Chapter 38: Victoria Lake

Dorothy-

Dorothy Catalonia wasn't a bad person. Not really. At least, she didn't think so. It wasn't her fault that she liked to see people fighting, her family had raised her with the idea that fighting and war were glorious expressions of life. It wasn't her fault that no one around her could see what a threat she was. If she were someone else, Dorothy was certain she'd be able to see how dangerous she was and stop herself.

Of course, Dorothy couldn't say that it was anyone else's fault that she was the way she was. Her mother had been kind and gentle. Her father was soft spoken and loving. She'd grown up in one of the most loving homes in the world and, yet, here she was. Plotting the death of her cousin, Nasutei.

"I don't want it to be quick," Dorothy told her companion thoughtfully. "If she has to die, then I want her to feel every possible sensation before she leaves us. I always rather liked Nasutei. It was just be a waste for her to die without feeling something. A pointless waste." If there was one thing Dorothy couldn't stand, it was waste. After all, there was a purpose for everything. Fate, if you will.

"That won't be a problem, I'm sure." Badamon's ghostly image hung perfectly still in the air as he watched her. At least, Dorothy was pretty sure Badamon was a he. It was hard to tell. "You are quite possibly the most ruthless human I've ever met, Dorothy. I feel certain you will be able to come up with a suitable death for your cousin. My ally shall be here soon." Badamon was saying.

"What ally?" Dorothy looked up from her fingernails that she was painting. "I thought you wanted Earth for yourself?"

"No." Badamon answered. "I want humanity to survive. After all, my people live on the negative emotions of you ningens, so it would be rather foolish to kill them all, now wouldn't it? This ally has recently had an embarrassing defeat on the battlefield and has no where to hide in the Youja Kai. I've offered him sanctuary here in return for his services. Not that we really need him, but I find it amusing to have him in my power."

Dorothy went back to painting her fingernails. She could understand his reasoning. Dorothy was sure that if she found something that could amuse her, she'd do anything to get it, also. As it was, she'd put up with Badamon's new servant or whatever he was. "By the way," Dorothy said. "I haven't heard a thing about what Treize is going to do now that our grandfather's been murdered. I wonder what he's planning." She'd expected him to do something by this time.

"You are sure he will react?" Badamon was getting overly concerned at the rapidly passing time. He wanted war and he wanted it now. "Perhaps he is like you, unfeeling. I have seen him and he is cold seeming."

"Oh, yes, he'll react. Treize just acts like that to lull his enemies into a sense of safety. He's really very passionate, he just doesn't like it to show. Treize is the kind of person who likes to wait and plan out his strategy. He's probably trying to pin this crime to me as we speak."

"You don't sound very worried."

"I'm no more worried than I am afraid of him. Treize will find out that it was me, but by then we'll have killed Nasty." After blowing on her nails to dry them a bit, Dorothy continued. "After Nasty is dead, then we'll kill Treize."

Badamon spoke up, concerned. "Treize controls the military, it would be wiser to kill him first. His sister is a mere woman and of no concern."

"I beg to differ." When she saw that her nails were finally finished drying Dorothy began to get ready for school, making sure her uniform was perfect and her hair was neat. "Treize is smart enough, and his word does control the army, I'm told, but Nasty has a great deal of sway over him. He'll do nearly anything she asks or suggests. I want Nasty safely out of the way before we start anything big." She smiled at her image in the mirror. It was a daily routine, making sure that she was smiling before she left the dorm room. "Without her, I'm sure Treize will lose his mind."

Dorothy was leaving her dorm room, but stopped just as she reached the door. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Badamon. "By the way, I just received news that Nasty is pregnant. You'll get two deaths for the price of one."

"Excellent. I would ask your reasoning for this desire for battle." Badamon floated a bit closer to Dorothy. "Why kill your own kin?"

Dorothy's smile brightened. "Why not?"

Wufei-

Wufei had never been so insulted in his entire life, nor had he ever been speechless. But, that was the reason why he and Treize were glaring at each other in complete silence in Treize's office. It went on like this, a dreadful silence that nothing seemed able to break, for the longest time. Wufei couldn't believe that not only was Nasty pregnant, but that HE was being told that he was the father.

Father. Even though Wufei knew he wasn't the father, he couldn't deny the appeal of the title.

After Meiran's death, he'd given up hope of ever having children. Now, if Nasty let him, Wufei was perfectly willing to be a father figure for her baby. Just think, he told himself. It'll be a boy. A young, strong boy and I'll teach him how to be a warrior. Teach him to use a sword and how to be a gentleman. Then again, it might be a girl. A sweet girl, like Nasty with her mother's eyes and I could read to her. Wufei would have been tempted to slide into a blissful paternal daze, if it weren't for Treize's penetrating glare.

"We're going to have to do something about this." Treize said, finally breaking the silence.

Wufei had to give the man credit for his self-control. If it had been some member of Wufei's family that had been dishonored, he didn't think he'd be able to speak calmly about it. "I will not accept blame for something I haven't done." Wufei told him firmly. "I am not her child's father."

"Who did it, isn't the issue anymore," Treize said tightly. Clearly, it was an issue for him, but he seemed to be trying to move passed it. "The problem to deal with, is what you are going to do now." His narrow eyes never left Wufei. "You are important to my sister, I think you know that. Now that she's going to have a baby, and she will keep the child if I know my sister, what are you going to do? Are you planning to run away and just leave her? She's not wanting for money or friends to support her, so you don't have to feel guilty about that." Treize stood behind his desk, but as he spoke, he leaned forward, his gloved hands clenching on the edge of the desk. "I need to know your answer, so I know how to deal with the situation. I won't try to change your mind, no matter what your choice is, but I need to know."

