Chapter 19
After Reiming had finished practicing, Trowa didn't feel that it was the time to approach her,
and said so to a somewhat disgruntled Heero.
"Heero...I'm sorry, but now is not the time."
Heero sighed, then nodded. "Okay, thanks anyways...but try to hurry. We don't know what they
are going to do next, now that Reiming's gone, will someone else step up to take her place?"
Meanwhile, Mariemaia had begun to follow Reiming around. Something about the older girl
fascinated her. "We are one and the same," she thought. "We were both pawns for evil...but
why won't you help us? Surely you know that those you worked for were evil!"
A few days later, as Mariemaia "happened" to be in the same room as Reiming, Reiming abruptly
looked up from her book and said, "So, my shadow, have you been assigned to guard me?"
Mariemaia felt her cheeks flush, and she buried her face in her own book that she had been
"reading." When she dared to look up again, she was shocked to see a twinge of laughter in
Reiming's eyes. "Well..." she mumbled. "Get it over with," her conscience said. Finally, she
straightened her shoulders and said, "Ah...well, I...I thought that I could try to talk to you,
since we...we are somewhat the same," she managed.
"We are nothing the same, you and I."
Mariemaia felt her heart sink, but then was surprised to hear Reiming continue, "No...you have a
future...friends and family...your hands aren't bloodstained like mine." Glancing up,
Mariemain thought she could see sadness in the girl's eyes, but it was gone abruptly. "Forget
about it," Reiming said as she stood up and headed for the kitchen. "Now, my shadow, I'm going
to be in the kitchen cooking. Join me if you wish."
Mariemaia's eyes lit up. She supposed that that would be as close to an invitation she would
get from Reiming, so she got up and followed.
An hour later, a shocked Duo stumbled into the living room, mumbling and jabbing his finger
towards the kitchen. When the group hurried to the kitchen, they were shocked to see a
laughing Mariemaia cooking with Reiming, who, though she wasn't even smiling, seemed to be
enjoying herself. However, when she saw them all congregated in the doorway, staring, her
eyes abruptly lost that bright look they had and she glared fiercely at them all. The look
was so cold that they all left immediately.
In the kitchen, Mariemaia looked helplessly at the once again closed up Reiming. "The sauce
should be ready in a few minutes," she said meekly. Reiming just nodded. Mareimaia sighed, then
reached in her pocket. "Here..." she said hesistantly. "Wufei told me you that you had liked
flowers when you were little, so..." and she tentatively held out a small bouquet of paper
roses. Reiming stopped, and then took the present. "Thank you," she said stiffly, then turned
around abruptly again.
The next day, when Wufei was wandering around, he heard something. Not daring to believe it, he
hurried out the the garden, and stopped. Sitting in a tree, playing the erhu, was Reiming. The
look on her face was so peaceful that Wufei could only stop and stare. He couldn't believe that
that was his sister, and for a moment, he saw her as a six year old again.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Wufei whirled around and saw Relena. Relena was smiling, and she
said, "Someone who can make music like that can't be cold and lifeless, can they? I mean, just
look at her!"
"I suppose not..." and Heero walked out.
"I take it you told her the conversation she and I had while we were dueling?"
"Hope you don't mind."
"No..."
They watched Reiming a while longer, and Wufei sighed. "Reiming, why won't you open up to me?"
he thought. "You ARE alive. The six year old Reiming is still in you...I can see her. So
why won't you talk to me?"
"You guys may want to leave," Trowa said, walking up to them. "I don't think she'll be
very pleased to find out that you guys saw her when she was vulnerable." Relena nodded, and the
three left. Trowa lingered a little, watching Reiming. For a moment, he saw himself in her.
"She's like me..." he thought. "Could it be?" then he stopped, trying to ignore the shudder that
passed through him, and quickly walked away.
In the tree, Reiming opened her eyes. Though she continued playing, she watched as Trowa left.
"Trowa Barton...I saw something in your eyes the other night...have you gone through what I
did...?"
that evening
"Reiming, may I speak to you for a moment?"
Reiming hesitated, then turned around to face Trowa. She studied him, then nodded. "Very well."
The two walked to one of the empty hangars. Trowa watched as Reiming carefully settled herself
on a box, first walking around it, then opening it to see what was inside. Finally, evidently
satisfied, she sat on it. Trowa leaned against a wall. Neither said anything for a moment.
Finally, Trowa said quietly, "I'm sure you know why I'm here...and what I'll be asking you, so
why don't we just save time and have you answer me?"
"Trowa," she said quietly. "How old were you when it happened?"
Trowa jerked himself, then looked at Reiming. There was no mockery in her eyes, only pain...and
compassion, it seemed.
"What do you mean? When it first started, or the last time it happened?" he said
somewhat sardonically. "I could fill a book with incidents for you."
"When...when it first happened..."
Trowa shrugged, then said, "I don't know...I don't even know my own birthday...but I guess
sometime when I was thirteen...when I joined a new mercenary group. I was too talented for
my own good," he finished harshly. "You?"
Though her face betrayed no emotion, Reiming's fists clenched as she gripped the edges of the box
tightly. "I suppose it would have to be when I was ten years old. They said that we would have
to 'learn how to use our charm'" she spit out venomously. "And of course, we had to practice
on someone, so I'm sure it was their pleasure."
Ten years old...Trowa thought. That's even younger than me...
"But anyways, that's in the past," Reiming said abruptly. "As for who you are facing...
and Reiming drew out a disk from her pocket. "Here," she said, "Put this to good use."
Trowa reached over to take it, and then said, "What's on this thing?"
"All the data I could find on the other mobile suits and their pilots...and the Xero
system program."
"Xero system?"
"An upgraded Zero system; the system Phoenix uses."
"Which explains your phenomenal reaction time," Trowa said wryly.
Reiming raised an eyebrow, and shrugged. "I am human...after all," she said softly, and turned
to leave, but Trowa gripped her arm.
"Yes Reiming...you are human. You are capable of being hurt...but you are also capable
of compassion, I know you are. I see it in your eyes."
She looked at him for a long time. "What gave it away?" she asked. "How did you guess what had
happened to me?"
Trowa smiled wryly. "Misery likes company, I guess. I suppose having gone through it myself, I
could tell that you had also." It was in your eyes, he thought. "What gave it away for me?"
"Your clothes, for one...but not really. More like your personality...you're not cold,
like Heero, and you're not secretive, like Wufei. You're...passive, and plus," she added, "I
know about the real Trowa Barton's personality, and I really wouldn't be surprised." And I saw
it in your eyes, she thought.
The two stood there for a moment, and finally, Reiming withdrew her arm. "I'm tired Trowa. I
would like to rest now," and she turned to leave, but she paused at the doorway. "Good night,"
she said softly, glancing over her shoulder, then left.
Chapter 20
"Xero system?"
"That's what she said. From what I've seen...it's amazing."
"Xero system," Heero mused. "Where's Reiming now?" he asked.
"Supposedly in her room resting. The girl rests a lot, doesn't she?"
"Probably doing something she shouldn't be, and doesn't want to tell us," Heero said
wryly. "You know, we have almost no control over this girl. She could feeding information to,
ah, who did you say they were?"
"Meyer Himmler and Rolf Atkins. Ex-members of the Alliance, Treize wannabe's.
Apparently they had wanted to pull a coup similar to that of Treize's, but he beat them to it, so
instead, they have been waiting all this time, waiting for their chance."
"And the suits?"
"The Griffon and the Chimera. The Chimera is slow, but it has amazing defense and
offense. The Griffon is faster, with a little less defense, but still a great offense. My guess
is that the Phoenix could out race both of them, but it probably has the lowest defense of them
all, but about the same offensive power as the Griffon, maybe just a little less. All three
are made of something called X-Gundamium. It seems to be a changed version of Gundamium.
More durable, but without adding any weight."
"So the Griffon is like a balance between the Chimera and the Phoenix?"
"That's my guess."
"Who pilots which?"
"Himmler pilots the Chimera, and Atkins the Griffon."
"X-Gundamium is it? I wonder if we could create it..." Heero wondered.
"Probably. Let me search a bit." Trowa tapped a few keys. "Here it is: the chemical
structure of X-Gundamium."
Heero shook his head. "Reiming has everything on here...I wonder if she was planning to leave
them?"
"She knew Wufei was her twin didn't she? She probably figured she would somehow get
the disk to him somehow right before she left."
"So why did she fight him?"
Trowa shrugged. "There're things about that girl we will never know. Anyways, it is a little
late. Let's sleep on this for an evening, and start upgrading our gundams tomorrow."
next day...
"No way! Trowa, you actually got her to talk to you. Wow, I'm impressed," Duo
exclaimed as he stared at the data on the screen.
"X-gundamium?" Quatre asked. "Can we create it?"
Heero nodded. "Howard's already working on it. Should be done fairly quickly."
"What about the Xero system?" Zechs wanted to know. "How is it different from the Zero
system?"
"It still involves integration with human brainwaves, but its a little different than
how the Zero system works. It's not as dangerous, and you can't really overload it, like you
can with the Zero system. Beyond that, I have no idea how it works."
"Who are the other pilots?" Wufei wanted to know.
"Two people known as Himmler and Atkins. Ex-members of the Alliance; wanted to pull a
coup just like Treize, but Treize got there first. Evidently, their plot wasn't discovered, and
they've been preparing in secret ever since. They pilot the Chimera and Griffon, respectively."
"So how did Reiming get involved in this?"
"That's what none of us know."
Just then, Reiming walked into the room. "I see you're upgrading your gundams."
"Why would you care?!" Zechs demanded. Even though she had given them all this
information, he still didn't trust her. "So you can report that to these two?"
"Zechs!" Noin said sharply, but the damage was done. Reiming looked like she had been
slapped. "Fine," she said simply, and turned around and left.
Wufei started to get up, but Heero stopped him. "Give her some time Wufei."
Wufei sat, but he still felt disturbed. "Something about the look on her face wasn't right..."
he thought privately, but sat back down.
Meanwhile, Reiming was systemically packing her few belongings. As she finished, she paused,
then removed the necklace she wore, then removed a few more disks. Wrapping the necklace around
them, she placed them on her bed, and then she put the small bouquet of paper flowers on top.
Then she turned around resolutely and started to walk towards the Phoenix, which had been placed
in its private hangar due to its hazardous shield.
"Goodbye..."
Chapter 21
"Reiming's gone!" Hilde cried, rushing in.
"WHAT?!" Wufei bellowed, knocking over a chair.
Sobbing, Hilde said, "I went to check on her, to see if she needed anything, and I found these,"
and she extended the disks, necklace, and flowers.
Marimaia's eyes widened, and tears started to come from her eyes. "My flowers..." she whimpered
softly, but no one heard.
Wufei could barely contain himself; he was so angry. He could only stare at the necklace that
glittered there...a symbol of his union with his sister. But she had left that behind...
"Why Reiming? Why..." he choked, then started to weep, his face in his hands. "Damn
you...how could you be so cruel to me?"
Relena in the meantime had whirled around. "Zechs, this is all your fault!" she spat angrily,
ignoring the tears that flowed down her face. Zechs didn't deny it; only stared at the disks.
