A/N: It's been awhile everyone! I'm so excited to be back with this next chapter and hope you all enjoy it. Curious about who Xero has chosen? I promise I will keep you guessing for a good couple chapters more! Please read and review. I will greatly appreciate any imput you may have. I would also love to hear what you have to say.

A Girl Named Xero

Chapter 11

The rhythmic bleeping of a nightstand alarm clock woke Quatre from his restless sleep. The cold words he had left Xero with had put him on an edge that would not allow him to relax. Swinging his slim yet muscular legs over the edge, he rose from the bed determined to set things right. One leg after the other was shoved into his khaki pant legs as he thought of how stupid he had been the previous day. It was true that soon enough he would have to face the fact that Xero might not choose him over Trowa, but however heartbreaking that would be, he needed to be there for her now.

Quatre stepped into the hall dressed for the battle they had all been waiting for. Today was the day they would go up against Millardo and the White Fang. 'This is it' he thought to himself, 'This could be the last time we ever have to fight this war.'

"Quatre!" The tall blonde turned at the sound of the deep American twang calling his name. "Hey buddy," Duo greeted, " have you seen Xero? I haven't been able to find her anywhere." Duo's braid swung wildly behind him as he jogged down the hallway to meet his friend.

"I was just about to go look for her," Quatre replied. He was starting to feel fairly worried. If Xero was upset about what had happened the night before she very well might be distancing herself from the others, but he knew for a fact that she would have let Duo console her. Duo opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the chiming melody that signaled an intercom announcement was about to take place. The loud raspy sound of Howard's voice came over the loudspeaker, "Attention all pilots!! Please prepare your suits for disembarkment. White Fang is making efforts to engage us sooner than expected. Let's give 'em hell boys!" The intercom crackled out and Duo and Quatre turned and sprinted towards the docking bay.

A few minutes later Quatre sat in Sandrock, heart racing, waiting for the moment it would begin. As he listened to the other Gundams roar to life he was only certain of two things. One, this battle would change their lives forever, and two, Xero was missing.

:

Xero raced down the corridor to the room where Relena was being held. Maybe if she could find the girl, they could both convince Millardo together that this whole operation of his was crazy. She had only met him once during her stay in the Cinq Kingdom, but Xero remembered Millardo being really level headed and reasonable. She couldn't imagine what could have caused him to act so foolish. Life wasn't exactly easy on Earth ever since the beginning of this ridiculously long war, but it wasn't bad enough to warrant blowing it up.

She reached a tall metallic doorway with a keypad by its side. The keypad's status bar showed a bright red light indicating the door was locked and needed a code to open it. She traced the numerical buttons with her fingertip and considered how many combinations there could be and how much time it would take to find the right one before she was caught and thrown into one of these herself. A warmth burned inside her chest as if to urge her to use her new ability. She wondered if she could manipulate the currents of electricity used to power the door and the lock in order to open it. Slowly, she reached within herself pulling from deep down. Xero pondered the possibility she was tapping into the power of her very soul when she used this ability. Coaxing gently, she managed to extract a bit of energy and fed it into the little keypad. Instantly she felt as if she was one with the machine and she closed her eyes.

The circuitry moved at her will zipping around and chattering to the other parts of the keypad's infrastructure until something clicked and booped and the door was sliding open before Xero. She pulled herself back and thanked the machine for cooperating. Upon entering the room, Xero was greeted by a very shocked Relena. The blonde seized Xero in a hug as the door wooshed shut behind her and she had a chance to take in the appearance of the sparsely furnished room before her. The room seemed to be more of a sitting area than a bedroom. There were a few chairs centered around a small coffee table that sat in front of large flat screen television. The television was displaying news of the clash between Romefeller and White Fang making use of the past friendship between the conflicting leaders Treize Kushranda and Millardo Peacecraft.

Relena pulled back holding Xero at arm's length and studied her unexpected visitor. "What are you doing here?" Relena gasped. "How did you find me?"

Xero grinned and led Relena over to a comfortable looking chair having her sit down. Relena appeared exhausted and stressed beyond her limits. "I actually didn't come here to find you, but when I learned you were here I came right to you." Xero took the seat beside her and reassuringly grasped her shoulder. "I came to convince your brother to end this madness. Nothing good will come from what he is planning."

"I agree," Relena attempted a smile and failed, "however, I have already tried to speak with him and he is adamant. Millardo has no intention of backing down." At this Relena's face fell in sadness and tears threatened to spill from her blue eyes.

"Maybe if we spoke to him together," Xero tried. She had come to really like Relena and didn't want such a strong young woman to give up. However, as she looked at the forlorn face of her friend, she realized it was quite possible the situation was hopeless and the world she hoped to share with the man she loved, would be lost forever.

:

Ear shattering blasts echoed off the sides of Trowa's re-mastered HeavyArms. Maxine had installed the Zero System and fixed up the suit after it had been brought to Peacemillion by Sally Po. It was taking him some time to get used to the bulky Gundam, but the Zero System seemed to be helping a bit. His reaction time was sharper every minute and it was almost like his body was remembering what his mind could not.