"I never run away from anything." Wufei said stoutly. "I'm certainly not going to run away from Nasty when she needs me." Wufei wasn't afraid to say that, he was surprised to find. Treize was right, he cared for Nasty a great deal and he was even thinking that he might want to make their casual relationship more... formalized someday.

Treize nodded briskly, apparently accepting what Wufei said. "Has Quatre told you about my proposal for you and your fellow Gundam pilots?"

Wufei nodded. "About us becoming your personal body guards? Yes. It goes against my training, I'll have you know. I was trained for a very long time to kill you. Not overthrow some government, but to kill you. It was my part of the mission."

"Yes. I worked that out. But there is no mission anymore, is there? If there were, you've had plenty of opportunity to kill me by now."

Wufei shook his head. "No. The mission is over. We've killed the men who trained us and," Wufei couldn't stop the satisfied little smile. "Duo and I made sure that Septum man won't be doing anymore evil."

Treize allowed a small smirk show through. "So... that was you two, was it? One of my men found Septum earlier and reported a rather... messy death. I suppose I'll have to find a way to thank Duo." He paused. "So, will you accept my offer of employment?"

"Yes." Wufei didn't have to think to hard about it. He needed a way to support himself and this would also give him a way to stay near Nasty and her baby. He could make some decent money and not be dependent on his aunt for a place to live. After all, she was going to be overworked enough just trying to take care of the restaurant and keep Xiu in school and take care of Lai. "Although, if I don't approve of your administration, I will leave." Wufei warned. "I suppose you'll be better than the Alliance. You couldn't do much worse."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Treize said dryly. He leaned back in his chair and swiveled around and looked out the window to where Wufei could still see several of Treize's OZ troops keeping watch.

"They're here because of your grandfather, right?"

"Yes." Treize said softly.

"Do you miss him?" Wufei didn't know why he asked. Normally, he kept himself out of the personal lives of others, but it seemed appropriate to ask. After all, this did concern Nasty, too.

"No." Treize answered, his voice still calm and soft. "I suppose you think that makes me sound monstrous. Our grandfather was a very good man, both intelligent and kind. He loved Nasty more than I could possibly tell you."

"Just Nasty?"

Treize turned away further, until Wufei could see only the back of his chair. "Grandfather raised Nasty after our parents died. Our paternal grandmother raised me. I didn't know grandfather enough to miss him, I really didn't even know him. What I do know is that Nasty loved him as much as she did our father. I will have his murderer found for Nasty. Not for myself."

"I won't abandon her," Wufei repeated, his voice hard with determination. "I will always protect her."

And they lapsed into silence again, with a bit less tension now that their positions had been clarified.

Naaza-

While Treize and that Wufei boy were talking, Naaza was about to have his second nervous breakdown in just under two weeks. Nasty had run from the room in tears, followed closely by Noin and Zechs, leaving Naaza and Anubisu stunned.

"Naaza? What's wrong?" Duo asked, putting a hand on Naaza's arm. Naaza blinked and slowly looked down at the wide eyed Duo. Amazing. He still looked like an innocent child sometimes, despite everything that life had thrown at him. "You look kind of weird. Well, weirder than usual."

Naaza spun around and grinned widely at Duo, showing off his fangs. The expression must have startled Duo, because he stepped back a pace. "Wrong? Wrong?!" Naaza threw back his head and laughed wildly. Without warning, Naaza seized Duo by the arms, like he used to when Duo had been a small child, and swung him around in a circle, lifting Duo completely off his feet. "Nothing's wrong!" He burst into mad laughter.

Duo, who was used to such rough play from his brothers, but not by serious Naaza, was, at best, amused.

"Okay!" Duo shouted, looking over his shoulder dizzily as he was spun around. "I think oniisan has finally gone off the deep end." Nevertheless, Duo laughed happily until Naaza let him down near Ryou. Unable to stop himself, Naaza grabbed Ryou, too, and pulled both of his little brothers into a tight hug.

Pulling a gun from somewhere, Heero didn't look in the least bit amused. Naaza saw Heero's hand tighten around the gun, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He hadn't ever felt so happy. Maybe it was because he'd never realized what he'd had until Sh'ten had died and he'd felt how much he'd lost.

"Naaza," Duo laughed Naaza let him and Ryou go. "What's got into you?"

"Love's gotten into me!" Naaza replied, barely able to hold back the tears of happiness. "Love and hope and the answer to my prayers!" He jumped over the couch where Quatre and Trowa were sitting, making them both duck, and slammed into Anubisu, kissing him hard on the lips. "We can't just stand here!" Naaza pushed himself away from a vaguely disappointed Anubisu and started for the door. "Let's go see our new mother."

While Ryou and Duo still both looked confused, Naaza turned on his heel and sprinted out the door in the direction Nasty had gone with Anubisu fast on his heels.

BE CAREFUL. Anubisu warned when he caught up to Naaza. WE DON'T KNOW HOW SHE'LL REACT TO ALL THIS.

I'LL BE CAREFUL. Naaza promised, though his mind wasn't on what Anubisu was saying. HOW CAN SHE BE ANYTHING BUT HAPPY, THOUGH? SHE'S GOING TO GIVE BIRTH TO ONE OF THE MOST SAVAGE WARRIORS OF ALL TIME. WHAT'S THERE TO BE UPSET ABOUT? Naaza beamed happily, virtually skipping down the hall and getting strange looks from both Duo and Ryou who knew his normal personality.

NAAZA, YOU'RE FRIGHTENING THE CHILDREN. Anubisu had to bite back a laugh. His happiness about Sh'ten's future rebirth was more than a little obvious.

Before anyone else could say a word, Naaza and Anubisu were at Nasty's bedroom door. It was slightly ajar and Naaza chose to take that as meaning he could enter, despite the desolate sobbing coming from within.

