All right, I got a few good reviews, so I'm posting up the rest of this. I really hope you guys like it ^_^. Of course, no miracles have happened in the last week, so I still don't own it. So thanks to my reviewers, especially Chara *begins munching Pocky* mmmmm…pocky…

Warnings: Not much this chapter, just some mild swearing.

There was a light knock on the door and Ternash was immediately awake. He sat up on the futon and wrapped the blanket around himself, taking care to cover his ears and tail. The door cracked open and a small blonde boy peeked in. "Hey, I'm Quatre. I brought you some breakfast." He came in and set a silver tray on the small table in the room. "It's getting pretty late, almost nine. Duo said we should let you sleep in."

Ternash frowned. "What else did Duo tell you?"

"Just that you were in a fight and didn't have anywhere else to go." Quatre stepped to the window and drew the curtains. He noticed how closely the other boy watched him, like a cornered animal watching a vicious dog. He offered a smile and got one back.

Ternash stood and began to shuffle to the warm food. The blanket, however, proved too much for the agile neko and he went tumbling. Right into Quatre. It wouldn't have been bad at all, except that Trowa chose that exact moment to introduce himself as well. He watched as Ternash seemed to tackle the blonde bringing them both to the floor.

In a flash, Trowa was beside them. He lifted Ternash clear off the ground just long enough to land a punch that sent him halfway across the room and onto the floor again. Immediately, Quatre was in front of the taller pilot. "Trowa, what do you think you're doing? He's a guest!" His anger slowly ebbed as he noticed his love wasn't paying attention. He turned, following Trowa's gaze to where Ternash lay on the floor, and his eyes widened as he saw the now unhidden ears atop his head. "Kawaii-chan!" he cried, eyes sparkling like diamonds.

Ternash looked up and winced at the name. Trowa met his eyes with an apologetic look and hugged Quatre to keep him from tackling the prone neko. Ternash desperately wanted to disappear into the floor. There had obviously been a misunderstanding, but now he was more worried about Quatre then Trowa. The blonde was exactly the type that would love him because of his ears. He shouldn't have stayed.

After he'd finished his small meal, Ternash shoved his few possessions into his bag and carried it down the stairs. Duo saw the empty looking bag and frowned. "I thought you were going to stay!" he whined.

"I never said that. I said I'd spend the night and meet your friends. I have, and now I'm leaving." He headed for the door.

Heero stood in the boy's path, blocking his exit. Ternash pulled away, still hurting from their previous encounter. "I did some checking on our next mission. Why are you here, cat?" The question was unexpected and a little confusing. He was there because Duo wouldn't let him leave. He told that to the stoic boy and Heero shook his head. "That's not what I mean. At our school. You only transferred here a few days ago."

Ternash groaned, realization kicking in at last. "I was sent here to find the Gundam pilots. Let me guess, that's you, isn't it?" Heero nodded.

Duo was still processing the conversation when Quatre looked at him. "When did we get another mission?"

Duo snapped his fingers. "That's right, you two were gone when orders came through. We're getting it back, Q-chan."

The Arabian's eyes lit up. "We're getting Sand Rock back? You mean it?"

Ternash looked confused again. These boys were so young, couldn't even be as old as he was. Except for Heero, and maybe Fei, they acted nothing like the professional pilots they had to be. He dropped his bag and found a chair to sit in. Why do I have to help on a stupid mission?

WuFei seemed to be thinking the same thing as he eyed the neko suspiciously. "Why would someone like you be our contact? No offense, but you don't seem the fighter type."

Ternash shook his head again. "I've been there before. I've scouted the location a couple of times. I actually know the security pretty well and where they'd actually have the Gundam." He bent to rest his head against the table.

Heero grumbled something and went into another room. Fei and Trowa followed, presumably to prepare for the mission, while Duo hurried upstairs where much bumping and cursing could be heard. Only Quatre seemed to notice Ternash's quiet tears. Quatre came and sat by him, stroking his hair gently. Ternash lay there a moment, the calm gesture feeling remarkably good. Regathering his senses, he shot his head up and slapped away Quatre's hand. "Do not pet me, I am not a cat!"

