HotD09

[Disclaimer]: I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this fanfic, nor do I claim them. The idea, however, is mine.

Heart of the Dragon

Part 9

Unknowingly, Duo, Heero, and Trowa ran down their corridors, their paces in sync as they made their way down the long halls. As they neared the end, they met up, though none were really surprised.

"Have you run into anyone," Heero asked, his eyes scanning around the perimeter.

"Not one person," Duo replied, a look of both confusion and annoyance expressed on his face. Trowa shook his head in response. "Just what in the hell is going on here?"

"I have a feeling," Trowa began, "that something more is going on than we know about. We need to find Wufei and Quatre."

"That would be the best plan of action," Heero agreed. The three silently made their way down the adjoining corridor that met at the end of the three corridors they had come out from.

"Man," Duo mused. "If only all of our missions had been this simple." He gave a short laugh, and then the smile disappeared from his face. "Have I been the only one to notice something ... off about Wufei?"

"I've noticed it, too," Heero stated. "From the moment he returned. I shouldn't have brushed it off so easily."

"Is Heero Yuy actually admitting to a possible error in judgement," Duo exclaimed with feigned shock. Heero ignored him, and as the trio made it to the end of the corridor, he stopped abruptly. As Duo was about to speak, he held up a hand to silence him. They pushed back into the shadows as two figures came into view - two girls. They were wearing white, silk kung-fu jackets and matching pants. The end of the three-quarter sleeves and the bottom of the jacket were lined with dark trimming, and the kanji representing their clan was in a circle on the front of the jacket.

"I heard that Meilin is back," the first girl stated. "But she's been gone for so many weeks, it's hard to believe she has the nerve to come back at all."

"It's true, Suhao, she's back" the second girl replied in a hushed voice. "And she's going to be in so much trouble."

"Aili, you shouldn't say that," Suhao exclaimed. "Madame Yuan may go easy on her."

"Not likely," Aili replied. "Not only did she leave the colony without permission, but she left because she heard her old sensei had returned here."

"That scientist," Suhao asked in awe, raising her voice slightly.

"Hush, not so loudly," Aili exclaimed. "If Chon finds us gossiping, he'll be furious and we'll be punished, too." Suhao gasped. "Besides, we'd better hurry to Madame." Picking up the pace slightly, their voices faded as they walked further away, and the three pilots stepped out from their hiding spot.

"What do you think that was about," Duo asked. "Who's this Meilin and Madame Yuan?" He paused, a realization hitting him. "Could the scientist they mentioned be Doctor O?"

"We'll find out," Heero stated, already walking in the direction the two girls had gone. Duo and Trowa quickly followed him.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Meilin sat kneeling on the ground, eyes downcast before Madame Yuan. The mistress of the Yuan clan paced slightly in front of the girl. The woman looked up as two girls entered the room.

"Suhao, Aili," Madame Yuan said. "What took the two of you so long to return here?"

"Forgive us, Madame Yuan," Suhao spoke for them both. "We came here as quickly as we could."

"Very well, then," the woman stated. "You will remain here. It's good I brought you along, after all."

As the woman spoke to the two girls, Meilin glanced over towards the wall, where the others were standing. Quatre had a look of worry on his face and Doctor O had a look of conflict on his. Her gaze shifted over towards Wufei, and their eyes locked. A frown was on his face, however his eyes betrayed that he, too, was worried. He tilted his head up slightly, and Meilin quickly turned back around towards Madame Yuan just as the woman turned back towards her.

"Now then, Ling Meilin," Madame Yuan began. "Stand." Meilin quickly complied, standing with her arms to her side, and back straight. "Explain your actions."

"Yuan-sensei," Meilin began, collecting her thoughts. "I left the clan upon hearing that Doctor O had returned here. You know of my past relationship with him."

"Do not patronize me," the woman stated dangerously, conversing in Chinese. "You walk on thin ice as it is."

"I was only-" A resounding smack was heard as Meilin's sentence was cut off. She fought the urge to bring her hand up to her stinging face, as the pain lingered there.

"Continue," Madame Yuan stated.

"I did not leave the colony in an attempt to run away," Meilin continued. "I had found out that Doctor O had returned, and I went to him without thinking of the consequences. And then someone close to me was in trouble, and I had to help him. As it is the code we live by." The woman glared daggers, and then slowly circled around the girl.

"You have brought great dishonor to your clan, and yourself, Meilin," Madame Yuan said. "Look at your appearance. This is not how I have taught you to conduct yourself. Your punishment shall be a severe one."

"Looks like you've started the party without us, lady," a voice said from the doorway, as a click of a gun was heard. Madame Yuan turned towards the voice, and saw three boys, each with a gun raised in her direction.

"You three should leave," Meilin stated, forgetting she didn't have the voice mechanism on her throat. "This doesn't concern you." Madame Yuan shot her a look, and she grew quiet.

