Chapter 14

Wufei and Lillith circled each other warily. Wufei looked into his opponents eyes, hoping to
detect a hint of what her first move would be. However, he saw nothing, as he had half
expected. The girl's eyes were as dead as her voice. "Just like Heero used to be," he thought.

FLASH

"Come on Wufei! Hurry it up!" the voice whined.

Wufei did nothing, looking scornfully at the little girl in front of him as he continued to
circle.

"Foolish child!" a voice boomed. "A true warrior does not act with haste!"

The girl sulked, and in that moment, Wufei lunged. The little girl let out a yelp, but danced
out of the way. "That was sneaky!" she pouted.

"Shut...up..." Wufei said through clenched teeth. Why did he have to practice with this
impudent child? "Because she is just as skilled as you are," a voice said in his head. "And you
two are the same age, so she is the perfect partner."

Wufei shook his head to clear himself of the voice. "Concentrate," he thought to himself.

FLASH

Suddenly, the girl lunged. Wufei brought up his sword and parried her blow. "She's stronger
than she looks," he thought. The force of her blow had sent shock waves down his arm, but
Wufei recovered quickly and leaped forward to strike.

FLASH

"Hee hee! You'll have to do better than that to catch me, cause I'm the ginger bread
man!"

Pausing for a moment, Wufei said scornfully, "Do you still read those pathetic nursery rhymes?"

"Of course! Just like any other normal little six year would right? Why don't you?
Oh wait, you're not normal! Ha ha!"

"SILENCE!" the voice roared again. "This is a duel! You are a warrior, and warriors
do not chant stupid little rhymes during a battle!"

Turning around to glare at the speaker, the girl said, "I'm NOT a warrior! I hate fighting!
I want to be normal! OW!" she finished as the man brought down his stick on her shoulder.

"Enough of your impudence! You know very well not to speak to your elder like that!
As for you not being a warrior, you are a member of the Chang line. It is your destiny to
fight!"

FLASH

"Is that the best you can do?" the girl mocked, but not losing an ounce of concentration.
She had met all of Wufei's blows blow for blow, and he couldn't seem to gain any
advantage. However, he had managed to force her into a corner of the room. Raising his sword,
he prepared to strike.

FLASH

"You're finished now!" Wufei said gleefully. He had finally succeeded in backing the
girl against a tree. Relishing the look of horror on her face, he struck

"What?!" he gasped. The girl was no longer there...but his sword was buried in the
tree trunk. Suddenly, he was kicked in the back. The second kick brought him to his knees,
and he glared up angrily at the girl who had her sword aimed at his head.

"Fine, you win," he said sullenly.

The girl's eyes lit up, and she started prancing around. "I wi-in! I wi-in!" she said
gleefully. "OW!"

"Do not betray your emotions on the battleground! How many times do I have to tell
you that!"

But the girl had had enough. Whirling around and clenching her fists, she said, "Why is it
always me? Why is it when Wufei does something wrong, you never hit him! Why is it that
whenever he does something good, he gets rewarded, while I get nothing! Is it because I'm a
girl! Is it?! Hey!" she said furiously, dodging yet another blow.

The old man's eyes bulged with rage, but she continued, "Everything is always Wufei this
Wufei that! You just said I'm a Chang too! So why can't I get the benefits of being one!"

"Wufei is destined to carry on the family name!" the old man roared. "You are just
an impudent girl!"

"Just an impudent girl?! I'M HIS TWIN SISTER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

"YOU ARE NO DAUGHTER OF MINE!" the man bellowed, his face contorted with rage. "Get
out of my sight, now!"

FLASH

"What?!"

The girl had dodged Wufei's blow, and the force of his sword colliding with the wall had jarred
it from his hand. Turning around, he was certain he had failed, but the girl was just
standing there.

"Why didn't you finish me?"

"It is dishonorable to kill someone while their back is turned," she said, kicking his
sword back to him.

Wufei stared at her, then picked up his sword. "I need no favors from you!" he said harshly.

The girl's eyes flickered. "Very well, I'll finish this now."

FLASH

Wufei stared out at the rain sullenly. "Why am I so affected by this? She was just a girl, and
a rude one at that! She was worth nothing!"