"What have I done...?"
Heero stood up. With one arm around Relena, he took the disks. "What are these?" he wondered
and placed them in the computer. Instantly, a layout of the battleship popped up, each room
labeled. Heero clicked a button, and the labels disappeared, and were replaced with all the
security features and their locations. "Oh my God...she left these for us..."
Taking that disk out and inserting another, he saw the ANTI ZERO program and various other
stealth programs that the Phoenix used. Then he put in the final disk and froze.
"What...what IS this?!" he could only manage with horror. On the screen were hundreds of
faces, faces of children that had all been mysteriously missing for years. What horrified Heero
was the bold "DECEASED" label stamped on each of them...except for one that was identified as
"Chang Reiming."
Everyone turned to face the screen. Dorothy let out a gasp. "So that's what they did...they
kidnapped children, and picked one. The rest..." she couldn't finish. But it was all too
clear what had happened. Reiming had labeled each with the date of death, and how they had
died. "They...they KILLED them," Lady Une said in horror. Reaching over, she clicked another
option. Instantly, the letters OPERATION: NATURAL SELECTION popped up. Reading it, she
couldn't believe what she saw. The document, in a nutshell, called for the training of 200
children. Those that didn't pass a specific test were declared "unfit" and were eliminated.
"She...she survived all this..."
This was too much for Mariemaia. Whirling around, she tore from the room, sobbing, her fist
around the flowers. Lady Une looked after her sadly. "Mariemaia...I'm so sorry you have to go
through this."
All through this time, Trowa had just been sitting there, not saying a word. "Why is she
affecting me so much? Even though now she's gone, what is this empty feeling inside me?" As
he sat there pondering, he realized, "I can't believe this...I love her...but that isn't
possible! I hardly know her!" But images of Reiming kept coming up in his mind...her half
smiles...her playing the erhu...her practicing martial arts...her cooking...and most of all, the
look in her eyes the first time he talked to her, and then how, a few days later, the
compassion he saw in her eyes when he told her his deepest and darkest secret, and how she had
looked back at him and said goodnight..."I love her," he said softly. "I love her...but it's
too late now, because she's gone," and Trowa too began to cry.
Meanwhile, Mariemaia had continued to run blindly, not caring where she was going. Almost
unintentionally, she headed for a shuttle. Blindly setting the controls, the flowers next
to her on the console, she headed for Earth.
On the space fortress across from them, which hadn't moved for the last week, her movement was
noted, a shuttle silently detached and followed her.
Chapter 22
Mariemaia landed in a secluded spot; she had no idea where she was, but she just had to sit and
cry. After she had calmed down for a while, she looked at her surroundings. She was in a lush
green meadow, surrounded by trees and flowers. "Reiming would have liked this place..." she
thought, but the name was enough to cause her to cry again. As she was sobbing, a figure
crept up behind her. Too late, Mariemaia saw the shadow in front of her, and the next thing she
knew, she felt a sharp pain at the base of her neck, and then only darkness.
an hour later...
"Where's Mariemaia?" a frantic Lady Une demanded, rushing into the hangar, where the
pilots were watching Howard upgrade their suits.
"Not another one today," Quatre murmured. "What do you mean, where is she?"
"She's not in her room or anyplace else, and there's a shuttle missing."
"She probably needed some time to herself," Relena offered, hoping that it was true.
"I'm sure she'll be back."
"It's been an HOUR."
Relena ran out of reasons.
Meanwhile, Mariko was passing through the computer room. She had been confused recently; the
arrival of the strange cold woman had thrown her off balance. Jerry had been of no help; he
rarely had patience with her anyway. Reena had thought the mysterious woman to be exciting, but
a sound thump from Aelis had kept her from investigating Reiming further. Mariko therefore had
no idea what was going on. She climbed onto a chair, bored. As she was biting her nails, she
saw something flicker onto a screen. "That's funny," she thought. "I know Mommy and Daddy have
told me that that screen was from the bad people," not that she really had any idea of what that
meant. But she was not the daughter of Heero and Relena for nothing. Despite her youth, the
screen gave her a strange feeling. Jumping down from the chair, she went to find her parents.
"Mommy?"
"Later dear," a frazzled Relena said.
Mariko tried her father.
"Daddy?"
"Daddy's busy right now," Heero said somewhat gruffly.
Exasperated, she planted her foot and said, "Daddy! I need to tell you something!"
Heero cast one annoyed eye at his daughter. Though he loved his daughter, this was one of those
times that he wished he didn't have one. Fortunately for Mariko, Noin picked her up.
"Now now Heero, don't be rude to your child. What is it that you want to tell Daddy?
Why don't you tell Auntie Lou?"
"Auntie Lou, there's funny things on a screen."
"What kinds of funny things?" As the mother of two, Noin had more tolerance with
children, though she did have to admit that this was one of times she wished that she didn't
have to play a game with her niece.
"I don't know. They're on the screen that Mommy and Daddy said were from the bad
people."
Noin's eyes suddenly hardened, and Heero swung around. "Riko," he said firmly, "Are you
telling me that there's a message on a screen?"
"Uh-huh."
Swearing, Heero jumped up and hurried to the room. The others followed.
The entire group dashed into the room, and stopped cold. The message on the screen was
straight forward enough
"Surrender in 24 hours, or Mariemaia Khrushrenada dies."
It was signed: Veylona.
Chapter 23
"Oh God, Mariemaia!" Lady Une cried, nearly hysterical.
In the meantime, Heero was furiously pounding into the keyboard. No match for Veylona
popped up, and Heero was ready to punch the wall.
"Hey, I know this is a bad time to be bringing this up, but check this out," Quatre
called. "It looks like Veylona has sent the same message to the other space colonies and the
Earth, and now these messages are pouring in."
Wufei picked one up, read it, and threw it away in disgust. The messages were all about the
same: please sacrifice Mariemaia and save us instead.
"I don't believe this!" Lady Une cried. "There's no way I'm sacrificing
Mariemaia!" and she looked around belligerently.
"No one is sacrificing no one," Heero said, "but what the heck are we supposed to do?"
"Hey Heero, check out this function," Trowa said. With the click of a button, the map
Reiming had left behind changed. "It's connected with the main computer of the station. See,
here are the security forces changing position."
Unfortunately, the pictures they saw confirmed their worst fears. Himmler and Atkins were
tripling their security, making entrance nearly impossible.
"I can't believe this," Duo said, shaking his head. "How'd they accumulate this many
resources? Look, almost no manned Taurus suits; their forces are made up almost completely of
mobile dolls!"
"Can we hack into the mobile dolls' programs and turn it against them?" Hilde asked.
"No...they have far more technology than we do...Damn!" he exploded, slamming his fist
into the console. "I've been so used to having the upper hand in technology...now I know what
it feels likes to be on the other side..."
elsewhere...
On Earth, in a secluded bay, a lone figure flicked off a small monitor broadcasting the news.
Standing up, the figure turned and headed towards a densely forested area. As the figure was
walking, it suddenly stumbled and fell to its knees, breathing heavily and coughing. As soon as
it got its breath back, it struggled back up and continued walking. After slowly walking,
stopping several times to breathe, the figure emerged into a clearing, where a large mobile
suit awaited...
Reiming paused to catch her breath, and another spasm tore through her body. Gasping for air,
she coughed for several minutes before she regained control. Finally, she steeled herself and
jumped into the Phoenix. The giant suit blasted off into space, heading towards the space
battleship and Mariemaia.
meanwhile...
Mariemaia awoke in a dark and cold space. She was completely disoriented, until she remembered
what had happened in the clearing. Frantically, she jumped up and tried to take in her
surroudings.
"Forget it," a cold voice said.
"Who's there?!"
A figure emerged in the doorway. It was the figure of a wizened old man, face full of wrinkles
and nearly bald, but the way he carried himself showed that he was in excellent physical health.
His eyes were cold and glittery, and Mariemaia shuddered. "My name is Meyer Himmler," he
said, introducing himself.
"Why am I here?!"
"You're a convenient bargaining chip. Your friends have 24 hours to completely
surrender."
"And if they don't?"
The man smiled cruelly. "You die," he said simply.
Mariemaia felt air rush out of her. "No..." she croaked. "They won't surrender on account of
my life."
"Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, we will win. Even if they choose not to surrender to
save your life, we will simply activate the various bombs we have planted on the Earth and the
colonies. In the chaos that follws, we will seize control."
"So you resort to bombs now is it? The loss of your prized fighter was a heavy blow
now wasn't it?" Mariemaia mocked, trying to be brave.
Her remarks had hit home, for the old man's eyes glinted. "Trying to be brave now, little
girl?" he sneered. "The loss of Lillith has already been taken care of."
"What?"
"Surprising, isn't it? Yes, we've had a little back up hidden away all these years that
not even your friend Lillith knew about...but that is none of your business." Turning around,
Himmler prepared to leave. "Oh and by the way...you have 22 hours to live. Good day."
in space...
Part of Himmler's and Atkins' plans was to build a space fortress within a giant asteroid,
thereby providing cover for several years. This fortress was so massive that there would be
smaller satellites orbitting it. These satellites would prove to be supply stations, and
periodically, shuttles would go over to the base and drop off supplies. It was towards one of
these satellites that Reiming headed for. Using the stealth systems she had designed herself,
she landed on the outermost satellite and hid the Phoenix in a crater that pocketed its
surface. Jumping out, she paused for several minutes to regain her breath, and then
proceeded to head over to the satellites station, where she promptly knocked out the pilot of a
shuttle and took control. She then headed towards the station.
Once on the station, Reiming landed, dropped off the supplies that it had originally been
scheduled for, and quickly overpowered the few guards that were there. Then she pressed a
button on a remote she carried and replaced the images the security cameras had just
captured and changed them to the images they had captured on the last drop off by that
shuttle. Figuring that this would give her a twenty minute window, she hurried deeper into the
base, ignoring the spasms that tore through her body.
meanwhile...
Mariemaia lay curled miserably on the floor. "Reiming...where are you...?"
at the base
Lady Une had not stopped crying. Heero, Trowa, Duo, Wufei, Quatre, Zechs, and even Hilde had
tried every alternative in trying to reprogram the mobile dolls that guarded the station.
However, they had not been able to hack into it. Frustrated and terrified for Mariemaia, they
continued to slave away.
on the space fortress
A figure noted the images the security cameras showed with interest. "So...she is here..." the
figure mused. Smiling to herself, Veylona thought, "I'll let her reach Mariemaia...then I'll
confront her in a space battle."
elsewhere...
Reiming busily typed into the computer, then finally sighed when she finally hacked into the
security camera images. She noted the location of Mariemaia, and was about to leave when
her eyes grew flinty. Someone had changed the images she had altered back to their original
state. "Who...? Oh my God...could it be?" she thought. Shaking herself, she grimly headed
towards Mariemaia, aware of the battle she was about to fight.
several minutes later...
Mariemaia jerked up when she heard scuffling sounds outside her door, and then the sound of
something being dragged. Then the door was forced open. Her eyes brightened when she saw the
figure framed in the doorway.
