Karen crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall

Truth Hurts

Karen crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall. She wasn't all to please to see Kasey there. Kasey on the other hand was sitting comfortably on the couch, and he watched Karen with amusement.

"I'm surprised," Kasey said, breaking the silence.

Karen walked over to get some juice, "And what's your problem? You always did say I was too stern."

"Yes, but I didn't say fall for a Gundam pilot!"

Karen glared at him, "You've been spying on me?"

Kasey sighed and got up, "Yes, but only because your cousin wanted to make sure you're okay, and…"

"And?"

"Oz is looking for Key, they're on a manhunt," Kasey explained.

Karen sipped her juice thoughtfully; "He's not going to take me off this mission is he?"

"He might, after all with the manhunt for Key, your job with the Gundam pilots just got harder."

"Look, I'll be fine, just tell Ryan to give me a few more days," Karen said.

"Okay, I will, but… You stay away, emotionally from those pilots. Falling for one of them is treading on very thin ice Karen."

She looked sadly at her friend, "What if I told you I can't do that."

"Then I would say you're going to get yourself killed," Kasey answered back.

Meanwhile, Wufei just walked into his room, when Duo stopped him. Duo had this silly grin plastered on his face, like he knew something no one else did.

"Hey Wu-man!"

Wufei growled, "Don't call me that Maxwell!"

"Chill, hear you finally got a life," Duo grinned again.

"What in the hell do you mean?"

Duo mocked a sad face, "You hurt me! I'm your friend and you never told me to fallen for that girl Karen."

"Maxwell…" Wufei's voice rose.

"Don't get so flustered, some people seen you and her around the school. That's all, and knowing you, you don't often do that. So, like her? Love her? What?" Duo pestered Wufei.

"Look, she just asked me to spar with her this morning, so I did."

Duo's jaw dropped, "You… Mr. Women-are-the-weaker-sex… Accepted her offer to spar this morning?" he put a hand on Wufei's head, "Are you feeling okay buddy?"

Wufei pushed Duo's hand away, "I'm fine baka! Besides she's the only person that makes a decent sparring partner!"

A coughing noise brought both the boys' attention to the doorway. There, standing like it was nothing out of the ordinary (which it wasn't) was Trowa. Quatre was standing beside him, smiling and Heero was smirking at Wufei. Quatre walked up to him and handed Wufei two tickets, "Well, sparring partner or not, you're needed to go to this dance. So, you might as well as her out."

"You must be joking," Wufei gaped at them.

Trowa shook his head, "No, we're not joking. Oz is holding it's annual ball, and we need dates. Only you don't have one, we would have gotten Sally, but she's away right now."

"So, you need to ask Karen, we'll just make sure she doesn't get in the way before then," Quatre explained.

"Besides, we would stick out too much if we went alone," Heero added.

Wufei stared at each and every one of them; "I don't believe this, me asking Karen to a party."

"Believe it Wu-man!" Duo slapped him on the back.

Wufei growled, "Don't call me Wu-man! And I won't ask her to the party. I go alone!" he turned to walk out the door, before anyone could say anything, he turned back a growled, "And you will die Maxwell if you ask her for me!"

Back in Karen's room, she watched her friend thoughtfully before sitting down. Kasey nods understanding somewhat of the problem they were both facing at the moment.

"I don't get you Karen. The last guy to make a move on you, you decked him, and he was out for a week. Now, there's this Gundam pilot and you are falling for him," Kasey shook his head.

Karen just shrugged, "First of all, he didn't make any move on me. He has this thing against females, and I'm not falling for him per say."

"But you do like him," he pointed out.

"………"

"Look I have no problem with you getting a love life, but I do have a problem with you falling for one of your targets. If this was different then I wouldn't be so worried, besides what are you going to tell him? Sooner or later if he really does like you in return he'll wonder about your family, friends, what do you for a part time job… You can't lie to him Karen, not if you really think you're going to fall for him," Kasey sat up, leaning over.

"Lie to him no, not forever, but for now," Karen answered back.

