Chapter Four

Notes: Original Character Ivy Shinto as Trowa's Love interest.

The trip to L3 was quieter than usual, tension still present between Heero and Duo meant chatter was at a minimum. Relena was grateful when they finally landed hopefully the circus was just the thing to lighten to mood.

They walked through the tent doors, joining the line with everyone else, no security, no back entrances. Up to this point her make shift disguise was doing a pretty good job. Besides being out of character she was also out of place which meant even if she looked familiar to anyone they'd probably just think she shared similar features with a famous person, it happened.

The four sat in the front row. It was exhilarating, from her seat she could hear the sounds of wild animals in the back, popcorn and cotton candy seducing her olfactory system and her stomach. She hadn't thought of buying anything, she was too thrilled with the idea of being here.

"Here!" Hilde shoved a big stick of pink cotton candy in her face, clearly not suffering from the same lapse of judgement. She all but snatched it in glee "Thanks."

"You excited or should I even ask."

Relena looked around her cotton candy to see Hilde snickering at her in between shoving popcorn in her mouth. "Am I that transparent?"

"A little." Hilde confirmed.

The lights in the tent dimmed all except those focused on the stage which was now illuminated in a kaleidoscope of colour. The structure of the show was well planned out with the mildest acts first slowly increasing in difficulty, skill and entertainment. Some just looked downright dangerous. The show started with a few juggling acts first with balls then bottles. It was entertaining enough. It quickly escalated, trapeze acts, flame throwers and swallowers, highline walkers and flying trapeze acts. She had her hand covering her face at one point, peeking between her fingers like she was at a horror movie. Beside her she could sense Heero looking at her in amusement, she dare not meet his gaze. So what she wasn't used to people throwing themselves from such high distances, in any other environment these kinds of stunts would get a person committed. Throw them in a colourful tent and charge admission and it becomes entertainment, go figure.

The animal exhibition was up next, probably a fan favorite by the sound of the crowd around her. In the row of seats above them a group of girls were practically screaming. She had turned to the sound to check to see if maybe something was wrong, far from it, they were clapping wildly hardly able to control themselves. She didn't get it. She caught Hilde's eye as she turned back toward the stage, furrowing her brow in the process. For her part Hilde just smiled, a knowing smile as if she knew what they were going on about but chose not to say. Guess she'll find out soon enough.

"Trowaaaaaaaaaaaa!" "He's so hot!"

She shook her head, this was one part of being a normal girl she wasn't sorry she missed out on. She stole a glance a Heero and chuckled. What on earth would he have done back then during their teenage years if she'd acted like this? Probably shot her. She laughed out loud at that. "Ahem." She attempted to clear her throat realizing she was getting strange looks from either side of her. The clown acts were coming to a close, they were used as fillers as the stage changed to accommodate each act.

The stage was now clear, a lone spotlight shone in the middle, standing at the center, a young clown, half his face covered by a mask, the other by his hair. He was bare from the waist up except for two tiny straps on his shoulders which connected to his pants. She was transfixed. An elbow nudge her side as Hilde leaned close into her ear. "Get it now?" She nodded, but it wasn't that she was attracted, not really, he just looked familiar. 'Liar!' sometimes her own thoughts betrayed her. The flame throwers also shared the stage. It was mesmerizing. They blew fire from the right, he dodged most skillfully landing on the back of an oncoming tiger. For the last act five flame throwers stood surrounding him. They blew on the flames engulfing his figure in a sea of bright orange. The crowd gasped. Or was that her, she couldn't tell. The five flames were beating against each other from each direction, clearly he was no longer in the center. "Look!" a voice from the crowd alerted them. Soaring above the flames was the clown, arms outstretched, feet glued securely together. He landed, one handed, upside down, on the tip of the trunk of a nearby elephant. Yup she totally got it now.

After the show ended they sat, waiting for the other patrons to leave. Apparently they had back stage passes. She felt like she was about to meet a celebrity, clearly on this colony he was. The four stood patiently, when a woman slightly older than they were waved at them. They followed her through a door at the back which opened into what looked like a small village with trailers and vans and a small court yard in the center. No one seemed to notice the out siders presence and if they did they didn't show it.