But ever since his sister had run away, taking her sword with her, he hadn't been the same.
Of course, her ludicrous action had prompted the family patriarch to claim that he would disown
her, but in reality, he hadn't done so yet. In fact, Wufei had seen both his parents staring
off into space in the evening, not knowing that he was watching. The absence of the happy
girl had taken its toll on everyone. Even now, Wufei was thinking of the times when she
would take out her erhu, an odd instrument with two strings and a bow, and climb a tree and
start to play it, occasionally singing. Of course, she would be reprimanded for wasting time
and not honing her fighting skills, but it was known that the sound of her playing and singing
was enjoyed by everyone. Occasionally, Wufei would bring out his Chinese flute and play with
her, and the twins would share a special moment.

"But she's gone now..." Wufei said. "And Father and Mother can't even bear to see her
things anymore..." Overnight, all things belonging to the girl had disappeared. After hunting
for an entire day, Wufei had found all her belongings stashed in a box. The box was now in
his room, hidden under his bed.

Now, Wufei took out the box and ran his hands over her clothes, her erhu, her jewelry. Then,
hesitating, Wufei removed a charm in the shape of a dragon that he wore and placed it in the box,
and closed it. "My sister is gone," he said flatly. "I have no twin anymore..." Then, he
collapsed over the box and started to sob.

"Reiming..."

FLASH

The girl brought the handle of her sword into Wufei's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
Then she brought her blade down at his head, but he threw himself off to the side. She lunged
after him, but he kicked her in the chest and threw her to the side. She promptly got back
on her feet by flipping herself up, but as she did, a necklace flew out from under her vest.
She quickly stuffed it back it, but Wufei had seen it. His face drained of color.

"Was that...was that...?"

The necklace Wufei had seen was the shape of a golden phoenix. Wufei thought back to his
childhood, remembering his own charm. "The dragon...and the phoenix! Oh my God, they
match...they match! Then that must mean..." and he tossed his sword away. "Reiming...you are
alive...you've been alive all this time..."

"Why did you throw away your weapon?"

Taking a deep breath, he said in a forced voice, "You were never disowned you know."

"What did he just say?!" Quatre gasped.

The girl's eyes flickered in annoyance. "So...you know who I am. But that doesn't matter; I
was banished from my parent's hearts," she said, and her voice grew tight as she continued,
"And from the heart of my twin brother as well!" and she lunged forward.

Chapter 15

"WHAT?!" Quatre, Duo, Hilde, Heero, and Zechs said at the same time. "Twin
brother!"

In the cockpit of his suit, Trowa had a similar reaction. "Since when did Wufei have
a sister?"

Meanwhile, the girl continued to fight Wufei. "Stop this madness Reiming!" he shouted.

"I'm no longer Reiming! As far as I'm concerned, Reiming is DEAD!"

"Wufei! Protect yourself!" Heero shouted.

"I don't need to," he said softly.

Sure enough, the girl stopped her attack, but kept her sword aimed at Wufei's head.

Hoping to talk some sense into her, Wufei said, "How can my sister be dead? How can my dear
twin sister be dead when she is standing right in front of me?"

The girl looked at him evenly. "Chang Reiming hated war. She hated fighting; she hated
killing. But I, Lillith, have fought, have killed. My hands are too bloodstained to be
mistaken for the pure ones of Chang Reiming. Therefore, she is dead. She died the day she left
her home. And so therefore, we are no longer related, and I must kill you."

"No," Wufei said simply. "We will always be twins. You were never banished from my
heart, nor the heart of Father and Mother. They had too much pride to admit how hurt they
were...as I did."

"Pride!" she spat. "It was always pride! And look where that pride got them! They
detonated the whole colony for the sake of pride!"

"No! You are mistaken! They detonated the colony for the sake of peace! They
sacrificed themselves to further the cause for world peace!"

"There will never BE peace. Mariemaia Khrushrenada said so herself. History is an
Endless Waltz. The cycle between war and peace will continue."

"So why are you working to fuel this cycle?"

"That is not your concern!"

"YES IT IS!" Wufei cried in frustration. "I lost my twin when I was six years old! I
lost my other half! And now, she is standing here in front of me! Of course it is my
concern! Your pain is my pain! Don't you realize that?!"