"Reiming!" she cried joyfully. "I knew that you would come!" and she ran to embrace the
girl. But as she hugged, she noticed something wrong. "Reiming?" she asked and she looked up.
Was it the light, or did Reiming seem...pale? Her usually lustrous hair was dull and flat, and
her eyes had no light in them. "Reiming, what's the matter?" Reiming didn't say anything, just
grabbed her hand and lead her out into the hallway.
Once the pair reached the shuttle again, Reiming paused to catch her breath. Ignoring
Mariemaia's questioning eyes, she said rapidly, "Mariemaia...we have a rough ride ahead of us.
Therefore...I'm going to inject you with something that will make you fall asleep. The level
of intensity Phoenix will be giving off may be too much for you to handle."
"What about you? What's the matter with you?"
"Forget about me, okay? Let's just get you out of here."
"Reiming, wait...is that blood on your hand?"
Reiming ignored Mariemaia, instead, simply gave her the injection and boarded the shuttle to
head back to the satellite.
On the satellite, Reiming carried the sleeping Mariemaia onto the Phoenix and strapped herself
in. Suddenly, the screen flickered and on it appeared the face of Atkins, a man somewhat older
than Zechs and just as handsome, but lacking any of the kindness in his eyes.
"So...look who's back...Do you honestly think you can get away from us?"
Reiming didn't say anything, only turned on her sensors. Just as she expected, a large mobile
suit was heading in her direction.
Glancing at her, Atkins said coldly, "I see...you already know what is going on...well then, I
can assure you, you will not get out of this battle alive!" and the screen flickered off.
Coughing once more, and trying to ignore the blood that she coughed up, Reiming started the
Phoenix and grimly turned to face her opponent.
The mobile suit that appeared was humanoid, just like Phoenix, but instead of a bird's face, it
had the face of a women. There were wings on its back, just like the Phoenix. In fact,
judging from the data Reiming was receiving, it was Phoenix's equal. "But," Reiming remarked to
herself, "The difference is that Veylona...Meilai...is not dying, like I am..." Catching
herself, she let out a harsh laugh. "Yes, I am dying. I have...11 hours to live...Strange, it
doesn't sound so horrible now that I've said it out loud, but it doesn't matter; I deserve to
die." But as she said this, she couldn't help but think with regret, "It's too bad...I did miss
my brother for all those years...and Trowa Barton..." She smiled to herself. "Just like me...
we were so similar...I really wish I could have gotten to know him better," she said
wistfully. "But he deserves better than me...I wonder if he'll ever find out that he and
Cathrine..."
But Reiming abruptly stopped her thoughts; the other mobile suit was almost there. "It
doesn't matter," Reiming said grimly. "I have to get Mariemaia back alive, and then I can
rest. I can't let Veylona stand in my way!" And with that, she and the Phoenix burst from
the crater and started flying towards the station at top speed.
"Oh, so you think you can outrace me, is it?" Veylona said, smirking. "We'll see
about that!" and she took off after the Phoenix.
The two raced for a while, but it soon became obvious that Veylona was catching up; Reiming, in
her condition, couldn't handle Phoenix very well. Then Veylona started shooting at the
Phoenix.
on the station...
"Quatre!" Dorothy cried, staring at a monitor. "Is that...is that?"
"That's the Phoenix! But...who's that shooting it? It doesn't look like the Chimera
or Griffon..."
Dorothy's cries had attracted everyone, and they gathered around. "That's definitely the
Phoenix," Wufei said grimly, "but Reiming's a much better pilot than that...what is going on?"
Wufei's words were true...the Phoenix was taking a beating, and it was slowly unable to
recover as quickly. In the cockpit, Reiming felt like collapsing, but she grit her teeth and
kept on going. "Have...to...get...Mariemaia...back," she choked, and still ignoring the pain
shooting through her, she continued. Meanwhile, Veylona was taking her time. "Do whatever you
want Lillith...I've won this battle."
On the station, Trowa had had enough. "She's bringing back Mariemaia, I know she is," he
thought, "but why isn't she dodging the other suit's blasts? Something's wrong..." and
finally, he turned around and dashed out of the room.
"Trowa, where are you going?" Heero called.
"I'm going to back up Reiming."
"But your suit isn't finished yet!"
Trowa hesitated, then turned to Heero. "Yours is."
Heero looked at Trowa, and in that moment, he saw the look in Trowa's eyes. "He has feelings for
her..." he realized slowly. Finally, he nodded.
Heero wasn't the only one who realized how Trowa felt. Wufei was staring at him. "He...he
likes my sister! But that's impossible...he hardly knows her!"
But neither of them had much time to think about it, for in that moment, Phoenix took another
hard hit, and it was clear that a few more well-placed shots would demolish it.
In the cockpit, Reiming, barely conscious, had no other option. Pulling up a screen, she
typed in the words DEFER. She quickly keyed in commands to decrease her attack power and add
that energy to her speed. The result was that she boosted the Phoenix's speed, and the suit
surged forward.
Meanwhile, Veylona narrowed her eyes. "What just happened...? Doesn't matter, I'll just go
full speed." And with that, her mobile suit leaped forward and started to once more catch up
to Reiming.
Trowa in the meantime was hastily jumping into the upgraded Wing gundam. "Hang on Reiming, just
a little longer," he said grimly. Starting the suit, he headed for Reiming.
Reiming, observing the rate of Veylona's suit, had no other option. Hoping that she wasn't
making a fatal mistake, she finally deferred every ounce of power from her attack AND her
defensive power, what little was left, to her speed. She knew that this much power would
possibly overload her suit, but she had no choice. She was hanging on to consciousness by a
thread; Veylona was gaining; she HAD to get Mariemaia back. Steeling herself, her suit
sprinted towards the final stretch towards safety.
"What?" Trowa wondered. "Phoenix has virtually no offensive power or defense, but a
phenomenal speed? I didn't know it could do that..." he said admiringly. But a second glance
at his data showed that Phoenix's engines would probably overload at this rate. "Well then,"
he said, this is where I come in." Raising the Wing gundam's buster rifle, he began firing at
the other mobile suit.
"Another mobile suit?" Veylona wondered, at the exact time Reiming saw it. "The Wing
gundam?" she said incredulously. "Heero?"
Just then, Trowa's face flickered onto the monitor. "Let me deal with this guy," he said.
"Get you and Mariemaia safely back."
Reiming was all too glad to comply. With a final burst of speed, the Phoenix crashed into the
hangar, finally.
In space, Veylona glared at the Wing gundam with narrowed eyes. "It's been upgraded...looks
like Reiming gave away the formulas to X-Gundamium...Well then gundam pilot, I'll be back," and
Veylona turned around and left.
Trowa turned around and headed back to his own station, anxious to find out why Reiming had
been piloting her suit so erratically.
Chapter 24
The door to a very battered Phoenix opened, and a nearly dead Reiming tumbled out, holding onto
a still sleeping Mariemaia. Lady Une hurried up and took Mariemaia from her, sobbing with
relief.
"Reiming...thank you so much...thank you!"
In her haste to carry Mariemaia away, she didn't notice how weak Reiming looked, but when
she collapsed to the floor and starting spitting blood, no one could ignore it.
"Reiming!" Trowa shouted, jumping from his suit.
"Reiming! What is the matter with you?!" Wufei demanded, cradling his sister in his
arms.
Turning to look at him, Reiming smiled and said weakly, "There's...there's no hiding it from you
now...is there?"
"Hiding what?!"
Still shaking, Reiming croaked, "How I was poisoned?"
There was a collective gasp from the group. "Poisoned?" Wufei cried.
"How else do you think they kept me under control? Each day, they would slip some of the
antidote into my food, keeping me alive. Of course, they didn't know that I knew I had been
poisoned; they just thought I was an unusually obedient subordinate."
"Oh my God!"
"And so that's why I was rude, deliberately provoking you all. I didn't want any of you
to be hurt when I died. And that's why I left when I did. I left before the symptoms of the
poison could manifest themselves..."
Reiming's head lolled back, and her eyes started to glaze over.
"No Reiming, no! Stay with me! How much longer do you have?" Wufei cried, tears
streaming down his face.
"Just look at my watch. I've started a countdown." Smiling serenly, she said, "Don't
try to stop it Wufei...I died all those years ago...don't try to hang on to me...I don't
deserve to live..."
"Shut up Reiming...stop it..."
"I've disabled Phoenix's shield...go ahead...you can use the technology in it for your
own benefit...Phoenix will understand..."
"Reiming...it says...you have 10 hours left...what is going to happen?" Relena said.
"I'll go into a coma for the last 10 hours...then during the last two hours...my
organs will start failing one by one...it's too late to save me....don't even try...I've seen
people die like this..." But suddenly her eyes hardened again. "One...last...thing...the
one you are facing...Her name is Veylona, but her true name is-" but she was cut off by another
coughing fit.
"Don't talk Reiming..." Wufei continued to sob, rocking his sister back and forth.
Shaking her head, Reiming said resolutely, and with the last of her strength, "...pilots...
Seraphim...equal...Phoenix..." and her eyes started to close.
During this time, Trowa had stood up and left the group. Unable to stop the tears trickling
down his face, he pulled up the map of the station and started to search.
"Trowa, what are you doing?" Quatre asked.
"Looking for the place they hid the antidote."
"NO!" Reiming's eyes flew open again, and she tried to sit up. Wincing in pain, she
gasped, "You fool! Don't risk your entire mission for me!" then fell down again.
Trowa ignored her, continuing his search. "Room 11B, is it?"
"You bastard..." she choked. "It'll never work...that room is closely guarded...you'll
die...don't die on my behalf...promise me that..."
Walking to her, he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "I can't promise you that
Reiming," he said simply.
"Bastard..." she croaked, and finally collapsed. "Trowa..." she said weakly. "Your
name...your true name..." she hesistated, almost unable to fight the lethargy that was
spreading through her body. "Your name is..."
And as she grew limp in Wufei's arms, Trowa heard her whisper,
"Triton Bloom..."
Chapter 25
"What?" Cathrine gasped. Whirling around to face Trowa, she said accusingly, "Why
didn't you ever TELL me that you were my little brother?!"
Trowa didn't respond, only continued to stare at the still form of Reiming. "I didn't know
I was your brother..." he managed. "In fact...what proof is there that I am?"
Cathrine hurridly headed for the computer and tapped in a few keys. Soon, the computer
printed a sheet of paper. She tore it from its slot and thrust it at Trowa.
"Trowa...do these facts match...?" she said, not daring to believe that her brother,
who she had thought had died when he was a toddler, was alive...and had been alive and in front
of her for eight years."
Trowa tore his gaze away from Reiming and scanned the sheet. "Blood type...fingerprints...it's
a perfect match!" he said incredulously. Standing up to stare at Cathrine, he choked, "My
God...I have a name...I have a sister!"
Cathrine couldn't take it anymore and threw her arms around him. "Oh Triton...you've been alive
all this time...I am so happy..."
But when Trowa heard the name he hesitated. "No...Triton...that's not my name..." he said
hesitantly.
"Yes it is!" Cathrine sobbed. "Your name is Triton Bloom! You are my little
brother!"
"No..." Trowa said firmly. When Cathrine looked at him in shock, he tone softened.
