HotD07

[Disclaimer]: I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this fanfic. The idea, however, is mine.

AN - I don't want to lose my ongoing momentum for this fanfic, so, here's another part! A little towards the end, Meilin will be remembering something, and those memories will be in italics. Enjoy!

Heart of the Dragon

Part 7

"Wufei, what is it?" Relena's question fell upon deaf ears as Meilin reread the letter in her hand.

"Sensei," Meilin thought inwardly, frowning slightly. "What does this mean?" She read the note again and again, not believing what was written.

Meilin ... Forget the mission. All is now resolved. You must return to your clan and your colony at once. All will be explained when I have the chance to talk with you again.

She balled the letter up in her hand, and looked around the room at the pilots. "No, something isn't right," she thought inwardly. "How can he expect me to forget about Wufei? Something must be wrong." Her eyes narrowed in determination as a plan formulated in her mind.

"Wufei," Relena stated hesitantly. Meilin shook her head, and she focused on a spot on the wall.

"What is it," Heero all but demanded, a frown settling on his own features.

"There has been trouble," Meilin stated slowly, forming the words carefully in her mind. "Master O is in trouble. His life, I fear, is in danger." With that simple statement, the mood in the room shifted dramatically to one of indifference.

"So," Heero stated, crossing his arms.

Duo scoffed. "Let him die," he stated darkly. "After he and the others helped OZ create those suits, their place is in death anyway."

"What," Meilin asked, blinking. Her mind screamed as she felt the situation go from bad to worse. "They won't help? Why?" The latter question posed itself out loud as she clenched her fist shut.

"He's gotten himself into trouble, and now he can get out of it himself as well," Trowa replied. "We owe him nothing."

Something akin to rage had been building up inside of Meilin during the course of the conversation. The pressure peaked, and she exploded. "But you owe me something," she exclaimed angrily. "You all know I'm not one to ask for help, but where is the honor in shying away when one of us is in need?"

"Wufei, where is this coming from," Quatre asked. "We all came to a decision about this already, long ago. We won't fight unless it's necessary. I'm sorry to say, but this is not a necessity."

Meilin remained silent as images of what could possibly be happening to Wufei and her sensei ran through her mind. She fought back the tears as her throat constricted. "Then I was a fool to agree to such terms," she stated in a low, dangerous voice. "A weak, foolish person."

"Wufei," Relena stated, placing a hand on Meilin's shoulder. She looked up at Relena, then to her hand, and pulled away from the girl's touch.

"I understand now," Meilin stated, her voice raising slightly. "You'd all rather stay here, in this mock environment of peace," she exclaimed, gesturing with a wide sweep of her arm. "Hear this! No place on Earth or in the colonies is safe."

"Wufei, don't," Quatre pleaded.

"Don't what," Meilin demanded. "You don't want me to say how I mistook your hatred towards my Sensei for your cowardice? Have you all gotten so used to peace that you won't fight again!"

"Shut your mouth, Wufei," Duo growled. "Those scientists did nothing but endanger our mission!" Meilin's eyes widened slightly as what Duo said triggered something Wufei had once told her.

" …they would have used you against me; thus endangering my mission…"

"Fine," Meilin stated finally, shaking with silent anger. "If you would rather run from your fears, then so be it. You can stay here, and become weak. Just like your pampered princess." She gasped in pain as Heero's fist connected with her jaw, sending her painfully to the ground.

"Heero," Relena exclaimed in alarm.

"You talk about weaknesses Wufei," he stated, glaring down at her and ignoring Relena. "You're the one who ran in the first place." An unreadable expression crossed his face as he studied her, right before he turned away.

"I see," Meilin stated quietly, taking a shaky breath as she got back up to her feet. She gingerly touched her sore jaw, and bowed her head. "I understand, now, why he left," she spoke in Chinese, drawing a strange look from Quatre. "He didn't think you cared for him, and it seems as if he was right."

"What did you say," Heero demanded, turning quickly back towards Meilin.