"Wait here, he'll be right out."

"Thanks Catherine." Duo replied. Clearly the only outsider here was her.

Not far away, the object of the young girls' affections was busy tending to the animals with which he was just performing. His affection for the creatures evident. He was fully dressed now, in a t-shirt and jeans, gone was the half mask. It was then she recognized him. He was a Gundam pilot, she was sure of it. Though she wasn't sure if they'd ever met in person. Standing next to him was a young woman, her face shone with adoration and admiration for the young man crouched next to her. Another fan perhaps.

"That was a great show Trowa." Ivy said to him as he continued to feed the animals.

He smiled, his voice smooth as silk. "You say that every time."

"That just means you don't ever have a bad show."

He stood at his full height close to four inches above her, "Or you're just biased."

She flushed, looking away she saw they had an audience. "Friends of yours?"

He turned slightly, "Yeah, I'll introduce you."

They walked the few feet to where the others were standing.

Trowa spoke as he got close, "You finally made it."

"Great show Trowa, as usual." Hilde beamed, she was clearly smitten.

"Thank you."

"See, so I'm not biased." Ivy chimed in.

"Ivy, these are Heero, Duo, Hilde and," He paused, looking at her, waiting for confirmation.

She extended her hand. "Relena Darlian, pleased to meet you."

He took her hand, his one eye sparkling. "Trowa Barton."

"Were you expecting me to give you a fake name?" She asked cocking her head to a side as she did, his momentary surprise not escaping her.

"Hmm why not? I gave you one."

Her smiled widened, a charmer this one.

He continued, "This is Ivy Shinto."

Relena looked over his shoulder at the girl who seemed to be trying very hard to hide her surprise. She looked roughly the same age as herself, hair that fell close to Duo's length and round hazel eyes.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Darlian." She shifted unconsciously as she spoke.

"Please, just call me Relena, anyone hears the name Darlian and I'll have to cut my time here short."

Hilde, Relena, Ivy and Catherine spent the rest of the day being as ridiculous as humanly possible. Catherine had made it a point to make sure they all got the clown special. White paint on their faces, a horrible amount of blush and lipstick colours that should never have been invented. Their hair was teased, and their clothes, their clothes were either hideous or non-existent. It was a combination of shorts that were too short, vests with holes, thigh high multicolored socks and matching arm warmers. They looked like the jokers side chicks. After the make over from hell, Catherine then attempted to teach them circus tricks, the ones that passed security clearance of course.

Hilde had found herself perched atop a unicycle, Catherine held the back of it to keep it steady.

"You ready?" Catherine asked.

"Yup! Let her rip"

Catherine did as she was told, giving Hilde a slight nudge forward. "There ya go, you've got this."

Hilde didn't reply, she hardly breathed afraid she was going to topple over if she so much as blinked. After a few seconds she began to relax, "Hey, I'm really getting the hang of …." Her words were cut short when she tipped over landing face first in the dirt.

Duo shook his head and cringed, "That's gonna leave a mark."

After the day's activities the girls had crashed, hard. If he didn't know better he'd thought they were out drinking. He still felt the need to check to make sure they were asleep before he headed towards the others. They didn't need an audience for this conversation. Trowa exited the trailer careful not to make a sound before he headed to where he knew Duo and Heero were waiting.

At the back of the circus village was his own hideaway, completely off limits to the others. Being the quiet recluse he was, in addition to his reputation among his circus family as a Gundam pilot meant no one violated that privacy. He hadn't quite shut the door behind him before Duo started in.

"Whatdya find?"

"Drink?" He ignored Duo and walked toward a small cooler, pulling out a beer for himself before offering one to each of them. They both declined. He sat down, taking his time to uncork the bottle. Duo sighed. He retrieved his laptop from a locked drawer, then took a sip from of his beer. Duo groaned. Trowa couldn't hide his amusement. He was clearly enjoying this slow torture of his friend.

"Can we get on with it?" Duo exclaimed finally having enough.

