Gundam Wing: Gemini

Chapter 4: Betrayal From Home

(Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. Just Caitlin. I thought I'd have one chapter where I didn't have to repeat myself… but oh, well.)

(AN: Just looks like things are going to only go downhill for them. And yes, I do have a feeling it would only get worse.)

~;~;~;~;~;~

It had been a month, and there had been no word on whether Caitlin had been found. At the Lane mansion, Marshall couldn't bear to consider the fact that Caitlin may very likely have been killed by the Gundams, but with each passing day with no news on her, he started to think that very possibility was true. Marshall had to look at the facts; it had been a month, and there was still nothing from his daughter saying that she was all right, or even if she was alive to begin with. The Alliance was losing strength in the colonies, and with their now-limited resources, there was no way if he was ever going to see Caitlin again.

Marco, however, refused to believe it. There was no way he was ever going to accept his beloved was gone for good. "Sir, there's no way in hell I'll believe that Miss Caitlin's gone," he said. "I love her with all my heart, and it just ticks me off that I couldn't go with her when she needed me."

"Oh, Marco," Hannah said, gently hugging Marco around his shoulders. "It's been over a month. Why did those Gundams have to kidnap her? She was just going to perform! She wasn't doing anything wrong!"

Marco balled his hands into fists as he wrapped an arm around Hannah's shoulders. His innocent fiancée was in the hands of the enemy, and there wasn't a single thing he could do. He wanted to find the Gundam pilots and demand they bring her back home. So many things he wanted to do to the people that stole her. So many things he wanted to say to them.

And still, so many things he wanted to tell Caitlin when he saw her again.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Michael walked to the door and opened it. "Yes?" he asked, blinking at the sight of what looked to be OZ uniforms.

In the middle of the uniformed soldiers was a woman with a blue blazer and skirt. Her long brown hair reached to the small of her back while her hands were in front of her. "Yes, we're here to see the Lane family," she stated.

Before Michael could say a word, Marshall had opened the other door to let them in while saluting them at the same time. "Please, come in," he offered. While they walked in, Marshall looked at Michael, who walked from the door to the kitchen to prepare some tea. "I'm sorry about that," Marshall stated to the group. "He's been on edge since our daughter's been abducted last month."

"It's all right," the woman in blue answered as she entered the living room where Hannah and Marco were.

Marco stood up and saluted the officers.

"At ease," one of the officers said, watching Marco relax slightly.

The woman in blue noticed that Marco's hands were balling into fists. "It's all right," she told him. "I only want to assist you in returning what you have lost."

Hannah stood up from the couch. "You've found Caitlin?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, no," one of the soldiers said.

"But we at OZ understand how much she means to you," the woman in blue added. "As the daughter of a prominent family and a singer, she is important to not only her fans, but also to her family."

Marshall stood next to his wife. "Our daughter means more to us than anything," he replied. "For a month, my wife has been crying and praying for her to return home."

Marco looked at a picture of Caitlin that was taken after one of her performances on the colony. How could someone be so evil as to kidnap a person who had nothing to do with the current situation? Someone who was as selfless and considerate as his fiancée?

Marshall looked over at Marco and nodded. "Caitlin means the world to Marco as well," he continued. "Since the day of their engagement, he has wanted nothing more than to be with her."

Marco continued to look at the picture of his beloved. "I shouldn't have let her go alone," he said. "If I could have not worked that day…"

"Don't blame yourself," Marshall answered. "The Gundams could have killed you, and that would have Caitlin completely devastated. You wouldn't want that for her, would you, Marco?"

Marco shook his head. The last thing he wanted to see was the sad look on his fiancée's face if she was to hear something bad had happened to him. "Just thinking of her… and what they are doing to her… I can't bear it…"

The woman in blue sighed. Apparently, she meant a lot to her family, and returning her home would be the first step in gaining peace in the colonies. One of them, anyway. "I came here today to offer my assistance to help you bring her home," she said with a level of compassion in her voice.

Marshall and Hannah both looked at her while Marshall wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Ma'am, we would do anything to have our daughter home," Marshall announced.

