needs someone they can rely on. If you decide to trust me, I can be one of them. Also if Miss Noin speaks highly of you, I know that you can be trusted, " Duo answered.

"I never had a friend before. I wouldn't permit myself to befriend anyone I guess in fear of loosing that person. I would like that," Benton replied after a while.

Duo grinned. "Welcome aboard, Benny. I say we grab some food," Duo answered followed by his stomach growling. Benton nodded and together the two headed down to the cafeteria.

*****

Noin smiled as she stood by the doorway. She was glad that Duo took the time to befriend Benton. This friendship would help heal Benton's soul.

"Do you think this plan will actually work?" Milliardo asked as he stepped beside Noin.

"I can only hope this does," Noin replied as she embraced Milliardo.

"What do you see in that soldier of yours? How can you trust him after what he did to Relena?" Milliardo questioned with anger. Yet in his eyes there was concern.

"I know you're upset about Relena, Milliardo, but you'll have to trust me. Benton is not the one who shot her. One of his comrades did. He was supposed to have done the deed, but the last minute he found he could not. It was his loyalty toward me that caused him to stop."

"You soldier is lucky that I wasn't the one who found him. He would have been dead. In my eyes he should be dead. I could care less if he was a fellow OZ soldier. That is of the past. I am amazed that Lady Une is letting Benton get away with this."

"If you must know it was for me. She saved him for me," Noin replied. "Benton is like a son to me. I practically raised him. He has no one else but me."

"Once again, Noin, you're putting your feelings where they don't belong in a war. I thought that you would know better to then to allow your feelings to get in the way. I am rather disappointed with you," Milliardo angrily commented.

Tears threatened to fall. The comments shocked her. Normally she would have been able to handle such comments, yet these came from someone whom she loved. "Then what about our child?" Noin shouted as she watched Milliardo angrily walking off.

Down an opposite corridor Benton silently listened to the argument between Noin and Milliardo. He had gone back to discuss with Miss Noin about the mission, but had stopped when he heard her arguing. It was rare to see Miss Noin argue with a fellow comrade especially with the one whom she deeply admired.

It made him feel terrible, that he was the cause of this argument. He had thought he had left those arguments at home long ago. Once again he found himself on the wrong side. He always seemed to be on the wrong side of things. This was the first time that he felt he was on the right side too. Benton frowned. The one thing he didn't want to see was Miss Noin getting in trouble for him. He was going to prove to Milliardo and the rest that he can be trusted.

Before Miss Noin noticed that he had been listening, he walked off deciding that what he had to say wasn't too important.

*****

"The Earth always has to be the center of wars," Rasid commented. "It is a shame that such a beautiful place has to be the host of so many wars."

"I don't know about you, Rasid, but I am actually glad to be in some action. It's been really quiet lately," Abdul commented.

"I am also glad that Master Quatre is allowing us to help," one of the Maguanacs stated.

"Don't forget that this isn't some kind of joy ride. We have to make them believe that we are the enemy, not a distraction. We can't allow them to see the other Gundam pilots," Rasid ordered as he and the Maguanacs approached the location of the Dark Angel base.

The base was located up in the mountains. It was a large building that spread through out the mountains. Rasid had a feeling he was only seeing half of the base. He wouldn't be surprised if most of the main base was underground. The base was heavily guarded with mobile dolls planted in different locations surrounding the base.

Instantly they came to life as the Maguanacs approached them. "Hold, your ground!" Rasid roared as the battle began.

*****

Rasid frowned as he concentrated on the battleground. Mobile suits poured out around them. The only thing Rasid could do was fire back and hope that they could pull off this plan. He still had some doubt in this plan. He feared that Benton would turn on them. This was what Master Quatre wanted so it was what he would follow through.

Screams of surprise filled there air. "The Gundams are attacking!" came Abdul's surprised voice.

"What?" Rasid shouted back. "That can't be. We haven't even given Duo and Heero a chance to reach the base!"

