Heero walked across the entrance hall and peered cautiously around the door. The party had begun, the huge split banners dancing in the moving air. It was incredibly hot in the room, due to the high population of people dancing. Heero's keen eyes scanned the room, looking for a friendly face. Trowa was standing on the teacher's balcony, gazing over the dance floor in a bored state. Heero smiled. Duo was chatting to his girlfriend, CiCi, and his little group of friends. Heero frowned and walked over. He snatched up Duo's arm.
"Oh, hey Heero!" said Duo peppily, smiling at him casually. Heero glared at him.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked quietly. CiCi turned and looked at him. She grinned.
"Hey there cutie!" she cooed girlishly, "What's your name? I don't believe Duo's introduced us yet!" Duo sighed.
"CiCi, this is Heero, and old friend of mine. Heero, this is CiCi..."
"I know full well who CiCi is," Heero said, smiling coyly at her, sending her into a fit of giggles, "her reputation's easily picked up, even by someone like me." CiCi blinked at Heero.
"What do you mean, a person like you?" she asked, flicking a brown heavily styled ringlet out of her face. Duo rolled his eyes.
"He means the new kid, Ci, k? Listen, we need to talk, so excuse me..." CiCi grabbed Duo's other arm.
"Oh no you don't," she growled, "you came to this dance with me, not him. You can talk about whatever you need to in front of me, too." Duo shook her off, surprising her with his strength.
"No, CiCi, this is important. I'll be right back." CiCi frowned and let go of duo's arm. She turned her back on him and continued talking to her friends. Duo sighed and walked off with Heero into a corner.
"Stupid bitch," Duo growled, "always following me around like some lap-dog. You would have thought she was socially challenged but look at her..." Duo sighed. Heero glared at him.
"You are jeopardising the entire operation, Duo Maxwell," he said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall. Duo blinked his big blue eyes at Heero and raised an eyebrow.
"How so?" he asked finally. Heero glanced over at CiCi.
"CiCi Malone is the biggest blabbermouth in the history of humanity, and you choose to date her," he said, chuckling a little with disbelief, "if you let even the tiniest detail slip to her, the authorities would be on our tails like flies to a picnic!" Duo looked over at CiCi. She was standing, bathed in dancing lights wearing a dainty blue frock with fake scales on it. She was beautiful. He looked back at Heero.
"She wouldn't do that to me," he said, "she'd keep any secret for me." Heero laughed again.
"Oh really?" he said, smiling a crooked smile, "like the secret about your baby blanket?" Duo almost fell over.
"She told you about that!?" he stammered. Heero nodded.
"I asked Maria what she knew about you, trying to find out how much of our cover you had blown and that was the first thing that popped out of her oversized and over painted mouth." Duo was fuming, possible heated by the giant flames embroidered on his outfit. Heero sighed. Duo looked at his friend.
"So you want me to dump her and abandon my friends, is that it? Don't you think that's gonna draw attention to me even more?" Heero nodded.
"Exactly. All I want you to do is find some way to let CiCi down easy, and then the rest will turn their backs on you anyway." Duo groaned.
"Oh thanks for the confidence boost, bro," he sighed, brushing his fringe out of his face. A short, sharp squeal was heard nearby, causing both parties to look up. A blonde blur rushed past, followed by a few large young men, chuckling coldly. Heero grabbed one of them.
"What's going on?" he asked sternly. The boy laughed.
"Just the usual. We do it at every party!" Heero frowned.
"And what's that?" he asked, an aggressive edge clear in his voice. The boy raised an eyebrow.
"Dude, dontcha know? We play 'catch the loser'!" And with that, the guy ran off. Another shriek was heard. Duo and Heero looked at each other and uttered only one word.
"Quatre."
"Put me down!" Quatre yelled as four boys carried him across the lawn. Kitty was being held back by two of the other goons.
"Let him go!" she shrieked. Quatre heard the guys start laughing as they changed direction. He suddenly saw it. A tall black silhouette in the twilight, the flagpole was directly before him. Quatre began to writhe even more. The guys just held him tighter and broke into a run. Duo and Heero burst out of the building just as the countdown began.
"Hey! Put him down!" Duo yelled, running forward. They were two late and with one final triumphant cheer; Quatre was run into the flagpole and dropped onto the floor. He immediately curled up, sobbing with agony. Heero tensed up. The guys were slapping high fives. Kitty managed to shake herself free and booted both the guys holding her with a trusty straddle jump. The teetered and toppled like dominos. Kitty ran over to Quatre but was immediately scooped up by two other guys. Heero and Duo were walking briskly across the grass. Duo's eyes were on the crumpled from of Quatre as moved slowly and painfully to his knees. Heero's death glare was set on the assailants. The guys saw Heero coming and noticed him drawing something black from his jacket pocket. They all froze.
