Chapter Twenty-One

Quatre knew he was probably making a mistake, but rationality was a far call from his mind. His anger was boiling to the surface, the locks on his emotions now forcibly unbolted as he strode down the hall to Merrick's office. No one seemed to notice him until he reached his secretary, who tried to stop him from entering the office. Quatre paid no heed to the woman and thrust the door open, finding Merrick sitting quietly behind his desk, hands folded on the wood surface, as if the smug man was waiting for him to arrive.

Merrick smiled. "Quatre. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"This is not a social call," Quatre frowned, shutting the door loudly behind him. He strode up to Merrick's desk and slammed his palms against it. "You need to stop this now. Stop attacking my friends before someone gets hurt!"

Merrick sighed and shook his head. "I gave your friends a day to respond, to surrender, but they did not heed me. I had no choice but to call this attack."

Quatre scoffed, smiling wryly as he pulled away. "And how do you plan to explain to the Colonists about your sudden mobile doll army? They were all under the impression that all mobile suits were expunged."

"Indeed. So perhaps you will be able to explain the sudden return of the Gundams, yours included," Merrick replied. He leaned back against his chair, watching the blonde man's hands tighten to fists at his sides. "The Colonists need protecting. Your dear Lista knew that just as well as I do. She must have had such high hopes on the people. She believed they would rectify their mistakes and war would permanently come to an end. Humanity is far too flawed for that."

"You have no right to speak of this," Quatre snapped. "You are the one who has started this war! My friends would not have recreated their Gundams unless they felt it was necessary! They did it in response to the threat you're making against the Colonies!"

Merrick's smirk faded and he stood from his desk, walking to the other side of the room to peer out the window. "I'm not the threat here. The Gundams are. Your friends are. They need to be dealt with. They are people who believe their meaning of existence is battle." He turned over his shoulder, his eyes hard as stone, cold as the moon. "They cannot escape that, even if they believe they have turned their backs on that part of their lives. They will always be soldiers, and when war calls them, they will respond and fight back. It's in their nature."

"You don't know anything about me or my friends," Quatre rebuked. "I have done everything you and Melody has asked of me. I have been separated from my friends, and from Lista, for months now. I have suffered because of you, and all to keep her protected! It was a sacrifice worth making, but it will be for nothing if you continue to retaliate against her and my friends. She is in direct danger because of this war you've created! You must stop! Now!" His voice had grown remarkably louder, prompting the door to swing open.

Melody was standing there, eyes wide, as she watched the altercation. "Quatre! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, quickly shutting the door behind her. She rushed to his side, taking hold of his arm. "You need to leave. You're angry. Come on."

"No. I'm not leaving. Not until I've said my piece," Quatre retorted, shrugging away from her. He closed the distance between him and the elder man by several feet. "You claim to want to protect the people, and yet, it is because of you that there are people on this colony that lost their lives! My friends did everything they could to draw fire into space, to prevent such casualties, but you programmed the mobile dolls to remain inside the colony. You want them to do damage to the Colonies!"

Merrick turned around, hands folded behind his back, as a smirk crept upon his face once more. "The Colonists will believe what they want, and that is one very simple fact: I am here to protect them. Everything I do is in their best interest. If I brand the Gundams as traitors, I believe they will eventually see it the same way. Of course, you and your friends are no strangers to having the Colonists betray you. I'm sure it will not hurt quite as much as it did the first time."

Quatre groaned in frustration, his pale cheeks heating up as his fury continued to rise. "Stop it. By doing this, you are violating your own agreement. You said Lista would remain safe, and now she is not."

"I promised not to single her out in an attack," Merrick interrupted. "She is considered part of this terrorist movement. Be thankful I have not done the same for you, out of love for my daughter."

Quatre cast a quick glance over his shoulder at Melody, who stood shaken and silent, as she watched the two men argue. She looked incredibly desperate for a miracle. He turned his attention back to Merrick. "That is a technicality you are trying to get around. You cannot use me as a toy, Merrick! And even more so, you will not continue to prey on Lista. I will not allow it."

Merrick chuckled and shook his head. "There is nothing you can do about it, my boy. From what I've come to know of her, Lista Di Nevella does things as she wishes. She will remain by the side of your comrades until the end. There is nothing I can do to stop that. She is the foolish one for getting involved. If she dies as a result, it will be her own fault. What will be, will be. As far as I'm concerned, her death will be a service to everyone, including you."