Reiming looked at Wufei for a long time. Finally, she lowered her sword and threw it away.

"It doesn't matter," she said quietly. "Whether you care or not...I cannot become
Reiming once again. Reiming was alive; she had a heart and soul. She was human. She was a
happy little girl, a girl who loved to run on open grass, feeling the wind rushing through her
hair. She loved nature, the trees, the flowers...But that's not me. I'm not her. I'm
dead. I have no heart, no soul. I am not human; I am a lifeless fighting machine."
Looking at him, she said, "And I can't fight you...Go. Take your companions with you. You've
won."

Reiming removed a control from her pocket and pressed a button. Immediately, the clamps opened
and the doors swung open. Another button opened up the entry way.

"Reiming..." Wufei said.

"GO!" she snarled. "Kill me if you wish, but just leave here!" and she turned around
and faced a wall.

Heero put a hand on Wufei's shoulder. "We should go now," he said, as the rest were filing out
of the room. Wufei nodded, and started to walk. "But not without my sister!"

Reiming jerked around, her eyes wide. But it was too late; Wufei brought his hand down hard at
the base of her neck, and she crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Hoisting her up, Wufei said,
"Now...we can go."

The group hurried down the hallway, Wufei bringing up the rear with his unconscious sister. His
emotions were in a tangle. "Am I doing the right thing?" he thought. "Of course! She's my
sister! Of course she'll join us!" but he couldn't be sure. As they entered the room where
Trowa was waiting, Wufei paused in front of the Phoenix.

"Heero," he called. "Can I trust you to pilot Nataku?"

Heero hesitated, and stared. "You're joking...no, you're not," he said when he saw Wufei
regarding the Phoenix thoughtfully. "Can you handle that thing?"

"Do I have a choice? Reiming will never forgive me if I don't bring her suit along, and
we can't leave this good of a weapon in the hands of the enemy."

"We also don't know if she IS the enemy. Bringing along that thing will make her
extremely dangerous. What if she doesn't join us?"

"If we leave it here, the enemy will definitely use it to their advantage. But if we
bring it with us, at least we'll be able to investigate it; find out what makes it so strong."
And hopefully convince Reiming to join us, he thought silently.

Finally, Heero nodded. "Okay then, have fun," as he turned towards the Altron.

Quatre, Duo, and Hilde joined Trowa in Heavyarms, and Zechs joined Heero in Altron. Trowa and
Heero started their suits, then turned to look at Wufei. Wufei had no clue had to pilot
Phoenix, and he wasn't too sure if he could, but he had to try. "The configuration is
similar..." he thought, "But I have no clue what half of these things are for. This is so
complicated!"

But fortunately for Wufei, he managed to start the thing, and the three suits left and rejoined
the others back at the station.

Chapter 16

"Heero! You're safe!" Relena cried, as she hurried down to see them.

"Hey, of course we're all okay. We can take care of ourselves!" Duo said wryly.

"Then if that's the case, why'd you get abducted in the first place," a sobbing
Dorothy asked as she hugged, and nearly strangled, Quatre. "I was so scared!"

Noin had a similar reaction, but after welcoming Zechs, she turned her attention to the Phoenix.
"What is that thing doing here?" she demanded.

The pilots glanced at each other, then Duo waved his hand, "See for yourself," he said, as
Wufei exited the suit, supporting a still-unconscious Reiming.

Lady Une's eyes widened. "That's not...that's not...you can't be serious..."she choked.
Duo nodded. "Say hello to the pilot of the Phoenix, Lillith aka Chang Reiming."

"Chang?!" Lady Une sputtered.

"Yup. From what I gathered, she's Wufei's long lost twin sis."

"What is she doing here?!" Noin demanded.

Duo shrugged. "Beats me. I think Wufei wants to convert her or something, you know, to our
side, though I have my doubts." His eyes narrowed. "I've seen what she can do, and I think
we're being idiots, letting her come here, if you ask me."

"Give her a chance," a voice said quietly. Mariemaia walked into the room. "She may
just be misguided...like I was. You gave me a chance, can't you do the same for her?"

"Mariemaia..." Lady Une began. Oh, how do I say this tactfully? she thought.

Tact, however, was not in Dorothy's mind. "Mariemaia, this girl is dangerous," she said flatly.
"You weren't. This girl can wipe out all of us and not break a sweat."