"TRAITOR!" Abdul angrily shouted. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted that guy!"

"New plan of action, we need to retreat!" Rasid ordered.

"Not when we're this close!" Duo protested.

"Too late, Duo, we can't do a thing now. We'll have to re think our plans," Heero bitterly commented.

"I can't believe it. I don't think Benton would have done that," Duo commented his voice full of disbelief.

"The traitor is good as dead if he even comes back," Heero simply commented.

"That is if we can even get out of this alive," Duo muttered as he hopelessly watched the battlefield.

The mobile doll versions of the Gundams were easily taking down each Maguanac. Screams of terror or battle cries filled the air.

*****
Benton had no problem reaching the base. No one questioned him of where he had been. Everyone was too busy concentrating on the battle before them. They seemed to welcome his service as he hopped into a Serpent.

Horror filled his face once he arrived at the battlefield. He couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw. The Gundams were out and attacking the Maguanacs. Now there was no chance at all of retrieving the Gundams. They may have had a chance if actual pilots piloted them, yet that was very slim. It was a better chance then fighting against a mobile doll.

The odds weren't what frightened him. It was what the Maguanacs would think. They would assume he had turned against them. Which was far from it. It explained why no one bothered to question him. They already knew. That just made it worse. Now he was known as a traitor for the Dark Angels and now the Preventers.

Benton sighed as he stared at his controls. What could he do now? Angrily he glared up at the Gundams. They were once his enemy and they were still his enemy. Yelling he turned and started attacking the Gundams. He wasn't sure what he could do, but he was going to something, even though he knew that it wasn't going to help his case.

*****

"I told you that Benton turn against us!" Duo commented as he spotted alone Serpent fighting against the Gundams. "That has to be Benton!"

"If that is him, then I will kill him. That act of his isn't going to help," Heero stated. As he spoke he turned the mobile suit carrier that they were controlling toward the Serpent.
The carrier didn't have many weapons, but it would sufficient for what Heero had in mind.

"Heero, no!" Duo shouted as he tried to take the controls. "Why don't you believe me?"

"This is for you own good," Heero replied and punched Duo in the stomach. With a groan Duo passed out. He then quickly returned his attention ahead of him.

An alarm sounded as a window appeared in Heero's screen. Heero frowned. Benton was in that window. "You have every right to shoot me down, but listen to me. I wasn't the one who informed the Dark Angels. I don't know who found out our plan but I would not do such thing. It would be betraying Miss Noin and that's something I would never do. If you still don't want to believe me then go ahead and shoot me. I have nothing left if you guys don't believe in me."

Heero studied Benton's face trying to decide if he should believe in this soldier. Benton's face was expressionless. His hands were gripped around the controls as he starred up into the screen waiting for what Heero would decide. Heero watched amazed as the soldier continued to stand alone in the Serpent suit ignoring his comrades attempts in killing him.
Heero closed his eyes at the sudden remembrance of when he accidentally killed the pacifists in a rash attempt to destroy OZ. He then knew what he had to do. Quickly Heero sent the cruiser into a dive and then quickly turned about striking down the other mobile suits that were attacking the Serpent. It only took a few seconds for the Serpent to react and begin helping the cruiser. Heero only slowed down a second to allow the Serpent to aboard the cruiser. Before any more recruits could arrive he was following behind the Maguanacs in their attempt to retreat.

*****

"Your information was indeed correct, Miss Catalonia," General Gavin greeted as he stared at his window watching the sunset. Silently Dorothy stood by his desk, dressed in her Preventers uniform. Her face was expressionless as she listened to him talk. "We would have lost our precious Gundams if you hadn't discovered our traitor."

"What are we going to do now since they know of our location?" Dorothy questioned.

"Oh I am already a step ahead. As we speak my people are moving to a new location, which will prove quit useful when we approach the space colonies," Gavin answered with a cold smile as he turned to face Dorothy. "Soon everyone will realize what the mistake they had made in following Relena Peacecraft's ways."