Quatre frowned, looking rather hurt. "I'm sorry. I just wanted . . . are you all right?"

"I don't want to stay here. I don't want to go on some stupid mission. I just want to go somewhere were no one knows me and I can hide what I am."

"Well, why are you on this mission then?"

Ternash thought about Howard. He smiled inwardly, no emotion showing on his face. His ojiisan was the only person that ever seemed to accept him for what he was. "I'm repaying a friend. Besides, you need me." He hadn't seen Howard face to face in years; even then he'd only seen him twice in his life. Mostly, he sent information on schools and transfer records to avoid problems. It was pretty sad to think that that was all he got from his best friend in the world.

Quatre hugged the older boy around the neck. "Well, your friend is lucky to have you." His hand traveled up to scratch the neko's ears, eliciting a soft purr followed by and angry growl. Quatre pulled away from the upset boy at once. "I'm glad you're here, it was nice to meet you."

"All right." The five pilots were clustered around Ternash and a quickly drawn map. The neko wiped his wet eyes and tried to focus on the task at hand. "We're going to get the Gundam back. What's its condition?"

Quatre flinched slightly. "I had to leave it behind. The leg actuator was blown and I couldn't move. It's unlikely they've fixed that." The blonde received a dark glare from Heero and flushed crimson. "I tried to self-destruct, but it didn't work…"

Ternash nodded. "Well, someone will have to get to the Gundam to fix it then."

Trowa immediately looked up. "I'll do that."

"Trowa-kun, it's my suit, I should be the one to repair it."

"Why don't you both go? Strength in numbers, you know. Besides, you could use a lookout." They nodded and Ternash returned to the map, adding a few more details to the sketch. "All right then, you two will go in first through this route. Once you get past the main guards, you should be fine." Trowa nodded and began memorizing the path.

WuFei sheathed his katana that he'd been polishing. "We should use this as a chance to gather information on OZ."

Heero grunted. "We should use this chance to destroy the base, too."

Fei and Duo nodded slightly. Ternash traced another path through the complex. "If we follow this path, we can gather some information while we're at it."

WuFei narrowed his eyes. "We?"

Ternash blinked. "Well, yeah. I mean, I know the security, I assumed…" The room was quiet and Ternash blushed. "Trowa and Quatre will go in first. Five count and we'll go in too. Radio us when you're done and we'll get out before you activate the Gundam."

Fei stood in the doorway watching as Ternash completely emptied the contents of his large bag, apparently looking for something. He watched as books were tossed onto the floor and clothing was thrown over chairs. Finally the small boy stood up with a pair of black jeans and a long sleeved, dark purple shirt. He changed quickly and began adjusting the pants. All his pants had to be cut so low they nearly fell off, all because of his blasted tail. He kneeled again, rummaging for a light purple belt to complete the ensemble.

Once he was dressed, he turned to the Chinese boy. "All right, I'm ready. We should get moving before it gets dark, get there at twilight before they boost security."

WuFei came into the room. "You don't have to come. I know you're eager to get moving and we can do this on our own. No one would blame you if you left, this isn't your fight."

Ternash looked at him, eyes echoing loneliness. He shook his head. "Stand straight to see all, treat your body well, don't laugh with your guard down. It's about all my sensei ever taught me. Four rules I live by; the fourth is never leave behind your enemies. If I have that much respect for my enemies, you can imagine how I feel about my friends."

WuFei nodded in agreement. "You have a lot of honor. That's very impressive, given your life and what you've been through."

"Thanks. For your concern, but is it really for me?"

The other boy looked away. "I'm sorry. You want me to accept what you are, and I certainly don't hold it against you, but . . . You have no control over what you are, but it isn't normal. Which, of course, just makes it worse that you're a very nice person."

Ternash offered his hand and Fei took it. "I know, I'm a freak, but I promise I'm good at what I do. I won't fail this mission." Fei smiled slightly. They were warriors, equals, almost friends. Both fought with honor, and both were going to see this through. The two boys hurried to meet the others and then began on their way.