Marco, on the other hand, wasn't sure what to say about that. He didn't trust OZ any more than he wanted to. But as it stood now, the Alliance didn't have many resources left. And if the Alliance couldn't help find Caitlin and bring her home, and OZ had enough resources to do so, then what exactly did he have to lose?

The woman in blue smiled and nodded her head. "As you are her parents, I know you would," she answered.

She then turned to Marco. Surely her fiancée would also share in the sentiment. "And you, Officer Young?" she asked him.

Marco took a deep breath. It was times like this when he would have to swallow his pride and focus on something other than himself, such as Caitlin's safety. If OZ could help in bringing her home, what did he really have to lose?

~;~;~;~;~;~

At the Winner mansion on Earth, Quatre watched a news report in the evening. OZ seemed to be taking over the colonies, which was something that didn't stick very well with him. But what he didn't expect was seeing a young man around their age in an OZ uniform. He had black hair and blue eyes and he seemed to hold a picture of a very familiar girl in his hand.

"Everyone," the young man stated on the TV. "My name is Marco Young, and Caitlin Lane is my fiancée. She was taken by the Gundam pilots one month ago, and there has been no word from the Alliance to where she has been taken…"

Duo stood against the wall and crossed his arms against his chest. A month had come and gone, and while some would have caught up by now, he hadn't. Although Duo had to admit something; Caitlin was almost as he remembered her. He looked at the TV and shook his head. So this was her fiancée… looked like it was much too soon for something that permanent. As much as he hated to think about it, he had to say something. "So they're just snatching up whatever's left of the Alliance now," he said.

"Miss Caitlin's fiancée is joining the wrong side," Quatre answered. "This isn't going to be easy to tell her…"

Before Quatre could continue, his worst fears were realized as he heard a startled gasp from behind him.

Caitlin stood in the doorway, her blue eyes wide in shock and horror. This couldn't be happening. First OZ was trying to make up a story about her being abducted, then the colonies were buying into it, and now her fiancée was in an OZ uniform? Just what the hell was going on?

At this point, she had to be handled delicately, but she wasn't hearing any of that. And from where Quatre was now standing, it just seemed to be the thing that really riled her up.

Caitlin's eyes seemed to border on shock and anger, and with each second that ticked on the clock, it seemed to be more of the latter. "You're kidding…" she finally spoke.

Quatre started to comment back to her, but he realized she wasn't looking at him; she was looking at the TV and at her fiancée in an OZ uniform. At this point, he figured she had to get it out.

"Joining a bunch of cowards like OZ? Just to bring me home? What is wrong with you?" Caitlin continued.

At the moment, Duo was happy that she was finally figuring out the truth. But unfortunately, it turned into a look of concern. Sure he wanted her to know the truth, but this wasn't the way he imagined that she would find out. He gave Quatre a look and a shake of his head. Normally, Caitlin wasn't like this, but considering the pressure and turmoil she was in at the moment, he knew that she'd have to let it out.

"Why would you do something that selfish and that foolish?" Caitlin asked, her eyes still on the television.

But before either of the pilots could react, they watched as Caitlin simply stormed out after the outburst. Duo looked at the doorway and took a deep breath. Why did his own sister have to be involved into this war, of all things? "She really didn't need to hear that," he mused.

Quatre nodded his head. "With everything going on, this was something she didn't need to see," he agreed. "Do you think she'll be all right?"

"Upset wouldn't be the word I'd use right now," Duo answered. "Maybe confused."

"Finding out her fiancée went from the Alliance to OZ wasn't something she was expecting."

"Yeah…"

With that, Duo let his mind wander. Under most circumstances, he would have been happy that his sister finally saw OZ for what they were: a bunch of lowly cowards who would threaten anyone to get what they wanted. However, it wasn't the case now. His sister was likely hurt and confused from what she had just watched. More than that, she was likely now more terrified than she would ever show.

"I better check on her," Quatre said. "There's no telling how she'll handle it no matter who tells her."

When Quatre left the room, he decided to try to find her. The poor girl wasn't in any shape to listen to reason, but maybe if he could put it into perspective, it would help her more.