He put his beer down on the floor at his feet, play time was over. He turned out the laptop, not that he needed it the information was burned into his memory. "Our suspicions have all been confirmed. 360 Med and Genres labs are definitely fronts but from the looks of things the puppet masters aren't OZ at all."

"What do you mean?" Heero said finally making his presence known.

Trowa: "I mean I found information detailing the involvement of Professor G and Dr. J, so unless they were working for OZ this entire time and we were wrong about them and their allegiance during the wars there's no way the facilities are still under OZ control."

Duo: "So they'll use OZ's reputation to blame them for whatever they're up to."

Trowa: "Logical conclusion."

Duo: "What exactly are they up to?"

Trowa: "Whatever it is they're keeping under heavy lock and key, it wasn't in anything I hacked into."

Duo smirked, "I thought you said you found something."

"This isn't a contest Duo, but if you want to make it into one I've still got you beat." He took a swig of his beer then. "Can I continue?" A low incomprehensible grumble from Duo was his only reply.

Trowa: "Nicolai Staten's name also came up in the files. Turns out that's not his real name."

Duo: "Seems there's a lot of that going around."

Trowa smiled, "His real name is Nicolai Van Domein. The file merely had a little background information, where he grew up, went to school, and a few medical records."

Heero: "That name sounds familiar."

Trowa: "Yeah that's what I thought so after I left Genres I went on a fishing expedition. Nicholai Van Domein is the grandson of Lord Christian Van Domein, atleast he was until he changed his name. Van Domein Senior was a member of the Romefeller foundation."

Duo: "You're kidding me."

Trowa: "No, but he was a plant, by the scientists. It seems he was the reason we were always ableto predict OZ's movements. He fed the scientists the information who then fed it to us."

Heero: "You trust this source?"

Trowa: "There's not much a guy would lie about dangling twenty feet from the ground."

Duo: "I'm taking that offer for a drink now, but I need something stronger than a beer."

Trowa: "Help yourself."

Duo walked over to a cabinet in the corner where the strong stuff was beckoning. He pulled out a glass and took a shot of vodka. "So Nicholai has decided to take his grandfather's position working for the weirdos."

Trowa: "Whatever it is they're working on it's spanned over eight years and it's still incomplete otherwise they wouldn't need those labs."

Duo: "So we can link the scientist with Staten or whoever his name is, and we can also link them to Romefeller, there's still one link missing."

Heero: "Relena."

Trowa: "There's still one guy who can shed some light on this for us."

The other two occupants waited for him to share his idea.

Trowa: "Howard, don't forget he helped create the Tallgese which means he was there at the very beginning. He probably has some valuable information."

Duo: "Haven't seen that guy in years."

Heero: "He's on earth."

Trowa eyed Heero, earth is probably the last place he wants to go. He asked the question even though he probably already knew the answer. "Are you ready to go back there?"

Heero: "It can't be helped."

The sound of metal hitting metal raked on his nerves, it was the scientist calling card and he swore he did it to annoy anyone who had the misfortune of being in his presence. The sixty inch screen blared to life on the wall in front of him. He'd spoken with this man on many occasions over the years but he always had to steel his nerves before every encounter.

"Doctor, I appreciate you returning my call." Nicholai said as he sat in front of the screen, it was the only thing he could do to stop his nerves from showing.

The image of a grey haired old man stared back at him, "I don't appreciate being summoned."

"I didn't mean to give you that impression but I needed to speak with you urgently."

The doctor adjusted his spectacles, "Yes I suppose you did, I heard about the mishap you had at Genres. Expect more of that to come. The Gundam pilots are like blood hounds once they catch your scent there's no shaking them."

He scowled at the comment, he never quite knew which side the Doctor was on sometimes he even sounded like a proud father when he spoke about the Gundam Pilots. "I'm beginning to see that. That's the reason why I'm calling. Doctor Fenty, how close of an ally is he?"

"Why do you ask?"

"His prints were confirmed at the points of entry for that 'mishap' as you put it."

"Go on."

"What I'm asking is, is he dispensable?"

