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The Second War

Part 1

By Era-chan

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In all the days gone by since the war ended, and the months since that catastrophe during Christmas Eve, peace reigned afterwards. We see the people who played great roles during the two events going on with their lives. Each are moving on, trying to live for the future. Yet the shadows of the past still lives on. And people, thought of as lost and dead, are coming back, to receive the redemption that they need to move on. Forgiveness and past loves play a role during this time of limbo, the time between true peace and recovering livelihood. Thus, this is where the story takes place. And this is where the new disaster will come to the fore…

The young woman, so young to hold the title of Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere United Nation, sat and stared out at the endless space from her window. She frowned as she contemplated the duties she has back on Earth, the troubles that were still apparent even after two years. She was 18 now, a young adult. Yet she didn't feel that way. She still felt like the young girl she was during that war and afterwards. Having this job should have had made her feel grown up, but still, why should she act like one. She was still a young girl, supposed to be enjoying a normal teenage life. Of course she never did have a normal life, being the adopted daughter of the belated Prime Minister of the disbanded Earth Federation, being the princess of the long-ago Cinq Kingdom, and now her current title as the Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere United Nation.

But it was already too late for getting what she secretly wants. It was too late. For her heart and secret desire. The young woman now calling herself Relena Peacecraft continued to gaze absently out of the window, musing over her life.

In a distant colony, part of the L3 cluster of colonies, a blonde girl typed furiously at what she was doing. She kept her senses on full alert, knowing that any one could find her at any given time. She waited impatiently as the data began to download at the micro disk that she had brought with her. Dimly she felt the cold air in the room, ignoring it as was part of her nature. She had become the person she had always remembered, yet held deep in her heart. The irony of it was damning. What she wouldn't wish to see his face right now. She guessed that he would have that mask still on his face, gazing at her like the lost boy he had been. She wondered at how he was doing now, but swiftly let the thought go. She had a mission to finish and any disturbances were unwanted.

When the disk was full and all the data had been downloaded, she quickly erased any traces that could link her to the disappearance of the information she had taken with her. She knew that she was not that good with computers, but she was grateful that it wasn't too hard to hack into the main database, thanks to her training being a spy. Holding the disk firmly in her grasp, she cautiously slithered out of the room, hoping against hope that she could get out of the compound alive. The disk was the key to halting another war from coming to the fore. And she would guard it with her life. It was the only way she could repay for the actions she took in the past. The only way to repay him. With that in mind, the blonde young woman known as Midii Une, returned back to her mission.

Silently the Asian girl washed the dishes, ignoring the loud noises from the restaurant. How she had come to this, she never know. Once she had been the proud successor to the Dragon clan. Now here she was, a dishwasher to boot. At least she wasn't a geisha, or the more demeaning roles the girls from the streets were. She dimly remembered being blown up with the Mobile suit that she had been using, trying to protect her colony. Luckily, or unluckily, in her view, she had just been floating in space. A space ship, full of miners, had found her and the doctor of the ship treated her. She had been in a coma for the rest of the flight, and had full-blown amnesia through the rest of the war and afterwards. Until a few weeks ago, she began to remember bits and pieces of her past, thanks to stumbling into an old article from a trashed newspaper about the explosion of the L5 colonies. From that, her memories had come slowly. She knew that she was married at the age of 14, meaning four years ago. She was the proud heir to the Dragon clan, or rather the only survivor of the clan.

Meiran Chang dried the last remaining dishes and took off the apron she wore. Even though she was thankful that one of the miners had a relative who owned a restaurant, it was still ironic that she was put into this lowly position to survive. Turning toward the door leading to the dining room, she shouted to her boss that she was leaving and left through the back door. No matter what happened to her, she would survive. That is what she would do, in memory to her clan, and to the husband she secretly cared about.

The blonde young woman stared at herself and sighed. She eyed the long hair that she kept the same length since two years ago, the eyebrows that were her trademark, and the sinister looking gray eyes that held no emotions that were anything but kind.

With a sob, she covered her face with her hands, the echo of his voice loud in her mind. She isn't kind, not like him. Never like him. How can she hurt a guy, the guy that is like so much like her father, who had died during that detesting war. No, she wasn't kind.