Duo simply watched Quatre like a hawk as he followed. Sure Quatre had some good intentions, and it showed with how he was worried about Caitlin in general, but at the same time, while he had been fine with Quatre checking on her, Duo still felt a little uneasy. So he figured he'd look out at them and make sure that nothing happened. Not that Duo thought of the worst with Quatre around, but still… Caitlin was his sister, after all, and a big brother's job was to make sure his sister was looked after. Even if he had to spy on him to make sure of that.

~;~;~;~;~;~

Caitlin opened a door and closed it behind her. Maybe she could use some sleep. It had been a rough journey, and maybe the sleep was something that would cheer her up. But as she turned on the light, her eyes widened in shock. This was what she was not expecting to see.

Inside the room, aside from the already curtained windows and the warm toned walls, was a grand piano and sheet music on the stand. On the shelf against the wall was more sheet music, along with books about different artists, and it didn't take Caitlin long to realize the type of room it was. It was a conservatory, but more importantly, it reminded her of home.

She sat down at the piano and tapped a key gently. The piano had been tuned recently, from what she heard. What was she going to do? She felt bad for playing someone's piano without permission, but maybe singing off sheet music wouldn't hurt as much.

Quatre was about to open the door when he listened on the other side of the door.

"'All those days, watching from the windows, all those years outside looking in…'"

As much as Quatre knew about her, singing something that wasn't one of her singles or on any albums she had released was different than normal. Maybe she was working on a new one? But why did she sound so sad? It was like listening to an angel with clipped wings, trying to fly and struggling to stay in the air. Taking a chance, he decided to open the door slowly and peer his head inside the room.

Caitlin was sitting on the piano seat and had her back to the door. Her voice seemed to sound uneasy on one part of the song she was singing, mainly from the stress of earlier in the night. She looked at the sheet music, frantically trying to find what note she should have sung.

"Oh, I had that right before…" Caitlin said to herself, looking at the sheet music, running her finger over the words until she found it. "'Light' was supposed to be a C, right?"

"A B flat, actually," a person's voice came from the door.

The sound made Caitlin startled and she scrambled out of the seat in record time. As she looked at the door, a hand over her rapidly beating heart, she saw Quatre walk into the room while she looked like a deer in the headlights. "Mr. Quatre, you scared me," she said, trying to sound calmer.

"I'm sorry."

Caitlin blinked. Why was he apologizing? "For what?" she asked.

"For startling you," he answered. "That and what you had to hear tonight from your fiancée about…"

"I-It's okay," she answered.

"No, it isn't," Quatre replied. "You shouldn't have had to see that, what your fiancée was doing with OZ…"

"W-Why would he do that?" Caitlin asked, turning her head away with her eyes closed. "Why would he do something that foolish?"

Now that was a question Quatre didn't expect out of her. Or maybe he did. He took a deep breath to make sure what he had to say wasn't going to make her more upset than she already was. "If I had to guess, I think he was desperate," he answered.

"Desperate?" Caitlin echoed.

Quatre nodded. "He wanted you back home, and with the Alliance losing power by the day, he didn't see any other choice than to join OZ," he explained.

Caitlin finally looked over at him. "He didn't have a choice?" she asked. "Like he was forced?"

"Very likely," Quatre answered. "I just wish you didn't have to see that…"

"It wouldn't have been easy, right? Going from one side to another?"

"It never is," Quatre replied. "But when someone is desperate, especially when someone they love is, in their mind at least, in danger, they'll do anything to save them."

"Oh…" Caitlin seemed to look calmer than before.

"So, I couldn't help but hear you," Quatre said, changing the subject. After seeing Caitlin's confused face, he added, "about earlier, the song is in A, B, and D flat."

"Y-You know music?" Caitlin asked before mentally kicking herself for asking something so obvious.

"It relaxes me when I'm stressed out," Quatre answered, gently smiling at her.

At that point she realized she still had the sheet music in her hands. "I-I'm sorry, I was just…"

"Practicing?" Quatre offered.

"I-I knew I was getting rusty," Caitlin admitted. "But f-from what I heard from Mr. Marco…"

"Well, stress doesn't exactly help with singing, I've heard," he said, gently taking the sheet music from her hands. It was at that point he looked at the title. "'I See the Light.' It's pretty, isn't it?"