"Run!" yelled the leader, snatching up Quatre and dashing off. The other's followed. Heero broke into a sprint after them. They dropped kitty after a short distance and carried on running. Duo stopped to help her up.
"Are you OK?" he asked gently. She was sobbing.
"What are they going to do with him?" she sobbed, collapsing on Duo. He stood stunned for a moment, and then wrapped his arms around the shuddering figure, smiling a little. Heero came wandering back, slotting his gun away.
"They haven't gone far," he said calmly, "back into the party no doubt." He turned to Kitty, "why didn't either of you tell us about this?" Kitty looked up, her halo askew.
"It didn't seem important," she sniffed, "I didn't even know you guys were friends... I thought maybe you'd met at one of Quatre's conferences. There's no point confiding in the sons of diplomats..." she broke off, tears over coming her again. Heero glared at Duo.
"Did you know about this?" he asked. Duo was sweating under Heero's glare.
"Kinda..." he began. Heero frowned. Duo sighed.
"Look, I knew Quatre was unpopular, but that's common knowledge! Rich kids are always considered to be losers!" Heero's glare grew in strength. Duo sighed.
"I knew about the tradition, if that's what you mean," he said, "but I had no idea they were using Quatre as bait, honest!" Heero nodded.
"Fine," he said slowly, "but right now we have to go and find them. Do you know what they are going to do?" he asked Kitty. She shook her head. She dried her eyes and smiled.
"I don't know, but Quatre can fend for himself, at least for a little while if he needs to. I probably shouldn't be telling you this," she paused, "but he was a mobile suit pilot once, one of the elite!" Heero froze. Duo smiled.
"No shit, Sherlock," he laughed, looking at Heero. Heero failed to see the humour. He turned away.
"You go back to the party, Kitty," he said gently, "we'll find Quatre." Kitty nodded. She reached under the outer layer of her dress and pulled out a long thin sword, bound in a black leather case. It was curved.
"Give him this," she whispered, handing the weapon to Heero, "he knows how to use it." Heero nodded and began jogging.
"Come on Duo," he called, dashing around the corner of the school, following the faint shouts of the bullies. Duo let go of Kitty.
"Are you sure you'll be OK?" he asked. Kitty nodded.
"Sure! I'm a big girl, I can take of myself." She gave Duo a light kiss on one cheek and walked away. He smiled a little and then ran off after Heero.
Heero peered cautiously around the side of the fence. He tapped Duo on the shoulder and his friend joined him. Quatre was standing in the centre of the football pitched, bathed in light from the spotlights used for nighttime games. The goons, all football players of course, were around him in a loose circle.
"Hey Catty-boy," said the leader, "got any spare change? My tolerance meter is about to hit zero coz of your sweet as sugar shit!" The others all laughed their low coarse laughs. Quatre smiled, his eyes hidden by his long fringe.
"Come here and I'll show you bastards sweet as sugar," he spat. The boys all laughed. Quatre tossed his head and glared at them. He laughed a little.
"Poor little football players haven't got the guts to take me on? Pity..." he hissed. The leader growled.
"Harsh words for someone with less dick than a cheerleader!" he said viciously.
"It's not a good idea to use ones entire vocabulary in one sentence, Joe," Quatre shot back. Duo snorted with amusement. Heero slapped him over the head. Joe was shuddering with fury.
"I've had just about enough of you, little boy..." he began. Quatre began laughing heartily. The jocks all looked at one another. Joe ran at Quatre, but Quatre stepped neatly out of the way, sending Joe flying into one of his friends. Duo was biting his finger to keep himself quiet. Heero smiled.
"So Quat's still got it, eh?" he said quietly. He unsheathed the golden sword and with one quick toss he threw it into the centre of the circle. All the jocks froze. Quatre's sharp blue eyes shot to the sword. He blinked in shock before walking over to the sword. Joe turned and watched as the blonde youth pulled the golden sword out of the floor with a distinctive metallic twang. He looked at the hilt. In gemstones and twists of precious metals the letters Q R W were spelled out. He smiled and tossed the sword between hands.
"Anyone want to try their luck?" he asked. Joe growled and ran again at Quatre. This time Quatre flicked his wrist and brought the flat side of the sword hard down against his nose, shattering it instantly. Joe yelped and staggered back, blood pouring from his face and down his tux. Quatre pulled out his pocket-handkerchief and wiped the blood off the blade. He shrugged.
"You were lucky, Joe," he said severely, "I was aiming for a clean sweep." He stepped closer to Joe and offered him the handkerchief. Joe just glared angrily at the boy. Quatre sighed and tucked it away. The other jocks had long vanished and so he had no problems in walking away. Joe spat some blood on the floor and cursed. Quatre smiled and carried on walking. As soon as he got round the corner of the fence he slid down the wall and exhaled all of his fear away. He was shuddering still, with a mixture of pain, fear and dread. Heero stepped out of the shadows.