After she was done crying, she stood up and went to the packed suitcase. It was time to visit him. She always visit him, though in a distance. She wanted to see if he was all right. It had become a ritual to see if he was all right. She always comes during this time, always at the same day. And when she was satisfied that he was okay, she would leave. But those times was always torture for her. She wanted to come up to him and apologize for what she did. She wanted to bask in his light and hope that he cared enough about her, like she cared about him. She never told herself that she liked him, more than liked him, during the past. But ever since that accident, she had come face to face with her feelings, for him and for the girl who she considered her best friend.

Without a backward glance, Dorothy Catalonia walked out of the room and to the airport, where she would board the plane going to the L4 colony.

Relena sighed as she sat down at one of the seats, waiting for her private plane to fix the problem that happened during the flight. She was on one of the airports at the L3 colony. She hoped that it would be done soon. Though, and here Relena stared down at the briefcase on her lap, her destination was not much better.

"Miss Relena?"

Relena stared up in surprise and met the gray eyes of Dorothy Catalonia. She stood up and put aside her briefcase.

"Dorothy, what a nice surprise."

Dorothy smiled. With a small gesture, she gestured to the seat next to her. "May I sit beside you, Miss Relena?"

"Why of course. Go ahead, Dorothy."
The two young ladies sat down.

"How come you are here, Miss Relena?"

Relena smiled ruefully. "My plane had some maintenance problem. I'm waiting right now for it to get fixed."

"I see."

Relena turned to stare at the blonde. "What about you? How come you are here?"

Dorothy smiled. "This is one of the stops before I reach my destination."

Relena didn't ask for more. She felt that the other young woman wasn't ready to give up where she was going. So she began small talk.

The two talked about anything, like the current occurrences in politics, the media, anything but the past. An Asian girl who stood in front of them interrupted them.

"Excuse me, but is this seat taken?"

The two young women shook their head. The Asian girl, about the same age as them, smiled and sat down. Relena, being the hostess that she was, turned to her and started a conversation. At first the girl was reluctant, but soon she relaxed and began to chat back. Relena learned that she was from one of the L5 colonies and that she was the last survivor of the Dragon clan. In return, Meiran found out who Relena and Dorothy were.

Meiran gasped. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that you were the Vice Foreign Minister."

Dorothy raised an eyebrow. "Everyone knows who Miss Relena is."

Meiran flushed but sat proudly. "I pretty kept much to myself."

Relena smiled. "Don't worry, Meiran. I'm glad that there is someone out there who doesn't know me. My job held many responsibilities."

The three young women continued to talk and the minutes flew. Finally, Relena's plane was fixed and she stood up. She turned to the other two and smiled.

"Well, it looks like I have to go. I hope to hear from you two. Here," and she took out two cards. "Here is my private phone number. Call me when you feel like it. Hopefully I'll be free when you do."

Meiran took the card and Dorothy took the other. As they took it, an explosion erupted. Without a single thought, Meiran threw herself at the two girls. They crashed on the floor. Relena's bodyguards, who had been nearby, ran towards the three fallen women. When they arrived, they surrounded them, looking to see where the threat was.

One of them grabbed Relena and hauled her up.

"Miss Peacecraft. We better go."

Relena turned to look down at the other two young women and made a decision. She turned to the bodyguard. "I want you to bring this two with us."

The man hid his surprise. "As you wish, Miss Peacecraft." He gave a look to the other two. They obeyed and grabbed each of them. Looking around, the bodyguards hustled the three women down the rampart and toward the plane.

As they disappeared, a young woman ran through the airport, narrowly missing the gunshots aimed for her. Grimly she turned her head, looking for a way out. Spotting a rampart, she went straight through it, disappearing down the dark hall. She still clutched the disk in her hand.

Relena sat down on the nearest seat when the three women were bustled into the plane. She gave an apologetic look at the other two young women.

"I'm sorry about that. But I really didn't want you two to get hurt. I don't know what happened, but I consider you my friends. And I don't like to see my friends get hurt."

Dorothy felt a lump in her throat after that admission. She didn't have friends at all, and she felt gratitude that the foreign minister and young woman had considered her a friend.

