[A.N.] Hello everyone and welcome to our next installment in what I am now terming our "Gundam Gals' Saga. It's a work in progress sort of title as much as the story itself. Anyway, the next five chapters are going to be long and detailed and will touch on a lot of important matters so I thank you in advance for staying with us and I promise that the pay-off will be as sweet as you imagine! That being said, the usual disclaimers apply and I hope you enjoy this insightful chapter! Please R&R!

~Vixen

The hum of the shuttle engines resonated through the small cab giving Duo a bit of a migraine; a fact he had made clear to Trowa several times in the last hour. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in agitation. He considered himself a patient man-in fact, he'd been told so by many people-however, Duo's constant complaining was testing even him.

"I mean," Began his braided friend, "I'm glad to be back in space and all, but why did we have to get stuck doing recon? I bet Hilde's going crazy without her God of Death around."

'Or she appreciates the silence.' Trowa thought, wryly.

"Because we have the most contacts off the grid that might be able to point us in the right direction."

"Yeah, guess so. Still, one solid week of exploring and asking around and not so much as a bread crumb of info doesn't exactly raise my spirits. Of course, they have to be somewhere, right? No one can disappear completely even with an awesome cloaking device." This started him on a rant about how Deathscythe Hell Custom had had the perfect system. Trowa frowned. He never had understood the other pilots' attachments to their suits.

Heavyarms Hadn't been his to being with. It had merely been a useful tool in a time when it had been needed most. Duo's last comment, however, had brought up a concern they all shared. First the break out from the maximum security prison, and then the convicts vanished without a trace. Space was far more vast than earth, and-having exhausted all of their terrestrial informants-space was their last hope. With at least one contact in each colonial cluster they had a lot of ground to cover. Trowa ran a hand through his long bangs and sighed. Even he was feeling the strain of their confinement and he was used to traveling in small vessels.

He actually rather missed the circus. His prolonged absence due to the security issue at Preventer had caused Cathy some grief as the new manager of the traveling troupe. The entire performance line had been given an overhaul. More acrobatics acts had been added along with ribbon performances, and other added stunts to tell a story of sorts. Each move the performers make is one that conveys the hopes, dreams and struggles of the characters being portrayed. The traditional acts with the clowns and animals were still incorporated as was the side show, but for a new era in the world there needed to be a huge change. Less people had been going to the circus and money had begun to be tight. That is when Catherine had the idea to up the stakes and give them something that wasn't often seen in a circus that travels as much as they do. Since then, the revenue had raised high enough to keep their performers more than happy with their pay and the audiences coming back for more.

Trowa, being usually the leading man in their main attraction had left Cathy with no other choice but to use his understudy who was-not to sound vain-but far less charming to the crowd. He'd been told so by the fan-mail he'd received on the few occasions in which he'd been absent.

One good thing had come from his time away: no more blind dates. If he had to go out one more time with a girl whose name sounded like a virtue or a confection of some sort he thought he might actually move during the knife act. He smiled and chuckled softly at that ironic thought.

"I don't see what's so funny." Duo quipped.

"What? Oh, it was nothing."

"Yeah, nothing; like our results out here." Duo reclined back in his seat and pulled his black ball cap down over his face, kicking his feet up onto the dash.

"What's the next stop on our list?" Duo asked. Trowa opened the files of likely locations; one after another checked off with Duo hen-scratch notations and the occasional sarcastic doodle (something they'll both hear about later). Trowa stretched as a large yawn found its way out and glanced at the list.

"We're scheduled to go to the Mars Settlement to check our contacts there. Zechs and Noin should be advised of the situation if they aren't already aware. Maybe the Mayor of Mars might be able to help find what we're looking for."

"Oh yeah, I'd almost forgot that the "Lightning Count" had received a new station following the completion of the terraforming project." The sarcasm in Duo's voice made Trowa shake his head for what seemed like the millionth time.

"It looks like Quatre has a meeting with this particular cluster soon."

"Guess he would since Mars is still technically a sister colony of the local sectors now."

"Yes. He's been trying to continue overseeing the relations between the project's inhabitant and the rest of the colony."

"Well then, let's invite him to the party! The more the merrier. Also this way we only have to give our report once and be done." Duo quipped. Trowa shook his head and patched through to the necessary links to get their meeting scheduled. Before his signal could be sent, however, the warning blip of a possible incoming ship broke the silence. Duo jumped up and taped his fingers in succession across the keypads.