Kasey sighs, rubbing his temples, "Karen, as your friend, and as the person Ryan sent to keep you out of trouble, I have one piece of advice, don't. Don't fall in love, don't think about it, and don't get attached. This is more than thin ice for you Karen. If this pilot finds out you're an Oz soldier out to get him and his fellow pilots then you're in trouble, and worse yet he won't trust you. Never, and he might even kill you. If Oz ever finds out you fell for a pilot, they will question your loyalty. This will leave you in the middle with neither side trusting you."

"And who has caught me yet? No one Kasey, and I'm not going to get caught now. If I have to, then I'll… I don't know what, but I'll do something."

"Hopefully by the time anyone realizes it, everything will be in place, and you better not mess this up," Kasey frowned.

Karen stood up, "Don't worry I won't."

"Good," Kasey got up and grabbed his coat before adding one more thing, "And another thing, Oz is holding it's annual ball, and…"

Karen groans, "No, please no…"

"As an Oz official, and the cousin of one of the higher ranking officers, you must attend this ball," Kasey finished.

"I hate those things! You know how those other officers are! They will drive me crazy one day I swear!" Karen stomped her foot.

Kasey smirked, "Okay then, get a dress ready, the dance will be held two weeks from now."

That's the way things went for now. Karen has spent most of her days working, in classes, sparring and wondering how much she should tell Wufei about her. Not that she was really falling for him, at least that's what Karen made herself think. During this time Wufei was doing everything he could, not to deck Duo for bugging him. Fortunately Trowa and Heero didn't care, besides, Heero was already having enough trouble with his own love life. Quatre knew enough about Wufei, to leave him alone. Maybe asking every once in awhile how things were, but other than that, he left Wufei alone. During the passing of a week, Heero had been working hard to find out more about Key, the sixth mysterious Gundam pilot. Though part of his work was easy do to the fact that word about the manhunt for Key was spread throughout Earth and the colonies.

One night, all of the Gundam pilots were sitting around the table, and Heero was briefing them on what he had found out.

"So, what's the word on this Key guy?" Duo asked.

Trowa nods, "Key is the codename, though I wonder why."

Heero nods, "Has anyone here heard of the Nova Star Techno Company?"

"I have," Quatre said, "It was a really good company dedicated to scientific research and making advanced technology."

"Was?" Wufei repeated, raising a brow.

Quatre nods, "The Winner Corporation use to have a signed agreement with Nova Star, but later Oz took that company over and the deal was broken off. I think now that company produces weapons for Oz."

"That's right, but most people in the company didn't agree with Oz. When Oz took over, they took over by force," Heero explained.

Duo leaned back in his chair, "So in other words this company didn't have a choice."

Heero nods, "A lot of the personal left the company and created the rebel group known as the Underground. There are rumors flying around that there are many Underground members working within Oz, but Oz claims to have gotten rid of those traitors."

Trowa softly asked, "Then what does that have to do with Key?"

"Key is a member of the Underground. The Underground created his Gundam, and recruited him to pilot it. From what I can gather they have been waiting for a long time to do something like this. Only recently has Key been able help, I think he might have been caught by Oz earlier."

Duo stared at Heero, "What do you mean?"

"Right now Oz is going on a manhunt for Key, they want him back and alive."

Quatre frowned, "That's not good, if Key gets caught this could mean trouble."

"We shouldn't have let him go then," Trowa murmured, "He would be safer with us, than out alone."

"Unless there is still something we don't know," Wufei added.

"All we can do, is wait and see," Heero finished.

The morning before the party, Wufei and Karen were sparring as usual. The two were at it, going all out. Wufei had slowly starting having respect for Karen, for her fighting skills and for the fact she was pretty smart. Also she was calm, she wasn't totally emotionless like Heero, or overly humorous like Duo. She seemed to understand what to do and not to do when it came to talking to him. The girl never yelled or got into verbal spars with him like he and Sally would do. On the other side, Wufei to Karen was someone she could at least get to know. True he was hard to talk to, but then again, she wasn't that much of a talker. He never tried to make moves on her, like so many have the men did, back at the base. Then again, she thought, it was only because of her stats as an officer and because of her cousin. Wufei had no idea, and he would care less about an Oz soldier anyways. There were always questions about each other; they wanted to ask, though they never got around to doing so. Like Wufei always wonder about the glasses that Karen wore, it was clear she didn't need them. Maybe she thought it was fashionable; he just hoped she didn't have a split personally or anything like that. Karen on the other hand wondered why Wufei thought that women were weak.