The doctor gave an amused smirk, followed by an annoyed scowl, "Do as you wish, they won't be so easily fooled."

"They've been fooled up to this point haven't they, you give them too much credit."

"You'll regret it if you don't give them enough."

Relena was thoroughly enjoying her stay at the circus. Trowa, it seemed had made arrangements for them, clearly he knew they were coming. Much like Duo did when they arrived on L2. She wasn't surprised in the least by the thought nor was she concerned. Right on cue she saw the subject of her thoughts sitting at one of the picnic benches dotted around the village. She smiled as her words formed in her head.

"Can I sit beside you Heero?" she leaned over him, "Before you answer just remember we're not in my country so I can't just do whatever I want." He smiled, one of those rare Heero smiles that melted her heart.

"You can still do whatever you want." He watched her as she sat down.

"We're not all blessed with that trait as you Heero." She rested a hand on his shoulder followed by her chin. "You planned this whole thing didn't you even before we left."

Her statement surprised him, to his surprise he had felt a second of panic, until he saw the smile on her face. He relaxed.

"Thank you!"

He enjoyed her appreciation while it lasted.

"This looks delicious!" Hilde was all but salivating over the food splayed in front of them. The seven friends hand pushed two picnic tables together and were about to sit down to a feast.

Relena: "Did you do this Catherine?"

Catherine: "No Trowa did." She winked at her brother as she spoke.

Hilde elbowed Duo, "How come you never cook?!"

"Don't be too hard on him Hilde," Trowa interjected, "He's already suffered a humiliating defeat by my hand for the week we can forgive him this small….foible."

"Bite me Barton!"

"You're not my type." He said flatly, his green eye meeting Ivy's hazel. Her cheeks would rival that of any clown with the shade of red it turned.

The group talked, laughed, ate and drank. Relena took in the moment. This right here was exactly what she had envisioned. This was the normal she craved. Her reflections were cut short. Trowa slammed his drink onto the table, standing to his feet. "What the hell?"

Everyone turned in the direction of his focus to see what had caused his sudden outburst.

One the vid screen located in the center of the village a news caster was reporting the death of someone.

"Dr. Fenty was found at his home late this afternoon unresponsive, an ambulance was called but he was pronounced dead at the scene a heart attack being determined as the cause of death. Dr. Fenty was a world renowned geneticist and one of the founders of Genres Labs. "

They all looked from the screen back to Trowa, unable to understand his outburst. He looked downed at their confused faces, lingering on Duo and Heero. "I know him, we met briefly only two days ago. He offered his help with a problem I was having I couldn't have solved it without him."

"Life, it can be so fleeting sometimes." Catherine added solemnly.

Not one to tolerate a sad moment Hilde raised her glass, "That's why moments like this should be enjoyed am I right? Cheers to life." They all raised their glass at that.

"Heero, I was expecting this call days ago." Commander Une's voice lacked its usual patience.

"There was nothing to report."

She took a deep breath to calm herself, engaging in a verbal war of any kind with Heero Yuy was an act of futility.

"You're calling now, does this have anything to do with the death of that doctor?" She pressed.

"What course of action do you intend to take."

"The preventers will obviously have to investigate this. Two prominent doctors in the same field from the same company dying under the same circumstances is too much of a coincidence for us to ignore."

As he expected, this is precisely why he was calling, "That's what he wants us to do. It's less man power and resources at our disposal to investigate him."

"Be that as it may, the eyes of the world are always on us. We need the public to trust our efforts, we need the ESUN to trust our efforts as well. We can't be seen as conveniently choosing what we do and don't investigate."

She had a point and he knew it, still it irked him to think they were playing right into Staten's hands. "You're letting him get to you."

His powers of perception weren't dulled by the distance of this conversation she on earth him in space. "I'm not worried about my own position if that's what you mean. My position is not set in stone, even if I was to be removed or replaced because of our actions it shouldn't reflect on the organization as a whole. The ESUN needs the preventers, the body, and the organization. Its name and presence alone gives would be offenders pause. That reputation is what we need to protect."

"Understood."