Meiran felt the same way. The friends she had when she had lived in the L5 colony were gone and she hadn't made any friends ever since she had been rescued. This young woman she had met a couple of hours ago had befriended her, even though they had just met. It was gratifying to be friends with someone. Ever since that battle that changed her life, she had changed considerably. She hadn't been that cold and standoffish. Being the only survivor, or so she thought, had made her feel proud. Yet the harsh reality had made her what she is today. A girl who keeps to herself, yet friendly, unlike her late husband, who she remembered always studying too much and keeping to himself whenever they were together. Yet she still loved him. No matter what, they were the same in some aspects. And that was the building block to their relationship. And now, she had friends.

Meiran smiled. "No need to apologize. I would have done a similar action as you did."

Dorothy agreed. "So would I."

The three young women settled down and waited for the plane to take off. The bodyguards had left the three, going off to inspect if everything is all right. Before the door closed, a blur went in as it closed. It was too late to back off now. The plane was already about to take off and whoever the intruder was, it was about to be taken care of.

Meiran reacted as soon as she sensed the danger. Without a thought, she used her martial arts skills to hurt the intruder. The bodyguards came up next.

But before she could lay a finger on the intruder, it collapsed.

Relena immediately came up to see who it was. She undoubtedly could tell it was a woman. Grimly but gently, she knelt next to the intruder and looked her over to see if she had any injuries. She gasped when she saw the blood gushing out of the wound near the woman's side. Without a single thought, she began to help the poor young woman.

The bodyguards protested.

"Miss Peacecraft, it is too dangerous. What if she was-"

"No," Relena said firmly. "I think she was the one that they were after."

Meiran and Dorothy were piqued.

"Why do you think that, Miss Relena?" Dorothy asked while she leaned to see how the young woman was paring.

"Because of this." Relena held up the disk. She turned to her bodyguards. "Tell the pilot to go now."

The bodyguards immediately reacted to the authority in the foreign minister's voice. "Yes, ma'am."

When the bodyguards left to talk to the pilot, Relena went back to the injured young woman. Meiran decided to help. She knelt next to Relena. "Here, let me. I got some experience on this."

Relena knew a capable hand when she saw one so she let the Chinese girl to bound the girl up. Dorothy helped the foreign minister up.

"Miss Relena, you are way too nice."

Relena smiled in irony. "Maybe. But at least I know when I see a good person when I meet them."

Dorothy smiled back, understanding what the foreign minister meant.

Meiran had done all she could and now looked up at the other two women. "Can you help me get her to a seat. It would be better than where she is now."

Dorothy and Relena nodded. They helped Meiran get the injured woman into a seat, letting the backrest down so that the woman would be lying down comfortably. Relena had put back the disk, giving the woman what she would likely asked for when she woke up.

The plane lifted off. The three young women sat down comfortably, trying not to speculate about what is going on. Now and then, Meiran checked to see the condition of the injured woman. A long silence ensued, a comfortable one, at least. Finally, it was Dorothy who broke the silence.

Dorothy turned to Relena. "Miss Relena, where are we going, actually?"

Relena flushed. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about where you were going. I'm really sorry I brought you to somewhere else."

Meiran shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. Where I'm going isn't really a home to me. I was going to L4 for a vacation. Don't worry, I didn't have any reservations to come to."

Dorothy gazed out of the window. "And where I was about to go doesn't matter. I know I would react the same way if I were in your position. Probably he-no they would too."

Relena understood what Dorothy meant. "Maybe. But I sure know that he wouldn't."

Dorothy and Relena shared a look of understanding. Meiran, not knowing whom they were talking about, didn't butt in. Instead, she checked her patient to see if she was awake.

Relena continued on. "Anyway, I was about to head to Earth. Do you mind if I bring all of you with me?"

Dorothy and Meiran shook their heads.

Relena smiled. "Good. Then that's taken care of. Now then, I got some refreshments with me. What do you want, ladies?"