"Yes...I am your brother...but my name is not Triton."
Staring at him, Cathrine finally nodded. "No..." she said quietly, "Your name is Trowa
Barton...but you are still my brother!"
"Yes, and nothing can change that."
Smiling, tears started to flow down Cathrine's face once more, and she hugged Trowa fiercely,
who returned the embrace. However, his gaze soon drifted over to Reiming, and he
removed himself from Cathrine's embrace.
"We have a lot of catching up to do...but first, I have some business I need to
take care of."
Cathrine hesitated, and, glancing at Reiming, nodded. "I understand," she said softly, "but
try not to die, ok?"
"I won't...I need to make sure I get back alive," he said grimly.
30 minutes later...
"Howard, is Heavyarms done yet?"
"Just finished!" Howard said cheerfully, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Whew! That
was hard work!"
Trowa nodded. "Thank you Howard," he said. "I owe you one."
Glancing at the map he had printed, Trowa prepared to enter Heavyarms.
"Hold it right there!" Wufei said sharply, entering the room. He drifted over and
came to rest next the Trowa, studying him. Trowa did nothing, only let Wufei scrutinize him.
"There's something between you and my sister, isn't there?" he said accusingly.
"It's not two-way," Trowa said simply. "I've simply decided that I can't stand by and
watch Reiming die, so I'm taking action."
Wufei glared at him for a moment. "I wish Nataku were done!" he thought furiously. He hated the
fact that he was helpless to help his sister. Plus, though he wouldn't admit it, he was
jealous of the fact that someone else liked his sister. Here he was, finally reunited with his
twin, and suddenly, Trowa just had to show up. But he shook off the feeling, and said, "This
is my sister's life we're dealing with," he growled. "Don't blow it," and with that, he
turned around to return to Reiming's room.
Trowa looked at Wufei for a while, then turned around and entered Heavyarms. Once inside, he
took another look at the data he had obtained from the disks and Phoenix's logs.
"Reiming used a shuttle from a satellite to enter," he thought. "That probably won't work
again, but then again, they do think Reiming is dead, so..."
in Reiming's room
Wufei rejoined the others, who had gathered around the still form of Reiming lying in a bed.
Mariemaia, who had regained consciousness, had not moved from Reiming's side, her eyes never
leaving her face. When she had first learned of what had happened to her, she had not stopped
sobbing for ten minutes. Afterwards, however, when she found out that Trowa was leaving to
attempt to steal the antidote, she calmed down and stationed herself by Reiming's bedside.
Periodically, her eyes would flicker to the clock mounted on the wall, which showed how much
time they had left. "Nine hours..." she thought dully. "Come on Reiming...hang in there!"
in the computer room
The other gundam pilots, minus Trowa and Wufei, had there eyes glued to the monitor. Trowa
had agreed to plant a tracer on himself and Heavyarms, so if it seemed like he had trouble,
Heero would fly out to back him up. Heero had originally planned on going with Trowa, but
Trowa had stopped him, saying that this job was for one person only. Now, they watched as
the blinking dot moved towards the fortress. There it stopped, paused, and then...turned
around. "What?" Duo said. "He's coming back?"
Sure enough, Trowa came back. As the other pilots ran out to hear his explanation, he said
simply, "The security is too tight."
"So now what?" Quatre asked.
"Heero, I won't be taking Heavyarms. Instead, I need you to go and attack the base.
Someone else will help you by piloting Heavyarms. In the chaos, one of you will drop me
off, and I'll go in on foot. The majority of their defense is made up of mobile dolls; once
inside, they rely on a few guards and cameras.
"I'll pilot Heavyarms," The pilots turned and saw Wufei, who had come back. "This is
my sister we're dealing with; I need to do something!"
Trowa nodded. "Fine," he said, "Wufei, you provide most of the diversion. Heero will swoop in
close and drop me off inside."
A few minutes later, the two suits headed towards the base. "Don't forget to pretend that
we're supposed to be on a 'revenge' mission," Wufei called. "We need to pretend that Reiming is
already dead, and that we're attacking the station out of spite."
on the station
"What are they doing?" Himmler said, staring at the screen.
"They're up to something," Atkins agreed, looking at the screen with narrowed eyes.
Suddenly, a supposedly grief stricken Wufei appeared on the screen. "You killed my sister!"
he cried in what he hoped would be a convincing voice.
"She had it coming. Shows what we do to traitors," Himmler said coldly.
"You'll pay!"
"Stop posturing," a voice said. In the doorway was Veylona. "Lillith wouldn't die that
easily."
Though Wufei's face betrayed no emotion, he mentally kicked himself. "Of course," he thought.
"Reiming still has 9 hours to live," but then he quickly recovered and said, "What are you
saying? What do you think killed her? She fell out of her mobile suit and died almost
instantly after her battle with you!"
Atkins frowned. "So Reiming didn't know that she had been poisoned," he thought. "She didn't
die from the poison then...She is stronger than I thought. The poison probably didn't even
get a chance to affect her..."
Veylona was thinking the same. "So...they didn't know she had been poisoned...they think she
died from her fight with me...but surely they knew that she was capable of doing much better in
the battle she fought with me! No," she corrected herself, "They probably thought that the
reason she did so poorly was because she wasn't willing to risk Mariemaia."
In Heavyarms, Wufei breathed a mental sigh of relief. "They bought it," he thought. Then his
eyes grew flinty again. "This is for Reiming!" and he started firing on the station.
"Send out the mobile dolls!" Himmler ordered. "Blast him out of the sky! What?" he
said, as the Wing gundam appeared on the screen. "I'm helping my friend in his attack on your
station," Heero said tonelessly.
"Well, at least you're loyal to each other," Veylona said coldly, then turning around,
said, "Forget the mobile dolls. I'll go."
"This will make things more difficult," Heero thought. "With Seraphim out there, she may see
me go unusually close to their base. Wufei," he said. "Make sure to provide excellent cover
for me. It won't be easy getting Trowa in there, not with Seraphim."
"Roger that," Wufei said, and began firing with his Dragon Fang. Heero immediately
flew up close to the station. "Trowa," he said. "I'm going to linger here pretending that
I'm attacking from closeup. Hurry and jump before the Seraphim comes out and sees you, but
don't go in until you see the Seraphim, or there's a chance she might see you."
"Roger," Trowa said, and propelled himself towards the station...just as Seraphim
flew out. Heero swore under his breath, and immediately engaged the Seraphim in close
combat with his beam saber. The diversion worked; in an effort to draw her own saber, Veylona
didn't see the small suited figure that dove in between them and entered the base.
Wufei flew in to aid Heero, and the two fought Seraphim for a while. "This girl's just as
good as Reiming," he thought grimly, then purposely allowed himself to get hit. "Bitch!" he
shouted, pretending to be angry, "you haven't seen the last of me!" and immediately started
heading back to their own station. Heero followed.
Once they were a safe distance away, Heero asked, "Do you think it will work?"
"It had better," Wufei said grimly, "Or Trowa better hope that he doesn't come back
at all, because I will hold him responsible for my sister's death."
"Huh," was all Heero said.
On the station, Trowa quickly crept towards room 11B, then stopped and stared. The hallway
leading towards it was laced with infrared sensors. But before he could do anything, he
heard voices, and he ducked into a corner.
"Are you sure you want to deactivate all the security features?"
"Go ahead. With Reiming dead, no one will be coming here; it's useless to stand
guard here now."
"What about Veylona?"
"Don't worry about her...she is as strong and skilled as Reiming was...but she is
definitely more naive. She thinks that we are unwilling to compromise her, but she
doesn't know about the atomic bombs we've planted. She won't come here, because she thinks
she is safe."
Trowa did not believe his good luck, until, as he watched, the infrared sensors disappeared.
He continued down the hallway, passing several deactivated cameras, pressor sensors, and
compartments full of tear gas and other means of stopping an intruder. He reached the room
easily, took what he needed, and quickly slipped out again. Then, just as Reiming had done, he
hijacked a supply shuttle and took off towards the base.
Chapter 26
"You're back!" Mariemaia cried, as Trowa walked into the room. "Is that the antidote?"
Trowa nodded. "This will keep her alive for another week or so," he said, "But we still need
to develop a permanent cure. I managed to find the chemical structure for the poison, so since
we have the time now, we should be able to cure Reiming no problem."
And with that, Trowa quickly poured the fluid into the IV bag that was currently dripping
sugar water into Reiming's veins. "That should do it."
Wufei stood up. "Thank you," he said quietly, not really knowing what else to say.
Trowa understood. Nodding, he left the room.
elsewhere...
"This is it?" Lady Une asked, regarding the mass of numbers and diagrams.
"Can you develop an antidote?" Trowa asked.
Lady Une hesitated. "I'm no doctor..." she said, "But I did have some experience in
biological warfare...maybe I can apply that knowledge here. You said we do have a week, right?
Good, that should be enough."
a few days later...
"How is Reiming doing?" Duo asked, walking into the room.
"Still unconscious," Hilde replied, "But most definitely alive. None of her organs have
failed, but she's still in a coma."
"Huh," Duo said. "Well anyways, Lady Une says she thinks she has an antidote. Want to
try it now Wufei?"
Wufei nodded.
"Well then," Duo said, rubbing his hands together, "shall we try to reawaken our
little Sleeping Beauty then?"
a few hours later...
Reiming's eyes flickered, then opened. "Ugh...what happened?" she groaned. Before she had an
answer, a blurry figure hurled towards her.
"You're okay, you're okay!"
"Wha-?! Huh? What's going on?"
Sobbing, Mariemaia looked up. "You're alive!"
"I am?" Reiming said, completely disoriented. "What the heck is going on?"
Duo snorted in an effort to contain his laughter. "Looks like we've finally stumped you!" he
said gleefully. "I can't believe you're speechless...OW!" he said as Hilde, Dorothy, and Relena
yanked his braid and Wufei gave him a nasty look.
"Reiming...I..." Wufei stammered.
"I...I'm supposed to be dead..."
"But you're not!" Wufei finished, and started to cry.
Reiming stared at him for a moment, and then, her own eyes, glistening, placed a hand on his
shoulders. "You're right...I'm not..." and she started to cry.
The two siblings sat there for a moment, but suddenly, Reiming's eyes grew flinty. "Trowa
Barton!" she barked. "Come here...now!"
Trowa stood up and walked towards the bed to an apparently angry Reiming.
"Trowa," she began, her eyes flashing, "You are pathetic, weak, spineless...you don't
deserve to be a gundam pilot!"
Trowa just stood there, taking the abuse.
"You risked your ENTIRE mission, AND the lives of millions along with the future of
mankind. How could you have been so SELFISH?!"
Trowa looked at her.
Glaring, and trying to maintain a straight face, Reiming said furiously, "You're useless, that's
what you are, and-Oh stop that...Stop looking at me like that! Hey!" and she burst out
laughing.
Everyone stared. "She's...she's...laughing..." an incredulous Zechs said. "I don't
believe this!"
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Reiming reached out and took Trowa's hand, "And I thank you,"
she said simply. "Thank you..."