Mariemain however, was not daunted. "I'm sure if you just let her explain, she'll tell you
what happened. Please, don't be too hard on her."

As Wufei floated over with his burden, Trowa put his arm on his. "Wufei...you know we'll have
to restrain her..."

Wufei looked somewhat rebellious, then sighed and nodded. "You're...you're right..." he said
wearily. "But don't hurt her."

Trowa nodded, and he and Heero took Reiming from him and carried her away.

60 minutes later...

"She hasn't moved at all?" Wufei said curiously.

Quatre shook his head. "There have been no fluctuations in brain activity either. She hasn't
moved."

Wufei shook his head. "She's faking it. I didn't hit her that hard. Let me go see her."

Just when Wufei entered the room, Reiming's eyes flickered open.

"Let me up," she demanded.

Wufei looked sadly at her shackled arms and legs, and said, "I'm...sorry, we can't, not yet."

"That wasn't a request!" she growled, and before he could do anything, she braced
herself and tore off her arm restraints.

"Reiming...?!"

Quatre and Zechs dashed into the room and pulled out their guns. "Don't move," Zechs said
in an icy voice.

"That's pathetic," she said scornfully. "You won't shoot me, not with Wufei here." and
with that, she tore off her leg restraints as well.

"Reiming, stop this!" Wufei shouted.

"My...name...is...LILLITH!"

"No...it's...REI...MING!"

"Stop patronizing me! You haven't changed at all!"

"Stop being so stubborn! YOU haven't changed at all!"

The two siblings glared at each other, while Zechs and Quatre looked on helplessly.

"What's going on here?" Relena demanded, rushing into the room. "Oh..." she said,
looking at the siblings.

"How'd she get loose?" Lady Une demanded, running in after Relena.

"Forced herself out," Zechs shrugged.

Lady Une narrowed her eyes. "I don't like this," she said. "This girl's too strong, too
powerful. She's flat out dangerous."

"Oh stop it, everyone!" Relena said. Turning to Reiming, she said, "Please, pardon our
rudeness. We had to restrain you because we weren't sure whether you were dangerous or not.
But since that arrangement didn't work, perhaps you'd like a room of your own?"

Reiming studied Relena, and finally nodded. "I thank you for your hospitality," she said, not
sounding very thankful. "It's nice to know SOMEONE around here is courteous," she said,
giving everyone an icy look, and swept out of the room.

a few minutes later...

"I hope you like it," Relena said anxiously, watching Reiming as she walked around the
room, examining it. When Reiming nodded, Relena breathed a sigh of relief.

"Except for one aspect."

Relena jerked her head up. "What would that be?" she started to ask, but she had her answer
soon. Systemically, Reiming began finding every camera Duo and the others had carefully
hidden and tossed them on a rug on the floor.

"Hey Relena how's...what the?!" Duo said, skidding to a halt in the doorway.

"I told you I liked this room except for one aspect," Reiming called over her shoulder
as she was in the process of dismantling another camera. "So I'm fixing that problem right
now."

The pile on the floor steadily grew as Reiming hunted out every camera, tracer, and everything
else that would give away her presence. She was in the process of covering the mirror (it
was doublesided) when Trowa walked in.

"Trowa...she's...stop...it..." Duo managed to sputter. "She's found every single
detection device I've put in here!"

Trowa looked at Duo, then at Reiming, then the pile on the floor, and let out a chuckle. "She's
quite a character," was all he said.

"There!" Reiming said smugly, dusting her hands. "This will do quite nicely." Then,
rolling up the rug, she presented it to Trowa. "Put them to better use," she said, then closed
the door in their faces.

"Hey!" Duo said, getting his ability to speak back. "You know, we ARE supposed to be
watching you!"

"Go ahead and try!" came the snide remark from the other side of the door. "If you'll
excuse me now, resting on a metal table is quite uncomfortable. I'll be going to sleep now."

Chapter 17

"Where's Reiming?" Quatre said franctically, dashing into the kitchen and disrupting
everyone's breakfast.

Swearing, Zechs stood up. "That little bitch! Did she escape already?!"

The entire group thundered down the hallway and into her room. Sure enough, the room was empty.