"And the Preventers?" Dorothy continued.

"They are of no concern. They will never be able to retrieve these Gundams and by then the people of Earth and space colonies will despise them."

"I assume then that you wish me to return to the Preventers and continue my job there?"

Gavin nodded. "I will send word for you if I need you to accomplish another chore for me. Until then keep me posted. You are dismissed."

With a quick salute Dorothy exited the office. Once outside the office she frowned. She did not like where things were going. She just hoped she wouldn't have to do any drastic chores. She already wasn't happy with what she was doing now, yet it had to be done some how.

*****

Where was she? Her entire body screamed in pain. She fought to open her eyes that refused to open. Slowly she managed to open them only to be flooded with a bright light. Relena wondered where she was and at the same time wondered if she was alive and not in heaven.

Slowly her eyes began to focus and she managed to put together that she was in a hospital room. She was alive, but in pain. Relena grimaced as she fought back the nerve to cry out in pain. She observed that she was hooked up to many wires that were in turn connected to many machines that made many sounds. Now the question was if she was in the hands of friendly people or those who had attacked her.

Her only hope right now was that Heero was around. With Heero she felt that she was protected and that she had a familiar face, even though he didn't talk too much. He was till comforting. He had always given her strength when she felt her strength fading. And Heero was the one who said that she was the stronger one. Relena believed that Heero was the strongest between them.

Relena then noticed that she wasn't alone. Near by she found Sally sound asleep in a chair. At least she was in safe hands. Exhausted already Relena closed her eyes as she quickly drifted back to sleep.

*****
"Don't go blaming yourselves for failing the mission. I know that all of you have done your best to retrieve the Gundams. Right now I guess our main concern is finding our source that is leaking the information," Lady Une greeted in a grim tone as the Maguanacs, Heero, Duo, and Benton returned.

"Our traitor is right here," muttered Abdul. He still wasn't ready to believe that Heero made a wise decision.

"Abdul, he didn't do it, otherwise I would have killed him on the spot," Heero replied in his usual flat tone.

"So you finally believed me after all," Duo commented with a grin.

"Actually, Duo, you had nothing to do with it. It was my decision," Heero pointed out.

"As usual the perfect soldier always has to do things himself and never trust other's decisions."

"I want all of you to pay special attention and keep an eye out for our betrayer. If you think you have the source I want you to report to me," Lady Une commented. " Don't tell anyone but me. Got it?"

*****

"I am rather surprised to see that you joined the Preventers," Quatre greeted Dorothy as she was sitting in the large library that the base had.

Dorothy looked up surprised to see the least person she expected to ever talk to her. "I am amazed to see that you are still fighting. I thought that pacifists don't fight?"

Quatre smiled. "Someone has to fight to keep peace. I'll keep doing it tell I find a reason in which I can finally rest."

"Unlike Miss Relena who will not fight," Dorothy countered.

"Oh no, she does fight but not the way we fight, Dorothy, She is far braver then any of us," Quatre commented. "So why did you decide to join?"

"I felt that I should help and maybe amend myself," Dorothy replied. Most of what she said was right, but they weren't her full reasons. She hated talking to Quatre right now. It pained her to speak to him. Not with Gavin's latest issues ringing in her ears.

"The time has come to next strike down Quatre Winner. We can't afford to have him nosing around in our affairs. He proves to be a great threat especially with his pacifist influence. While Relena Peacecraft is still down we need to take him down. You are the best one to do it," Gavin hard ordered.

"Are you ok, Dorothy?" Quatre asked as he watched Dorothy's face pale.

"Quatre, please come with me. We need to talk. I know you'll be the only one to believe me," Dorothy replied in a whisper.

Quatre nodded, unable to speak as he watched her with concern. Silently he followed Dorothy to her room. Once in her room Dorothy made sure that the blinds were down on her window and that no one is near by in corridor. Once she was satisfied she shut the door.

"Promise me that you won't breath a word about this," Dorothy ordered.