At that moment, Wufei could see that Trowa was wrong. "Trowa...this relationship IS two-way,"
he thought. "Reiming...she has feelings for you too...Do you see that now?"
And Trowa did. Looking into her sparkling eyes, he leaned down, took her face in his hands, and
kissed her.
Everyone just stared. Duo, his eyes bulging, turned around and muttered, "Now I've seen it
all...I've seen space battles, exploding colonies, and now this! This completely blows my
mind...OW!" he said, as Hilde "accidentally" trod on his toe. Hilde just laughed, and, taking
a firm grip on Duo's braid, led him out of the room. Everyone else did the same, but Wufei
paused in the doorway. "Take care of my sister," he said quietly. Looking up, Trowa nodded.
"I will."
"Hey!" Reiming said furiously, "I don't NEED to be TAKEN CARE of!" she spat, sounding
more like her normal self. Both Wufei and Trowa laughed, while she glared at them
fiercely. "Patronizing males..." she muttered. "They're all the same...well, maybe not," she
thought, looking at Trowa. "Maybe not..."
After Reiming had finished practicing, Trowa didn't feel that it was the time to approach her,
and said so to a somewhat disgruntled Heero.
"Heero...I'm sorry, but now is not the time."
Heero sighed, then nodded. "Okay, thanks anyways...but try to hurry. We don't know what they
are going to do next, now that Reiming's gone, will someone else step up to take her place?"
Meanwhile, Mariemaia had begun to follow Reiming around. Something about the older girl
fascinated her. "We are one and the same," she thought. "We were both pawns for evil...but
why won't you help us? Surely you know that those you worked for were evil!"
A few days later, as Mariemaia "happened" to be in the same room as Reiming, Reiming abruptly
looked up from her book and said, "So, my shadow, have you been assigned to guard me?"
Mariemaia felt her cheeks flush, and she buried her face in her own book that she had been
"reading." When she dared to look up again, she was shocked to see a twinge of laughter in
Reiming's eyes. "Well..." she mumbled. "Get it over with," her conscience said. Finally, she
straightened her shoulders and said, "Ah...well, I...I thought that I could try to talk to you,
since we...we are somewhat the same," she managed.
"We are nothing the same, you and I."
Mariemaia felt her heart sink, but then was surprised to hear Reiming continue, "No...you have a
future...friends and family...your hands aren't bloodstained like mine." Glancing up,
Mariemain thought she could see sadness in the girl's eyes, but it was gone abruptly. "Forget
about it," Reiming said as she stood up and headed for the kitchen. "Now, my shadow, I'm going
to be in the kitchen cooking. Join me if you wish."
Mariemaia's eyes lit up. She supposed that that would be as close to an invitation she would
get from Reiming, so she got up and followed.
An hour later, a shocked Duo stumbled into the living room, mumbling and jabbing his finger
towards the kitchen. When the group hurried to the kitchen, they were shocked to see a
laughing Mariemaia cooking with Reiming, who, though she wasn't even smiling, seemed to be
enjoying herself. However, when she saw them all congregated in the doorway, staring, her
eyes abruptly lost that bright look they had and she glared fiercely at them all. The look
was so cold that they all left immediately.
In the kitchen, Mariemaia looked helplessly at the once again closed up Reiming. "The sauce
should be ready in a few minutes," she said meekly. Reiming just nodded. Mareimaia sighed, then
reached in her pocket. "Here..." she said hesistantly. "Wufei told me you that you had liked
flowers when you were little, so..." and she tentatively held out a small bouquet of paper
roses. Reiming stopped, and then took the present. "Thank you," she said stiffly, then turned
around abruptly again.
The next day, when Wufei was wandering around, he heard something. Not daring to believe it, he
hurried out the the garden, and stopped. Sitting in a tree, playing the erhu, was Reiming. The
look on her face was so peaceful that Wufei could only stop and stare. He couldn't believe that
that was his sister, and for a moment, he saw her as a six year old again.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Wufei whirled around and saw Relena. Relena was smiling, and she
said, "Someone who can make music like that can't be cold and lifeless, can they? I mean, just
look at her!"
"I suppose not..." and Heero walked out.
"I take it you told her the conversation she and I had while we were dueling?"
"Hope you don't mind."
"No..."
They watched Reiming a while longer, and Wufei sighed. "Reiming, why won't you open up to me?"
he thought. "You ARE alive. The six year old Reiming is still in you...I can see her. So
why won't you talk to me?"
"You guys may want to leave," Trowa said, walking up to them. "I don't think she'll be
very pleased to find out that you guys saw her when she was vulnerable." Relena nodded, and the
three left. Trowa lingered a little, watching Reiming. For a moment, he saw himself in her.
"She's like me..." he thought. "Could it be?" then he stopped, trying to ignore the shudder that
passed through him, and quickly walked away.
In the tree, Reiming opened her eyes. Though she continued playing, she watched as Trowa left.
"Trowa Barton...I saw something in your eyes the other night...have you gone through what I
did...?"
that evening
"Reiming, may I speak to you for a moment?"
Reiming hesitated, then turned around to face Trowa. She studied him, then nodded. "Very well."
The two walked to one of the empty hangars. Trowa watched as Reiming carefully settled herself
on a box, first walking around it, then opening it to see what was inside. Finally, evidently
satisfied, she sat on it. Trowa leaned against a wall. Neither said anything for a moment.
Finally, Trowa said quietly, "I'm sure you know why I'm here...and what I'll be asking you, so
why don't we just save time and have you answer me?"
"Trowa," she said quietly. "How old were you when it happened?"
Trowa jerked himself, then looked at Reiming. There was no mockery in her eyes, only pain...and
compassion, it seemed.
"What do you mean? When it first started, or the last time it happened?" he said
somewhat sardonically. "I could fill a book with incidents for you."
"When...when it first happened..."
Trowa shrugged, then said, "I don't know...I don't even know my own birthday...but I guess
sometime when I was thirteen...when I joined a new mercenary group. I was too talented for
my own good," he finished harshly. "You?"
Though her face betrayed no emotion, Reiming's fists clenched as she gripped the edges of the box
tightly. "I suppose it would have to be when I was ten years old. They said that we would have
to 'learn how to use our charm'" she spit out venomously. "And of course, we had to practice
on someone, so I'm sure it was their pleasure."
Ten years old...Trowa thought. That's even younger than me...
"But anyways, that's in the past," Reiming said abruptly. "As for who you are facing...
and Reiming drew out a disk from her pocket. "Here," she said, "Put this to good use."
Trowa reached over to take it, and then said, "What's on this thing?"
"All the data I could find on the other mobile suits and their pilots...and the Xero
system program."
"Xero system?"
"An upgraded Zero system; the system Phoenix uses."
"Which explains your phenomenal reaction time," Trowa said wryly.
Reiming raised an eyebrow, and shrugged. "I am human...after all," she said softly, and turned
to leave, but Trowa gripped her arm.
"Yes Reiming...you are human. You are capable of being hurt...but you are also capable
of compassion, I know you are. I see it in your eyes."
She looked at him for a long time. "What gave it away?" she asked. "How did you guess what had
happened to me?"
Trowa smiled wryly. "Misery likes company, I guess. I suppose having gone through it myself, I
could tell that you had also." It was in your eyes, he thought. "What gave it away for me?"
"Your clothes, for one...but not really. More like your personality...you're not cold,
like Heero, and you're not secretive, like Wufei. You're...passive, and plus," she added, "I
know about the real Trowa Barton's personality, and I really wouldn't be surprised." And I saw
it in your eyes, she thought.
The two stood there for a moment, and finally, Reiming withdrew her arm. "I'm tired Trowa. I
would like to rest now," and she turned to leave, but she paused at the doorway. "Good night,"
she said softly, glancing over her shoulder, then left.
Chapter 20
"Xero system?"
"That's what she said. From what I've seen...it's amazing."
"Xero system," Heero mused. "Where's Reiming now?" he asked.
"Supposedly in her room resting. The girl rests a lot, doesn't she?"
"Probably doing something she shouldn't be, and doesn't want to tell us," Heero said
wryly. "You know, we have almost no control over this girl. She could feeding information to,
ah, who did you say they were?"
"Meyer Himmler and Rolf Atkins. Ex-members of the Alliance, Treize wannabe's.
Apparently they had wanted to pull a coup similar to that of Treize's, but he beat them to it, so
instead, they have been waiting all this time, waiting for their chance."
"And the suits?"
"The Griffon and the Chimera. The Chimera is slow, but it has amazing defense and
offense. The Griffon is faster, with a little less defense, but still a great offense. My guess
is that the Phoenix could out race both of them, but it probably has the lowest defense of them
all, but about the same offensive power as the Griffon, maybe just a little less. All three
are made of something called X-Gundamium. It seems to be a changed version of Gundamium.
More durable, but without adding any weight."
"So the Griffon is like a balance between the Chimera and the Phoenix?"
"That's my guess."
"Who pilots which?"
"Himmler pilots the Chimera, and Atkins the Griffon."
"X-Gundamium is it? I wonder if we could create it..." Heero wondered.
"Probably. Let me search a bit." Trowa tapped a few keys. "Here it is: the chemical
structure of X-Gundamium."
Heero shook his head. "Reiming has everything on here...I wonder if she was planning to leave
them?"
"She knew Wufei was her twin didn't she? She probably figured she would somehow get
the disk to him somehow right before she left."
"So why did she fight him?"
Trowa shrugged. "There're things about that girl we will never know. Anyways, it is a little
late. Let's sleep on this for an evening, and start upgrading our gundams tomorrow."
next day...
"No way! Trowa, you actually got her to talk to you. Wow, I'm impressed," Duo
exclaimed as he stared at the data on the screen.
"X-gundamium?" Quatre asked. "Can we create it?"
Heero nodded. "Howard's already working on it. Should be done fairly quickly."
"What about the Xero system?" Zechs wanted to know. "How is it different from the Zero
system?"
"It still involves integration with human brainwaves, but its a little different than
how the Zero system works. It's not as dangerous, and you can't really overload it, like you
can with the Zero system. Beyond that, I have no idea how it works."
"Who are the other pilots?" Wufei wanted to know.
"Two people known as Himmler and Atkins. Ex-members of the Alliance; wanted to pull a
coup just like Treize, but Treize got there first. Evidently, their plot wasn't discovered, and
they've been preparing in secret ever since. They pilot the Chimera and Griffon, respectively."
"So how did Reiming get involved in this?"
"That's what none of us know."
Just then, Reiming walked into the room. "I see you're upgrading your gundams."
"Why would you care?!" Zechs demanded. Even though she had given them all this
information, he still didn't trust her. "So you can report that to these two?"
"Zechs!" Noin said sharply, but the damage was done. Reiming looked like she had been
slapped. "Fine," she said simply, and turned around and left.
Wufei started to get up, but Heero stopped him. "Give her some time Wufei."
Wufei sat, but he still felt disturbed. "Something about the look on her face wasn't right..."
he thought privately, but sat back down.
Meanwhile, Reiming was systemically packing her few belongings. As she finished, she paused,
then removed the necklace she wore, then removed a few more disks. Wrapping the necklace around
them, she placed them on her bed, and then she put the small bouquet of paper flowers on top.