"Great, just great!" Duo muttered. "I'll bet she's been gone for hours! What do you
know, first day and the bird flies the coop!"

"What happened to the security cameras?" Noin asked.

"They showed nothing. Figures. She probably knows every trick in the book," Quatre
said.

"Did she take her suit with her?" Dorothy asked.

"Well..." Quatre said sheepishly, "I haven't checked yet..."

The group then headed for the hangar, and then stopped and stared. In front of them was the
Phoenix, and flying in was a shuttle. As they watched, Reiming hopped out from the shuttle and
walked towards them carrying several bags. She gave them a scornful glance as she passed, and
then as she started to walk in, Wufei jumped out in front.

"Where have you been?!" he demanded, half relieved, and half angry.

Reiming paused and said cooly, "I needed clothes. Do you expect me to live with only one set
of clothes?"

Duo snorted. "Figures, a girl always needs clothes."

"One more word, Maxwell, and I chop off that rat's tail of yours."

Duo started to protest, then thought better of it. Reiming tossed her head and continued
walking.

"Snob," Dorothy muttered.

Reiming said nothing, just snorted and murmured something along the lines of, look who's talking.

Wufei sighed. Reiming wasn't doing anything to make her transition any easier, then again, he
couldn't really blame her. He had, after all, knocked her over the head and dragged her here,
more or less. But he did wish that she would make SOME effort.

Later that day, Howard and his crew received an unpleasant surprise. When Howard walked up to
touch the Phoenix, he was thrown back fifteen feet. An accusing Wufei found Reiming calmly
cooking.

"You could have said something about the shield!"

Reiming continued stirring the pot of spaghetti. "Oops."

"Oops?! Howard was thrown back fifteen feet!"

"So he probably should have been more cautious."

Wufei gave up on that point, then took a closer look at what she was doing. "Where'd you get
the spaghetti? I didn't think we'd picked up any."

"Bought it."

"You know, we DO have food here."

"Right. And how'm I supposed to know if it's poisoned or not?"

"Poisoned?!" Wufei choked out with rage.

Raiming glanced at him. "Where I'm from, a second of carelessness will cost you your life."

"But...I'm...brother!" Wufei sputtered.

"Fine. But I'm hardly welcome here, so how would I know whether or not the food I get
served would be tampered with?"

Wufei subsided. Reiming had obviously won that argument, and she turned back to her spaghetti.
In an effort to reacquaint himself with his twin, Wufei said, "You know, I still have your
belongings. Would you like to see them?"

Reiming paused. "Why would I want to see the things that would tie me to a past I want to
forget?"

Wufei hesitated, then said, "Well, aren't you at least somewhat curious?"

"No."

"Well...I'll move your things to your room today. If you ever are curious..."

Reiming shrugged, then turned away. "Don't you have better things to do rather than worry about
me?"

Wufei sighed. "Fine, I'll leave, if you want."

"Good."

Hurt and confused, Wufei turned and left.

Chapter 18

"So you can't even get near the Phoenix?"

"'Fraid not. That shield's something fierce. Sorry Heero," Howard said apologetically.

Heero nodded, rubbing him temples, a habit that hadn't quite left him since Reiming had
overloaded the Zero system. "Thanks anyways."

As Heero walked into the living room, Relena saw the expression on her husband's face and hurried
over. "Heero, what's wrong?"

"Howard can't even get close to the Phoenix. Reiming's shield is much too strong." he
sighed. "It's times like these that I wish Doctor J were still here; he'd know what to do."

Relena thought for a moment, then said tentatively, "Heero, why don't you just ASK Reiming to
deactivate the shield?"

Heero's eyes flashed, and Relena gave up. She had known that Heero's pride would have kept him
from doing so, but she had to try.

a few hours later...

"Reiming, could you deactivate the shield...please?" Heero said stiffly

Reiling looked up from the book she was reading, and gave him a long searching look. Despite
all his training, Heero squirmed a little. He hated the fact that he had to ask a favor from
her as it was, but she certainly wasn't helping the situation.

"Nobody," she said clearly, "Is touching Phoenix but me."

Heero felt like breaking something.

next day

"What is that noise?!" Zechs bellowed.

"It's...music," Noin responded carefully.

"At this hour?!"