Caitlin looked down at the floor. "Y-Yes, it is," she answered. "I hadn't seen that one before…"

"It's new," he answered. "It's rather challenging, in fact, if one was to sing alone."

"So, it's a… duet?" Caitlin asked him.

"Essentially, yes."

~;~;~;~;~;~

Duo listened to their conversation from outside the room. He chuckled to himself at the memory of when he first heard her sing as a child. Seven years old, and she sang "Away in a Manger" for charity, and she even had a fever when she sang. Caitlin always did things for others, even if she was in no condition to.

The only regret he had was that he only had a month to catch up seven years with, and that was harder than most people realized. Keeping her out of the loop as far as him being a Gundam pilot was harder than he wanted to accept. Sure she knew, but to have to tell her that she couldn't talk about him as if he was alive hurt him inside. This was his little sister, for crying out loud! After all that time of not seeing her and now this was something he'd have to tell her… just how could he do it? How could he tell his little sister to act as if he was dead all over again?

His reverie was broken as he happened to listen in on Quatre and Caitlin's conversation.

In the music room, Quatre saw her cheeks tinge a shade of pink nearing that of a hibiscus. Either Caitlin was naïve, or she just didn't know the song. "You didn't know that was a duet?" he asked her.

Caitlin shook her head. "No," she answered. "Was it bad?"

"Not at all," Quatre stated with a gentle smile. "You were just nervous, and that can cause you to go off-key."

"Maybe one day I'll be able to sing it."

"I don't doubt you will," he answered. "If you don't mind me saying, you do have a beautiful voice."

Caitlin smiled up at him. "Thank you," she said. "I'm not perfect, though…"

"And that's fine, really. It just shows that there is room to grow."

"But who would I sing it with?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, the song is new, so it wouldn't be hard to find someone to sing it with…"

"Could I hear it played? So I'll know what it sounds like?"

If there were words for what Quatre had just felt at the moment, it would have been that he had stepped into the lion's den. He just hoped he wouldn't be devoured by any lions. And considering just who was outside the door, he knew he'd have to play it safe. VERY safe. That and he had to figure out about her.

"Of course," he answered, walking to the piano and hearing Caitlin follow behind him. After he sat down on one side of the seat, he started playing, and with that, he heard her follow along with the words like before. Maybe she was more nervous than what she was letting on, but that didn't mean that her voice was just as she was on the albums, natural and full of emotion.

Duo listened to his little sister and closed his eyes. She had an amazing talent, one that could have been silenced forever if things hadn't happened the way they had at the moment. But this time was different; she sounded confident in herself. Whatever Quatre must have said to her, it helped, because there was a confidence in her voice that wasn't there earlier. Maybe there was more to the blond than he had let on.

"'Now that I see you…'"

Both in the music room had finished singing and had their eyes closed. But the second Quatre opened his, he realized several things. Caitlin had sat next to him on the piano seat, her eyes were also closed, her voice sounded natural as it should have been, but the most obvious was that their noses were almost too close to each other.

Before he could say a thing, he saw Caitlin's eyes open and soon they found themselves looking at each other. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have minded it, but now that Quatre was thinking, it wasn't a good idea. One, her brother was right outside the door, two, she was already engaged to someone else, and three… in all respect, he was one of OZ's most wanted. Under the circumstances as of now, it simply wouldn't work out from that alone.

On top of that, he was a gentleman. He wouldn't dream of doing something that improper with her.

"Was it okay?" Caitlin asked him. "As a duet, I mean…"

"It sounded wonderful," he answered her, finally forcing his body to straighten up. "That high B flat sounded easy for you."

Caitlin straightened herself on the piano seat. "Well, sadly, that's the highest note I can go without hurting my throat," she said.

"It'll get better in time."

Duo listened to them from outside and smiled. His little sister sure had grown up to be something.

~;~;~;~;~;~

The next day, things only seemed to go from bad to worse. First it was Caitlin's fiancée who had joined OZ, and from the way Quatre was looking at the latest report outside, there was one more hiccup on Caitlin going home: her own father sided with OZ as well. It didn't matter at the end of it, really; either way, Caitlin was going home to more drama than she needed.