The sun was just creeping below the horizon as the boys reached the base. The group stopped, allowing Trowa and Quatre to go ahead on their own. Five minutes later, four boys swept silently along the darkening path. As they hurried to the buildings, the pilots got a first hand view of just how feline Ternash was. He kept slightly ahead of the group, ears pricked and eyes keen for danger. His tail swept behind him, almost long enough to brush the ground and swaying back and forth with each step. Crouched down like he was, it would have been easy to mistake him for an ordinary cat from a distance.

They reached their chosen entrance and Ternash pressed against the wall. Duo leaned into the door and quickly picked the lock. "I hope the others are having this much luck."

WuFei looked at Ternash and frowned. He was white as a sheet and breathing shallow. "Are you all right?"

Ternash nodded as the door swung open. "I'm scared shitless, but I'll be fine. Let's split up, one group for info, one for explosives. Meet at the end of the last hall when you're done."

An hour or more passed without incident beyond a few guards that were quickly knocked out. Ternash – lucky him – went with Heero to plant explosives since he knew little about computers and hacking. To be honest, his partner scared him almost as much as the mission, but all he had to do was play lookout so it was okay. Finally they reached the rendezvous point and waited for the others.

Ternash pricked his ears suddenly and sniffed the air. "I think I smell something. I'll go check it out."

Heero glared at him, freezing the neko in his tracks. "You'll get caught."

"If there's a patrol heading this way, we'll both be caught and the mission will fail. You wait here for the others; I'll see what's going on and then come tell you." Heero frowned and nodded and Ternash was off.

He raced down the hall and reached another corner, which he turned a little too quickly. Sliding on the slick floor, he was unable to keep out of sight of the half dozen or so soldiers coming his way. No other choice but to be shot, Ternash used his momentum to get into a room whose door was slightly ajar.

Another mistake. More soldiers waited to greet him in this supposed sanctuary. There was a second where both sides stood frozen, surprised by what they saw. Then the soldiers opened fire and Ternash leapt desperately aside to avoid the bullets. Ternash cursed aloud as he realized he had just put himself in a corner, literally.

"Hold your fire." Ternash turned, eyes wide looking for the source of the voice. He found it in an older man with hair the color of honey. The man approached him slowly. "What sort of creature are you?"

Ternash backed into the wall and hissed, revealing small, sharp fangs that glinted in the fluorescent lights. Desperately he looked around for an escape. A vent or air duct perhaps.

Treize reached out one hand and tugged gently on the cat ears atop the boy's head. "Are these real?"

"Itai! Kisama, of course they're real!" He swung a hand at the man's throat, claws out from adrenaline and intending to take his head off. Treize easily caught his wrist and shook his head, clucking his tongue softly. "Let go of me!" cried the enraged Ternash, doing everything he could to pull away.

Treize simply stood and delivered his captive to one of his men. Whispering a few words to the man, he left and Ternash was dragged away to a cell.

Duo was just finishing up at the terminal he was seated at. WuFei stood from his own 'borrowed' computer with a disk. "Done. You?"

Duo frowned and typed frantically. "Just about." Fei walked over and planted a kiss on top of the chestnut head before him. Duo hit the disk eject just as gunshots rang through the complex. "Oh, shit!" he and WuFei drew their guns, running full speed out of the room. They sprinted down the halls, stowing the data disks as they went.

They rounded a final corner and came to where Heero stood, gun drawn and peering around the corner. Fei looked around, "Where's Ternash?"

"Probably on the other end of those gunshots."

Dup paled slightly. "We have to get out of here. You guys go, I'll get Ternash."

Heero nodded and held out his hand for the disks his partner possessed. "I'll give you an hour after Trowa and Quatre get out. Then I'm blowing the base." Duo nodded and left with a kiss from Fei and his best luck.

It took a little longer than I wanted to get this chapter out. I'm going to try to post one chapter every weekend, so that'll let you know when to look. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated and critiques are wanted. Flames are still welcome too ^_^ C ya!