Something snapped inside the pilot of Sandrock, a deadly emotion that had not ruled his actions since his father's death. He cried out and lunged, his hands prepared to wring around the man's neck. Merrick's eyes widened in shock and he backed into the window, unprepared for such an emotional outburst from the otherwise calm Winner heir. He lifted his hands in front of himself, set to defend himself against the ex-soldier.

"No! Quatre, stop it!" Melody shrieked, jumping forward and sliding her arms around Quatre's waist. Quatre's fingers were inches from Merrick's neck, and he continued to stretch forward as if his soul called out for Merrick's blood. "Calm down, please! You don't want to do this!"

"I swear if Lista befalls any harm because of you, you will regret it!" Quatre vowed as Melody tore him from the office. "There will be nowhere you can hide to be safe from me!"

Merrick stood, hand tight on the windowsill behind him, as he watched Melody wrench him from the room. He could hear Melody frantically attempting to calm him down as she ushered him down the hall. He gathered his composure and pushed himself from the window as his secretary slowly walked inside.

"Sir, is everything all right?" she asked, her voice meek and obviously frightened.

"Everything is fine. You may go," Merrick said, quickly waving her from the room. She did as he asked, shutting the door and leaving him to ponder Quatre's threat and whether the normally timid soldier would make do on his vow if Lista were to become hurt.

He hardly thought Quatre Raberba Winner would be one to frighten him.

As soon as Melody and Quatre made it to her office, he veered away from her, seeking solace at the window. He rested his hands on the glass, eyes closed as he counted silently in his head to even his breathing and his wildly beating heart.

Melody was silent for several moments, watching him carefully. "Do you want some water?"

"Yes, please," he rasped, lowering his head. He listened to her feet carry her to the other side of the room, pouring him a small bit of water from the cooler. She was at his side almost instantaneously, offering him the paper cup. He took it from her and sipped slowly, enjoying the cool trail it left down his throat.

But it didn't cool his temper in any way. It scared him that he'd lost his composure. He normally had no temper, and there was only one other time in his life that he'd lost control, and he'd cost many innocent lives in the process, including the near loss of his comrades.

Melody stared at him, watchful. His hands were shaking, and when he opened his eyes, they were filled with such a fear she'd never seen before. She stretched her hand out, placing it softly on his shoulder. "Quatre. Are you all right?"

He choked back a sob, snapping his head to her. "No, I'm not. Despite everything I've done to keep her safe, Lista is going to be in danger anyway." He shook his head. "I've experienced life without her, and it has been unpleasant. But it would be another situation entirely if she were taken from this world. I won't have it. It can't happen. There's too much in this world for us to live for."

Melody ushered him over to her desk, pushing him down into her chair. She took the cup of water from him and placed it on the desk. "Well, then, I suppose there's no waiting any longer to go back to her."

Quatre gazed at her, surprised, his anger slowly abating. "Melody."

"We can make arrangements now to join your friends," Melody spoke up. "I'm sure you're eager to help them through these battles, and if I know my father, he won't let up."

Quatre nodded in agreement, staring up at her in question. "He knows nothing about my marriage to Lista, does he?"

"If you're asking if I somehow told him, the answer is no," Melody replied, averting her gaze from him. "It's no business of his to know the truth. But I'll admit I fear what will happen once he finds out and that I knew."

Quatre pushed himself out of the chair, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. "You'll be with us when it happens, so don't worry about his reaction. He won't be able to do anything to you. My friends and I will keep you safe."

"Are you so sure?" she inquired, her voice suddenly meek. "Do you really believe Lista will be prepared to protect me if it's needed?"

"Yes. Absolutely," Quatre replied, smiling. She looked at him, shocked at his immediate answer. "She's a kind person, Melody, and she's like me. She can read people pretty well herself. And besides, you wouldn't be a bad person if you were doing all of this. It's too selfless."

"It's a little selfish," Melody admitted, looking up at him shyly. "I like to see you happy, and I know this will do it."

"Don't sell yourself short," Quatre said, his smile weakening. "You were able to calm me down. I feel like I could have actually killed him and felt no remorse in doing so." He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I don't like feeling that way, even if Lista is the one involved. I don't want to feel so…barbaric."

"You have every right to feel that way," Melody justified firmly, her brows furrowing into her blue eyes. "You've done all that you can to protect her from him, and he is stomping all over it. He thinks he's found a loophole to your agreement. But we'll show him. The both of us will leave now, and we'll help your friends fight. He won't win. I won't let him hurt innocent people anymore."