That night, in a huge mansion the annual ball was being held. Karen looked into the sea of people, glaring at any male that would come her way. Ryan watched his cousin with amusement at her behavior. At that point it was safe to say that almost every aristocratic person was at the ball. She sipped her drink, wondering what was the quickest way to get out of the place. Letting her eyes wander, she choked on her drink. There, right near the door were the pilots!

"Crap, this is not good," Karen, thought, as she made her way through the crowd and to her cousin.

Ryan waved her over, "What's the matter?"

"The pilots they're here," Karen pointed over to the door.

"This is not good, they might attack this place."

"I know that, but what about me? They'll recognize me in a second!" Karen panicked slightly.

"Then quickly go back to the dorms," Ryan pointed to a back exit.

Karen was about to go, when something struck her, "Wait, I have a better idea."

With that she headed towards Wufei, leaving her cousin, stunned and jaw dropped. He wanted to follow her, but decided to just watch, from a safe distant, but within hearing range. Wufei stared in equal shock as Ryan, when he saw Karen walk up to him. So did the rest of the Gundam pilots, the first thing to enter all of their minds was. What was she doing here? This was unexpected to everyone.

Karen smiled, "I'm surprised to see you here."

"As am I," Wufei replied.

The music changed, and Karen noticed that some men she knew were heading towards her. She turned to them, glaring at them for even thinking of asking her. Duo smirked at this, since Karen was normally the sweet, geeky girl he once took her for when they first met. Now, she was just as much as a spitfire as Wufei could be at times. Wufei also noticed the advancement on Karen, and gave them his own glare.

"How about a dance?" Wufei asked.

This time all of the pilots stared at Wufei.

Karen smiled, "It would be a pleasure."

Ryan gaped at her, "She's accepting his offer to dance? With a Gundam pilot? Has she lost her mind?"

As they danced Wufei asked her, "So what are you doing here?"

"How about you tell me first?" Karen countered.

Heero frowned, "If she finds out, it will jeopardize the mission."

"I'm here because one of my friends have to come," Wufei answered.

Duo nudged Heero, "See? Don't worry, he has this under wraps."

"And you?"

"Karen just say you're here with friends too," Ryan thought to himself.

Karen paused for a minute, "My cousin is an officer here, and I work for Oz myself."

Ryan tried not to slap himself on the forehead, "I can't believe she just said that…"

Wufei stared at her, "She's an Oz soldier?" he then asked, "But how? If you're in school?"

"My father wanted me to have a social life, so he enrolled me in school," she answered.

Ryan felt the urge to grab her and ask her what she was thinking, "At least she didn't tell him her true purpose."

Duo gaped at her, "She's an Oz soldier? We are in trouble."

"Is that so?" Wufei felt this lump in his throat.

Karen looks at him sadly, "Wufei could we talk, outside. Alone?"

"Okay."

The two leave, Heero was about to go after them when Quatre stopped him. He shook his head; Heero stared on after the two, but let them go. Besides, Wufei had a gun. As they walked out into the large garden, Karen stares at the stars. Wondering what she had gotten herself into, after all. Ryan was really going to yell at her after this.

"So, what is it you need to tell me?" Wufei asked, crossing his arms.

Karen sighed, "Wufei, I… There's another reason for me being at the school."

Wufei felt his strange tightening in his chest, "And that would be?"

"I can't tell you that, but please Wufei, trust me okay? Please."

Wufei watched her, wondering if trusting her would be a good idea.

Just then Duo came, "Wu-man! We have to go!"

Wufei didn't yell at him for calling him Wu-man, he just said, "We'll talk about this later, but for now, you better leave."

Karen nods, knowing, wishing she could tell the truth.