Then she turned around resolutely and started to walk towards the Phoenix, which had been placed
in its private hangar due to its hazardous shield.
"Goodbye..."
Chapter 21
"Reiming's gone!" Hilde cried, rushing in.
"WHAT?!" Wufei bellowed, knocking over a chair.
Sobbing, Hilde said, "I went to check on her, to see if she needed anything, and I found these,"
and she extended the disks, necklace, and flowers.
Marimaia's eyes widened, and tears started to come from her eyes. "My flowers..." she whimpered
softly, but no one heard.
Wufei could barely contain himself; he was so angry. He could only stare at the necklace that
glittered there...a symbol of his union with his sister. But she had left that behind...
"Why Reiming? Why..." he choked, then started to weep, his face in his hands. "Damn
you...how could you be so cruel to me?"
Relena in the meantime had whirled around. "Zechs, this is all your fault!" she spat angrily,
ignoring the tears that flowed down her face. Zechs didn't deny it; only stared at the disks.
"What have I done...?"
Heero stood up. With one arm around Relena, he took the disks. "What are these?" he wondered
and placed them in the computer. Instantly, a layout of the battleship popped up, each room
labeled. Heero clicked a button, and the labels disappeared, and were replaced with all the
security features and their locations. "Oh my God...she left these for us..."
Taking that disk out and inserting another, he saw the ANTI ZERO program and various other
stealth programs that the Phoenix used. Then he put in the final disk and froze.
"What...what IS this?!" he could only manage with horror. On the screen were hundreds of
faces, faces of children that had all been mysteriously missing for years. What horrified Heero
was the bold "DECEASED" label stamped on each of them...except for one that was identified as
"Chang Reiming."
Everyone turned to face the screen. Dorothy let out a gasp. "So that's what they did...they
kidnapped children, and picked one. The rest..." she couldn't finish. But it was all too
clear what had happened. Reiming had labeled each with the date of death, and how they had
died. "They...they KILLED them," Lady Une said in horror. Reaching over, she clicked another
option. Instantly, the letters OPERATION: NATURAL SELECTION popped up. Reading it, she
couldn't believe what she saw. The document, in a nutshell, called for the training of 200
children. Those that didn't pass a specific test were declared "unfit" and were eliminated.
"She...she survived all this..."
This was too much for Mariemaia. Whirling around, she tore from the room, sobbing, her fist
around the flowers. Lady Une looked after her sadly. "Mariemaia...I'm so sorry you have to go
through this."
All through this time, Trowa had just been sitting there, not saying a word. "Why is she
affecting me so much? Even though now she's gone, what is this empty feeling inside me?" As
he sat there pondering, he realized, "I can't believe this...I love her...but that isn't
possible! I hardly know her!" But images of Reiming kept coming up in his mind...her half
smiles...her playing the erhu...her practicing martial arts...her cooking...and most of all, the
look in her eyes the first time he talked to her, and then how, a few days later, the
compassion he saw in her eyes when he told her his deepest and darkest secret, and how she had
looked back at him and said goodnight..."I love her," he said softly. "I love her...but it's
too late now, because she's gone," and Trowa too began to cry.
Meanwhile, Mariemaia had continued to run blindly, not caring where she was going. Almost
unintentionally, she headed for a shuttle. Blindly setting the controls, the flowers next
to her on the console, she headed for Earth.
On the space fortress across from them, which hadn't moved for the last week, her movement was
noted, a shuttle silently detached and followed her.
Chapter 22
Mariemaia landed in a secluded spot; she had no idea where she was, but she just had to sit and
cry. After she had calmed down for a while, she looked at her surroundings. She was in a lush
green meadow, surrounded by trees and flowers. "Reiming would have liked this place..." she
thought, but the name was enough to cause her to cry again. As she was sobbing, a figure
crept up behind her. Too late, Mariemaia saw the shadow in front of her, and the next thing she
knew, she felt a sharp pain at the base of her neck, and then only darkness.
an hour later...
"Where's Mariemaia?" a frantic Lady Une demanded, rushing into the hangar, where the
pilots were watching Howard upgrade their suits.
"Not another one today," Quatre murmured. "What do you mean, where is she?"
"She's not in her room or anyplace else, and there's a shuttle missing."
"She probably needed some time to herself," Relena offered, hoping that it was true.
"I'm sure she'll be back."
"It's been an HOUR."
Relena ran out of reasons.
Meanwhile, Mariko was passing through the computer room. She had been confused recently; the
arrival of the strange cold woman had thrown her off balance. Jerry had been of no help; he
rarely had patience with her anyway. Reena had thought the mysterious woman to be exciting, but
a sound thump from Aelis had kept her from investigating Reiming further. Mariko therefore had
no idea what was going on. She climbed onto a chair, bored. As she was biting her nails, she
saw something flicker onto a screen. "That's funny," she thought. "I know Mommy and Daddy have
told me that that screen was from the bad people," not that she really had any idea of what that
meant. But she was not the daughter of Heero and Relena for nothing. Despite her youth, the
screen gave her a strange feeling. Jumping down from the chair, she went to find her parents.
"Mommy?"
"Later dear," a frazzled Relena said.
Mariko tried her father.
"Daddy?"
"Daddy's busy right now," Heero said somewhat gruffly.
Exasperated, she planted her foot and said, "Daddy! I need to tell you something!"
Heero cast one annoyed eye at his daughter. Though he loved his daughter, this was one of those
times that he wished he didn't have one. Fortunately for Mariko, Noin picked her up.
"Now now Heero, don't be rude to your child. What is it that you want to tell Daddy?
Why don't you tell Auntie Lou?"
"Auntie Lou, there's funny things on a screen."
"What kinds of funny things?" As the mother of two, Noin had more tolerance with
children, though she did have to admit that this was one of times she wished that she didn't
have to play a game with her niece.
"I don't know. They're on the screen that Mommy and Daddy said were from the bad
people."
Noin's eyes suddenly hardened, and Heero swung around. "Riko," he said firmly, "Are you
telling me that there's a message on a screen?"
"Uh-huh."
Swearing, Heero jumped up and hurried to the room. The others followed.
The entire group dashed into the room, and stopped cold. The message on the screen was
straight forward enough
"Surrender in 24 hours, or Mariemaia Khrushrenada dies."
It was signed: Veylona.
Chapter 23
"Oh God, Mariemaia!" Lady Une cried, nearly hysterical.
In the meantime, Heero was furiously pounding into the keyboard. No match for Veylona
popped up, and Heero was ready to punch the wall.
"Hey, I know this is a bad time to be bringing this up, but check this out," Quatre
called. "It looks like Veylona has sent the same message to the other space colonies and the
Earth, and now these messages are pouring in."
Wufei picked one up, read it, and threw it away in disgust. The messages were all about the
same: please sacrifice Mariemaia and save us instead.
"I don't believe this!" Lady Une cried. "There's no way I'm sacrificing
Mariemaia!" and she looked around belligerently.
"No one is sacrificing no one," Heero said, "but what the heck are we supposed to do?"
"Hey Heero, check out this function," Trowa said. With the click of a button, the map
Reiming had left behind changed. "It's connected with the main computer of the station. See,
here are the security forces changing position."
Unfortunately, the pictures they saw confirmed their worst fears. Himmler and Atkins were
tripling their security, making entrance nearly impossible.
"I can't believe this," Duo said, shaking his head. "How'd they accumulate this many
resources? Look, almost no manned Taurus suits; their forces are made up almost completely of
mobile dolls!"
"Can we hack into the mobile dolls' programs and turn it against them?" Hilde asked.
"No...they have far more technology than we do...Damn!" he exploded, slamming his fist
into the console. "I've been so used to having the upper hand in technology...now I know what
it feels likes to be on the other side..."
elsewhere...
On Earth, in a secluded bay, a lone figure flicked off a small monitor broadcasting the news.
Standing up, the figure turned and headed towards a densely forested area. As the figure was
walking, it suddenly stumbled and fell to its knees, breathing heavily and coughing. As soon as
it got its breath back, it struggled back up and continued walking. After slowly walking,
stopping several times to breathe, the figure emerged into a clearing, where a large mobile
suit awaited...
Reiming paused to catch her breath, and another spasm tore through her body. Gasping for air,
she coughed for several minutes before she regained control. Finally, she steeled herself and
jumped into the Phoenix. The giant suit blasted off into space, heading towards the space
battleship and Mariemaia.
meanwhile...
Mariemaia awoke in a dark and cold space. She was completely disoriented, until she remembered
what had happened in the clearing. Frantically, she jumped up and tried to take in her
surroudings.
"Forget it," a cold voice said.
"Who's there?!"
A figure emerged in the doorway. It was the figure of a wizened old man, face full of wrinkles
and nearly bald, but the way he carried himself showed that he was in excellent physical health.
His eyes were cold and glittery, and Mariemaia shuddered. "My name is Meyer Himmler," he
said, introducing himself.
"Why am I here?!"
"You're a convenient bargaining chip. Your friends have 24 hours to completely
surrender."
"And if they don't?"
The man smiled cruelly. "You die," he said simply.
Mariemaia felt air rush out of her. "No..." she croaked. "They won't surrender on account of
my life."
"Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, we will win. Even if they choose not to surrender to
save your life, we will simply activate the various bombs we have planted on the Earth and the
colonies. In the chaos that follws, we will seize control."
"So you resort to bombs now is it? The loss of your prized fighter was a heavy blow
now wasn't it?" Mariemaia mocked, trying to be brave.
Her remarks had hit home, for the old man's eyes glinted. "Trying to be brave now, little
girl?" he sneered. "The loss of Lillith has already been taken care of."
"What?"
"Surprising, isn't it? Yes, we've had a little back up hidden away all these years that
not even your friend Lillith knew about...but that is none of your business." Turning around,
Himmler prepared to leave. "Oh and by the way...you have 22 hours to live. Good day."
in space...
Part of Himmler's and Atkins' plans was to build a space fortress within a giant asteroid,
thereby providing cover for several years. This fortress was so massive that there would be
smaller satellites orbitting it. These satellites would prove to be supply stations, and
periodically, shuttles would go over to the base and drop off supplies. It was towards one of
these satellites that Reiming headed for. Using the stealth systems she had designed herself,
she landed on the outermost satellite and hid the Phoenix in a crater that pocketed its
surface. Jumping out, she paused for several minutes to regain her breath, and then
proceeded to head over to the satellites station, where she promptly knocked out the pilot of a
shuttle and took control. She then headed towards the station.
Once on the station, Reiming landed, dropped off the supplies that it had originally been
scheduled for, and quickly overpowered the few guards that were there. Then she pressed a
button on a remote she carried and replaced the images the security cameras had just
captured and changed them to the images they had captured on the last drop off by that
shuttle. Figuring that this would give her a twenty minute window, she hurried deeper into the
base, ignoring the spasms that tore through her body.
meanwhile...
Mariemaia lay curled miserably on the floor. "Reiming...where are you...?"
at the base
Lady Une had not stopped crying. Heero, Trowa, Duo, Wufei, Quatre, Zechs, and even Hilde had
tried every alternative in trying to reprogram the mobile dolls that guarded the station.