Noin shrugged. So the girl liked music. So she liked playing it loudly. So Zechs hated loud
music. So it was twelve midnight. Noin sighed. Sometimes she wondered if the girl was
deliberately aggravating them. As she was thinking these thoughts, Zechs rose and stormed out of
their room.

"Do you have any courtesy at all?! It is midnight, people are trying to sleep, and
you have this...this...blaring rock music on!"

"Your point?" Reiming asked delicately.

"Why you...you..." and Zechs reached over and turned it off.

Immediately, Reiming rose and turned it back on, her eyes flashing. Zechs turned it off. She
turned it on. He turned it off. She turned it on and kept her hand other the button, daring
him to try and turn it off. "Beat it," she snarled.

Smirking, Zechs said, "Look who's lost control now!"

"At least I don't swear in front of my kids," she said cooly.

Zech's eyes bulged and he lunged. "Zechs, no!" shouted Noin, who was in the doorway.
Unfortunately for him, it was a little late. With an almost bored expression on her face, she
took his arm, and, using his momentum, swung him into a wall.

"Reiming, no!" Wufei gasped, hurrying into the room, hoping that his fiery sister didn't
intend to take things any further, but she had clearly lost interest and fighting and was
casually strolling back to her bed. However, Trowa suddenly showed up. Putting his hand on
her arm, he said quietly, "Reiming, there are little children trying to sleep. Could you
please turn it down a little?"

Surprised, Reiming looked up. The two stared at each other for a while, then Reiming shrugged
off his arm and, reaching over, flipped the music off and without a backwards glance, walked back
to her bed. "It's late," she said. "Please leave, I'm trying to get some rest."

Glowering at her and aided by Noin, Zechs limped out of the room. Trowa and Wufei followed,
joining the others who were in the hallway, attracted by the noise. As soon as the door
closed, Wufei turned to Trowa.

"How on Earth did you manage to do that?" he asked incredulously.

"Do what?"

"You got her to listen to you! She hardly listens to me, but she listened to you!"

"It's like I told you years ago. A women's heart is delicate thing. You need to treat
it politely and with kindness."

"Well, look who's the ladies man!" Duo teased. Trowa didn't say anything, but he just
headed down the hallway. "Good night," he called over his shoulder.

next day

"Trowa," Heero called, "could I have a word with you?"

As Trowa walked over, Heero asked him, "Trowa, do you think you could ask Reiming some
questions about who we're fighting? So far, we have nothing, and you're the only one who's even
been able to get close to her."

Trowa didn't say anything, then sighed. "I don't know. She's...hard to approach."

Heero's mouth twitched. "There's one way of putting it."

a few minutes later...

"Where is that girl?" Trowa thought. Reiming hadn't been in her room, and she hadn't
been in the kitchen cooking either. She also hadn't been in the family room, reading. Trowa
smiled wryly. That was about all he knew about the girl, and here he was, about to ask her
some of her deepest secrets. Then he heard an odd noise coming from the garden. Walking out
into the garden Quatre had put in for Dorothy, he saw a figure practicing martial arts.
Deciding not to disturb her, he just watched.

He had been watching for about fifteen minutes when he was joined by Mariemaia. "Good
morning Trowa," she said quietly. Trowa acknowledged her with a nod.

"She's good, isn't she?" Mariemaia said. Trowa nodded. Marimaia hesitated, then said, "You
know Trowa, I really don't think she's evil or anything. I just think..." then trailed off,
expecting to be laughed at. When he didn't respond, she turned to look up at him. "Trowa?"

"You're probably right Mariemaia. She has a lot of secrets, that girl, and judging by
her words during her battle with Wufei, I think she's been hurt a lot too."

"What did she say?"

"She said that she couldn't be the twin Wufei remembered because she had been banished
from his heart and the heart of her parents. She also said that she couldn't be his sister
because the old Reiming had hated fighting, but she, as in Reiming now, had fought and her
hands were bloodstained. But she didn't say that she liked fighting now either."

"She thought she had been banished from Wufei's heart? How sad..."

The pair watched Reiming for a little longer. "Reiming.." Trowa thought. "What is that haunted
look that I saw in your eyes last night? I opened up eight years ago even when I thought I
never would...will you do the same?"