"Whoo hoo! Finally some action! We have a stolen transport shuttle that was reported missing a week ago! Score!"

"Just radio them for identification." Trowa said.

"Attention Transport 101914OCT, this is the Preventer Galactic Police. Turn off your engines and submit to inspection immediately. Any resistance will result in your immediate arrest." They were answered with the flair of their engines roaring to life.

"YEEHAW! Now for the chase!" Trowa smirked. As idiotic as some people might fine such behavior, it was Duo at his best and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"You know, we could just shoot the anti-Vernier grappler and halt their escape."

"Yeah, I know." Duo grinned. "But where's the fun in that?"

The flashing light on his desk told Zechs that this job was never ending as more memos and messages were sent. Yet-for the moment-he ignored it as the vid screen showed a broadcast from Earth of current news. He didn't know how much of what he was hearing he would call news: most stories were misinformed gossip and outright lies. Yet he'd learned long ago that even in lies there were hints of truth. Rumors and speculations were running wild as to where the escaped convicts were and what the current government (mostly Preventer) intended to do about it.

'They were working themselves ragged, that's what they were doing.' He thought to himself as he took a slow sip of his Irish whiskey.

Sitting back in his chair he sighed before reaching for the remote to turn off the devise. He froze however when an image of his sister flashed on the screen. His breath caught in his throat at how beautiful she looked. He couldn't believe how much she looked like their mother. She was so poised and refined it hurt that they were practically strangers to each other. Who was he kidding; they were strangers to each other. Familiar faces attached to unknown souls. The picture was of her dressed up for one of the many dignitary events she was continually going to. He was surprised he didn't see 'what's his name' by her side. Every picture it seemed of her in public had him holding her arm or leading her up towards the entrance of some event. He couldn't say he was upset at the lack of his attendance and he didn't want to admit the comfort of seeing Heero as her shadow that came to him from the second picture they showed.

"Why are you watching that in the dark?" Noin's voice blew through him like a fresh wind. Her voice always cleared away the tendrils of thoughts like spider silk that built up in his mind. It always gave him the clarity he needed when his own thoughts would cloud his judgment. When the images of past mistakes haunted him she gave him protection. She never forced him to face any of those past issues and every moment for the rest of his life he would be thankful for that.

"I like it."

"It makes you seem like a crazed, brooding man." Noin teased as she went to walk past him and turned on the light. She never made it to the switch as he pulled her off balance and then caught her and pulled her onto his lap. He chuckled at her small squeal before gasping as she elbowed him in the gut.

"That's for startling me. What if I had fallen the other way? Your little plan wouldn't have worked as well."

"But you didn't… and it did." He responded as he contained his laughter.

"I'm glad the lights are off now. This way I can't see your smile at my expense. At least you're not broody anymore."

"You know you love it when I'm broody." He whispered in her ear before nuzzling her neck. He grinned at the shiver he felt run down her back and gently bit down on the juncture between her neck and shoulder. Placing his drink down he then wrapped his arms around her pulling her close as she placed her hand under his chin to lift it up for a kiss. The kiss was soft and simple. A loving gesture that settled his soul like her voice cleared his thoughts. She pulled back and looked down at him and even though the room was pitched in shadows he could see the sparkle in her eyes.

"I do love it when you're broody."

"Preventers and Alpha Corp have worked day and night to make this transition of personal security run smoothly. It has been our goal to make this easy and safe for all personnel that will be changing over to the Alpha Initiative. The Khushrenada Estate has always been one that upholds the beauty of the Human Spirit. For a while we had lost our way but with this project and our future endeavors we can protect those that you the people have elected. We are your servants to make sure that the leaders of today can see the improvements, which you voted them in for, come to fruition in the future tomorrows."

It felt like he'd taken a shot of liquid fire and it was running through his veins before settling deep in his gut. They both looked back towards the screen as the camera pulled back to show a one Thiana Khushrenada shaking hands with Lady Une and other politicians as she walked away from the podium. She moved through the crowds, and off of the podium that had been raised for the promotional speech of the Alpha Initiative to the public. Guilt and shame settled like a heavy blanket on his shoulders and the freedom that Noin had given him just moments ago was gone.

He reached over and picked up his glass again and downing the rest of the contents.

"Zechs" Noin's soft voice didn't help this time.