"I won't," Quatre replied in a firm tone as he sat down in a chair by Dorothy's desk.

"I am the one who betrayed the Preventers. Not Benton, as the Maguanacs had thought. I told the Dark Angels. In fact I am part of their horrible group," Dorothy explained, her voice quivering a bit.

Quatre listened wide-eyed as Dorothy explained this new news. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But why, Dorothy, why did you join and why did you tell me?" he asked after a slight pause.

"Because I felt that I had to tell someone and you were the only one that I knew I could trust. What I am really doing is spying for the Preventers. I can't afford to let Lady Une know otherwise Gavin may find out. I know that we can't afford for them to find out," Dorothy commented as she nervously paced around the room. "You do believe me right, Quatre?"

"I believe ever word you say, but you're making a huge risk by not telling Lady Une," Quatre pointed out.

"I know, but it has to be done. Then there is something else I have to say. They want me to kill you. They think you're a really big threat," Dorothy whispered as she looked up into his blue eyes.

Quatre gasped. "You know, I was wondering when they were going to pull something like that. I had a feeling they were going to want to kill me, but this is something new."

Dorothy spun around quickly as someone knocked on the door. She quickly wondered if the person heard them speaking at all. "Who's there?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Duo," the pilot answered, his voice muffled as he stood behind the door.

Hesitantly Dorothy opened the door, but right away she could tell that Duo knew, just by looking into his eyes. "How long have you been listening."

"Like a few minutes, but I put together the rest," Duo answered. "Normally I wouldn't have believed you, but since for some strange reason that Quatre believes you I will believe."

"Promise me you won't tell, Lady Une," Dorothy commanded.

Duo looked up wide eye at the sudden rage that was in that command. "Relax I can keep a promise, but it won't belong before someone finds out."

"I know that, that's why I had to tell someone," Dorothy spat more out of nervousness. "Plus there is no way I can get out of this, especially with this thing."

Dorothy brushed back most of her long hair to reveal a small tattoo of a snake on the corner of her neck. Duo at once began to laugh. "What's so funny?" Dorothy dangerously questioned as she narrowed her eyes.

"Your tattoo, they screwed it up!" Duo snickered.

"I forgot about that," Dorothy commented, not to happily.

"I bet it wasn't accidentally messed up," Quatre stated. "They probably had a reason behind that, so they could tell her apart from the rest."

"Why would they want to do that?" Dorothy asked. "I already proved my loyalty."

"Think about it, Dorothy, you are working for them and us at the same time. All they need to do is look at your tattoo to make sure that you're their spy," Quatre answered.
"But why screw this tattoo up? It doesn't make sense!" Dorothy persisted.

"You are their main source, that's why," Quatre pointed added.

Dorothy sighed. "I wish I didn't have to do this. I really don't. The problem now is what am I going to do about you?"

"Maybe fake his death?" Duo suggested.

"These people will want proof," Dorothy stated. "That won't work."

"We'll think of something," Quatre assured; although he really wasn't as confident as he sounded.

*****

"I told you that boy was not to be trusted," Zechs angrily commented to Noin as they sat by themselves in the cafeteria.

Noin sighed. "Why can't you just let this go? Benton means well, he was trying to help us. He didn't know they would find out. Heero believed him."

"Heero has been known to make mistakes before," Zechs pointed out.

"Exactly! Everyone makes mistakes. You were the leader of White Fang remember?" Noin stated.

"You have a point, Noin," Zechs hesitantly commented, "I think we should just do a little test to see if Heero was correct."

It was a few moments before Noin answered. "That might be a good idea. Maybe if it's not Benton, we'll be able to find the real traitor. What will we do to test this?"

"I'll come up with something. When I do bring this up it'll be subtle."

*****

"It is a pleasure to see that you are finally awake, Miss Relena," Lady Une happily greeted as she entered Relena's hospital room.

Relena smiled with help from the nurses she was sitting up drinking some hot tea. Sally was beside her. The room was decorated with bright, colorful flowers sent to her by admirers. "Sally just told me what had happened. I wish I was there to prevent such things."