When Naaza threw open the door, Nasty was sitting on her bed, crying into her arms with Zechs and Noin sitting on either side of her. Zechs was half-leaned over, whispering something into Nasty's ear while Noin rubbed her back soothingly. Noin looked up irritably at the unwanted visitors, but Naaza didn't care. Let Anubisu handle his woman, Naaza had eyes only for Nasty right now.

Naaza hit the floor on his knees, kneeling before her and looked into Nasty's tear stained face with tears of his own. "Thank you," he said simply in a voice that was hoarse with emotion. He found that he could barely get the words out as he looked at Nasty. Yes, even looking mussed up from the ordeal she was undergoing, Naaza could see her inborn beauty and he wondered why he'd never noticed before. Of course, the mother of Sh'ten would be beautiful. She couldn't be any other way.

Will Sh'ten look like her? Naaza wondered, staring into Nasutei's eyes. He studied the fine line of her cheekbone and her aristocratic nose. Will he still look like he used to? What if he's born a girl this time? That last thought made him pause as his brain stalled. Naaza suddenly pictured Sh'ten with large, womanly breasts and broke out in a cold sweat. My beautiful Sh'ten...with breasts? Ewwww.

"Thank you?" Nasutei wiped her face with her hand. "What for?"

Shaking his thoughts away from the disturbing image of Sh'ten wearing as a woman, Naaza didn't answer, but put a hand out to touch her still flat stomach. That would change in a very short time, he knew. Soon she'd be plump and swollen. He could practically feel Sh'ten presence growing as every moment of his new life passed. When he touched her, Naaza barely knew that Nasutei jerked away from his touch. "You've given me a reason to keep living."

"What are you talking about?" Noin demanded. She was sitting beside Nasutei with one hand on Nasutei's shoulder, like a protective dog, and watched Naaza wearily, though her guard went down slightly since Anubisu there, too. For the first time, Naaza didn't resent Anubisu and Rajura's growing attraction to this girl. After all, he could hardly begrudge them a love when he was getting Sh'ten back.

Anubisu answered for Naaza, seeing that Naaza was really in no condition to answer for himself. "Don't be afraid, Nasutei-sama. We've just heard about your good news and we wanted you to know we are here to support you."

"Then tell the Jolly Green Giant to get his paws off her." Noin said sharply as Naaza started to rub Nasutei's belly lovingly. "He looks like he's about to start purring and it's making me nervous." Her sour look softened slightly when Anubisu sat next to her on the bed and sat as closely as possible without actually touching her. That would be disrespectful, after all.

"I do apologize, Nasty-san," Anubisu said, smiling along with Naaza. "It's just such wonderful news, we're very pleased for you."

"Wonderful?" Nasty asked in disbelief. "I'm going to be an unwed mother. Alright, so it's not a stoning offense anymore, but it's not exactly respectable." She sniffed miserably. "I wish this had never happened!"

Anubisu and Naaza didn't have to exchange looks or even thoughts when they answered simultaneously, "No!" They looked at her, horrified that she might be unhappy with being a mother. "You can't mean that." Anubisu protested. "Being unwed is not the end of the world and there are far worse things. We have lived without children for many centuries. Until Kay, Duo, and Ryou came into our lives, we thought we'd never have children." There was remembered despair in his voice and Naaza remembered how badly Anubisu had felt that they'd never be able to have children, even if they'd brought women to the Youja Kai. Not because of any of Arago's rules, but because of what they were. The yoroi wouldn't allow it. Since the yoroi made them ageless, their bodies were tricked into believing that they didn't need to have children.

"We've not had the chance to see children in a very long time, it seems like a miracle." Naaza added. He, like Anubisu, had also felt the sadness of being informed that you'd never be able to have children. "I was never fond of children until I realized I would not be able to have any. Then... it felt like my heart had been crushed. Be pleased, and proud, that you are going to be a mother. Not everyone is so fortunate as you."

"Children are to be worshipped and treasured. We are going to be around quite a bit and we'd like to offer you our services." Anubisu went to sit at Nasutei's side, smiling charmingly at Noin as he did. "Every child needs male role models and we'd like to be... well... sort of big brothers for him."

Naaza actually started to laugh at that, even when Anubisu kicked him away from Nasutei because he was starting to paw her again. GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! Anubisu told Naaza sternly. WE'RE NOT ALONE. EVERYONE FOLLOWED US TO SEE WHAT WORKED YOU UP SO MUCH. To Nasutei, Anubisu said, "Forgive him. Naaza gets emotional sometimes."

Naaza didn't even have to turn around to know that everyone was standing in or near the doorway to find out what was going on, except Treize and Wufei who had other concerns.

Anubisu reached over Noin and patted Nasty's stomach, lovingly. "Don't worry, we'll be the best big brothers you could ever want." Then he looked up at Nasutei who'd said barely a word the entire time. "You will want for nothing so long as we are around, Nasutei-sama. We will take care of you."

Zechs said, "Nasty has everything she could want. There is nothing you could give her that she doesn't already have and nothing you could do for her that Treize or I can't do for her."

With a soft chuckle, Anubisu shook his head. "We shall see." He didn't want to give away to much information about them, but the very idea that any mortal could do so good a job fighting as a Ma-Sho was laughable.

"You all need some new clothes." Noin announced suddenly changing the subject, out of the blue. She looked at them both, eyeing their light armor critically. "If you're going to be staying for a while, what you're wearing won't do. You need to look more casual, especially if you're going to be blending in."

Naaza, being told he had to do something by a mere ningen, scowled. "Do I look like the sort of person who cares about blending in?" He thought to himself, How dare she try to tell a Ma-Sho what to do or what to wear?! We've been dressing like this for centuries, so if she thinks she can just order us about...