There was too much running through his head and while he wanted to blame the image on the screen he knew it was his entire fault. Memories of dance lessons, jokes, and then stolen kisses flashed by like an old movie. It happened every time he saw her on the screen and it was getting continuously worse. They had been so close, truthfully too close, but in a world of chaos and lies they had been able to trust each other for a short time. Then they had gone their separate ways and everything had fallen apart. They'd ended up drawing a line between them that neither was able or willing to cross. He'd thrown his anger at everyone right at her and turned to Noin.

He sighed rubbing his face in agitation. That wasn't true. That thought made Noin seem like a second place choice. She wasn't; not to him anyway. She was his present and they together were his future. He was a better person because of Noin and only an idiot would give her up for anything else. It's just there was so much in his past he never faced and it all tied to the woman on the screen.

Thiana was an uncontrollable force. She never stopped and nothing seemed to contain her. The only moment he'd seen a crack had been the nightmare in Portugal. The very thought sent a shudder of revulsion through him. He had seen the darkness in her and embraced her as she cried over it. He'd never blamed her for what she'd done but the memory of what she did had never left him. Yet she kept moving on and it was that fact that had started the rift between them. He had put her on a pedestal, enraptured by what she could have been in his mind's eye. Time told a different story, however, tearing her off that pedestal and ripping in back down to reality at the same time. She still was an incredible woman; no one could deny that, but she had chosen to be something he could neither live with, nor accept and for that reason he had had to let her go. He ran; hiding from her and from the world reveling in the safety and peace that Noin's love for him had provided. Yet, she kept going out and facing the world. With all of her past she went out every day and worked to make it better while having to deal with the people she hated while growing up. She did all that and he couldn't even tell her his theory.

He had a chance back before the Barton Attack. He'd meant to but there was just too much going on too much unsaid between them that he had put it off till after. He told her he would find her and then he found Noin again. Everything tilted and fixed itself at that moment and after the war she joined him in going to Mars. How was he to tell her he needed to speak one more time with Thiana? He had been fearful of Noin walking away that he ignored his promise to find Thia and went to Mars.

He shouldn't have. Noin would have waited. He knew that and trusted that now, but it was too late. Every day made it harder and harder to send word to Thiana. The information he needed to tell her was hers to have. He didn't have a right to keep the knowledge from her yet he couldn't bring himself to send word and now it haunted him. She haunted him, and his pride was making the past affect his present.

"Zechs, please talk to me." Noin was worried and she didn't know how to fix a problem she couldn't see. All she knew was that it revolved around Thiana Khushrenada. A humorless laughed echoed in her mind. Would she never be clear of her? Would she never have Zechs to herself? She knew they had a past. Everyone knew the triangle that formed and all had looked at her like the other woman. That wasn't true… The men in her division had more looked at her in sympathy as if to say: give up; no one would win against Thiana.

'I did though' a small voice whispered out of the shadows in her mind. 'No! No! No!' She screamed back. She wasn't going to think like that. Zechs had chosen her. It wasn't a competition.

'Oh really? Who got the ring?' it whispered back. Noin wanted to cry as she looked down at her left hand and saw the shine of simple silver band around her ring finger. This always happened when ever that girl was around or talked about. People's darkness came out. A battle in the mind always had to be waged and sides had to be picked. There could never be a moment of rest around her. History tells of women like this and war always raged around them. It seemed the only safe people were the ones that had already chosen to be on her side. Noin caught sight of Romeo walking just steps behind Thiana and sighed. All of them had gotten free of her control it seemed but one. Noin would never say Thiana was evil or a bad person, but there was a darkness that ran through the core and it had been there since she was twelve. Noin didn't doubt it had been there even before that. Why no one else seemed to see it and instead played on Thiana's chess board amazed and terrified her.

She worried for Relena but only for poor influence. Noin knew Thiana wouldn't hurt Relena but there was the worry about what Relena might do due to her friendship with Thiana. She truthfully couldn't care less what the world did because of Thiana being involved in it. All she cared about was her family. She cared for their safety and she swore she would fight to keep them safe. She remembered training with the girl and living day in and day out with her while they were all at the barracks. Thiana seemed to be able to make you see and question a thousand possibilities and push you to do the most extreme. It normally was the best choice but it also was the most dangerous. Noin had hated that and fought against that influence. It was that influence she was worried about with those she cared about; mainly Zechs. Even from a distance there was that pull and it was strong. Looking back at Zechs she started noticing him watching her instead of the screen. He gently cupped her face running his thumb across her cheek bone.