Quatre shook his head and peered up into the ceiling. He could only hope that would be the case.

Lista, Noin, and Sally watched the Gundams park along the wall of the garage. Lista was fidgeting once again, prompting Sally to cast her a worried gaze.

"There's something going on," Sally said. She folded her arms over her chest, her brows furrowing. "What's wrong?"

"That was too easy a fight," Lista replied, her frown as intense as her comrade's. "Merrick wanted this fight to go a certain way, and I'm sure he got what he wanted. And I didn't realize it until it was too late."

Noin quirked a brow and cast a quick glance at Sally before turning back to the ebony haired woman. "And what was that?"

Lista didn't answer. Instead, she made her way to the Gundams, watching each of her friends propel themselves down to the ground. Duo was stretching his arms over his head, whooping about their first victory.

"I knew we weren't rusty," he grinned. "I didn't think it would feel this good to be in a fight again."

"It only felt good because we were victorious," Wufei pointed out. "I don't believe you'd feel the same way if we lost."

Duo scoffed. "That bastard can't beat us. We'll take care of his troops, no problem," the braided pilot replied. He smirked at Lista and pressed his hands against her arms, not picking up the worried look on her face. "Lissy, did you check us out? Those mobile dolls didn't stand a chance against us. We roasted 'em!"

Lista sighed deeply and shook her head before shrugging away from Duo's hands. "We all need to talk. It was too easy a win. Merrick is planning something," she said ominously.

Duo stared at her as if she'd suddenly grown several additional heads. "What? You're going to give him the credit after he lost against us? Come on!"

"No, she's right, Duo," Heero interrupted. "The mobile dolls were mainly on the defensive. That wave was never meant to do us any harm." He said nothing else, causing Duo to turn to Lista for an extensive explanation.

Lista folded her arms over her chest, shaking her head angrily. "Merrick wanted damage done to the colony. He wanted to make sure that the Gundams remained in the atmosphere of the colony rather than take the battle outside it. He was hoping for casualties, and he was hoping for destruction to the surrounding buildings and homes. And he got what he wanted."

"The Colonists are going to see the footage as if we were the ones relentlessly attacking the mobile dolls and destroying everything around us," Wufei added, grumbling. He hissed a curse under his breath. "He knows we're going to try and destroy as much of the suits as possible since Winner's family emblem is on them. He knows we're going to try and protect his public image."

"And if Quatre is revealed to be the one behind the construction of the army, and we're fighting them, it's going to make it look like we can't even trust ourselves," Trowa said. "He's trying to make us look like traitors in every aspect of the word. And Quatre is going to come under fire."

Lista rested her hand on top of her belly, listening to her friends add their two cents to the issue. They all knew as well as she did what was going on and what Merrick was trying to do. With the false evidence that Quatre was the one behind the mobile doll army, the Colonists would start to second-guess the trust in their past heroes.

It was the last thing they needed at this point.

"We're on our own," Lista murmured, shutting her eyes. She could feel the intense gaze of her allies on her. She bit down on her bottom lip and whimpered, resting her other palm on her blossoming stomach. "Not again."

"Lissy, you okay?" Duo shuffled forward, grabbing hold of her arms. "Look at me, Lista. Are you having those contractions again?"

"I'm fine," she breathed, shaking her head.

Duo scowled. "No, you're not." He turned over his shoulder at his friends. "She needs to go to the hospital right now. She keeps having contractions."

"I'll take her," Sally offered, walking forward and clamping a hand over one of Lista's. "You can all stay and rest."

Lista snapped her eyes open, staggering as she tried wrenching away from Duo and Sally. "No! I'm not going to the hospital! I'm fine! It's just false labor! It'll go away after a couple of minutes!"

"Stop being so damn stubborn, Lista!" Duo snapped, leaning in to her threateningly. "You promised me you would go if you had them again, and you're not breaking it. If Quatre were here, you'd already be there. Now damn it, go, before something bad happens!"

Lista drew in a shaky breath, Duo's passionate words resounding through her. Saying nothing, she nodded numbly and turned to Sally. The former Alliance major wrapped an arm gingerly around Lista's waist and ushered her away from the group.

Wufei came up next to Duo, her arms folded over his chest. "Well, that was a nice display. You probably scared her," he replied.

"I don't care," he hissed, his eyes piercing through Wufei's. "She should be scared. This is serious, and I think she doesn't want to admit that Quatre might not be around when it comes time for the baby to be born. I want her to take care of herself, damn it."