"Nice shot," he said quietly, "personally I would have sliced him open, but each to their own." Quatre looked up and flushed pink.
"I wish you hadn't seen any of that," he said quietly, getting to his feet, "it's quite embarrassing." He took a step forward, winced and then straightened up. Duo stepped forward too, sniggering.
"I swear, dude," he said, catching his breath, "if I knew you were this funny I would have stuck by you the whole time! Way to go!" Quatre smiled a little, his pale skin still a rich pink in tone. Heero took the sword and put it back in the sheath.
"Kitty told me to give it to you." He said, handing the weapon back over. Quatre sighed.
"She would," he sighed, "violent little bitch." Duo and Heero looked at each other.
"Quat," Duo said slowly, "are you feeling OK? Maybe your manhood crushing's messed you up or something..." Quatre shook his head.
"I'm fine. But I was being honest. Kitty can't solve things without getting physically involved, well, not most of the time. She's a very passionate person, and in times to come she's going to be a nuisance." Duo clicked his fingers.
"That reminds me!" he cried, "Have you told her yet?" Quatre shook his head.
"No..." he replied, "but I will tell her before I go... maybe just before... oh, I dunno! But not yet, not while she's having fun." Heero sighed.
"You people and your ridiculous sentiment," he said, turning his back on the others and walking back into the shadows. Quatre and Duo looked at each other, shrugged and followed.
Kitty was sitting on one of the large Marble blocks at the edge of the entrance stairs. Wu-fei was over two hours late. She sighed and leant back, coming face to face with the bottom of CiCi's dress.
"Whoa!" she cried, "I'm sorry, CiCi, I didn't see you there!" CiCi smiled.
"It's OK, I have a habit of sneaking up on people," she said, sitting down beside Kitty. She flicked a little lint of her dress.
"So..." she said, "who did you come with?" Kitty smiled.
"I came with Quatre, but I was supposed to be meeting someone, except..."
"He hasn't turned up?" CiCi finished. Kitty nodded.
"What a bummer!" CiCi exclaimed, "But do you know what, Kits?" she said, her tone harshening, "That doesn't mean you can steal other people's dates!" Kitty stared in disbelief at CiCi.
"Girl, what are you on?" she said, shaking her head and sidling away. CiCi snatched up her arm in an unusually tight grasp.
"Don't play innocent little rich kid with me, slut, I know your type!" CiCi was glaring at Kitty with all the menace she could muster. Kitty tried to shake her off.
"Let go," she cried, "you're hurting!" CiCi smirked.
"Am I?" she asked coldly, "good!" she tightened her grip, making Kitty squeak a little with pain. CiCi grabbed Kitty's face and turned it towards her.
"Now you listen here, little girl," she said threateningly, "I saw you out there flirting with Duo."
"What are you talking about?" Kitty squealed, "flirting? We weren't flirting!"
"Quiet you!" CiCi snapped, "Now you listen here. I would have understood if he'd been available for a while, like if I'd only come here with him as my date, but he's My BOYFRIEND! I've been dating him for months now! You can't pretend you didn't notice!"
"I don't even like Duo!" Kitty cried, writhing more in CiCi's grip, "I don't, honest!" CiCi sighed.
"Listen, Ok, I've had just about enough of your pathetic whining, Ok, so just listen up." She moved her face so close to Kitty's that Kitty could feel her breath on her face. "Stay away from my man, got it?" she said, spite dripping from her words. Kitty nodded vigorously. CiCi flung Kitty's arm back at her.
"I'm glad we have an understanding," she said, walking off, "see you around, Kitty." Kitty rubbed her arm tenderly and frowned. She looked around and sighed.
"Where are you?" she growled.
Quatre, Heero and Duo were walking over the lawn when they saw a familiar face running across the grass. Trowa stopped just short of them.
"Is everything OK?" he said breathlessly, "I heard there was some sort of trouble." Quatre shook his head.
"Everything's OK, Trowa. We sorted everything out." Duo snorted.
"Yeah, more like YOU sorted everything out! Smashing people round the head with scimitar's is one way to deal will stupid little..."
"Shut up Duo," Heero growled, rolling his eyes. Duo pouted.
"I was being serious! I mean, that was the coolest! Like, it was totally a Wu-Fei move but..."
"Did someone mention my name?" A cold voice said quietly. Wu-fei stepped out the shadows, jangling a set of keys around his finger. Quatre glared at him.
"Where have you been?" he asked aggressively. Wu-fei ignored his tone and answered cordially.
"I have been following up a lead, and I now know how we are to defeat this enemy and their weak mobile suits," he said, jangling the keys. Heero looked intensely at him.
"And how is that?" he asked. Wu-fei pulled the keys into five different sets. He tossed the keys to each of the other pilots.
"Let me tell you a little story," he said quietly. Duo yawned.