"I'm sorry about that. I just had a moment." He rested his forehead against hers and she felt a single tear slide down her face as he reached down grasping her left hand and lifted it to his lips to kiss the ring on her finger. "I love you, Lucrezia. More than you could ever know." With that he dropped her hand and gently kissed her before pulling her in tightly against him as the news went on to more local issues.

She curled into his side and settled to hear his heart beat. "I know, and I love you too…" 'and I'll always fight to protect my family.' She thought as she placed one hand on his chest and her other hand over her slightly-bulged stomach in a protective motion as if to ward off any influences from the universe around them.

Trowa stood looking at his watch as he and Duo awaited their mutual blond friend. Quatre was a busy man, especially with his new job as the Foreign Minister of space. It had been a while since they had gotten together as friends to sit and catch up and it would be good to see him again.

"Hey! Q-Man! You finally made it!" Duo bellowed as he waved his hand emphatically.

"Good to see you too, Duo. I came as soon as I got your message, Trowa. It makes sense to have this meeting only once instead of all of us having to meet separately." His friend's warm smile was a highlight to this most uneventful trip.

"We got some goodies stowed on board our ship and a cargo vessel in tow to boot. Where can we leave them?" Quatre showed Duo exactly where to report to and the braided man had no shortage of fun in pushing the two convicts in front of him down the path all the while making it known that he had the superior position.

"I see the journey through space has done nothing to temper his usual jovial nature." Quatre laughed. Trowa nodded.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to be off of that ship myself."

"Well, closed quarters with Duo would most likely make me feel the same way." All pleasantries aside, he knew they had better move on to the reason for the visit.

"Quatre, this trip was a failure. We still have no solid leads and no idea where to begin to look. Even with all of the contacts there's just silence. However, there's fear running through some of the darker channels and that worries me."

"That worries me too. If the lowest of low are scared then this is going to get really bad, and I fear it's going to sneak up on us." Quatre sounded tired but also angry and Trowa looked towards his friend in concern. They all were tired and they all felt stretched thin but this anger felt wrong coming from his friend. He'd noticed a difference for a while now but hadn't had time to really try and figure out what the issue was.

"Perhaps Zechs might know more when we meet up with him." Trowa commented as Duo headed back towards them.

"We can hope." Quatre responded.

Noin walked into Zechs' office and had to control her laughter. If only the universe could see the real 'Lightening Count'. She walked over to his desk and lightly ran her fingers down his cheek. He'd tried to sleep last night but it hadn't worked. After tossing and turning for two hours he'd left stating he was going to work on some rumors that had crossed his desk in preparing for the meeting with Quatre, Trowa, and Duo. However, it seemed at some point fatigue had finally won as he was now snoring softly while leaning back in his chair. He looked so peaceful but the instant she touched his cheek his eyes snapped up and in a few seconds had registered the confusion of where he was and that there were no dangers.

"Hey there, sleepy head."

"Noin…I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in."

"I know. You were sleeping." She teased but then quickly turned serious. "I would have checked on you earlier but there was business that needed taken care of."

"That's fine. I shouldn't have fallen asleep here." He looked back at her and she realized he'd forgotten. "Noin why are you looking at me like that?"

"We have a meeting very soon, and you've forgotten."

"Shit… Quatre, Trowa, and Duo are coming today, dammit." He quickly jumped up righting and collecting papers from all over his desk. Luckily he was normally very neat and it didn't take long for him to put everything back into its proper place.

"Breathe…I'll go and meet them when they arrive and you can join us when you freshen up."

"What would I do without you?" Zechs asked before leaning in for a kiss.

"Oh no, not until you brush your teeth. Seriously, that could be a chemical weapon." She teased before quickly running out of the office knowing she'd be paid back later. She couldn't think about that at the moment though, as work was ever present.

Quatre watched out of the back window as they pulled up in-front of the mayor's office. Duo was continually talking non-stop and he understood why Trowa was glad to be off of the shuttle. Yet he couldn't lie as he actually enjoyed the way the other man's brain could fly through twenty different topics that held no connections and make it seem easy. He needed that ease right now. For some reason, he couldn't gain control of his emotions. He almost groaned at how much of a girl he sounded like saying that but it was true.

Ever since he was little he'd been able to feel the emotions off of others be almost taking them upon himself. He felt their anger, excitement, sadness, pain, even love. He'd always been able to then use that gift to help the people or gain some insight from the feelings; not anymore. He could barely keep control and not go off on some of the idiot politicians that still resided in power. It mostly seemed like the older politicians that had been around before the war caused him the most issues while the newer ones made him want to go beyond his own means to help. Today was turning out to be a bad day. He didn't know why but every time he thought about this coming meeting there was this inner desire to rip flesh…He seriously needed to have a mental evaluation done because he was losing it.