"Okay!" Anubisu agreed, quickly with a bright smile. "What do you want us to wear?"

Naaza hissed angrily, though he still had a hand on Nasutei's belly and the other hand reached up to scratch his itchy cheek. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? He demanded of his brother. SINCE WHEN DO WE TAKE ORDERS FROM NINGENS?

It was Rajura who answered, surprisingly. LEAVE HIM ALONE, NAAZA. I SEEM TO RECALL -SOMEONE- GETTING A TATTOO BECAUSE A CERTAIN RED HEAD ASKED HIM TO. YOU'RE IN NO POSITION TO TELL ANUBISU HOW TO TREAT NOIN-SAMA. Even though Rajura's words were light, his thoughts were darker, telling Naaza and Anubisu that he was upset about something, but unwilling to talk about it right now.

Rajura walked into the room, smiling at both women even as his mind spoke to his brothers. Since he'd left his mind open to them, both Naaza and Anubisu knew what had gone on in the Youja Kai and the reason for Kenbukyou's summons. Naaza wasn't very happy about it, but even he couldn't see the point in getting all worked up since Sh'ten was going to be reborn. It was a loss, but it was only the loss of a mortal shell, not the true person Sh'ten was.

"I see you got rid of that annoying little Phadra thing," Noin commented. "What was that all about and where'd you go?"

Rajura hesitated for a moment before answering. "It was a family matter, Noin-sama. Nothing at all for you to be worried about. However, I do see your point. We will have to learn to fit into this modern world and that'll be difficult as we are. We have much to learn, I think, and much to change about our appearance."

WHAT IS IT WITH YOU TWO AND THAT WOMAN? Naaza asked, virtually gluing himself to Nasutei's side. WHY IS SHE SO IMPORTANT? SHE'S NOTHING SPECIAL.

AH, Rajura answered, BUT SHE IS. DON'T YOU SEE IT? Though Rajura was speaking to Zechs about something trivial, his mind was focused on Noin. SHE KNOWS THAT WE'RE DIFFERENT. SHE KNOWS AND SHE DOESN'T CARE. IT DOESN'T MATTER TO HER.

Naaza could feel Rajura's pleasure in that.

DOES SHE CARE ABOUT YOUR HAIR OR YOUR SKIN? HAS SHE EVEN ONCE LOOKED AT YOU WITH DISGUST LIKE YOUR OWN FATHER DID? SHE SAID NOTHING AT ALL WHEN SHE SAW ANUBISU AS A WOLF. I THINK THAT'S RATHER SPECIAL, DON'T YOU?

Naaza, for once, couldn't find it in himself to disagree. Rajura had a very good point. I'll try to be...nice. I suppose. BY THE WAY, HAVE YOU TOLD HER ABOUT YOU TWO, YET? YOU AND ANUBISU, I MEAN.

I WAS JUST GETTING TO THAT. Even Rajura's incredible control over his mind couldn't quite hide how nervous he was as he approached. First, Rajura stopped at Naaza's side where Naaza was still sitting on the floor at Nasty's feet. He put a hand on Naaza's shoulder and leaned down, kissing him on the mouth. It wasn't a terribly passionate kiss, but it was one that showed very definitely that they were closer than even brothers.

Next, when Noin's eyes were wide as saucers, Rajura casually stepped around Naaza and Nasty until he was standing over Anubisu. Throwing modesty to the wind, Rajura straddled Anubisu's legs and sat on his lap, putting them in a very intimate position. He petted Anubisu's hair before leaning down and giving his lover a VERY passionate kiss.

It was a show, of course. Rajura and Anubisu were both far to bashful to do this sort of thing in public as a rule, but this was for Noin's benefit. Rajura must have gotten tired of pussy footing around. Naaza told himself. He's decided that if she's going to know, it's better for her to know now.

Naaza watched Noin while Rajura tried to see how far down he could get his tongue down Anubisu's throat. At first she was shocked, her eyes nearly popping out of her head, but then, as reality sunk in. Her face fell. Realization was truly painful and Naaza knew that she thought she'd had it all wrong. She thought she'd been wrong when she thought Anubisu was interested in her.

That changed, however, when Rajura released Anubisu from the lip-lock and leaned over to where Noin was still sitting at Anubisu's side. He gently took her face with one hand and held her steady while he moved towards her, still sitting on Anubisu's lap.

"Wha... ?" Noin said, blushing when Rajura's intention became obvious, but she couldn't seem to quite grasp it.

Rajura said nothing before he kissed her. It wasn't anything nearly so passionate as he'd given Anubisu, or even the familiar, loving kiss he'd given Naaza. It was a chaste kiss, but his meaning couldn't be missed.

"Is he always so friendly?" Zechs asked, clearly disapproving.

"Usually more so." Naaza answered. He was still in a good mood, so he smirked at the masked man. "Why? Are you feeling lonely, bird-man? Do you want a kiss, too?"

"From him? Thank you, no." Zechs was clearly a very prim and proper sort of man.

When Rajura finally let Noin go, she was dazed and blinked several times before her eyes refocused.

"Ohhhh. Now I get it." She said. Very slowly, a silly grin spread across her face and she looked between Anubisu and Rajura. "I think I could get used to this. Does he kiss as good as you do?" Noin pointed at Anubisu while looking at Rajura.

"Better." Anubisu replied without a hint of modesty.

"Hmmm." Noin looked at Anubisu. "I think you'll have to prove it to me sometime."

"A pleasure, my lady."

Shin-

Shin held the phone away from his ear and winced as the yelling continued, on and on and on. He waited almost ten minutes before the yelling began to soften and finally faded entirely. Cautiously, Shin put the phone back to his ear. "Cathy? Are you done hollering?"