"Even my father?" Caitlin asked from the other seat.

"Probably more desperate now than before," Duo answered from one of the pillars. He had his arms crossed against his chest. He looked over at Caitlin and instantly wanted to not have to talk to her about it, but he didn't have a choice. His first priority was keeping Caitlin safe, at least until she made it back to the colonies. Now the trouble was to get her to understand why he was going to tell her what was thinking of saying. But as he thought about it, he thought that she was going to be bombarded with questions about her "abduction." "Could we talk, Caitlin?" he asked her.

Caitlin blinked up at him. "Okay," she answered before she stood up and walked with her brother out of earshot from Quatre. "What's going on? If it's about the suits, I'll never say anything."

Now Duo had to tell her, even if it was going to hurt him more than it would hurt her. "It's not just the suits I'm worried about," he answered. "It's everything else."

"Like what?" Caitlin asked, blinking at him in confusion.

"Like the soldiers."

Caitlin blinked at him. "What about them?" she asked.

Damn, Caitlin's naiveté is strong, he thought. "If they knew everything that you've seen, they won't care about who your father is," he answered out loud. "They'll interrogate you into getting what they want."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

And what Duo had to tell her next was what hurt the most. "Don't say anything," he answered.

Caitlin blinked at him, her blue eyes wide in shock. "Brother, you know me more than anyone else," she protested. "I'm a terrible liar."

"Well, your nervousness might sell it."

Sure Duo had been joking when he said it, but Caitlin could tell there was a hint of truth in that sentence. Caitlin was, for lack of a better word, nervous about going back to the colonies. Her father and her fiancée both switched their allegiances to OZ from the Alliance, and there were likely people in the colonies that would not let that stand. Plus, there was the obvious fact that Duo and Caitlin looked alike, and that alone made her more scared than before.

But Duo did have a point. Caitlin was scared, and rightly so, but at the moment, her being scared meant that any story she would tell, other than the obvious truth, would be believed by anyone.

"You're asking the impossible," Caitlin said, holding her hand to her chest and trying not to sound upset. "You're telling me I have to act like my brother doesn't exist? I have to act like you're not my brother?"

And that was what Duo was afraid to tell her, but he had no choice. And from the look in Caitlin's eyes, he knew his choice had to be right. "It's to keep you safe," he answered. "If OZ knew that you were my sister, they would use you as bait to get to me. You'd just be leverage for them to get what they wanted, and you'd get hurt in the process. I can't let that happen."

"I-I know, but…" she started.

"Just until the war's over," he interrupted. "It'll be safe then."

Caitlin realized that, once again, this was an argument she wasn't going to win. By any means. And she knew it. It just wasn't fair; her brother was alive and well, but she would have to act like that never happened. That her brother was gone. That her brother… never existed.

But it didn't stop her from asking, "What if they put two and two together?"

As upset as Caitlin was, Duo knew she had a point. There was the off chance that she could be caught lying when she arrived back. He shuddered inside thinking about what could happen to her if that was the case. He had to think about her safety; if OZ knew she was his sister, there was no telling just what they would do to her. And he didn't really want to think about that. "Then I'll do like I've always done: protect you," he answered.

"How?"

"I have my ways," he answered. "Look, don't worry, all right? Just play it by ear. If anything, just say you didn't see anything. It might piss them off, but it'll at least get them off your back."

"I don't know if I can…"

"You have it in you," Duo answered. "It's not really lying."

Quatre watched them talk and knew that it had to be important for Caitlin, and themselves, to get back to the colonies safely. With whatever means they had to work with. He watched Caitlin nod her head and the siblings hug each other. She was so scared, but this was the way things had to be.

~;~;~;~;~;~

On their way to Singapore, the trip was quiet, and to Quatre, that didn't sound good to start with. He had his thoughts about what the siblings were talking about, but it wasn't his place to just butt in and ask about it.

But it, unfortunately, was Caitlin that broke the silence.

"I'm sorry we all met like this," she said. "I just wish it was under better circumstances."