The rest of the flight was spent socializing with each other. The stowaway was still unconscious when the plane docked at the airport. The bodyguards hadn't found anything to tell them why there was an explosion. All they do know is that it had to do with the unconscious woman with them. Relena didn't let them do anything with her. Whoever she was, Relena felt that she would never harm them. The bodyguards relented, but kept their thoughts to themselves. They would tell their boss, the person who hired them and told them to keep an eye on her, plus give a daily report about her to him. Though they didn't know who hired them, they knew when to follow orders. It was told to them, by mouth by the foreign minister's brother, that the one, who recommended them to be Miss Peacecraft's bodyguards, had looked over their background thoroughly and had told him their good work. So Miliardo Peacecraft, or Zechs Marquise, had hired them without a single retort. However, Miliardo Peacecraft had handed them an envelope before he and Lucrezia Noin had left to Mars. All that he said was that this was given to him for them to read. And when the bodyguards had read the letter that was inside the envelope, it was specific instructions as to what their duties were. And that they are under his supervision, not Miliardo's. Somehow, the bodyguards sensed that whoever hired them was not someone to be taken on lightly. So the bodyguards guarded the foreign minister seriously. Or else face the wrath of their mysterious boss. And that wouldn't be pretty, they were sure about that.

So even though they didn't say anything to the foreign minister, they were thinking about what they were going to say to their boss. While most of them were going with the four women, one of them got away and went to report to their boss. So when they arrived at the private airport on Earth, the bodyguard given the task of reporting what happened to his boss slipped away immediately upon arrival. He didn't even want to think how his boss would react to his news that Miss Peacecraft was almost near an explosion. Luckily, the three women didn't notice the man missing, so intent over their patient that they didn't see the man separate from the group.

Midii came to after a few hours had elapse since she had fell unconscious in the plane. Immediately upon awakening, she put her hands to where she put the disk and relaxed as she felt it in her hand. That thought made her suspicious. She had put the disk inside her shirt pocket and now it was in her hand. She looked around and realized that she was in a private clinic, from the elegant furniture in the room. She quickly sensed that the room was under surveillance, which was proven correct when she saw a blinking yellow light behind a plant near the far right corner.

The door opened and a young woman walked in. Midii instantly recognized the vice foreign minister of the Earth Sphere United Nation. She struggled to sit up but Relena Peacecraft held her down.

Relena saw the questions in the blonde woman's eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. "You're in my private clinic, inside my home. You'll be safe here." When Relena felt the young woman relax, she straightened up. "I presume that you already know me so I won't introduce myself."

Midii nodded. "Relena Peacecraft." Sensing that she should give the foreign minister a name, she blurted out, "Midii. Midii Une."

Relena raised a brow at the surprise on the young woman's face as she told Relena her name. She sensed that the girl would have given her a false name, yet the name Midii, Relena felt, was the girl's true name. She frowned. Une. The young woman said her name was Midii Une.

"Did you say Une?"

Midii stared at the foreign minister, a mask on her face. Cautiously, she replied, "Yes, I did."

Relena ignored the look Midii was giving her, used to a far worse look from a certain someone. "Do you, pray chance, know a person called Ann Une?"

Midii nodded. "She's a distant cousin of mine. Second cousins, I think."

Relena smiled brightly. "Thank goodness. Now I can bring you to Lady Une to recuperate."

Midii frowned. "Lady Une?"

Relena nodded. "Lady Une, or Ann Une, is what she calls herself. I personally know her." She put her hand down on one of Midii's and squeezed it. "I think that you two would feel better if you have company. Even though Lady Une has Merimeai, she will be delighted to see you. Say, do you have family?"

Midii lowered her eyes so that she wouldn't stare at the kind eyes, eyes that had showed the same emotion as him. "No." It was said in a stiff voice.

Relena understood and squeezed the hand again. "What happened?"

Midii knew that the foreign minister wasn't butting in, just curious. Swallowing, she replied, "My father died and my brothers are in an orphanage."

Relena stared at the lowered head on the bed. "You are giving them money." It was a statement, not a question.

Midii nodded. "It's better if they don't see me after what I did."

A long silence ensued until Relena broke it.

"Whatever you had done in the past, I think that your brothers would understand and forgive you. In wars, you don't know what you are doing, being untrue to yourself. So don't worry, they'll welcome you with open arms."

Midii looked up and stared at the compassionate eyes. Slowly she smiled. Relena smiled back. She released Midii's hand and went to a side table.

Conversationally, Relena said, "You lost a medium of blood but that was all. You'll be fine and as good as new before that accident." She poured orange juice in a glass from the refreshments on the table.

That reminded Midii of the disk. When Relena came back with the orange juice, Midii took the other girl's hand. Surprised, Relena paused. With that chance, Midii began her story.