"NO!"

Her screech startled Shin, but this time he didn't take the phone away from his ear.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Cathy demanded. "What are you thinking? You're joining OZ? Shin, you're sixteen, you're not old enough to drive, you're certainly not old enough to be a soldier of any kind! I can't believe this! Where the Hell is Trowa?"

"Cathy, please, just listen. A lot's happened since you left and this is kind of necessary." Shin was trying very hard to keep his temper. As much as he loved his sister, she did tend to get a bit overprotective sometimes. He opened his mouth to tell her what had happened since she'd left him on Earth, but quite honestly didn't know where to start.

"Well?" Cathy asked sharply. "I'm waiting for your explanation. What makes joining the army so necessary?"

Shin decided to just jump in with both feet. Sink or swim. "Both of my male lovers are going and I want to stay with them."

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Finally, "Both? Male?" Shin could almost see Cathy trying to come to grips with this. "I can understand you having a boyfriend, Shin. After all, this isn't the dark ages. But two?"

"Yeah. Two. Do you want to meet them?"

For a moment, Shin thought that she'd refuse and just hang up on him. His heart stopped and he didn't breathe until she answered. "Yes, I think I do. I'll arrange it with the ringmaster and I'll be on Earth in about two weeks."

When he hung up, Shin let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He smiled and clapped his hands together. "Thank God that's over with. Now the hard part. Shopping with Naaza."

Touma-

How did I get roped into this? Touma asked himself as he stood with his back against a wall and waited patiently for his charge, Rajura, to come out of the dressing room.

"Because Shin's taking Naaza and Xiu's taking Anubisu." Kitty had informed him about an hour ago. "Wufei is helping Mama Fan in the kitchen to make a very big lunch. Seiji's talking with Noin and Zechs about getting a glass eye and some cosmetic surgery. Noin and Nasty are taking Kay out. Heero's working on some way to better hide our Gundams. Ryou and Duo have taken Byakuen and Kokuen-Oh hunting. That leaves you the only available person left." Kitty concluded at last.

"What about you?" Touma demanded. Quatre had been laying around now for the longest time and he certainly didn't look hurt anymore.

Quatre smirked. "I'm still injured." He made his eyes get as big as possible to make himself look pitiful. "You can't be asking me to get up and go out shopping now, can you? Sniff. I need my rest." He pulled the blankets up to his chin.

"My heart pumps maple syrup up hill in February for you." Touma rolled his eyes at Quatre's obvious acting. "What about him?" This time, Touma pointed at Trowa who was sitting at Quatre's side. "He's not doing anything, he's just sitting there."

"I'm going to Mama Fan's restaurant to get some things she needs for herself and Lai." Trowa said, speaking up for himself. "She's been here for a while without any change of clothes or Lai's toys. It's not fair to either of them since she's taking care of everyone."

Now, at the mall, Touma sighed heavily. "I hate shopping." The absurdity of the whole situation was just to much to bear. Taking demonic warriors out shopping. It was just... silly.

"Are you certain this is fashion?" Rajura asked, emerging from the dressing room in the clothes Touma had picked out for him: red and green Hawaiian shirt, purple pants, canary yellow shoes, and orange Panama hat.

"It looks fine to me," Touma concluded. "You want a tie to go with that? Kitty says all respectable men wear ties and I saw a nice one with yellow smiley faces all over it." Touma found himself liking the illusion master. He couldn't even say why, except that Rajura seemed to be the type of person who played by his own rules and Touma admired that in people. Even though Rajura wanted them to help start a war...

NOT START A WAR. Xiu's voice interrupted. WE'RE GOING TO FINISH IT BEFORE IT STARTS AND SAVE LIVES.

YOU BELIEVE THAT? Touma asked, still not sure.

YEP. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT ANY GOVERNMENT WILL BE BETTER THAN THE ALLIANCE.

Touma knew he shouldn't have asked. Xiu was more than a little bias when it came to the Alliance and for good reason. They'd slaughtered most of his family.

Shin interjected, BUT WE'LL STILL HAVE TO FIGHT. I HATE FIGHTING. BESIDES, I STILL HAVE TO TALK TO CATHY AND TELL HER WHAT'S GOING ON.

YEAH, Touma agreed. I STILL HAVE TO TALK TO RASHID AND ABDUL. OH, DEAR. He turned slightly away from Rajura to see an immensely tall man built like a brick wall and a smaller man wearing sunglasses. He felt his stomach start to churn. Coincidence was such a pain. WELL, NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW, I GUESS.

Neither Rashid nor Abdul looked happy. Touma felt a pang of guilt for all the worry he must have put them through. He'd pretty much run away when they'd brought Kitty home after the kidnapping.

"Problem?" Rajura, no fool, had obviously seen Touma's slightly panicked looked at finding his furious foster fathers stalking down the aisle of the men's department.

"Parents." Touma admitted, not taking his eyes off the quickly approaching pair. He swallowed hard.

"Ah." Rajura turned and quickly started walking away. "I'll find you later. Good luck."

"What?!" Touma gave Rajura a betrayed look. "You're just going to leave me here alone?"

"Do I look like a fool? Of course I am. Besides, yelling grates on my nerves." With that, he vanished behind a corner and was gone.

"Where the Hell have you been?!" Rashid thundered when he reached Touma, nearly shaking with anger.

"Oh." Touma gave what he hoped was a winning smile that instead came out more like a watery grin. "Did I forget to call?"

Rashid looked like he wanted to haul Touma over his knee and give him a spanking, but, with a lot of effort and will-power, stopped himself. "You have a lot of explaining to do, young man." Rashid said though gritted teeth.