"Make it a short one," he sighed, yawning again, "ya know how my attention span gets when I'm tired." Wu-fei frowned.
"When the Gundam's were finally destroyed after Maremaia's stupid little game, we thought that would be it, so we didn't worry about the future, did we?" The pilots shook their heads. Wu-fei nodded and continued.
"Well, my friends, a certain group of five men did worry for the future and rebuilt the Gundams in secret. And as this group of five men were involved in the building of the first open colonies, they had a perfect place to hide them, a place where no one could ever guess where they were..."
"Then how'd you find em?" Duo smirked. Wu-fei glared at him.
"Do not interrupt me you American jackass!" Duo looked hurt. Heero rolled his intense blue eyes.
"Can you please get on with it?" he said, his low voice gravely with impatience.
"Certainly," Wu-fei said calmly, nodding, "the doctors hid the Gundams right under the nose of one of the most publicly pacifistic families." Heero looked up.
"Relena doesn't have a property on an open colony," he said. Quatre shook his head.
"No, but I do." Everyone looked at him.
"Bingo..." Wu-fei whispered. Quatre nodded.
"I can see why they did it," he said, "it would be impossible to find the gundams then!" Duo stamped his foot.
"How can it be impossible if Wu-fei found them!" he squealed. Heero smacked him around the head again.
"Anyway," said Quatre, eyeing Duo in annoyance, "Even if they found out the gundams were hidden beneath one of the winner properties, they wouldn't be able to find them unless they were very lucky. I have dozens of secret properties, and if someone let slip with the Winner name, they would automatically assume it was me. They wouldn't even consider the gundams being hidden under properties belonging to my sisters." Wu-fei nodded.
"And that's exactly where I found them," he said with a sly smile. Quatre looked at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes wide with confusion. Wu-fei sighed.
"Do I have to spell it out to you imbeciles? The gundams are under sunset house!" Heero immediately looked around. He glared at Wu-fei.
"You are SO lucky no one heard that," he growled, reaching into his pocket. Wu-fei snorted indignantly.
"You think I would make such an elementary mistake as to blurt out the exact location of the weapons when there was a spy in the area? Please..." Trowa smiled.
"I wouldn't put it past you, Wu-fei," Wu-fei started in annoyance, sending a wave of giggles through Quatre and Duo. Heero sighed and smacked both of them around the head.
"I swear, boy," Duo complained, "you're gonna give me concussion!" Heero smiled.
"Well, that was what I was aiming for," he said, an evil shadow casting itself over his face. Duo shook his head and sighed.
"So what's the retrieval plan? Trowa asked. Heero sighed.
"For now we need to get the machines prepped for action, which means getting them out of that hole and into a safe hiding hole." Wu-fei leant back against the flagpole.
"The only exit a Gundam could get through is the escape chute. It's a vertical drop straight out of the bottom of the colony. We'd have to go back through the atmosphere." Duo elbowed Heero.
"Dya think we should tell Wu-fei that his head is exactly where they crashed Quatre's..."
"SHUT UP!" Quatre yelled in Duo's ear, almost knocking him over in shock. Heero laughed gently as Duo got up and dusted himself off. Wu-fei shook his head. Quatre coughed a little and then continued.
"The colony has a sensor to detect atmosphere movement. It's about two miles from here. We could shut it off, but we've gotta be inconspicuous." Everyone agreed. Heero nodded.
"Then here's the plan. Myself, Duo and Trowa will head for the gundams. We can set Sandrock and Nataku for autopilot. I'll land Nataku in the forest somewhere and Sandrock back at Sunset house. You can hide it in the aircraft hangar," he said to Quatre. Quatre nodded.
"OK, while you're doing that I'll head straight for the sensor and shut it off. Wu-fei, you'll have to keep Kitty occupied for a while." Wu-fei blushed a little but said nothing. "Tell her that I'm taking Pegasus home, and you take the car. Take her out for a drink or something. I'll meet you back at Sunset house." Duo nodded.
"All I gotta do is dump CiCi and we're sorted!" At which point, the blue dress clad cheerleader stormed across the School lawn towards the group.
"Duo Maxwell!" she called aggressively. He turned.
"You rang?" he answered. CiCi was shuddering with fury.
"You can forget coming home with me, Duo, it's over!" Duo tutted.
"Ok, for one thing I brought you here, and two, what the hell's up with you?" CiCi laughed coldly.
"Pur-lease, Duo, ya think I wouldn't notice you canoodling with that hussy out here?" Duo looked exasperated.
"Again, what?" he managed to splutter. CiCi ignored him and looked at Quatre.
"Your sisters a little slut, you know?" Quatre's jaw dropped. CiCi smirked, "Tell her to stay away from my man, k?" She clacked off back into the hall. Heero, Trowa and Wu-fei looked at one another and started sniggering.