Ryan watched him from his office window, he wanted to go down right then and there, but he knew he couldn't. Moments later, there was an attack on the near by base. It was only miles from the party that was taking place. The DeathScythe had just finished off a bunch of mobile suits, when Key came onto the scene.

"Hey Key! Glad to see you man! Look after this, we need to talk," Duo yelled.

"Okay, let's finish this!" Key called.

Again there were a lot of mobile suits, just like before. Nothing that they couldn't handled right? Unfortunately, they didn't expect for the backup to come so quickly. Before Key knew it, he was being attacked from behind.

Trowa yelled, "Key, look out!"

Shots rang through the air, and the Gundam hit the floor.

"Are you okay?" Quatre asked, covering for the fallen pilot.

Key gasped, "I'll… be okay…"

"You don't sound it," Duo took out a few more.

"Don't ask…"

Soon, the base was destroyed, and the remaining mobile suits were finished off. Heero turned to the sixth pilot.

"Key, we need to talk," Heero stated.

"About what?"

Duo chirped, "It seems you have Oz hunting you Key, you're better off with us."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, they won't find me," Key replied.

Wufei snapped, "Don't be a fool, you will get yourself killed."

Key didn't agree, and said, "Look, unless someone betrays me, no one will find out who I really am."

"What in the hell did he mean by that?" Duo thought to himself.

Once again they departed, and left Key alone. It was around midnight when Karen got back to her room. She was a bit pale, but that was because her dress was torn, and she was holding her side. Fortunately everyone got out of the party safely, though she amended that she would have to face her brother soon.

Back somewhere else; two people were having a worried conversation.

"So it's true, someone is a spy?" the man asked the lady.

She nods, "They know now, and they will soon find Key."

"They can't, they won't suspect a thing," the man shook his head.

The lady frown, "No, they know, and they will find Key. If we don't warn them, people will die, along with our only hope…"

Wufei knocked on Karen's door; she was taking a long time to answer. He was worried, he wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but he was worried. What if she got caught in the crossfire? Then what? Slowly Karen opened the door, and peeked out. She smiled as soon as she saw Wufei, and opened the door all the way. He stepped in, she looked okay, but she was hugging her side for some strange reason.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Karen gave him a weak smile, "I'll be fine, come on. I'll get some tea."

"So, what is it you want to talk to me about?" Wufei asked, watching her make some tea.

Karen was silent for a minute before talking, "Wufei, I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

She hands him a cup of tea, "For not telling you."

Wufei sighed as he took the tea, "Not telling me what?"

Karen sits, and stares at the cup in her hand, "Why I was really sent to the school."

"So why were you?" Wufei took a sip of his tea.

"… I was sent to find the Gundam pilots…" she didn't look at Wufei.

He put his cup down, and watched her, "So then why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'm leaving," Karen looked at him, straight in the eye, "Because I'm going back to tell them I found nothing."

Wufei was taken back, "Why go back and tell them you found nothing?"

"Why not? It would be better than to say I found the Gundam pilots wouldn't it?" Karen asked.

"You knew?"
"I always knew, before I even stepped into that room, I knew who you and your friends were," Karen explained.

"And you never told me," Wufei said, "You never, said anything."

"No I didn't, I couldn't," Karen shook her head.

"You were playing? Playing with my emotions?" Wufei asked angrily.

"No! I wouldn't be telling you this if I were playing with your emotions."

"Then why not tell me sooner?"

Karen snapped back, "Because I didn't know what to do! I never knew Wufei, I have never before really fallen for anyone. When I did, I needed to make a choice, I just wasn't sure what that was."

Wufei stood up, "So your choice is this, you're willing to tell me, but you're still going to go back."

"Yes I'm going to go back," Karen stated.

"Then this is good-bye," and with that he walked out the door.

Karen sat back, wondering if she did the right thing. True, she, in Kasey's words, just shrew up. She wondered if it was really worth as she starting crying. For you see, in her heart, she knew she still hasn't told Wufei everything.

Author's Note: Well, well, well, didn't think it would turn out like this, but I'm not complaining. Please read and review!