"First off, are you alright?" Without warning, Abdul pulled Touma into a tight hug. "We were so worried." Touma hadn't realized it until just then, not being big on hugging and such, he hadn't noticed that he was now as tall as Abdul. For some reason that made Touma rather sad.

"Yeah." Touma said, hugging Abdul back. "I'm fine. Got a long story to tell, but I guess other than that, I'll live."

"What kind of story?"

"Do you believe in faery tales?"

Later-
Treize-

Treize wasn't sure what the noise was, except that there was a thundering down his hallway and one of his grey clad soldiers burst into his office. "Sir, we have a problem."

"What kind of problem, Major Falls?" Major Falls was one of the higher-ranking people in OZ. He was, in fact, in charge of the operations here at Treize's house and was the one all the OZ soldiers answered to. He, in turn, answered only to Zechs and Treize.

"Well, two problems, really. First off, one of your guests, the blue haired boy, is back and has two extra people with him who are demanding to see, and I quote, 'The evil leech that sucks scum off the belly of worms, Kushranada.' I think they mean you, sir. One of them is rather large and they're both armed. The blue haired boy says they won't hurt anyone, but I don't think I quite trust that. Both gentlemen seem quite, er, irritated."

"I see." Actually, Treize didn't see, but it was best to look confident. "And the second problem?"

Major Falls stiffened and his normally good-humored face turned dark. "We've heard rumors that you're getting a transfer, General." In his face there was a mix of accusation and fear. It was understandable. If Treize were to leave his post as the commander of OZ, there was no telling who would take charge and what would be done to them.

"Who is 'we'?" Treize asked. It was the first rumor he'd heard of a transfer. Someone would be trying to move him to a harmless position, probably pushing pencils somewhere or counting paper clips.

"The rumor has traveled through most of the base, sir."

Treize didn't both to ask how they'd found out about this before he had. After all, he got most of his information through his intelligence gatherers in OZ. It was only natural that they were privy to the best gossip.

"If I am to be transferred, you can reassure everyone that I will refuse. I will stay with OZ."

"And if your superiors give you no choice, sir?"

Treize thought before he answered. "Then I will obey my orders, of course." Treize gave Major Falls a reassuring smile. "No matter where they put me, Major, I will always belong to OZ. Besides, I still have my grand plan and I trust that no matter who they replace me with, OZ will be ready to back me up."

"Unless they disband us, sir."

"If they do," Treize felt a sudden flare of pride in him about his troops. They were the refuse of the military, but they were his! "If they try to separate you, you will all find a place at my own home. If I have to personally build a barracks with my own money, you will stay together."

Major Falls' dark expression lightened at Treize's words. "Thank you, sir. Now, what about these visitors? Would you like us to get rid of them? They are causing something of a disturbance and I think they may be prone to violence."

"That's the understatement of the century." A new voice, heavily accented, came from the doorway as it was flung open. In the doorway was the single largest man Treize had ever seen. He filled the doorway and more, ducking his head as he came in. His hands could have easily palmed Treize's head and his arms were as big around as Treize's thighs. "Now, Mr. Kushranada, what exactly have you been doing with my son all this time?!" His enraged voice felt like it was close to shaking the room, but Treize had not gotten where he was in life by being intimidated by others.

Treize made a show of looking behind the large man and saw not only Touma, but also smaller man wearing small round sunglasses. The smaller man stayed silent, but he watched everything carefully and Treize knew the smaller one must be just as dangerous as the big man who spoke. "Touma has been helping me with some problems we seem to be having. Why don't you ask him what's been going on? He seems like an honest boy."

"Of course he's honest!" The big man snapped. "I've taught him right from wrong. I've heard his story." The big man cast a look at Touma who still stood awkwardly in the doorway, biting his lower lip. "And I don't have any choice but to be suspicious. You haven't got the nicest reputation, Mr. Kushranada."

"Sir... " Touma tried to interrupt.

"Now, now." The smaller man motioned for Touma to stay out of the conversation. "You've had your say."

"But Treize didn't do anything!" Touma insisted. "It's all just like I was telling you."

"Demons?" Rashid asked. "Magical armor? You expect me to believe all that, Touma? Honestly?"

Touma hung his head. "I guess not, sir. I could show you." He looked up again, his eyes bright with hope.

But Rashid was still incensed and not listening as he turned back to Treize. "Whether or not it's true, as an adult, you should have contacted us to tell us you had our son here!" Rashid snapped at Treize. "How could you be so irresponsible?! We thought he'd been kidnapped or killed!"

"Shouldn't you be yelling at your son instead of Mr. Kushranada?" Major Fall asked.

"I've already been chewed out, thank you." Touma said. He sighed and said, "Treize, this is my father, Rashid, and my dad, Abdul. I kinda forgot to give them a call when we got back from the Youja Kai and I also kinda snuck out without telling them. I'm a little absent minded from time to time."

"Absent minded?!" This time it was Abdul who exploded. "That's not absent minded, that's foolish, and I know for a fact that you're not foolish, Touma!"

"Well," Touma took a deep breath. "Then how's this for foolish? Rajura, the demon warrior who's teaching me and my friends how to control our Yoroi, wants us to stay with Treize so he can train Treize's army how to conquer the world. I'm sort of thinking it might be a good idea. Plus, my boyfriends are going and I don't want to be separated from them."

Abdul and Rashid just stared.

The boy really needs to learn tack. Treize noted. He wouldn't have expected any of them to keep this a secret, but it could have been told in a more gentle fashion. "I haven't agreed to the plan, yet." Treize added in, but no one was listening to him anymore.

Then the screaming began. Rashid yelled at Treize, Major Falls yelled at Rashid for yelling at Treize and Abdul yelled at Touma. There were accusations about kidnapping and child endangerment, to which Touma rolled his eyes and got yelled at again.