"Simply that I understand and respect your decision," she answered. She straightened her posture, and with as much dignity as she could muster, turned on her heel and left the room. The soft click of a door was heard as she retreated to her bedroom.

"Wufei," Quatre thought to himself, recalling his lessons in Chinese. "That's not what you said ... What's going on, here?"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

As the door closed behind her, Meilin slid down to the ground, and the tears she had been holding back fell freely. She touched her bruised jaw, and winced. "Damn, that hurt like hell," she stated softly with a bitter laugh. She leaned her head against the door, and closed her eyes.

"So ... Let him die ... We owe him nothing ..." As the pilot's words tumbled through her mind, Meilin's eyes snapped open again. A bombardment of questions plagued her mind. Were they truly talking about her sensei? Or were they talking about Wufei? Those words could have just as easily been directed towards him! Perhaps they knew she was an impostor, and for some bizarre reason, they had let her live.

"I must find out," she stated with determination. Standing up, she pulled off the shirt she wore, which was stiff from the dried paint. She walked towards her bed, and dropped down to her knees. Reaching underneath the bed, she took out her laptop and opened it, placing it on the bed. Typing a series of buttons, a dial tone finally sounded. As she waited patiently for it to connect, she pulled her hair from its' ponytail, and pulled the voice mechanism from her throat. She stared at the screen, when a face appeared.

"Why are you there still," Master O demanded, his voice hushed.

"Sensei," Meilin began.

"Your voice." He paused. "Ah, I see. You're on your way back to your colony," he asked. "I'm glad that you ..."

"No, Sensei, it's the opposite," she interrupted. "I got your letter. You must be in some sort of danger, to tell me to forget the mission." Her eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"

"I can't talk right now," he stated, a displeased expression on his face. "Just know everything is fine. You must return to your colony at once."

"I asked the others for help," she continued, as if not hearing what he had just said. "And they'd rather see you die, than to help. I don't understand the reasons why. But I'll come and save you - both you and Wufei.

"We won't fight unless it's necessary. I'm sorry to say, but this is not a necessity." As Quatre's words repeated in her mind, her eyes narrowed.

"I don't need them. Any of them," she declared venomously. "I won't let you down, Sensei."

"You foolish girl," Master O exclaimed, his voice rising slightly. She reeled back from his words, as if she had been struck physically. "It was a mistake to get you involved. You're in way over your head." He looked to the side, and then back at the screen. "Don't come back here. Go home."

"Sensei," she cried out as the screen went blank. "Sensei, wait." She slowly closed the laptop, and sat numbly. Her hopelessness finally consumed her as she lowered her head to her hands and began to cry. "Why Sensei," she cried out in anguish. "Why have you abandoned me too?"

In her state of sorrow, she never heard as her door opened softly and closed. As a hand rested on her shoulder, she stiffened. She turned around, to see Quatre standing behind her. She watched silently as he knelt down next to her.

"What's the matter," he asked, worry etched on his features. "Tell me what's really going on, Wufei." Not knowing what else to do, Meilin lunged forward, clutching to his shirt and burying her face into the crook of his neck.

"I'm sorry," she cried, her voice breaking. "I'm so sorry." Confusion spread over his face, however as she cried on his shoulder, Quatre wrapped his arms around her, comforting her.

"It will be okay," he murmured. "It will be okay."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Midnight found Meilin sitting in the hangar where the Gundams rested. She sat at the foot of Shenlong, her mind wandering over the events that had occurred in such a short time that night. She had spoken at length with Quatre when he found her in her room …

"Wufei, tell me what's wrong," Quatre pleaded as her sobs subsided. "I've never seen you like this before, and it ... it scares me. I'm not even sure if you are Wufei. Not after what I heard you say, or at least what I thought you said."

Meilin smiled a wan smile. "Who'd have thought he knew Chinese," she stated softly, to herself. "His profile never even hinted to that. I gave myself away." Her smile gave way, as she sighed heavily …

"M-my name isn't Wufei," she murmured, still talking into his shoulder. She pulled away from him, and dared to look up into his face. "My name is Ling Meilin, of the Yuan Clan."