As he stepped out he mentally steeled himself to keep control through this meeting because this was serious. If he could just keep reminding himself what this meeting was really about then he would make it through just fine. He hoped.

"Quatre, Trowa, Duo." Noin called out as they all stepped out of the vehicle. "It's a pleasure to welcome you to Mars and have you here."

"It's good to see you too, Miss Noin." Quatre returned her smile.

"Mrs." She smiled.

"Well, I'll be!" Duo said. "Zechs, finally put a ring on it?!

"What Duo meant to say," Trowa interceded, "was, congratulations, if indeed you did marry Zechs."

"Yes, Miss N… Mrs. Merquise-" Duo stammered

"Relax, Noin is fine. We decided I shouldn't change my name."

"I gave up the name Peacecraft and Merquise was just an alias. I have no right to give her either one." Zechs stated plainly as he made his way towards the group after quickly freshening up. Duo walked up and slapped the older man on the back.

"Congrats to you too, man. You have a great woman by your side. A good woman makes life better" everyone was surprisingly shocked at his seemingly uncharacteristic comment. Yet Noin saw the wolfish grinning forming "But two or three makes it the best!"

"I'll be sure to inform Hilde of that information" Zechs' quiet voice responded and Duo jumped as if electrocuted

"Oh come on now… I was only kidding… Noin make him show pity, please." Everyone laughed at his antics and Noin relaxed hoping the rest of the meeting went as smoothly; a hope that would soon be dashed.

As they all settled down and started working through what had happened in the last month since the escape of the convicts she felt the tension start to build. She didn't know why but Quatre was different. He was darker almost, if that made any sense. He was still working as hard as everyone around the table if not even more but there was something that made her uneasy. So much so she found herself protectively placing her hands in front of her abdomen like she had the night before. The meeting went on for hours as they tried to work through the jumble of information until Duo finally cut in.

"This is ridiculous, how could we have forgotten." He quickly pulled up a new screen and started typing in a new secure website. A simple black page with only a log in and password showed up after quickly entering the information a massive data base and search engine filled the screen.

"How did you get access into the Alpha Corporation?" Zechs asked while leaning in to see more.

"We were offered unlimited access through the partnership and boy did Thiana give us a great tool. If only we'd remember now to use it." Duo quickly started to input all of the rumors and perimeters that they'd discussed to try and find any new clues.

"Why do you think what she created would be any better then what we were already using?" Her comment came out sharper then she had intended and prayed no one had noticed.

"Because somehow she's crazy good at this type of thing. Heero looked over this program forward and backwards and couldn't duplicate the program. Luckily she's offered the system to us in the deal with Preventers and Alpha joining up with protection." As Duo typed, connections started to form in the program and it showed them in such a way that it cleared a lot of the confusion out of what they had previously been working with.

"They're looking for something…" Zechs commented on. "Look at this; a rumor is forming. You'd only need these resources if you were planning on doing long space journeys. Then this item," he pointed at. "This is used for searching in deep space, but what would they be looking for?"

"They're looking for the same thing Perfect Peace had been after…Vulkanus." Quatre stated after a small pause and cursed as he rubbed his face.

"Vulkanus? We destroyed that already. We sent it into the sun with our…" Noin visibly saw the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Damn. We stopped it when we needed to fight Dekim's men."

"What did you do with it after that?" she asked.

"Knowing Q-Man, you probably sent it straight back towards the sun, right?"

"Well uh…" Quatre began. "Actually… I only diverted it from colliding with the sun. I didn't program any new destination."

"Quatre…" Trowa started.

"Then that mean Vulkanus is just drifting aimlessly through space somewhere, and they're heading out to find it." Zechs said.

"Maybe it's collided with some random asteroid or planet." she added, hopefully.

"If it is still out there, we need to find it again and get to it before they do." Trowa stated and received nods in agreement.

"The militant resources on that satellite alone could provide for any army."

"We should question the hijackers we caught. They might be easy enough to gain some information from and see if they are connected." Duo added. "Now that I think about it, the men were a little young to be professional thieves which meant most likely that they were recently hired."

"If they were caught this easily it's unlikely they know much, but I wouldn't count out the possibility. I'll set up the questioning"

"Whatever the case, we need to find out what exactly is going on before whatever it is they're planning has a chance to really get going." Trowa added sternly.