"Haven't you thought that maybe she already is scared and that's why she hasn't gone to the hospital?" Noin suggested gently. Duo opened his mouth to respond, but said nothing. He stood, expressionless, as he pondered the possibility. "We all know you care. We care, too, but you need to be a little bit sensitive about this. She's not Lista right now. She's a scared, pregnant woman who is without the father of the baby and is now thrust into the middle of war that she feels helpless in."

Duo groaned exasperatingly. "You think I'm not being sensitive? I don't want her to be alone. If I haven't been able to be with her, I always made sure someone was." He thrust a finger in her direction, but she didn't flinch. "I don't want Quatre to come back and find out Lista is dead, not to mention the baby he knew nothing about is dead along with her. I want him to come back and know that I did the very best I could to keep her safe from Merrick. It's what he'd do, and damn it, both he and Lista are my best friends. I'll do what I think is right." He took a deep breath, his scowl fading. "She might be scared, but she's stubborn and proud, too. I don't want that to stop her from making sure she and that baby are okay."

A cell phone rang in someone's pocket, interrupting Duo's tirade. Duo was the one who dug into his pocket first, fishing out the black phone that now blared loudly. He peered at the caller ID, and his face paled. "Um…It's Quatre." He turned over his shoulder and watched Sally drape a coat over Lista's shoulders before ushering her outside.

He flipped the phone open and answered with a fake happy greeting. "Hey, man. How's it going?"

"Duo. How are you? How is everyone doing?" Quatre hurriedly asked.

Duo had to appreciate the level of concern in his friend's voice. "Don't worry, buddy. We're all fine. The battle was a piece of cake. You have nothing to worry about." He walked into the den, the other pilots close behind, so he could sit down on the sofa. He sighed deeply and dug his fingers into the fabric of his pants. "But I guess there were still people around on the colony. Not all the civilians escaped. I think some people died. We don't know for sure yet, though."

There was a short hesitation on Quatre's end. "I see. Somehow I figured it would happen. Merrick would have attacked whether people remained in the vicinity or not." He cleared his throat. "So, how is Lista? I noticed she wasn't in a suit of her own on the battlefield. Is she doing all right?"

Duo felt his breath hitch in his throat. Quatre didn't know that they had refused to rebuild a suit for her. "She's okay. She was sick, and we didn't think we would need her, so we told her to stay behind and rest up a bit for the next time."

Quatre sighed heavily in relief in Duo's ears. "Oh. Well, I certainly hope she is feeling better. Either way, I wanted to apologize for my lack of communication with you and the others. There has been a great deal happening on my end as of late. But I have wonderful news for you."

Duo straightened, immediately curious. He could use some good news for once. "Well, spit it out, man! Don't keep me waiting!"

Quatre chuckled. "Melody and I are going to be joining with you as soon as we get our things gathered. I'm coming back."

Duo thrust himself off the sofa, whooping loudly. "Quatre, that's freakin' great! I can't wait to tell everyone the news!" He sifted his fingers through his bangs, blown away that his friend was finally returning. "Lista's gonna be thrilled when she finds out! This is just awesome!"

"Actually, about Lista," Quatre interrupted, his voice calm. "I was hoping she was there. Now that my agreement with Merrick is all but nullified, I'd like to speak with her. I was hoping to tell her myself."

Duo swallowed loudly and clenched his teeth together. He turned to his comrades, who all waited patiently for Duo to finish the conversation so they could be fully informed. "Uhh, well, I wish I could hand you off to her, buddy, but she's not here. She just left with Sally."

"Oh, I see," Quatre responded, his voice low and disappointed.

"But hey, if you want, I'll tell her for you when she gets back. She's going to be floored when she finds out you're coming back," Duo said quickly, hoping to bring his friend's spirits back up.

"Actually, no, I'd rather you didn't," Quatre replied. "Perhaps it would be better as a surprise. She's been through so much. I would like to surprise her." He chuckled lightly. "She always said she enjoyed surprises, and I suppose this would be a rather large one for her."

Duo grinned. "Well, I can handle that. I'll make sure she doesn't know. I'll leave that to you." He settled back down on the sofa, crossing his legs. "So, when can we expect you? Do you have any time frame in mind?"

"Not necessarily. There are still some things Melody and I would like to wrap up before we come. I'm assuming you've been staying at my construction facility so that you're close to the Gundams?" Quatre inquired.

Duo bellowed deep within his throat. "You're the man, Quatre. You always know everything."