However, they had not been able to hack into it. Frustrated and terrified for Mariemaia, they
continued to slave away.
on the space fortress
A figure noted the images the security cameras showed with interest. "So...she is here..." the
figure mused. Smiling to herself, Veylona thought, "I'll let her reach Mariemaia...then I'll
confront her in a space battle."
elsewhere...
Reiming busily typed into the computer, then finally sighed when she finally hacked into the
security camera images. She noted the location of Mariemaia, and was about to leave when
her eyes grew flinty. Someone had changed the images she had altered back to their original
state. "Who...? Oh my God...could it be?" she thought. Shaking herself, she grimly headed
towards Mariemaia, aware of the battle she was about to fight.
several minutes later...
Mariemaia jerked up when she heard scuffling sounds outside her door, and then the sound of
something being dragged. Then the door was forced open. Her eyes brightened when she saw the
figure framed in the doorway.
"Reiming!" she cried joyfully. "I knew that you would come!" and she ran to embrace the
girl. But as she hugged, she noticed something wrong. "Reiming?" she asked and she looked up.
Was it the light, or did Reiming seem...pale? Her usually lustrous hair was dull and flat, and
her eyes had no light in them. "Reiming, what's the matter?" Reiming didn't say anything, just
grabbed her hand and lead her out into the hallway.
Once the pair reached the shuttle again, Reiming paused to catch her breath. Ignoring
Mariemaia's questioning eyes, she said rapidly, "Mariemaia...we have a rough ride ahead of us.
Therefore...I'm going to inject you with something that will make you fall asleep. The level
of intensity Phoenix will be giving off may be too much for you to handle."
"What about you? What's the matter with you?"
"Forget about me, okay? Let's just get you out of here."
"Reiming, wait...is that blood on your hand?"
Reiming ignored Mariemaia, instead, simply gave her the injection and boarded the shuttle to
head back to the satellite.
On the satellite, Reiming carried the sleeping Mariemaia onto the Phoenix and strapped herself
in. Suddenly, the screen flickered and on it appeared the face of Atkins, a man somewhat older
than Zechs and just as handsome, but lacking any of the kindness in his eyes.
"So...look who's back...Do you honestly think you can get away from us?"
Reiming didn't say anything, only turned on her sensors. Just as she expected, a large mobile
suit was heading in her direction.
Glancing at her, Atkins said coldly, "I see...you already know what is going on...well then, I
can assure you, you will not get out of this battle alive!" and the screen flickered off.
Coughing once more, and trying to ignore the blood that she coughed up, Reiming started the
Phoenix and grimly turned to face her opponent.
The mobile suit that appeared was humanoid, just like Phoenix, but instead of a bird's face, it
had the face of a women. There were wings on its back, just like the Phoenix. In fact,
judging from the data Reiming was receiving, it was Phoenix's equal. "But," Reiming remarked to
herself, "The difference is that Veylona...Meilai...is not dying, like I am..." Catching
herself, she let out a harsh laugh. "Yes, I am dying. I have...11 hours to live...Strange, it
doesn't sound so horrible now that I've said it out loud, but it doesn't matter; I deserve to
die." But as she said this, she couldn't help but think with regret, "It's too bad...I did miss
my brother for all those years...and Trowa Barton..." She smiled to herself. "Just like me...
we were so similar...I really wish I could have gotten to know him better," she said
wistfully. "But he deserves better than me...I wonder if he'll ever find out that he and
Cathrine..."
But Reiming abruptly stopped her thoughts; the other mobile suit was almost there. "It
doesn't matter," Reiming said grimly. "I have to get Mariemaia back alive, and then I can
rest. I can't let Veylona stand in my way!" And with that, she and the Phoenix burst from
the crater and started flying towards the station at top speed.
"Oh, so you think you can outrace me, is it?" Veylona said, smirking. "We'll see
about that!" and she took off after the Phoenix.
The two raced for a while, but it soon became obvious that Veylona was catching up; Reiming, in
her condition, couldn't handle Phoenix very well. Then Veylona started shooting at the
Phoenix.
on the station...
"Quatre!" Dorothy cried, staring at a monitor. "Is that...is that?"
"That's the Phoenix! But...who's that shooting it? It doesn't look like the Chimera
or Griffon..."
Dorothy's cries had attracted everyone, and they gathered around. "That's definitely the
Phoenix," Wufei said grimly, "but Reiming's a much better pilot than that...what is going on?"
Wufei's words were true...the Phoenix was taking a beating, and it was slowly unable to
recover as quickly. In the cockpit, Reiming felt like collapsing, but she grit her teeth and
kept on going. "Have...to...get...Mariemaia...back," she choked, and still ignoring the pain
shooting through her, she continued. Meanwhile, Veylona was taking her time. "Do whatever you
want Lillith...I've won this battle."
On the station, Trowa had had enough. "She's bringing back Mariemaia, I know she is," he
thought, "but why isn't she dodging the other suit's blasts? Something's wrong..." and
finally, he turned around and dashed out of the room.
"Trowa, where are you going?" Heero called.
"I'm going to back up Reiming."
"But your suit isn't finished yet!"
Trowa hesitated, then turned to Heero. "Yours is."
Heero looked at Trowa, and in that moment, he saw the look in Trowa's eyes. "He has feelings for
her..." he realized slowly. Finally, he nodded.
Heero wasn't the only one who realized how Trowa felt. Wufei was staring at him. "He...he
likes my sister! But that's impossible...he hardly knows her!"
But neither of them had much time to think about it, for in that moment, Phoenix took another
hard hit, and it was clear that a few more well-placed shots would demolish it.
In the cockpit, Reiming, barely conscious, had no other option. Pulling up a screen, she
typed in the words DEFER. She quickly keyed in commands to decrease her attack power and add
that energy to her speed. The result was that she boosted the Phoenix's speed, and the suit
surged forward.
Meanwhile, Veylona narrowed her eyes. "What just happened...? Doesn't matter, I'll just go
full speed." And with that, her mobile suit leaped forward and started to once more catch up
to Reiming.
Trowa in the meantime was hastily jumping into the upgraded Wing gundam. "Hang on Reiming, just
a little longer," he said grimly. Starting the suit, he headed for Reiming.
Reiming, observing the rate of Veylona's suit, had no other option. Hoping that she wasn't
making a fatal mistake, she finally deferred every ounce of power from her attack AND her
defensive power, what little was left, to her speed. She knew that this much power would
possibly overload her suit, but she had no choice. She was hanging on to consciousness by a
thread; Veylona was gaining; she HAD to get Mariemaia back. Steeling herself, her suit
sprinted towards the final stretch towards safety.
"What?" Trowa wondered. "Phoenix has virtually no offensive power or defense, but a
phenomenal speed? I didn't know it could do that..." he said admiringly. But a second glance
at his data showed that Phoenix's engines would probably overload at this rate. "Well then,"
he said, this is where I come in." Raising the Wing gundam's buster rifle, he began firing at
the other mobile suit.
"Another mobile suit?" Veylona wondered, at the exact time Reiming saw it. "The Wing
gundam?" she said incredulously. "Heero?"
Just then, Trowa's face flickered onto the monitor. "Let me deal with this guy," he said.
"Get you and Mariemaia safely back."
Reiming was all too glad to comply. With a final burst of speed, the Phoenix crashed into the
hangar, finally.
In space, Veylona glared at the Wing gundam with narrowed eyes. "It's been upgraded...looks
like Reiming gave away the formulas to X-Gundamium...Well then gundam pilot, I'll be back," and
Veylona turned around and left.
Trowa turned around and headed back to his own station, anxious to find out why Reiming had
been piloting her suit so erratically.
Chapter 24
The door to a very battered Phoenix opened, and a nearly dead Reiming tumbled out, holding onto
a still sleeping Mariemaia. Lady Une hurried up and took Mariemaia from her, sobbing with
relief.
"Reiming...thank you so much...thank you!"
In her haste to carry Mariemaia away, she didn't notice how weak Reiming looked, but when
she collapsed to the floor and starting spitting blood, no one could ignore it.
"Reiming!" Trowa shouted, jumping from his suit.
"Reiming! What is the matter with you?!" Wufei demanded, cradling his sister in his
arms.
Turning to look at him, Reiming smiled and said weakly, "There's...there's no hiding it from you
now...is there?"
"Hiding what?!"
Still shaking, Reiming croaked, "How I was poisoned?"
There was a collective gasp from the group. "Poisoned?" Wufei cried.
"How else do you think they kept me under control? Each day, they would slip some of the
antidote into my food, keeping me alive. Of course, they didn't know that I knew I had been
poisoned; they just thought I was an unusually obedient subordinate."
"Oh my God!"
"And so that's why I was rude, deliberately provoking you all. I didn't want any of you
to be hurt when I died. And that's why I left when I did. I left before the symptoms of the
poison could manifest themselves..."
Reiming's head lolled back, and her eyes started to glaze over.
"No Reiming, no! Stay with me! How much longer do you have?" Wufei cried, tears
streaming down his face.
"Just look at my watch. I've started a countdown." Smiling serenly, she said, "Don't
try to stop it Wufei...I died all those years ago...don't try to hang on to me...I don't
deserve to live..."
"Shut up Reiming...stop it..."
"I've disabled Phoenix's shield...go ahead...you can use the technology in it for your
own benefit...Phoenix will understand..."
"Reiming...it says...you have 10 hours left...what is going to happen?" Relena said.
"I'll go into a coma for the last 10 hours...then during the last two hours...my
organs will start failing one by one...it's too late to save me....don't even try...I've seen
people die like this..." But suddenly her eyes hardened again. "One...last...thing...the
one you are facing...Her name is Veylona, but her true name is-" but she was cut off by another
coughing fit.
"Don't talk Reiming..." Wufei continued to sob, rocking his sister back and forth.
Shaking her head, Reiming said resolutely, and with the last of her strength, "...pilots...
Seraphim...equal...Phoenix..." and her eyes started to close.
During this time, Trowa had stood up and left the group. Unable to stop the tears trickling
down his face, he pulled up the map of the station and started to search.
"Trowa, what are you doing?" Quatre asked.
"Looking for the place they hid the antidote."
"NO!" Reiming's eyes flew open again, and she tried to sit up. Wincing in pain, she
gasped, "You fool! Don't risk your entire mission for me!" then fell down again.
Trowa ignored her, continuing his search. "Room 11B, is it?"
"You bastard..." she choked. "It'll never work...that room is closely guarded...you'll
die...don't die on my behalf...promise me that..."
Walking to her, he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "I can't promise you that
Reiming," he said simply.
"Bastard..." she croaked, and finally collapsed. "Trowa..." she said weakly. "Your
name...your true name..." she hesistated, almost unable to fight the lethargy that was
spreading through her body. "Your name is..."
And as she grew limp in Wufei's arms, Trowa heard her whisper,
"Triton Bloom..."
Chapter 25
"What?" Cathrine gasped. Whirling around to face Trowa, she said accusingly, "Why
didn't you ever TELL me that you were my little brother?!"
Trowa didn't respond, only continued to stare at the still form of Reiming. "I didn't know
I was your brother..." he managed. "In fact...what proof is there that I am?"