"What the FUCK just happened?" Quatre said, turning away and emphasising the curse word with his balled fist. Duo shrugged.
"Beats me, dude," he said, turning around. He flushed bright pink at the hysterical pilots behind him. They saw his face and just collapsed.
"Oh, hey Heero!" said Duo peppily, smiling at him casually. Heero glared at him.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked quietly. CiCi turned and looked at him. She grinned.
"Hey there cutie!" she cooed girlishly, "What's your name? I don't believe Duo's introduced us yet!" Duo sighed.
"CiCi, this is Heero, and old friend of mine. Heero, this is CiCi..."
"I know full well who CiCi is," Heero said, smiling coyly at her, sending her into a fit of giggles, "her reputation's easily picked up, even by someone like me." CiCi blinked at Heero.
"What do you mean, a person like you?" she asked, flicking a brown heavily styled ringlet out of her face. Duo rolled his eyes.
"He means the new kid, Ci, k? Listen, we need to talk, so excuse me..." CiCi grabbed Duo's other arm.
"Oh no you don't," she growled, "you came to this dance with me, not him. You can talk about whatever you need to in front of me, too." Duo shook her off, surprising her with his strength.
"No, CiCi, this is important. I'll be right back." CiCi frowned and let go of duo's arm. She turned her back on him and continued talking to her friends. Duo sighed and walked off with Heero into a corner.
"Stupid bitch," Duo growled, "always following me around like some lap-dog. You would have thought she was socially challenged but look at her..." Duo sighed. Heero glared at him.
"You are jeopardising the entire operation, Duo Maxwell," he said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall. Duo blinked his big blue eyes at Heero and raised an eyebrow.
"How so?" he asked finally. Heero glanced over at CiCi.
"CiCi Malone is the biggest blabbermouth in the history of humanity, and you choose to date her," he said, chuckling a little with disbelief, "if you let even the tiniest detail slip to her, the authorities would be on our tails like flies to a picnic!" Duo looked over at CiCi. She was standing, bathed in dancing lights wearing a dainty blue frock with fake scales on it. She was beautiful. He looked back at Heero.
"She wouldn't do that to me," he said, "she'd keep any secret for me." Heero laughed again.
"Oh really?" he said, smiling a crooked smile, "like the secret about your baby blanket?" Duo almost fell over.
"She told you about that!?" he stammered. Heero nodded.
"I asked Maria what she knew about you, trying to find out how much of our cover you had blown and that was the first thing that popped out of her oversized and over painted mouth." Duo was fuming, possible heated by the giant flames embroidered on his outfit. Heero sighed. Duo looked at his friend.
"So you want me to dump her and abandon my friends, is that it? Don't you think that's gonna draw attention to me even more?" Heero nodded.
"Exactly. All I want you to do is find some way to let CiCi down easy, and then the rest will turn their backs on you anyway." Duo groaned.
"Oh thanks for the confidence boost, bro," he sighed, brushing his fringe out of his face. A short, sharp squeal was heard nearby, causing both parties to look up. A blonde blur rushed past, followed by a few large young men, chuckling coldly. Heero grabbed one of them.
"What's going on?" he asked sternly. The boy laughed.
"Just the usual. We do it at every party!" Heero frowned.
"And what's that?" he asked, an aggressive edge clear in his voice. The boy raised an eyebrow.
"Dude, dontcha know? We play 'catch the loser'!" And with that, the guy ran off. Another shriek was heard. Duo and Heero looked at each other and uttered only one word.
"Quatre."
"Put me down!" Quatre yelled as four boys carried him across the lawn. Kitty was being held back by two of the other goons.
"Let him go!" she shrieked. Quatre heard the guys start laughing as they changed direction. He suddenly saw it. A tall black silhouette in the twilight, the flagpole was directly before him. Quatre began to writhe even more. The guys just held him tighter and broke into a run. Duo and Heero burst out of the building just as the countdown began.
"Hey! Put him down!" Duo yelled, running forward. They were two late and with one final triumphant cheer; Quatre was run into the flagpole and dropped onto the floor. He immediately curled up, sobbing with agony. Heero tensed up. The guys were slapping high fives. Kitty managed to shake herself free and booted both the guys holding her with a trusty straddle jump. The teetered and toppled like dominos. Kitty ran over to Quatre but was immediately scooped up by two other guys. Heero and Duo were walking briskly across the grass. Duo's eyes were on the crumpled from of Quatre as moved slowly and painfully to his knees. Heero's death glare was set on the assailants. The guys saw Heero coming and noticed him drawing something black from his jacket pocket. They all froze.
"Run!" yelled the leader, snatching up Quatre and dashing off. The other's followed. Heero broke into a sprint after them. They dropped kitty after a short distance and carried on running. Duo stopped to help her up.
"Are you OK?" he asked gently. She was sobbing.