She said the same thing Quatre had been thinking. The one month that he had known her, she rarely said anything for herself. She was almost like an angel, caring more for other people than she did for herself. Duo certainly had an interesting younger sister.

"We do, too," Quatre finally answered. He never thought he'd have the opportunity to hear her sing privately. But at that moment, a flood of thoughts came to his mind. Would she really be okay? What if something happened? Would she be able to get help? And perhaps the worst of all, would he even see her again?

"Could you both do me a favor? Survive."

Duo and Quatre both looked at each other for a moment. Caitlin, in the time they knew her, never asked anything for herself. Silently, they agreed that her request was one that they could at least grant for her. In order for them to make it to space, they had to survive.

When they arrived, however, it seemed to be harder than they had anticipated. Acting on a whim, Duo decided to have Caitlin run to the control tower. It wasn't that he didn't want her with him at the moment; it was that he was more concerned for her safety. He didn't want her to get seriously hurt from the battle because she wasn't strapped in.

"What about you two?" Caitlin asked her brother and was stunned for her brother to hold her tightly for a moment.

Duo held her for a moment, mostly as a way of reassurance. "We'll be there in a while," he answered. "You'll be safe there, I promise. Just run and don't look behind you for anything."

Caitlin nodded her head. She didn't want to leave her brother, but at the moment, she had to do what he said. "Okay," she said. "Just be careful."

With that, he watched her take off and run. At least Duo made sure she didn't see any more than she needed to.

It seemed to be a good idea at the time, anyway. Caitlin heard noises behind her and kept running, but she turned around to look for a moment and watched her the two Gundams enter battle before she entered the ground floor door of the control tower. As she sneaked up to the control tower, she became more worried about her brother and even Quatre as well. Would they be okay out there? There were so many OZ suits out there.

One of the monitors came on unexpectedly, and from what Caitlin saw on one of the screens on the panel, her eyes only grew wide in horror.

"We wish to publicly announce a decision made by Space Colony Area D," a representative announced on the screen. "Mobile Suits known as Gundams are currently destroying OZ facilities on Earth. These Gundams have nothing to do with Colony Area D. We hereby declare that if the Gundams consider OZ their enemy, then we will consider the Gundams ours!"

"What?" Caitlin wanted to shout, but her voice wouldn't cooperate.

"OZ has been fair to us," the representative continued. "OZ and we have worked out our misunderstandings. We hope the Gundams are defeated in this battle, and we hope that the other colonies will follow our example."

Caitlin shook her head at this recent change of events. What was going on? First her fiancée and her father switched over to OZ, and now the colonies were declaring the Gundams their enemies?

She watched in horror as the two Gundams were knocked down by OZ attacks, which only made her more confused. Should she side with the Gundams or with her parents? Her brother whom she hadn't seen in years, or the family that took her in and raised her as one of their own?

What shocked her was that there was another suit, this one that had a dragon arm. Was this another Gundam? Were there more than just the two she had witnessed? She watched them battle the OZ suits and still looked confused as before. Even three against that many OZ suits; that was a battle that was not going to be easy. She looked down at the panel and saw so many buttons before she closed her eyes. Were they all going to be okay? Why did all of this have to happen?

She heard noises coming out from outside of the door and she hid in a dark corner of the room. She cursed the fact she was wearing pastels for something like this. She just had to hope no one saw her. She watched the door open and her breathing hitched into her throat. Was it OZ?

"Hey, you in here?" a familiar voice asked.

"Brother?" she whispered before going to the door and seeing her brother. "What's going on?"

"I'm getting the shuttles set up. You're going back home."

Caitlin smiled for probably the first time in a long while, but that changed with one word.

"Alone."

"W-What?" Caitlin asked. "Brother, I don't get it."

Duo walked over to one of the panels and started tapping buttons, seemingly knowing which ones to press. "Caitlin, don't start," he said.

"Why can't I go back with you?" Caitlin protested.

"Because it's too dangerous," Duo answered before taking a deep breath. "Look, I know you want to go back with me, but if they saw you with me, then they would think one of two things: One, the Gundams still have you hostage; or two, you're sided with us. And if OZ found out the latter, then they would use you to get to me."