Treize was almost at his wits end with two large men yelling at him while Touma stood guilty in the corner with his head bowed. Occasionally, one of Touma's father's would turn and say something to him, in Arabic that would make him cringe.

It went on like this until Mama Fan entered.

"Such yelling, Rashid." Mama Fan chided when she walked into Treize's office.

"Mama?" Abdul said, startled to find her there. "What're you doing here?" He'd stopped yelling almost instantly and Treize, not always the fastest thinker, connected the fact that they knew each other. After all, Touma had said that he and Xiu were friends before any of this had happened. Of course their families would know each other.

"Bringing in some clean clothes." She set a pile of clean clothes on Treize's desk. "I'd have taken them to your room, Treize, dear, but Zechs said he was redecorating. Something about a surprise for tonight involving roses, maple syrup, and a whip." She patted Treize's cheek fondly. "Don't go dirtying up the room to much, dear. Someone has to clean it, remember."

"Yes, ma'am." Treize blushed deep red. It didn't help that his underwear was on the top of the pile - the ones with the airplanes on them. Oh, damn.

There was a dark silence as Mama Fan bustled out of the room. Before she left, though, she turned to Rashid and said, with a half-hidden smile, "By the way, did that rash clear up?"

She got no answer from the furiously blushing Rashid and left, with a satisfied, smug look now that she'd effectively stopped the argument.

Mama Fan: 2 points, Treize thought. Male ego: zero.

Later-

Everyone had converged on Treize's back lawn, making it look like he'd invited a small army for a picnic. It was a large affair and while they ate, Treize took stock of the situation.

He had four fully trained Gundam pilots at his disposal. He had eight warriors with mystical Yoroi that could do impossible things. He had two large men who were, they said, the head a large mercenary organization working for the Winner foundation, but Quatre in particular. They had been working for Quatre's father, but were now employed by Quatre directly. He also had a small Chinese family, a little girl, two large tigers, a pregnant sister, a murdered grandfather, an army that was having abandonment issues, and a serious craving for vanilla ice cream.

Nasty's safety comes first. Treize thought, sorting out his priorities. I'll find the murderer later, I have to get her away from here and somewhere safe, first of all. Next, solve the ice cream dilemma. "Mrs. Fan, did you notice if we have any vanilla ice cream in the freezer?"

"I'm sorry, but no. Why?"

"Oh, nothing." Darn.

On to the next issue. He would accept Rajura offer to train his army. He needed OZ to be the best at everything and Rajura claimed to have centuries worth of experience training stubborn, mule-headed idiots. Anubisu had hit him at that point. Quatre and Wufei had accepted the positions as bodyguards, though Treize was rethinking that. Did he really want Quatre to be in a position to decide if he lived or died? Heero also accepted, but mainly because Duo was going to stay with his brothers and that meant they could be together. Trowa had accepted to be with Quatre.

Kay, the young sister of Rajura, Naaza, and Anubisu, was now dressed in a more modern outfit, courtesy of Mama Fan, of jeans and a t-shirt. It seemed very normal, but she was clearly uncomfortable after years of wearing a heavy kimono. She kept looking embarrassed and half-way hid behind Rajura. Her brothers hadn't been so happy about it, either, when she'd shown them her new clothes. "Indecent!" and "Obscene!" Were their biggest objections. However, they knew they had to try to blend in a little with modern life and had allowed it at Mama Fan's urgings.

The Ma-Sho were in no better mood about their clothes. Though Anubisu was rather pleased with a new gold earring he'd gotten and Naaza said he was considering a new tattoo. They too had been stripped of their usual kimono's and were now decked out in jeans. Anubisu had only an open leather vest that showed off his muscular chest and Rajura had a very simple white, dress shirt. Naaza had a green tank top, but wasn't wearing it at the moment. He said his skin was bothering him and he kept scratching at his arms and shoulders.

Strangely, after all of their yelling and fighting, Rashid and Abdul didn't so much as blink when Touma agreed to join with OZ. "Master Quatre is going, so we will go also," Rashid told him. "Since we are going, Touma will have to go." Apparently, they were very fond of Quatre and if Quatre said it was alright, then it was alright.

"We'll be leaving in the morning." Treize announced after swallowing a mouth full of mashed potatoes. He wasn't the only one eating. Everyone sat on the grass eating off Treize's best china and sitting on his table clothes. Due to a neglected childhood, Treize didn't even know what paper plates were, let alone have any in the house. He had silver and china, he even had silk table clothes, but no paper plates. There were also several platters of food being shared by everyone who took what they wanted before passing the platter to the next person.

"What the Hell is this?" Rajura asked, picking up a piece of fried chicken and looking at it with a baffled expression. "And just what do you mean by 'we'? Where are we going?"

"It's poison." Wufei answered dryly as he handed Nasty a plate of food before sitting next to her. "Yes, what do you mean by 'we'?" He seemed to be taking his duty as her protector very seriously and, between Wufei and Naaza, Nasty didn't have to lift a finger. She didn't look terribly thrilled about that fact.

Treize, for the first time in a long time, had taken his gloves off in public. Shin's fried chicken was extremely good and he didn't want to ruin his white gloves while handling them as Shin had explained that one absolutely could NOT eat fried chicken with fork and knife. It just wasn't done. Treize had to admit that hit felt odd to be sitting cross-legged in the grass with his jacket off and his shirtsleeves rolled up. It felt bizarrely... normal.

"I mean we are leaving. Delicious chicken." Treize gave Shin a smile.

"Thank you." Shin smile back from where he and Ryou were leaning against Byakuen who was sleeping in the sun.

"Well," Mama Fan asked from where she sat on the only lawn chair Treize owned. "Where are you going?" As the oldest woman here, she'd been given the most comfortable seat and now held her little girl on her lap, though Lai struggled to get down.