"What are they going to do with him?" she sobbed, collapsing on Duo. He stood stunned for a moment, and then wrapped his arms around the shuddering figure, smiling a little. Heero came wandering back, slotting his gun away.
"They haven't gone far," he said calmly, "back into the party no doubt." He turned to Kitty, "why didn't either of you tell us about this?" Kitty looked up, her halo askew.
"It didn't seem important," she sniffed, "I didn't even know you guys were friends... I thought maybe you'd met at one of Quatre's conferences. There's no point confiding in the sons of diplomats..." she broke off, tears over coming her again. Heero glared at Duo.
"Did you know about this?" he asked. Duo was sweating under Heero's glare.
"Kinda..." he began. Heero frowned. Duo sighed.
"Look, I knew Quatre was unpopular, but that's common knowledge! Rich kids are always considered to be losers!" Heero's glare grew in strength. Duo sighed.
"I knew about the tradition, if that's what you mean," he said, "but I had no idea they were using Quatre as bait, honest!" Heero nodded.
"Fine," he said slowly, "but right now we have to go and find them. Do you know what they are going to do?" he asked Kitty. She shook her head. She dried her eyes and smiled.
"I don't know, but Quatre can fend for himself, at least for a little while if he needs to. I probably shouldn't be telling you this," she paused, "but he was a mobile suit pilot once, one of the elite!" Heero froze. Duo smiled.
"No shit, Sherlock," he laughed, looking at Heero. Heero failed to see the humour. He turned away.
"You go back to the party, Kitty," he said gently, "we'll find Quatre." Kitty nodded. She reached under the outer layer of her dress and pulled out a long thin sword, bound in a black leather case. It was curved.
"Give him this," she whispered, handing the weapon to Heero, "he knows how to use it." Heero nodded and began jogging.
"Come on Duo," he called, dashing around the corner of the school, following the faint shouts of the bullies. Duo let go of Kitty.
"Are you sure you'll be OK?" he asked. Kitty nodded.
"Sure! I'm a big girl, I can take of myself." She gave Duo a light kiss on one cheek and walked away. He smiled a little and then ran off after Heero.
Heero peered cautiously around the side of the fence. He tapped Duo on the shoulder and his friend joined him. Quatre was standing in the centre of the football pitched, bathed in light from the spotlights used for nighttime games. The goons, all football players of course, were around him in a loose circle.
"Hey Catty-boy," said the leader, "got any spare change? My tolerance meter is about to hit zero coz of your sweet as sugar shit!" The others all laughed their low coarse laughs. Quatre smiled, his eyes hidden by his long fringe.
"Come here and I'll show you bastards sweet as sugar," he spat. The boys all laughed. Quatre tossed his head and glared at them. He laughed a little.
"Poor little football players haven't got the guts to take me on? Pity..." he hissed. The leader growled.
"Harsh words for someone with less dick than a cheerleader!" he said viciously.
"It's not a good idea to use ones entire vocabulary in one sentence, Joe," Quatre shot back. Duo snorted with amusement. Heero slapped him over the head. Joe was shuddering with fury.
"I've had just about enough of you, little boy..." he began. Quatre began laughing heartily. The jocks all looked at one another. Joe ran at Quatre, but Quatre stepped neatly out of the way, sending Joe flying into one of his friends. Duo was biting his finger to keep himself quiet. Heero smiled.
"So Quat's still got it, eh?" he said quietly. He unsheathed the golden sword and with one quick toss he threw it into the centre of the circle. All the jocks froze. Quatre's sharp blue eyes shot to the sword. He blinked in shock before walking over to the sword. Joe turned and watched as the blonde youth pulled the golden sword out of the floor with a distinctive metallic twang. He looked at the hilt. In gemstones and twists of precious metals the letters Q R W were spelled out. He smiled and tossed the sword between hands.
"Anyone want to try their luck?" he asked. Joe growled and ran again at Quatre. This time Quatre flicked his wrist and brought the flat side of the sword hard down against his nose, shattering it instantly. Joe yelped and staggered back, blood pouring from his face and down his tux. Quatre pulled out his pocket-handkerchief and wiped the blood off the blade. He shrugged.
"You were lucky, Joe," he said severely, "I was aiming for a clean sweep." He stepped closer to Joe and offered him the handkerchief. Joe just glared angrily at the boy. Quatre sighed and tucked it away. The other jocks had long vanished and so he had no problems in walking away. Joe spat some blood on the floor and cursed. Quatre smiled and carried on walking. As soon as he got round the corner of the fence he slid down the wall and exhaled all of his fear away. He was shuddering still, with a mixture of pain, fear and dread. Heero stepped out of the shadows.
"Nice shot," he said quietly, "personally I would have sliced him open, but each to their own." Quatre looked up and flushed pink.