"The disk that I have has important information. If it goes to the wrong hands, another war would begin if I don't give this to the Preventers. Can you help me?"

Relena stared at Midii, searching her face. Then she nodded. "I trust you. I think that I can help you." Putting down the orange juice on the table beside the bed, Relena went to the vidphone and dialed. The call came through and a young man's face appeared. He had on a Preventer's uniform.

"Tell Lady Une and Sally Po that an emergency meeting is needed. Now."

The young man nodded and the communication went off.

Relena turned back to Midii. "Now all we have to do is wait."

Two young women arrived at the Peacecraft mansion, the home of the Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere United Nation. One was Lady Ann Une, who founded the Preventers. The other was Sally Po, a Preventer who was the same age as the brunette walking beside her. Her partner, Wufei Chang, hadn't come because he had been in a mission, one that he was very happy doing alone. Sally didn't mind, since she instinctively knew that he wanted to work alone, since he was a Gundam pilot. Though being a Preventer took a lot of her time, she still had some left to go out and have some fun. During one of her free time, she met John Gilman, a former soldier during the war. They were now dating and hopefully they would get married soon. That was testament of the diamond ring on Sally's finger.

Lady Ann Une, her face wearing that serene expression that gave her the name "Saint Une", hid the worry she felt when she received the message from Relena. What ever Relena had that was really important must be something that needed immediate attention. Relena Peacecraft never contacted the Preventers except for the usual regulatory meetings that kept each other up to date with each other. So this emergency meeting really gave Lady Une something to worry about.

The two women went up the stairs to the private clinic that was inside the Peacecraft mansion. They were given the room number where the foreign minister was with her guest. They met two other young women, one a blonde and the other a brunette. The two older women acknowledged the blonde with a nod. They gave a curious look at the brunette, who they can clearly see was Chinese. Yet they gave her a nod of greeting and the Chinese woman returned the gesture.

Lady Une turned to Dorothy. "Is Relena in there?"

Dorothy nodded. "She is with her guest. Meiran," and she gestured to the Chinese woman beside her, "treated her."

Sally gazed at Meiran. "You have any medical experience?"

Meiran nodded. "Enough to know how to treat someone."

"Good. So shall we go in?"

Dorothy shook her head. "Thank you, Lady Une. But I think it would be better if we just stay here."

"Nonsense. The two of you deserved to be in this meeting as much as we are."

The two younger women turned to stare at each other and then at Lady Une. They could see that she was adamant that they go with her. Sally had a similar expression on her face.

Finally they acquiesced. The four young women opened the door and let themselves in. Relena and the blonde on the bed looked up at the newcomers. She stood up and went to greet them.

"Lady Une. Sally Po. It has been a long time since we last saw each other, right?" Relena smiled at the two Preventers.

"It sure it." Lady Une turned her gaze to the blonde woman on the bed. "And who is this, Miss Relena?"

"Her name is Midii Une."

Lady Une raised her brows in surprise. "Une?"

Midii nodded. "Our fathers are cousins."

Lady Une stared at the young woman thoughtfully. "Ah. I see." She walked forward to the bed. Stopping beside it, she held out her hand. "Please to meet you, Midii."

Midii returned the handshake, never letting her gaze falter from the other woman. She sensed in her eyes that the brunette was feeling rather emotional right now, though it didn't show on her face. This meeting must have given her an emotion overload. Midi sensed that Lady Une had nobody, maybe except this Merimeia girl that Relena Peacecraft mentioned earlier. Something that she shared with the older woman. Alone ever since agreeing with the soldiers to protect her family, she hadn't seen them since that time she left them. Being a traitor, to her eyes, made her feel ashamed to be near them. Though she secretly kept in touch with them. After she heard of her father's death, she provided for her brothers' keeping in the orphanage that they were sent to since they didn't have any relatives who wanted them. She always called the orphanage, to make sure that they were content and still there. Sometimes she called them and never said a thing whenever she heard them. Hearing her younger brothers' voices always made her feel much better. They didn't know it was her that had been sending the money to keep them in the orphanage, but that didn't matter. Midii was satisfied that her brothers were all right and well. And to take her mind of her loneliness, she decided to make amends with her past. She felt that she should uphold the present peace by trying to find out if there was secret opposition to it. That was why she had that disk. To preserve the peace. And to make sure that no more war orphans would go alone, especially him. No Name. The boy that she had betrayed yet befriended. The boy who was the same as her, in every way. Except she had betrayed him. And that was something she regretted ever since. Even now, thinking about him, made her feel sad. But as long as she has his cross, she will always have something to remind her of him.