"No, you're job is to get well. The people need you. It is my job to stop these attacks," Lady Une ordered.

"Is Milliardo ok?" Relena questioned.

"He is much better now that he knows you're up. He should be on his way now," Lady Une answered.

Relena grinned. "Oh there is one thing I would like for you to do, Lady Une, is that I want to speak with Benton Jenson. That young man did try to save my life. I do hope he's still not in jail."

"Actually, Miss Relena, he is a Preventer now. We believed what he was saying, yet some people don't trust him and I think your pardon will help," Lady Une answered.

Relena nodded. "Plus there is some more that I need to discuss with him which will be a little more personal."

"You know him?" Lady Une asked, rather surprised by this comment.

Relena nodded. "I knew his sister."

Sally looked up at the comment. This was new news to her. It brought a clearer picture of who Benton really was.

"Benton has a sister?" Sally questioned.

"Yes, a twin sister in fact. Unfortunately she just recently passed away. Since she knew my connection with the Preventers and Miss Noin she had asked me to keep an eye out for Benton. She wanted me to deliver a message for him. She had hoped to see him one last time before she passed away, but we were unable to find Benton in time," Relena explained with sorrow in her eyes.

"But how did you get to know his sister?" Sally continued to ask, finding this a very curious twist in the events.

"She was the adopted daughter of the Chrenkwils," Relena explained.

Sally's eyes widened. "Impressive."

"Relena, it's so good to see you awake," Zechs greeted as he stepped into the room with a large bouquet of flowers in his hands. Awkwardly Zechs bent over and hugged his sister.

Relena smiled. "I think you'll crush the flowers if we don't put them in a vase," she commented.

Zechs grinned sheepishly as he straightened and began looking around for a vase of some thing to make a temporary one.

"I'll take care of that," Lady Une stated and reached over taking the flowers.

"I told you we should have posted more guards," Zechs immediately began.

"Hush, Milliardo. It's no use discussing about the past. The thing to do now is correct the mistakes and move on. I here that I am going to be an aunt?" Relena stated with a grin.

Zechs shifted uncomfortably. He could tell easily that Relena was trying to change the conversation. He couldn't believe though that Relena knew about this. "How did you know?"

"Sally told me. Either way, Miss Noin would have told me. I am so happy to see that you two are finally going to settle down," Relena happily commented.

"How long will it be when you can leave this place?" Zechs asked.

"Won't be for quit a while, I'm afraid. Although I would much prefer to be home," Relena replied with a sigh. "How's Heero?"

Lady Une looked up from where she was rearranging flowers. "Heero is not too happy right now. He failed his mission. Plus I think he's a little nervous of visiting you in the hospital. I believe he's still blaming himself of failing to protect you."

Relena sighed. "I wish he wouldn't feel that way. Please, Lady Une, see if you can talk to him of visiting me?"

Lady Une nodded. "I will do my best."

*****

Hesitantly Benton stepped into Relena's hospital room. It was bad enough he hated hospitals, now he was standing before someone he was ordered to kill and failed to do so. It bothered him more that she greeted him with a smile.

"Please, relax, Benton. I have no bitter feelings toward you. I wanted to give you a pardon, which will be addressed to the people so that you may continue to live a life," Relena explained.

"But why would you do that for me? All I did was try to take away your life and yet you want to give me my life," Benton replied, surprised by Relena's comments.

"You couldn't pull through with your orders. The last minute you tried to protect me instead. From that moment I could see that you had something good inside you. Plus I have to deliver a message from Ariel."

Benton froze at the name of Ariel. "You know Ariel?" he whispered.

Relena slowly nodded. Her eyes were filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry, but she died a while back. Her family tried to get in touch of you, but they couldn't find you in time. Then I heard that you were the very person they were looking for."

Relena watched in fascination as the soldier before her slowly broke down. His face paled and his hands trembled. Slowly he sank to his knees. She saw tears in his eyes. "She couldn't have died," he denied. "We had a promise."