The mobile dolls zoomed around the Gundams forcing them to each branch off on their own and destroy clusters of the pesky things. Trowa shot and destroyed a lone doll and watched it explode. 'Trowa…' a soft sweet voice penetrated the cockpit. "Who…?" Was he hearing thing now? He swung HeavyArms around readying to attack the next set of suits when it began again. 'Trowa… how long will we have to hide here?' A hazy image began to materialize in the dark patch of space in front of him. Brilliant red hair and soft pink skin. The image of Xero assaulted his senses. Trowa, now considering he was going insane, could smell the sweet scent of cherry blossoms in the cockpit and felt the edges of his mind fuzz in confusion.

"What is this?" He questioned out loud. Pain. His body retched in agony both physical and emotional. There was something important he needed to remember, but what was it? Remember!! A blast shook his Gundam taking advantage of the distraction his returning memories were causing.

"Trowa! What's wrong?" Quatre's voice sounded over the communicator urgent and concerned. The familiarity of the voice flipped a switch in Trowa's brain and he struggled to control the mass of images that overloaded his mind. His whole life came back to him in a screaming torrent of rage and happiness, fear and love.

"XERO!!!!" The yell scorched his throat as it ripped its way through his soul. Finally! He knew exactly where he needed to be and who he was. He remembered the last time he had seen Quatre and what had occurred on that terrible day. "Quatre! Thank you for keeping your promise, now let's finish this." He tore through the mass of mobile dolls with new fervor and determination. He had forgotten for the moment the state of Xero's heart as he fought his way back to, what he hoped would be the woman he would spend his life with.

A tear streamed down Quatre's face as he realized his friend was back. His happiness to have Trowa returned in full to them over bounded and his fear of losing Xero tore him apart.

The mobile dolls began to pull back, whoever was controlling them had decided to let them have this battle. Disappointed that this meant they would have to fight again the pilots began to head back. "Guys!" Duo's twang came over the communicator. "It's Hilde! She's been injured badly! I need to get her back to Peacemillion to see a doctor. Give me a hand alright?" He was franticly pulling her battered Taurus along behind him. Quatre and Trowa joined in and they all made a hasty dash for Peacemillion.

:

Quatre, Heero, and Trowa watched Hilde be rolled away on a stretcher. She was hooked up to oxygen and the pallor of her face attested to the seriousness of her injuries. Duo was silent for once as he joined them all in the hallway. He held up a disc and Trowa snagged it out of his hand. "We better make the information on this disc worth her sacrifice." Trowa said as he began to head toward the computer room.

"Xero is on Libra." Duo stated stopping Trowa in his tracks. Quatre straightened to attention and his face filled with surprise. "Hilde saw her while she was there, they ran into each other, literally." A shadow of a smile passed over his lips at the thought, and then disappeared.

"How did she manage to get there?" Quatre sputtered. He paced up and down the length of the hall, his flustered expression becoming more and more exasperated.

"She probably hijacked one of the small vessels." Trowa commented, the corner of his mouth tilted up in a slight grin. "I taught her the basics of piloting not too long ago so she is capable of flying, however I doubt she landed without a catastrophe." He wanted to laugh out loud, being able to recall his memories with Xero was amazing.

It was strange for Quatre having another man talk about Xero with such familiarity. He had spent so much time with her and they had become so intimate that the idea of another man, even Trowa, knowing more about her than he did, was upsetting. "I'm going to get her," Quatre stated and he turned towards the docking bay they had so recently emerged from.

"I'll go with you," Trowa added following, "I need to see her." Quatre and Trowa stood there staring each other down. For the first time in their friendship, the two pilots felt a bit of animosity for each other as they realized they would be competing for the rights to the same girl. With a stiff nod from both, they silently agreed they needed to join together for Xero's sake. However, they also understood, without words that neither would back down when it came to winning Xero.

Heero jogged up behind them and continued on right past them into the hanger. "Where are you going?" Quatre questioned.

"I'm going too," Heero replied picking up a supply pack and hauling over his shoulder. "Duo has informed me that Relena is there as well."

"Are you planning on rescuing her or killing her this time?" Trowa asked teasingly.

"I haven't decided yet." Heero answered him with absolute seriousness in his voice as he began loading the ship they would be taking to the Libra.

:

Xero and Relena sat in silence watching the newscaster discuss the pros and cons of a life permanently in space. This was looking more and more likely as the minutes ticked by and no good news of the Gundams' victory had been reported yet. It had been hours since Xero had joined Relena in her prison of a room and still there was no good news. They had decided to stay put until they heard something in order to give themselves the best possibility of catching Millardo as he returned from the battle. However, it had been so long and they were starting to get anxious.

"I say we go look for him," Xero suggested. "It's been so long, if one side hasn't won by now, it probably means we still have more war ahead of us."

"You're probably right," Relena agreed rising from the chair. "Let's go, do you think we'll catch him in time?" Just as she finished her question the metal door slid open with a whoosh and a khaki clad Heero stepped into the room.

"You may not, but I certainly will." He responded. A sharp look was tossed Xero's way making her feel like a small child being admonished for their mischief. "Quatre and Trowa are here looking for you." He told her. "We all split up. You should go and find them before they decide to duel over you." This was the closest thing to a joke Xero and Relena had ever heard come out of Heero's mouth; although it sounded completely serious. Xero nodded and gave Relena's arm a quick squeeze as she was passing through the door Heero's voice stopped her. "Trowa is back," was all he had to say. She gave him a final glance before she set out to face her destiny.

A/N: Exciting huh? hee hee I hope you all review and let me know what you think. It is your opinions and encouragement that help me bang out these chapters faster so you can read them sooner! Thank you to all who have been reading this. Next chapter as soon as I get some reviews.