"I wish you hadn't seen any of that," he said quietly, getting to his feet, "it's quite embarrassing." He took a step forward, winced and then straightened up. Duo stepped forward too, sniggering.
"I swear, dude," he said, catching his breath, "if I knew you were this funny I would have stuck by you the whole time! Way to go!" Quatre smiled a little, his pale skin still a rich pink in tone. Heero took the sword and put it back in the sheath.
"Kitty told me to give it to you." He said, handing the weapon back over. Quatre sighed.
"She would," he sighed, "violent little bitch." Duo and Heero looked at each other.
"Quat," Duo said slowly, "are you feeling OK? Maybe your manhood crushing's messed you up or something..." Quatre shook his head.
"I'm fine. But I was being honest. Kitty can't solve things without getting physically involved, well, not most of the time. She's a very passionate person, and in times to come she's going to be a nuisance." Duo clicked his fingers.
"That reminds me!" he cried, "Have you told her yet?" Quatre shook his head.
"No..." he replied, "but I will tell her before I go... maybe just before... oh, I dunno! But not yet, not while she's having fun." Heero sighed.
"You people and your ridiculous sentiment," he said, turning his back on the others and walking back into the shadows. Quatre and Duo looked at each other, shrugged and followed.
Kitty was sitting on one of the large Marble blocks at the edge of the entrance stairs. Wu-fei was over two hours late. She sighed and leant back, coming face to face with the bottom of CiCi's dress.
"Whoa!" she cried, "I'm sorry, CiCi, I didn't see you there!" CiCi smiled.
"It's OK, I have a habit of sneaking up on people," she said, sitting down beside Kitty. She flicked a little lint of her dress.
"So..." she said, "who did you come with?" Kitty smiled.
"I came with Quatre, but I was supposed to be meeting someone, except..."
"He hasn't turned up?" CiCi finished. Kitty nodded.
"What a bummer!" CiCi exclaimed, "But do you know what, Kits?" she said, her tone harshening, "That doesn't mean you can steal other people's dates!" Kitty stared in disbelief at CiCi.
"Girl, what are you on?" she said, shaking her head and sidling away. CiCi snatched up her arm in an unusually tight grasp.
"Don't play innocent little rich kid with me, slut, I know your type!" CiCi was glaring at Kitty with all the menace she could muster. Kitty tried to shake her off.
"Let go," she cried, "you're hurting!" CiCi smirked.
"Am I?" she asked coldly, "good!" she tightened her grip, making Kitty squeak a little with pain. CiCi grabbed Kitty's face and turned it towards her.
"Now you listen here, little girl," she said threateningly, "I saw you out there flirting with Duo."
"What are you talking about?" Kitty squealed, "flirting? We weren't flirting!"
"Quiet you!" CiCi snapped, "Now you listen here. I would have understood if he'd been available for a while, like if I'd only come here with him as my date, but he's My BOYFRIEND! I've been dating him for months now! You can't pretend you didn't notice!"
"I don't even like Duo!" Kitty cried, writhing more in CiCi's grip, "I don't, honest!" CiCi sighed.
"Listen, Ok, I've had just about enough of your pathetic whining, Ok, so just listen up." She moved her face so close to Kitty's that Kitty could feel her breath on her face. "Stay away from my man, got it?" she said, spite dripping from her words. Kitty nodded vigorously. CiCi flung Kitty's arm back at her.
"I'm glad we have an understanding," she said, walking off, "see you around, Kitty." Kitty rubbed her arm tenderly and frowned. She looked around and sighed.
"Where are you?" she growled.
Quatre, Heero and Duo were walking over the lawn when they saw a familiar face running across the grass. Trowa stopped just short of them.
"Is everything OK?" he said breathlessly, "I heard there was some sort of trouble." Quatre shook his head.
"Everything's OK, Trowa. We sorted everything out." Duo snorted.
"Yeah, more like YOU sorted everything out! Smashing people round the head with scimitar's is one way to deal will stupid little..."
"Shut up Duo," Heero growled, rolling his eyes. Duo pouted.
"I was being serious! I mean, that was the coolest! Like, it was totally a Wu-Fei move but..."
"Did someone mention my name?" A cold voice said quietly. Wu-fei stepped out the shadows, jangling a set of keys around his finger. Quatre glared at him.
"Where have you been?" he asked aggressively. Wu-fei ignored his tone and answered cordially.
"I have been following up a lead, and I now know how we are to defeat this enemy and their weak mobile suits," he said, jangling the keys. Heero looked intensely at him.
"And how is that?" he asked. Wu-fei pulled the keys into five different sets. He tossed the keys to each of the other pilots.
"Let me tell you a little story," he said quietly. Duo yawned.
"Make it a short one," he sighed, yawning again, "ya know how my attention span gets when I'm tired." Wu-fei frowned.
"When the Gundam's were finally destroyed after Maremaia's stupid little game, we thought that would be it, so we didn't worry about the future, did we?" The pilots shook their heads. Wu-fei nodded and continued.