"I'm sorry, Benton, we tried to find you, but it was too late. She really wanted to see you She wanted me to give you this," Relena replied as she picked up a small chain from the table next to her bed.

Hesitantly, Benton reached for it. Tears slid down his face as he brought it closer to examine. Brushing tears away from his face, he clutched the locket and tore out of the room.

"Benton!" Relena called after, knowing it was fruitless.

"What's up with him?" Duo questioned as he casually stepped into the room, carrying a familiar looking teddy bear. With him he dragged a rather reluctant Heero.

"Duo! Heero!" Relena excitedly greeted. "You brought me teddy bear..."

Duo grinned. "We figured you would want it a little something from home I guess you can say. I'll go and see what's bugging Benny while you and Heero can talk." Grinning, Duo shoved the reluctant soldier into the room and hurried off.

Relena smiled. "I'm glad you came to visit. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever visit." Heero shifted uncomfortably, finding the floor very interesting. "You know this is the first time I had ever seen you nervous."

"I should have been able to stop them. You would have never been hurt if I hadn't failed," Heero stated.

Relena sighed. "I had a feeling that's what was bothering you. Heero, you did what you could. No one is perfect, not even you, Heero. You can do a lot of amazing things, but you are titled to mistakes too."

"But every time I make a mistake, I end up killing someone especially pacifists," Heero softly commented.
"Well I am alive and healing. I think it's because of the strength you give me," Relena commented.

"How would I give you strength?" Heero questioned, surprised by the comment.

"Because of all the things you can do, things I can't do, and how you are a really kind person," Relena explained.

"I would hardly call myself a kind person."

"But you are," Relena persisted. "Otherwise why would you go through great lengths of saving so many lives?"

"Simple, it's my job. That's what I was trained to do."

"As usual you must use that excuse to hide your real reasons," Relena stated.

"You're not disappointed that I failed?" Heero asked.

"No, Heero. As I said earlier you are only human not this perfect soldier that they tried to get you to be."

*****

"Hey, Benny!" Duo shouted as he chased after the redhead. "Slow down, a minute so we can talk!"

Benton stopped in his tracks, yet he didn't turn around. "Why would you care?"

"Because as I said before we're friends remember? Or did you think I would turn on you that fast? I was one of the few who believed that you weren't the traitor," Duo stated.

Duo took the advantage and walked up to Benton, only to find that he was crying. Duo was even more curious. Benton brushed away his tears that he worked hard to fight against and was failing miserably. He couldn't believe that he was crying. He had worked so hard not to cry and he was crying now.

"Mind telling me what happened?" Duo softly asked.

"Miss Relena just informed me that my sister past away. She was the only relative I had. The last time I got to see her was when I was nine," he whispered, his voice trembling. "It's been my only dream to see her once more after all these wars. I thought with peace I would be able to see her again."

Duo nodded. "I know your pain. I've traveled the path before. I'm still forever haunted by it, but I've learned to adjust to it."
"Yes, but it seems to always be my fought. Every time I do something wrong something happens to me or I loose something or someone that was dear to me. It's like I can never do anything right. Just like how my mother always used to tell me," Benton softly explained.

"Benny, I don't think this has nothing to do with you. It may have just been her time. Look, lets go and have some fun? I think that's what we need especially after our failure with the mission," Duo suggested trying to lighten up the mood. He hated it when situations became dark and depressing. It reminded him too much of his lifestyle.

Benton managed to give a small smile. "Sounds like a plan."

Duo grinned. "Great. Let me round up the other guys and see what they have to say."

"What about Heero?" Benton asked.

Duo laughed. "Heero will be fine. He and Relena need to work out some things." Duo then placed a hand on Benton's shoulder as the two walked off.

*****

Silently Dorothy stared out the window. A week had past since she had told Quatre about her true plans. So far no one has said word about who this traitor was. Yet, to Dorothy's surprise Quatre was still treating her with the kindness he usually did. That hurt her a lot. It's like he didn't know that she was going to have to kill him.