And so from then, she had told him everything, and he had listened willingly. She told him of how she and Wufei had grown up together for many years, under the guidance of Master O, until the day they were separated from each other and their sensei. She told him how worried she had been for him when the war between the Earth and the colonies broke out, and of how relieved she was the day she saw him again. She explained how much Wufei meant to her, and that she would do anything in the world for him. And finally, she told him what, exactly, brought her to impersonate him …

"He's been captured by Oz," Quatre asked, his face paling as his eyes grew wide. "How?"

"I don't know," Meilin replied. "Wufei left the compound because of an argument he and Master O had." She laughed bitterly. "It was because of me, that they were arguing. I never told Master O that I knew what they were arguing about."

"It's not your fault they were arguing," Quatre stated, sensing that she blamed herself.

"But you see, it is," she stated. "If I had just stayed with my clan, then Wufei wouldn't have been caught, because the argument would never have ensued between the two. I have so much weighted against me." Her eyes began to water against her will once again. "And now with the arrival of that letter, things look to be getting worse. I wasn't lying when I said Master O was in trouble. I truly believe his life is in danger." She looked at him, her eyes searching his face, and she detected the faintest of smiles.

"I believe you, Meilin, and we'll figure out something," he said. A worried expression suddenly spread over her face, and his smile broadened, reaching his eyes. "Don't worry. I won't reveal what I know to the others."

"Thank you, Quatre," she sighed in relief.

Soon afterwards, Quatre said his goodnight to her and left her room. She went to the bathroom to take a shower, washing away the paint and, she hoped, her anxieties. After getting dressed and putting the voice mechanism back into place, she had gone to the hangar.

"Hey, I thought I'd find you out here," Duo stated softly, stepping out from the shadows. He walked over towards her, and looked up at the Gundam. She sat quietly, sensing when his gaze turned down towards her.

"What is it," she prompted, never looking up.

"Wufei," he began. "I don't know what's going on, but something definitely isn't right. What went wrong today? Why were you acting like that earlier?"

"I don't know," she replied, her eyes still on the ground. "I don't know what got into me." She paused and added quietly, "I feel as if I'm losing my whole world right now." Her last statement had not been intended to reach Duo, but he heard nonetheless.

"Damn it, Wufei," Duo exclaimed. "Did Heero hit you so hard, that you don't know how to act like yourself anymore!"

"I don't know, Duo. I truly don't know," she said quietly, eyes still on the ground. She winced as the dull pain in her jaw returned, reminding her the price of Heero's hurt pride.

"This isn't like you at all." Duo sighed, scratching the back of his head. "You know, I ran into Quatre as he was leaving your room," he stated, more to himself than to her. At this, Meilin looked over at him.

"What did he say," she asked.

Duo heard the panic in her voice, and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, so I finally got a reaction from you," he mused.

"Maxwell," she said through clenched teeth.

"He didn't say anything, really," Duo said finally, leaning against Shenlong. "Just that we all should reconsider going to help you." He frowned, pushing himself away from the Gundam. "After that, he headed back towards the living room; to talk to the others, most likely. What did you two talk about, anyway?"

"It's not important," she stated, her face becoming emotionless once again. "And even so, what we talked about is none of your business."

"It's good to see you back to your old self again, Wufei," Duo stated with a chuckle, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Whatever you and Quatre talked about worked miracles."

"Yeah, a miracle," she repeated softly. She watched as Duo waved and made his way back into the shadows. He stopped, turning back towards her.

"This probably won't mean much to you," he stated, "and you'll probably think I'm weak for saying it. But if it's any consolation for you at all, I want you to know that I would go to fight again. Not to help him, but for you."

Meilin gave him a half smile. "It does mean something to me, Duo," she stated. "And you are pretty weak for saying it." He smiled, and then disappeared into the shadows.

To Be Continued . . .

I'm evil, ne? ^_^ So, will the pilots help, or not? Hopefully, the flashbacks went smoothly between when Meilin was thinking and remembering. And now you even know a little more about her and Wufei's relationship. Please review!