Midii released Lady Une's hand and put it on her neck. The cross was still there. She sighed and held it in her hand for reassurance. Relena saw this but didn't comment. Instead, she turned to Lady Une and Sally Po.

"Midii here has something important to tell you."

Lady Une raised a brow. "Indeed." She turned her attention to the young blonde woman on the bed and waited for her to tell them.

Midii squared her shoulders and began her tale. "I've been looking for any mischief that might revolt against the peace that came two years ago. What I found was another organization just like what we encountered before." She held out the disk. "In this disk, is information about Grey. Grey is another organization that is secretly getting ready for war. Grey wants to attack the Earth Sphere United Nation. To do that, they will have to capture the President, the Vice Foreign Minister, and the delegates from the colonies." She paused then continued. "Grey also wants the Gundam pilots dead." She laid the disk down on her lap. She frowned. "They had some information about them, too."

The two Preventers gave each other a worried look. Relena held her breath. Dorothy froze. Meiran and Midii stared at the four women, puzzled to their reaction. It was Sally who spoke first.

"What information did Grey have?"

"They knew who they were. Important stuff, like who they really are. Background, history, etc." Midii frowned. "Though some of the information for two pilots weren't complete. And one of them didn't even have one. Only the name the Gundam pilot used during the war."

Relena knew which pilot Midii was talking about. She tried to quell her disappointment and analyzed the information that the blonde woman gave them. "Midii, do you know which Gundam pilots had complete information about them?"

Midii shook her head. "I really can't say. I just read the briefing that was written about them. The complete facts about them are in the disk, but I hadn't looked at them. I didn't have any time to read them."

Lady Une frowned. "This disk is really important. I think that the Gundam pilots should look at them." She stared at Midii. "Which of the Gundam pilots didn't have any background?"

Midii thought for a moment. "I think the one who went under Heero Yuy."

The three women who knew the Gundam pilots weren't even surprised. Instead Lady Une held out her hand. "May I have the disk, Midii?"

Midii handed the disk to the older woman. Lady Une smiled and stood up. She stared at the blonde woman for a while. "Midii, do you want to live with me after you are well enough?"

Midii smiled back. "Thank you. I appreciate your offer." She knew that the two of them could keep each other company. She sensed that the older woman had lost someone dear to her and she felt that they could keep each other company.

Lady Une took Midii's hand. "I'm glad." She gave the hand a squeeze and released it. She turned to the Vice Foreign Minister. "Miss Relena, would you mind if I talked to you outside?"

Relena shook her head. "In fact, I need to talk to you, Lady Une." She turned to the others. "If you would excuse us."

The two women went outside the room. As soon as the door closed, Lady Une turned to the Vice Foreign Minister. "Can I use your phone? I want to contact the Preventers about this current turn of event."

Relena nodded her head. "Are you going to contact the Gundam pilots?"

"Yes." Lady Une sighed. "I don't know if I can find the pilot of Gundam pilot of Wing Zero, but I'll try."

Relena knew that Lady Une would do her best to find the elusive Gundam pilot. And she also knew what Lady Une was thinking. She put her hand on the brunette's arm.

Lady Une met the blue eyes of the Vice Foreign Minister.

"Lady Une, Midii isn't the only child of your father's cousin." With that, Relena told the head of the Preventers what she knew about Midii. After she was done, Lady Une returned the gesture.

"Thank you."

The two women smiled. Then Relena released her. "I better go back to my guests. I think you already know where to go to do your business." Relena didn't wait for an answer. Instead she walked back to the closed door that led to her guests.

Lady Une walked down the hall to report her findings, dreading the inevitable war coming up ahead.

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Well, that's it for the first part. I hope that all of you enjoyed it. Also, Gundam Wing does not belong to me. It belongs to its respected creators. So no suing, please. Feedbacks and such are accepted. You can email me at aylah001@yahoo.com. ^_^