At that point, she blinked. Someone was missing. "Mr. Quatre… where is he?" she asked.

"He's still fighting the Leos," Duo answered.

Caitlin blinked again, looking out at the lone Gundam fighting the Leos.

"And… we got it," Duo said before looking up at her. "Come on, we gotta go…." He raced to the window that Caitlin was looking out. "Hurry up, Quatre!"

Caitlin felt like a ribbon being tugged by a twig as her brother pulled her just as she heard the announcement of a Gundam operating the HLV Mobile Suit shuttle spacecraft. She followed her brother while she was worried about Quatre. Why was he doing this?

"Those suits will shoot us down the minute we take off!" Quatre seemed to answer Duo.

Duo helped Caitlin into a spacesuit. He wanted to make sure she got out before he or Quatre did. It wouldn't look good if she was to leave after the Gundams did. "Okay, now, get in," he said.

Caitlin kept wanting to protest, but the look on her brother's face was something that told her that, like always, her older brother would win the argument. She finally relented and stepped inside the shuttle, but she blinked as Duo set the course. "Brother? How did you know which colony I came from?" she asked.

"Not that hard to figure that out," he answered, still tapping keys for a moment, making the shuttle go on a timer. "Okay, direct route to the colonies. Now, don't touch a thing on this unless someone talks to you. Then you press this button…" Duo pointed to one in particular. "That's the ONLY one you press, you hear me?"

Caitlin looked at her brother and nodded. "Brother… where's Mr. Quatre?" she asked, shock filling her features.

Duo seemed to shout from the hangar, "Quatre, hurry up!"

"Don't worry about me!" Quatre answered. "I'll back you three up until you lift off!"

"What?!" Caitlin asked, completely stunned by what she heard. Was he doing this out of chivalry, or was it possible that Quatre really had lost it?

"Have you lost your mind or something?!" Duo shouted back. "We all got to make it out to space!"

"I know, but that's why I have to back you up!" Quatre responded. "To make sure that at least the three of you will make it!"

"Quatre!"

Caitlin almost couldn't say anything while her brother did say the same thing she was thinking. Why was Quatre doing this? Why was he risking his own life for people he hadn't known for long?

"Please! I can't take this much longer!" Quatre pleaded.

"I'm grateful," the third pilot who had joined them responded. "The only way I can show my appreciation is to make it to outer space safely."

Caitlin looked at her brother after she had put the helmet on her head. "Is he crazy?" she asked.

I hope not, Duo thought out loud as he heard his sister ask that question. But still, what Quatre was doing was completely foolish. "You fool!" he shouted at the blond pilot.

"Brother?" Caitlin asked. "What about you and Mr. Quatre?"

"We'll be fine," Duo answered, closing the door to the shuttle. "It's gonna be bumpy, so strap in and hold on."

"Brother?" Caitlin asked just as the shuttle started up.

"You'll be fine!" he reassured her as the shuttle powered up and left. Now all he had to do was get in one and go up to space as well.

Meanwhile, Quatre had all intentions of self-detonating. At least one of the best things in his life was to meet her, even though he barely got to know anything about her. But when he noticed that Sandrock was helping him escape, he thanked the Gundam and escaped. He saw the three shuttles already going away before he had started his own shuttle and made it into space.

It was rather turbulent, but at the same time, his Gundam did pave the way for all of them to make it. All he could hope was that everyone made it safely. But at the moment, Quatre's body felt as if he had been thrown around in a sandstorm, so he kept himself calm to keep from feeling much more pain than he already felt. He closed his eyes, thinking that at least everyone made it safely.

The four shuttles, along with the other two, all left the Earth and went up into space. Their destinations were unknown.

And their intentions? Unknown, at least to the enemy.

~;~;~;~;~;~

(On the Next Chapter: Returning home is harder than one realizes. Finding out that the colonies have all sided with OZ, Caitlin's homecoming comes at a terrible price. After Duo is captured by OZ, Caitlin must decide if she follows his advice or gets herself put in hot water. Next on Gundam Wing: Gemini – Chapter 5: Sage Advice.)