"Listen, you guys," Quatre stated. "This has nothing to do with us." Duo glanced over in Quatre's direction, and did a double take. He looked at Wufei, who stood next to Quatre, and then to *Wufei* who stood next to Madame Yuan.

"The hell," he exclaimed, cocking his gun. "What's going on here," he demanded angrily. "Someone had better give me an answer, and quick."

"Duo, settle down," Quatre exclaimed. "There's more going on here, than you realize."

"Just be quiet, Maxwell," Wufei stated. "Take Quatre's advice, and just leave. You go too, Quatre."

"If you're Wufei, then who is this," Heero asked, training his gun on Meilin.

"Perhaps it is time I do some explaining," Doctor O stated, speaking for the first time.

"That might be a good idea," Duo remarked darkly. Doctor O walked over to where Meilin and Madame Yuan were standing.

"This is Ling Meilin," he began. "She and Wufei were both students of mine during the same time, up until they were separated from me. She went to join the Yuan Clan and Wufei joined the Long Clan."

"Nice history lesson, old man, but what does this have to do with anything," Duo asked sarcastically. "Get to the point!"

"Why does she look like Wufei, doctor," Trowa added.

"Perhaps a divine will guided me to do what I did," Doctor O reflected. "Whatever it was, once they returned here, I had one more lesson to teach them both; a life lesson for you all, if you will."

"At the expense of her honor Master," Wufei demanded. "Why didn't you send her back to her clan sooner?"

Doctor O smiled. "Because I knew you would return here after the war, and I knew she'd be the only one to help you adjust to life after it," he stated.

"This is not what we discussed at all," Wufei yelled angrily. "You said you were sending Meilin back to her clan as soon as she ran an errand for you on Earth. And when Madame Yuan showed up here, making all these claims against Meilin, I didn't know what to think! Now that I think about it, you've been avoiding me ever since Madame Yuan got here. What is going on? I want the truth, damn it!"

"I lied to you both," Doctor O stated simply. "To get you to see that your life could have meaning without war, Wufei, I lied to you both. I told you that Meilin was running an errand for me, whereas I told her that your life was in danger, and sent her to Earth to impersonate you."

Had it not been for the height difference between the two, Wufei would have punched him. However, he contained his rage by balling his fists at his sides. "You could have gotten her killed," Wufei spoke in Chinese. "What were you thinking! You could have gotten her killed. And none of them," he continued, motioning towards the pilots, "would have had second thoughts on carrying out that action!"

"Ah, but you see, Wufei, nothing like that happened," Doctor O pointed out. "Meilin is still very much alive, and she even brought along the other pilots. Do you see how convincing she is? Isn't it now obvious that you are not only important to her, but to the other Gundam pilots as well? That much is proven by their very presence. You all swore only to fight when it was necessary. They felt that it was necessary to help you."

"We helped under false pretenses," Duo objected.

"But you did help nonetheless," Doctor O countered. "Because you were convinced that she was Wufei." The three pilots faltered, at a total loss for words. He was right. They had all had their doubts about going back to space with the intention of fighting if necessary, but they had gone. "The five of you are more important to each other than you realize," he continued. "And I think that with my actions, I have proved just that."

"Wasn't there any other way," Meilin asked, disrupting the silence that had settled in the room. She took a step closer to Doctor O. "Couldn't you have found another way, without the deception and lies, Sensei?" He smiled at her wryly.

"You already know the answer to that question, Meilin, from your experience living with the pilots," Doctor O replied. She nodded her head in understanding, and remained quiet. He looked past her, to Madame Yuan. "It was my doing from the beginning, for Meilin's actions."

"In light of all this, it changes nothing," Madame Yuan stated. "As is the code of our clan. Tell me, Meilin," she began in a slight mocking manner. "Was this worth all that trouble?"

"Of course it was," Meilin replied sharply, spinning back towards the older woman. "Chang Wufei means the world to me, and I would do anything for him! Anything! Even though we have no blood relation, he and Master O are my true family. I don't regret saying that my loyalty lies truer with them, than with this clan." She paused, squaring her shoulders and holding her head up proudly. "Regardless to the severity of my punishment, Yuan-sensei, if Wufei ever needs me again, I would be by his side in a heartbeat."

"Very well, then," Madame Yuan stated, taking notice as the girl trembled slightly with the conviction of her words. "Siu Chon and I will discuss what actions are to be taken against you." She clapped her hands together briskly and the two girls, Suhao and Aili, joined her side. "Take Meilin, and prepare her for her judgement."

"Come then, Ling Meilin," Suhao spoke softly as the girls stood at either side of Meilin. She and Aili bowed their head slightly, and then led Meilin out of the room.

To Be Continued . . .

This chapter was a little short, but I plan on making up for that in the next part. I also want to make it the last chapter/part of this fanfic, however I'll have to just see once I write it. We'll find out together, I suppose! ^_~