"I'll let you know when we're planning on arriving," Quatre said. "We're going to try and make this as quick as possible. I'd like to be of some help to you on the battlefield. The way things have going lately, I would almost consider a battle as a therapy session."

Duo was taken aback by something so uncharacteristic from his friend, but he brushed it off. The guy had every right to feel that way after everything he went through. "Well, it looks like we're gonna have plenty of battles, so I wouldn't worry about that. Merrick's not gonna be giving up any time soon, and I'm sure he'll be trying to blame us for all the damage to the colony."

"No doubt," Quatre agreed with a disgusted sigh. "Anyway, Duo, I should be going. Melody and I are going to finish gathering our things. Let everyone know I'm coming, and then we can put a stop to all of this."

"I'd like nothing more than for all that to happen, man," Duo said with a grin. "I'll be waiting to hear from you. And don't worry. Your secret will be safe with us. Just take care, buddy, and good luck."

"You too, Duo. I'll talk to you soon."

Duo nodded to himself. "See ya later, man."

"Goodbye, Duo."

Flipping his phone shut, he turned to his comrades. He couldn't contain his grin from widening across his face. "Well, I've got some pretty damn good news. Quatre and Melody are getting ready to join us. He said he'd let us know when he was coming. He said they had to finish up some things before coming."

"That's wonderful," Noin said with a smile. "It'll be enlightening to have Quatre here with us through this. We could all use a shot of his optimism."

"So, Melody is going to be joining him?" Wufei asked, his face furrowing in disapproval. He shook his head. "I'm not sure I like that."

"Hey, don't knock the good news, Wufei," Duo scolded. "Quatre says we can trust her, and I believe him. This is the best thing to happen right now."

"I agree," Zechs spoke up. "Melody may know some things about her father's business dealings that will give us an upper hand. I believe her presence will serve more of a positive influence than a negative one."

"I think it would be in our best interest to look at the positive end of things, anyway," Trowa suggested. "Quatre returning to us is a good sign for us. Not only will it strengthen our resolve against Merrick, but I believe Lista will also be in much better health. She has kept her pregnancy a secret from him, not to mention she has yet to tell her own family. Revealing the truth will be a great weight lifted from her." He rested a hand on his hip and showed a rare smile. "I believe the tides will change for us now."

The pilots were still on a natural high after finding out hours before that Quatre would be coming. Even though some of them, namely Heero and Wufei, were skeptical about their friend bringing Melody with them, they knew it would bring them more good than anything. Quatre's tactical experience on the battlefield would bring them much-needed victories.

Seated around a rather small table, the pilots ate a small meal consisting of sandwiches, salad, and fruit. Duo, however, ignored the plate in front of him. He admitted he was hungry, but a small wave of nausea passed over him. Lista and Sally had yet to return from the hospital, and no one had heard from either one of them.

"Duo, for God's sake, you might as well be pacing back and forth," Noin spoke up playfully, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You should eat. If something were wrong, we would have heard by now. We should consider it a good thing that we haven't received a call."

Duo groaned and rested his chin on his fist. "I don't care. I want to know what's going on."

"Why don't you just call Di Nevella's cell phone and find out?" Wufei suggested as he took another grape a popped it into his mouth. "You're annoying me with all your worrying. It's going to get you nowhere."

Duo cast him a scowl, but said nothing. His eyes kept darting to the front door, his foot tapping an erratic beat on the floor. He tried to avoid everyone else's glances, some worried, some annoyed, some neutral. He began drumming his fingers next to his plate and sighed.

The front door creaked open, and Duo thrust himself from his thoughts, as well as his chair. Sally and Lista came through the door, both smiling and chuckling lightly to themselves.

Lista turned her attention to Duo, who quickly closed the distance between them. "Duo, what's wrong?"

Duo stared at her in disbelief and clamped his hands over her arms. "What happened? Are you okay? Why the hell didn't you call me? I've been worrying myself freakin' sick!"

Lista could only smile and pull him into a hug, resting her head on his shoulder. "Calm down, Duo," she whispered. "Everything's fine. And I'm sorry for not calling you. I know I should have." She pulled away from him and motioned to her belly. "As you can see, no baby. Doctor Vale said everything is fine. They're Braxton Hicks contractions."

Duo blinked once. "Braxton Hicks? What the hell is that?"