I'm the richest man in the world. Treize thought to himself. Why don't I have more than one lawn chair? I'll have to buy a few more once I've conquered the world.

"Africa," Treize answered, once his drifting thoughts got away from lawn chairs and back to the subject at hand. "Pass me another biscuit, will you, Zechs?"

Zechs did pass the biscuit (which was just as good as the chicken), but no one spoke.

Finally, Rajura leaned forward and whispered to Duo, "Where is Africa?"

"How long, exactly, have you been away from Earth?" Zechs asked.

"Several hundred years."

"Ah. Then I expect the name has changed since you last knew Earth. Africa is a large continent to the southwest. It's very hot and dry there."

"But very beautiful," Treize added with a dreamy smile. "My absolute favorite place on all of Earth. From the burning deserts to the lush jungles, I could happily spend the rest of my life roaming Africa."

Duo made a face. "Deserts? Why do we want to go to a desert?"

"Victoria Lake."

"You say that like it should mean something."

Treize had to remind himself that more than half of his guests had no knowledge of the current world's politics.

Heero answered before Treize could even open his mouth. "Victoria Lake is the main operating base and training facility for OZ, the elite force of the Alliance."

Heero both frightened and disgusted Treize, in a way. Not that it was Heero's fault, in any way. Heero was the embodiment of everything that Treize feared was going to happen to humanity. Frozen emotions and being taught that there was nothing else to life but fighting and killing. Of course Treize knew that sometimes war was necessary, but it was only a last resort, not the first option. Heero had probably never done any of the simple things that children take for granted. He'd probably never jumped rope or skipped school. It was the thought that people like Heero might become standard for soldiers that frightened Treize.

I can't allow that to happen. I just can't.

Mama Fan, sometime during the conversation, had gone very quiet. "Africa." She muttered under her breath. Something about the way she said it drew everyone's attention. Mama Fan looked from Wufei, who now had an arm draped casually around Nasty's shoulders, and Xiu who was sitting next to Duo with their backs with her tottering gait to Byakuen before climbing up on his back with a little boost from Seiji. Lai laughed happily while tugging on one of the great white tiger's ears.

"Mama?" Xiu asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, my dear." Mama Fan shook her head. "You have really grown up, you know that, darling?" She looked at Xiu this time. "Since your papa died, you've been a grown up, even if I hate to admit it. I don't want you to feel like you have to stay at the restaurant, Xiu. Just promise me you'll finish school. I trust you to take care of yourself. I don't want to keep you at the restaurant if you really want to go. But... " She paused. "I will miss you." Her gaze when to the large group of people. "I'll miss all of you."

Zechs-

Treize stiffened at Zech's side and looked at Mama Fan. "What?"

Zechs could hear the distress in Treize's voice. It really wasn't surprising, considering Treize's childhood, that he'd latch onto Mama Fan, the first loving mother figure he'd met since his own mother had died. While Nasty had been lucky enough to find love and support from her kindly grandfather Yagiyu, Treize hadn't been nearly so lucky. The Kushranada family wasn't well known for it's compassion or empathy, not even to it's own members.

The thought of losing Mama Fan, everyone's dream of the perfect mother, must have felt to Treize like he was losing his own mother all over again.

Treize wasn't the only one upset by the thought of losing Mama Fan. "You're not coming?!" Nasty sat up quickly and looked at Mama Fan with panic in her eyes. "But... but you have to! I need you, mama!" Her hand went to her stomach and her own crisis. "I really need you!"

Xiu said, "I'm not leaving you and Lai here all alone!"

Wufei glared angrily, nodding at Xiu's words.

It wasn't just the immediate family who was concerned, though. Everyone looked upset. "Why do you want to leave us?" Ryou asked while Lai slid down from Byakuen's back and into Ryou's lap. She'd lately made a habit of going from person to person for hugs and kisses and just to be held. Everyone took this habit quite well, even Naaza who bounced her on his knees when she came to him for a kiss. The cats were patient and gentle, treating her like their own cub.

"Yeah," Duo added as he looked up from the book he'd borrowed from Treize. "Don't you like us?"

"Of course I like you!" Mama Fan sounded slightly insulted. "I love all of you like you're my own family, but I really don't have a place at an army base. I can trust Xiu and Wufei to look after each other, but I don't know anything about the army. There's also the restaurant to consider... "

"Sell it." Treize blurted out. "You don't need it, now, and I can certainly find a place for you, if that's what you're worried about. Surely, you don't want to separate Lai from her brother and cousin." That was one of Treize's talents, to know a person's weak spot and exploit it. In Mama Fan's case, her children were her weak spot.

"Well, no." Mama Fan looked doubtful. "But I won't be taking charity, either. I'm a hard working woman and I don't need to be mooching off others."

Treize gave her a charming smile. "Then I'll let you work in the kitchens, if you like cooking so much. Please, you must know how much you mean to us all." It was a rare moment when Treize let his emotions show honestly.

Mama Fan's reaction was instant. She grabbed Treize and pulled him in for a hug, nearly suffocating him by pressing his face into her ample bosom. "You are such a darling boy!" Mama Fan cried. "And here I thought you were nothing but a spoiled little brat when we met. Well! I guess that proves me wrong!"

When released, Treize couldn't hide his shocked expression or his blush. It was the first time he'd been that close to a woman's breasts since he'd been weaned.

Mama Fan grabbed both of Treize's cheek with a pinch and shook his face fondly. "You really are a sweet boy, but there's one condition."

"What's that?" Treize asked, rubbing his sore cheeks when she let him go.

"Stop calling me ma'am, young man. You make me feel old. I'm everyone's mama."

To be continued...