"Well, my friends, a certain group of five men did worry for the future and rebuilt the Gundams in secret. And as this group of five men were involved in the building of the first open colonies, they had a perfect place to hide them, a place where no one could ever guess where they were..."
"Then how'd you find em?" Duo smirked. Wu-fei glared at him.
"Do not interrupt me you American jackass!" Duo looked hurt. Heero rolled his intense blue eyes.
"Can you please get on with it?" he said, his low voice gravely with impatience.
"Certainly," Wu-fei said calmly, nodding, "the doctors hid the Gundams right under the nose of one of the most publicly pacifistic families." Heero looked up.
"Relena doesn't have a property on an open colony," he said. Quatre shook his head.
"No, but I do." Everyone looked at him.
"Bingo..." Wu-fei whispered. Quatre nodded.
"I can see why they did it," he said, "it would be impossible to find the gundams then!" Duo stamped his foot.
"How can it be impossible if Wu-fei found them!" he squealed. Heero smacked him around the head again.
"Anyway," said Quatre, eyeing Duo in annoyance, "Even if they found out the gundams were hidden beneath one of the winner properties, they wouldn't be able to find them unless they were very lucky. I have dozens of secret properties, and if someone let slip with the Winner name, they would automatically assume it was me. They wouldn't even consider the gundams being hidden under properties belonging to my sisters." Wu-fei nodded.
"And that's exactly where I found them," he said with a sly smile. Quatre looked at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes wide with confusion. Wu-fei sighed.
"Do I have to spell it out to you imbeciles? The gundams are under sunset house!" Heero immediately looked around. He glared at Wu-fei.
"You are SO lucky no one heard that," he growled, reaching into his pocket. Wu-fei snorted indignantly.
"You think I would make such an elementary mistake as to blurt out the exact location of the weapons when there was a spy in the area? Please..." Trowa smiled.
"I wouldn't put it past you, Wu-fei," Wu-fei started in annoyance, sending a wave of giggles through Quatre and Duo. Heero sighed and smacked both of them around the head.
"I swear, boy," Duo complained, "you're gonna give me concussion!" Heero smiled.
"Well, that was what I was aiming for," he said, an evil shadow casting itself over his face. Duo shook his head and sighed.
"So what's the retrieval plan? Trowa asked. Heero sighed.
"For now we need to get the machines prepped for action, which means getting them out of that hole and into a safe hiding hole." Wu-fei leant back against the flagpole.
"The only exit a Gundam could get through is the escape chute. It's a vertical drop straight out of the bottom of the colony. We'd have to go back through the atmosphere." Duo elbowed Heero.
"Dya think we should tell Wu-fei that his head is exactly where they crashed Quatre's..."
"SHUT UP!" Quatre yelled in Duo's ear, almost knocking him over in shock. Heero laughed gently as Duo got up and dusted himself off. Wu-fei shook his head. Quatre coughed a little and then continued.
"The colony has a sensor to detect atmosphere movement. It's about two miles from here. We could shut it off, but we've gotta be inconspicuous." Everyone agreed. Heero nodded.
"Then here's the plan. Myself, Duo and Trowa will head for the gundams. We can set Sandrock and Nataku for autopilot. I'll land Nataku in the forest somewhere and Sandrock back at Sunset house. You can hide it in the aircraft hangar," he said to Quatre. Quatre nodded.
"OK, while you're doing that I'll head straight for the sensor and shut it off. Wu-fei, you'll have to keep Kitty occupied for a while." Wu-fei blushed a little but said nothing. "Tell her that I'm taking Pegasus home, and you take the car. Take her out for a drink or something. I'll meet you back at Sunset house." Duo nodded.
"All I gotta do is dump CiCi and we're sorted!" At which point, the blue dress clad cheerleader stormed across the School lawn towards the group.
"Duo Maxwell!" she called aggressively. He turned.
"You rang?" he answered. CiCi was shuddering with fury.
"You can forget coming home with me, Duo, it's over!" Duo tutted.
"Ok, for one thing I brought you here, and two, what the hell's up with you?" CiCi laughed coldly.
"Pur-lease, Duo, ya think I wouldn't notice you canoodling with that hussy out here?" Duo looked exasperated.
"Again, what?" he managed to splutter. CiCi ignored him and looked at Quatre.
"Your sisters a little slut, you know?" Quatre's jaw dropped. CiCi smirked, "Tell her to stay away from my man, k?" She clacked off back into the hall. Heero, Trowa and Wu-fei looked at one another and started sniggering.
"What the FUCK just happened?" Quatre said, turning away and emphasising the curse word with his balled fist. Duo shrugged.
"Beats me, dude," he said, turning around. He flushed bright pink at the hysterical pilots behind him. They saw his face and just collapsed.