Pressing a palm against the base of her neck, Lista laughed and shook her head. "It's another term for false labor. It happens, and sometimes some women don't even feel them. In other words, I'm perfectly fine. Nothing to be concerned over." She patted Duo on the cheek. "Thanks for being so worried about me, but Doctor Vale told me I'd know when I was in labor. As long as my water doesn't break, I'm okay."

Duo cringed and waved his hands back and forth. "Okay, okay, I'm not worrying anymore. And stop telling me about this stuff. I was trying to eat, you know."

"Well, then maybe you need to go back to your meal. I'm pretty hungry myself," Lista replied. She turned to Sally. "Thanks again for taking me, Sally. I appreciated the company. It gets pretty scary when I'm by myself."

"Not a problem. Calia Vale is an old friend of mine, so it was nice to see her again," Sally said with a smile. She pressed her hand against Lista's back and urged her over to the crowded table. "Let's get something to eat." The three soldiers walked over to the already-crammed table and Duo offered up his chair to Lista, as well as his plate of untouched food, to which she refused in favor of making her own plate.

"So, you're okay then, Lista?" Noin asked before taking a sip of her water.

Lista was in the middle of taking her first bite of sandwich when her fellow Italian soldier voiced her inquiry. Lista lowered her sandwich, smiled, and nodded. "Fit as a fiddle. I just have to continue keeping myself as calm as possible. Doctor Vale did a quick physical and she said I'm doing well. She also checked on the baby through an ultrasound. Everything is normal. She advised me to take deep, even breaths and sit down when I experience the contractions, and they'll subside after several minutes. She said if they last for longer I should come back just to be sure there are no complications." She took a small, quick bite of her sandwich, making a contented noise deep in her throat. "So, no worries right now. Everything's going well. Quatre would be proud of me."

Duo covered his mouth with a hand, hiding the instant smile that covered his face. He wished he could share the happy news with her, that Quatre would be coming back. He knew he was going to have a harder time keeping it hidden than he thought.

"Well, we're all relieved to know there are no problems with the baby," Trowa spoke up with a smile. He lifted his glass of water and took a large gulp of the cooling beverage. "And it's equally pleasing to know that Merrick knows nothing about it. You've been resilient in staying out of the public eye. You're equal to a celebrity after all the publicity surrounding your sudden removal from office. It's surprising you've had no issues with photographers."

"Well, not quite," Lista giggled as she nibbled on a strawberry. "Normal celebrities don't have Gundam pilots as bodyguards."

Duo was about to sound off a reply when an alarm blared around them, causing all of them to shove themselves from their seats.

"Merrick's forces must be attacking again!" Heero shouted over the alarm. They all crammed into the elevator, rushing to the second floor to check the control panel's readings. Heero and Trowa took the seats and flipped several switches. The alarm faded off to nothing. One of the screens flashed and showed a bleeping radar.

"He has half the amount of mobile dolls as his previous attack," Trowa replied. "That makes no sense."

"It doesn't matter how much sense it makes," Wufei replied. He turned to Zechs. "You shouldn't be needed. Perhaps you should stay behind and act as backup if the situation calls for it. We have to keep damage to a minimum anyway."

"That would probably be best," Lista agreed with a nod. "There's no need to go for overkill when we're already going to be blamed for this whole thing anyway." She turned to Heero, Duo, Trowa, and Wufei. "You better be careful. Watch your backs. Merrick could be trying to outsmart us some way. I'll send Zechs to your aid as soon as it seems like things are getting rough for you."

The Gundam pilots nodded simultaneously and rushed back to the elevator, carrying them to the ground level so they could board their suits. Lista watched from the overhang as the Gundams took off, leaving Sandrock behind. Her eyes fell and she sighed deeply, hoping that Merrick didn't have something malicious planned.

"Don't worry, Lista," Noin spoke up from behind, adjusting a headset over her ear and mouth. She offered her a comforting smile. "From my experience, all of you have always been able to work under pressure, and overcome all odds. I have faith in your friends. I hope you do as well."

Lista smiled weakly and nodded, sitting down in a vacant seat. She fit herself with her own headset and prepared the camera equipment for the coming battle. "I do, Noin. I've never held more faith in anything in my life than I do in my friends. I know they'll come out on top. They always do. They don't know how to fail."

She tuned the three soldiers out, barely hearing Sally asking the Gundam pilots to confirm their communications were fully functional. She stared at the camera for Deathscythe Hell, seeing everything that Duo saw, and silently hoped to herself that the sick feeling barreling in the pit of her stomach was completely unrelated to the battle ahead.