That was her current problem. She didn't want to kill him. In fact she found that her heart was stolen by his kindness. She found that she loved him. Quatre was the only one who ever accepted who she was. He was the only one who saw through what she tried to be. No matter what she did, he was always there to help her out.

Tears filled her eyes as she watched the sunrise. The sunrise was so beautiful. It would be something that Quatre would comment about. Dorothy remembered a few days before, the day after she had told him what her mission was, how Quatre was sitting outside early in the morning.

"What are you doing outside this early in the morning? The sun's not even up!" Dorothy commented.

"I know. That's what I'm waiting for. It's so beautiful to watch the sunrise. It calms my nerves when I watch it rise. For it reminds me of why I am fighting. When was the last time you ever watched the sunrise?" Quatre replied as he studied her face.

Silently Dorothy tried to think of when the last time she ever took the time to even look about her. "I think maybe it was when I was little and I was with my grandfather. I remember how my grandfather commented about how excited I was to see the sunrise," Dorothy whispered.

Quatre's eyes filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry."

"No it's ok. I'm glad that I mentioned it. It was a happy memory," Dorothy replied. "Is it alright if I join you?"

Quatre smiled. "I wouldn't mind at all." The pilot moved over to allow Dorothy to sit next to him. Together they watched as the sky slowly changed as pink hues streaked across the sky mixing in with the soft blues.

Dorothy finally understood what Quatre meant and why he enjoyed the beautiful scenery about him. Suddenly her cellar phone rang. Dorothy grimaced as she grabbed it out of her pocket. Why did it have to ring? At least she was able to watch the sunrise in peace.

Reluctantly she answered the phone to only fine that it was from the Dark Angels. "We need you to dispose of Quatre Winner as soon as possible Miss Catolina."

"Immediately?" Dorothy replied, in a barely audible tone.

"Yes. He is starting to become a problem. Or rather his family is. Have you been paying attention to what's going on around you? His family is fighting against us. The Winner family has a strong influence over the colonies and the Earth. With Winner gone we won't have to worry about the rest of the family."

"But if Mr. Winner is gone won't that bring them more sympathy?" Dorothy questioned.

"Yes and no, but that won't be of your concern. Your concern is to dispose of him unless I am sensing treason?"

"No," Dorothy replied in a stern voice. "I'll do it tonight."

"Good. Inform me when the business has been taking care of."

"Very well," Dorothy replied and hung up the phone. Yet that wasn't what she had in mind. She wasn't going to be the one to do this.

There was a hill outside the Preventer's building, the same hill where she and Quatre had watched the sunrise. The hill loomed over a valley full of rocks and trees. She would have never thought of dying this way, or of any attentions of doing so, but if this was the way she could protect Quatre then it would be the only way. Her only qualms about this were that she never got to live the life she wanted, the life that Quatre was helping her see.

Her hands shook as she studied herself one last time in the mirror. She took off her Preventers jacket, feeling that she shouldn't be soiling the organization this way. Hesitantly she walked over to her desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. Quickly she scrawled a note, explaining in few words about her purpose.

Quietly she left the room and made sure that she wasn't seen. Once the corridor cleared she made her way down the corridors and outside the headquarters. The only thing she didn't notice was that a blonde Arabian was following her. Outside she slowly approached the hill.

Her hands began to shake and she could feel her eyes watering. No. She wasn't going to loose her nerve now. She had to do it now or never. With a firm expression she ran and jumped over the hill. "I'm sorry, Quatre, this had to be done," she whispered.

"Dorothy, nooo!" Quatre shouted, as he chased behind her.

*****

"Quatre?" Dorothy called out and suddenly struggled to grab hold on anything that she could. Her hands reached only air as she tumbled down the hill. Pain seized her entire body as she worked frantically to grab some kind of hold.