"It's a good thing Preventer did make a deal with ALPHA Corp. If we're going to have to send out massive searches we would never have the man-power or resources to go out following all these leads without them." Duo stated

Noin hated the fact that everything seemed to rely on Thiana's gracious nature. Treize had been the same way and then he had used it against everyone. As the meeting broke up and everyone started to go their separate ways she noticed Zechs walk over to talk privately with Quatre.

"I saw that you had recently been at the presentation on earth about the Alpha Initiative."

"Is there a question in that statement, Zechs?" Noin looked back and forth between the two men and could feel the line drawn. She had no idea what had just happened but something was off and again it revolved around Thiana. She didn't know why but there was a look of guilt on Zechs' face and anger on Quatre's. She wondered if even they knew why. Zechs looked down and grabbed his cigarette and lighter, Noin grabbed his shoulder and moved behind him and Quatre stared at Zechs.

"I was wondering if you had interacted with Relena, and how she was doing." Zechs asked as he lit the end of his cigarette.

"Is that all you're asking?" Quatre inquired before looking back at Noin and took a breath. "I don't want to push but I feel you have something else you want to ask and right now I'm not in the mood for beating around the bush."

"How is she?" Zechs asked, still unable to look up. The tone of his voice held a sense of familiarity and perhaps an air of regret? Quatre perked up at this question, almost defensively.

"You don't mean Relena, do you?" Quatre pushed and Noin felt the tension increase.

"No, at least, not just Relena. You know I lived with Treize before the war. Trained under him. Noin did also. We spent many years with Thiana and I was wondering how she was fairing."

"I'm not trying to be rude to either of you, but why not call and ask both of them yourselves. Relena is your sister and I know she'd love to hear from both of you mostly about your two great pieces of news" He looked at her as if to say he knew she was pregnant but Zechs was clueless. "Also if you spent so many years with Thiana, I'm sure she'd welcome your call." Noin couldn't believe the protectiveness coming off of Quatre-not just for Relena who was his friend-but also for Thiana who she didn't even think he really knew. How could that one girl always get people to stand for her? Quatre sighed as Rashid stepped up to his side.

"They're both doing well; Relena is settling into her position beyond anyone's expectation, and Thiana is traveling around the earth to personally see to the installation of the ALPHA initiative for each client at last I heard. Rumors are that in the Spring she'll be touring through the colonies to not only help install guards for the space representatives, but to also start a another school out in space.

"She'll be in outer space?" The tone of Zechs's voice bordered on hopeful, but still held that mournful tone. Noin had all but turned into a statue.

"Yes, she will be, but I'm sure she'll be very busy. Whenever Relena travels in space she hardly has time for side-stops, I'm sure Thiana will be much the same way." Zechs looked up and locked eyes with the young politician. There was a fire, and a tension that stemmed from a new unspoken challenge. The interactions had built to a tensions level that had now caused Duo and Trowa to watch with concerned looks. Noin caught Duo shoot Trowa a look of confusion and Trowa merely shrugged in response. Whatever was going on, Noin could tell, no amount of curiosity made Duo eager enough to cross these two men.

"Perhaps we need ALPHA Corp. here on Mars."

"Well, I'm sure her secretary would be glad to receive the message for her."

"Hey, you know what? It would be awesome if we contacted Preventer and let them know what we found out! What do you think, huh?" Duo cut in. Noin found herself more than grateful for the change in subject. It was clear he had no desire to let this would-be argument flame to life; not while he was in striking range.

"Duo's right." Trowa said, quickly. "The sooner we tell Lady Une what we've found the sooner we can begin the full-scale investigation."

"I'll join you two. I need to let Lady Une know where I had intersected last with Vulkanus." Quatre responded before giving a slightly bow to both of them which was his usual costume on leaving a meeting. "Good-day, it was really good to see you again Mrs. Noin." With that he turned to leave with Duo and Trowa waving and leaving behind him.

"Zechs?" Noin asked

"I'm sorry, that got out of hand at the end. I shouldn't have asked that here."

"I'm just confused. I know there was something between you and her before the war but is it still there?"

"Noin, know this, you are my future. That is my past, but you know I've never been good at dealing with the past. Please, trust in me." Noin sighed and looked down.

"I always have." She said. He walked up and kissed her forehead gently. She closed her eyes savoring the brief contact.

"Now I need to set up the questioning." Noin just nodded in response before he walked away.