She felt warm blood drip down her face. Her head began to spin as she fought for her life she tried to get rid of moments ok. She couldn't believe that she suddenly backed out of it. What possessed her to do that? Now she was going to have to continue this job.

Much to her surprise her hand grabbed hold of a rock. "Somebody help me!" she cried out.

"Don't worry, Dorothy. There's help!" Quatre called back as he looked down the hill. His eyes filled with tears. As he spoke a rope was being swung down and Zechs was slowly climbing down along with a bunch of medics. In a slow process Dorothy was slowly brought back up.

"I'm sorry," Dorothy managed to mutter before she passed out.

Quatre could only cry more out of relief and confusion. Silently Trowa placed a blanket around Quatre as they walked back to the headquarters.

*****

"What do you think that was all about?" Sally questioned as she, Noin, Zechs, and Lady Une sat in Lady Une's office.

"She is the traitor," Lady Une softly commented. "And Dorothy didn't want to pull through with her mission."

"Dorothy is the traitor? How did you figure it out?" Sally questioned.

"Duo came and told me this morning. He was rather reluctant of telling me, but he was worried about Quatre's safety," Lady Une explained.

"But why did she join? That doesn't seem like her," Noin asked.

"I was surprised when Duo told me too. He then continued to explain why Dorothy chose to do this. She joined in an attempt to help us," Lady Une stated. "She was afraid to tell anyone in fear the Dark Angels would find out."

"But I guess she wasn't counting on falling in love with the very person she had to kill," Sally commented. "Things aren't going well for Dorothy at all. From the reports given to me at the hospital she's in a coma and doesn't seem to be even fighting for her life."

"So you're going to trust her?" Zechs asked.

"Yes," Lady Une questioned. "Are you questioning my authority?"

"No not at all," Zechs replied quickly. For the tone she used matched the deadly voice of Colonel Une.

"The question is though if Dorothy survives what are we going to do about the Dark Angels?" Noin asked. "They will believe that she is a traitor for sure."

"I've already thought about that. We shall have to give Dorothy a new identity till things are cleared up," Lady Une answered. "It'll be challenging but it's the best thing we can do."

*****

"Quatre, wake up," Sally ordered as she shook the pilot awake.

"What's wrong?" Quatre asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Dorothy, we might loose her," Sally commented. "I was hoping that maybe your presence would save her. It did before."

Instantly Quatre was wide-awake as he hurried beside Sally. It didn't take long for them to reach the hospital.

"We can't have him in there, Major Sally," one of the doctors hurriedly ordered. "We're trying to get our patient stabilized."

"He's under my orders to come in. I believe that he may help save her," Sally replied in a strict tone."

"If that is what you wish," the doctor replied in a doubtful tone.

Hesitantly Quatre stepped into the room. He was afraid of what he would see. His eyes widened when he saw Dorothy lying unconscious in the hospital bed attached to so many wires that were the only thing keeping her alive.

Quatre was a soldier, a Gundam Pilot, a Preventer, he was used to seeing people in similar situations. This was different though, this was someone he knew and cared about it. He didn't want to loose someone else he had loved. The death of his father was still vivid in his mind.

"Dorothy, don't give up now. You can't give up. I have never known you to be a quitter not then not now. Quitting isn't your style. You see things till the end. I don't want to loose you," Quatre stated as he sat by her bedside holding her hand. "If it means anything at all I love you."

"This isn't a dream?" Dorothy questioned her voice weak and barely audible.

Surprised Quatre looked over to see that Dorothy was watching him from where she was lying down. "You're awake, you're ok!' he excitedly claimed. "I can't believe it!"

"I heard your voice. It was so distant and yet at the same time near by. It was your voice that brought me back here. I didn't want to come back, not with what I would have to face. I was afraid that I would never be accepted if I did."

"You'll be surprised of the friends that you do have," Quatre stated. "I am just glad that you're ok."

"I don't believe it," Sally commented from the doorway. "They say love is indeed a powerful magic, but I never really believed it till now. You certainly gave us a scare, Dorothy."