Cathrine hurridly headed for the computer and tapped in a few keys. Soon, the computer
printed a sheet of paper. She tore it from its slot and thrust it at Trowa.
"Trowa...do these facts match...?" she said, not daring to believe that her brother,
who she had thought had died when he was a toddler, was alive...and had been alive and in front
of her for eight years."
Trowa tore his gaze away from Reiming and scanned the sheet. "Blood type...fingerprints...it's
a perfect match!" he said incredulously. Standing up to stare at Cathrine, he choked, "My
God...I have a name...I have a sister!"
Cathrine couldn't take it anymore and threw her arms around him. "Oh Triton...you've been alive
all this time...I am so happy..."
But when Trowa heard the name he hesitated. "No...Triton...that's not my name..." he said
hesitantly.
"Yes it is!" Cathrine sobbed. "Your name is Triton Bloom! You are my little
brother!"
"No..." Trowa said firmly. When Cathrine looked at him in shock, he tone softened.
"Yes...I am your brother...but my name is not Triton."
Staring at him, Cathrine finally nodded. "No..." she said quietly, "Your name is Trowa
Barton...but you are still my brother!"
"Yes, and nothing can change that."
Smiling, tears started to flow down Cathrine's face once more, and she hugged Trowa fiercely,
who returned the embrace. However, his gaze soon drifted over to Reiming, and he
removed himself from Cathrine's embrace.
"We have a lot of catching up to do...but first, I have some business I need to
take care of."
Cathrine hesitated, and, glancing at Reiming, nodded. "I understand," she said softly, "but
try not to die, ok?"
"I won't...I need to make sure I get back alive," he said grimly.
30 minutes later...
"Howard, is Heavyarms done yet?"
"Just finished!" Howard said cheerfully, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Whew! That
was hard work!"
Trowa nodded. "Thank you Howard," he said. "I owe you one."
Glancing at the map he had printed, Trowa prepared to enter Heavyarms.
"Hold it right there!" Wufei said sharply, entering the room. He drifted over and
came to rest next the Trowa, studying him. Trowa did nothing, only let Wufei scrutinize him.
"There's something between you and my sister, isn't there?" he said accusingly.
"It's not two-way," Trowa said simply. "I've simply decided that I can't stand by and
watch Reiming die, so I'm taking action."
Wufei glared at him for a moment. "I wish Nataku were done!" he thought furiously. He hated the
fact that he was helpless to help his sister. Plus, though he wouldn't admit it, he was
jealous of the fact that someone else liked his sister. Here he was, finally reunited with his
twin, and suddenly, Trowa just had to show up. But he shook off the feeling, and said, "This
is my sister's life we're dealing with," he growled. "Don't blow it," and with that, he
turned around to return to Reiming's room.
Trowa looked at Wufei for a while, then turned around and entered Heavyarms. Once inside, he
took another look at the data he had obtained from the disks and Phoenix's logs.
"Reiming used a shuttle from a satellite to enter," he thought. "That probably won't work
again, but then again, they do think Reiming is dead, so..."
in Reiming's room
Wufei rejoined the others, who had gathered around the still form of Reiming lying in a bed.
Mariemaia, who had regained consciousness, had not moved from Reiming's side, her eyes never
leaving her face. When she had first learned of what had happened to her, she had not stopped
sobbing for ten minutes. Afterwards, however, when she found out that Trowa was leaving to
attempt to steal the antidote, she calmed down and stationed herself by Reiming's bedside.
Periodically, her eyes would flicker to the clock mounted on the wall, which showed how much
time they had left. "Nine hours..." she thought dully. "Come on Reiming...hang in there!"
in the computer room
The other gundam pilots, minus Trowa and Wufei, had there eyes glued to the monitor. Trowa
had agreed to plant a tracer on himself and Heavyarms, so if it seemed like he had trouble,
Heero would fly out to back him up. Heero had originally planned on going with Trowa, but
Trowa had stopped him, saying that this job was for one person only. Now, they watched as
the blinking dot moved towards the fortress. There it stopped, paused, and then...turned
around. "What?" Duo said. "He's coming back?"
Sure enough, Trowa came back. As the other pilots ran out to hear his explanation, he said
simply, "The security is too tight."
"So now what?" Quatre asked.
"Heero, I won't be taking Heavyarms. Instead, I need you to go and attack the base.
Someone else will help you by piloting Heavyarms. In the chaos, one of you will drop me
off, and I'll go in on foot. The majority of their defense is made up of mobile dolls; once
inside, they rely on a few guards and cameras.
"I'll pilot Heavyarms," The pilots turned and saw Wufei, who had come back. "This is
my sister we're dealing with; I need to do something!"
Trowa nodded. "Fine," he said, "Wufei, you provide most of the diversion. Heero will swoop in
close and drop me off inside."
A few minutes later, the two suits headed towards the base. "Don't forget to pretend that
we're supposed to be on a 'revenge' mission," Wufei called. "We need to pretend that Reiming is
already dead, and that we're attacking the station out of spite."
on the station
"What are they doing?" Himmler said, staring at the screen.
"They're up to something," Atkins agreed, looking at the screen with narrowed eyes.
Suddenly, a supposedly grief stricken Wufei appeared on the screen. "You killed my sister!"
he cried in what he hoped would be a convincing voice.
"She had it coming. Shows what we do to traitors," Himmler said coldly.
"You'll pay!"
"Stop posturing," a voice said. In the doorway was Veylona. "Lillith wouldn't die that
easily."
Though Wufei's face betrayed no emotion, he mentally kicked himself. "Of course," he thought.
"Reiming still has 9 hours to live," but then he quickly recovered and said, "What are you
saying? What do you think killed her? She fell out of her mobile suit and died almost
instantly after her battle with you!"
Atkins frowned. "So Reiming didn't know that she had been poisoned," he thought. "She didn't
die from the poison then...She is stronger than I thought. The poison probably didn't even
get a chance to affect her..."
Veylona was thinking the same. "So...they didn't know she had been poisoned...they think she
died from her fight with me...but surely they knew that she was capable of doing much better in
the battle she fought with me! No," she corrected herself, "They probably thought that the
reason she did so poorly was because she wasn't willing to risk Mariemaia."
In Heavyarms, Wufei breathed a mental sigh of relief. "They bought it," he thought. Then his
eyes grew flinty again. "This is for Reiming!" and he started firing on the station.
"Send out the mobile dolls!" Himmler ordered. "Blast him out of the sky! What?" he
said, as the Wing gundam appeared on the screen. "I'm helping my friend in his attack on your
station," Heero said tonelessly.
"Well, at least you're loyal to each other," Veylona said coldly, then turning around,
said, "Forget the mobile dolls. I'll go."
"This will make things more difficult," Heero thought. "With Seraphim out there, she may see
me go unusually close to their base. Wufei," he said. "Make sure to provide excellent cover
for me. It won't be easy getting Trowa in there, not with Seraphim."
"Roger that," Wufei said, and began firing with his Dragon Fang. Heero immediately
flew up close to the station. "Trowa," he said. "I'm going to linger here pretending that
I'm attacking from closeup. Hurry and jump before the Seraphim comes out and sees you, but
don't go in until you see the Seraphim, or there's a chance she might see you."
"Roger," Trowa said, and propelled himself towards the station...just as Seraphim
flew out. Heero swore under his breath, and immediately engaged the Seraphim in close
combat with his beam saber. The diversion worked; in an effort to draw her own saber, Veylona
didn't see the small suited figure that dove in between them and entered the base.
Wufei flew in to aid Heero, and the two fought Seraphim for a while. "This girl's just as
good as Reiming," he thought grimly, then purposely allowed himself to get hit. "Bitch!" he
shouted, pretending to be angry, "you haven't seen the last of me!" and immediately started
heading back to their own station. Heero followed.
Once they were a safe distance away, Heero asked, "Do you think it will work?"
"It had better," Wufei said grimly, "Or Trowa better hope that he doesn't come back
at all, because I will hold him responsible for my sister's death."
"Huh," was all Heero said.
On the station, Trowa quickly crept towards room 11B, then stopped and stared. The hallway
leading towards it was laced with infrared sensors. But before he could do anything, he
heard voices, and he ducked into a corner.
"Are you sure you want to deactivate all the security features?"
"Go ahead. With Reiming dead, no one will be coming here; it's useless to stand
guard here now."
"What about Veylona?"
"Don't worry about her...she is as strong and skilled as Reiming was...but she is
definitely more naive. She thinks that we are unwilling to compromise her, but she
doesn't know about the atomic bombs we've planted. She won't come here, because she thinks
she is safe."
Trowa did not believe his good luck, until, as he watched, the infrared sensors disappeared.
He continued down the hallway, passing several deactivated cameras, pressor sensors, and
compartments full of tear gas and other means of stopping an intruder. He reached the room
easily, took what he needed, and quickly slipped out again. Then, just as Reiming had done, he
hijacked a supply shuttle and took off towards the base.
Chapter 26
"You're back!" Mariemaia cried, as Trowa walked into the room. "Is that the antidote?"
Trowa nodded. "This will keep her alive for another week or so," he said, "But we still need
to develop a permanent cure. I managed to find the chemical structure for the poison, so since
we have the time now, we should be able to cure Reiming no problem."
And with that, Trowa quickly poured the fluid into the IV bag that was currently dripping
sugar water into Reiming's veins. "That should do it."
Wufei stood up. "Thank you," he said quietly, not really knowing what else to say.
Trowa understood. Nodding, he left the room.
elsewhere...
"This is it?" Lady Une asked, regarding the mass of numbers and diagrams.
"Can you develop an antidote?" Trowa asked.
Lady Une hesitated. "I'm no doctor..." she said, "But I did have some experience in
biological warfare...maybe I can apply that knowledge here. You said we do have a week, right?
Good, that should be enough."
a few days later...
"How is Reiming doing?" Duo asked, walking into the room.
"Still unconscious," Hilde replied, "But most definitely alive. None of her organs have
failed, but she's still in a coma."
"Huh," Duo said. "Well anyways, Lady Une says she thinks she has an antidote. Want to
try it now Wufei?"
Wufei nodded.
"Well then," Duo said, rubbing his hands together, "shall we try to reawaken our
little Sleeping Beauty then?"
a few hours later...
Reiming's eyes flickered, then opened. "Ugh...what happened?" she groaned. Before she had an
answer, a blurry figure hurled towards her.
"You're okay, you're okay!"
"Wha-?! Huh? What's going on?"
Sobbing, Mariemaia looked up. "You're alive!"
"I am?" Reiming said, completely disoriented. "What the heck is going on?"
Duo snorted in an effort to contain his laughter. "Looks like we've finally stumped you!" he
said gleefully. "I can't believe you're speechless...OW!" he said as Hilde, Dorothy, and Relena
yanked his braid and Wufei gave him a nasty look.
"Reiming...I..." Wufei stammered.
"I...I'm supposed to be dead..."
"But you're not!" Wufei finished, and started to cry.
Reiming stared at him for a moment, and then, her own eyes, glistening, placed a hand on his
shoulders. "You're right...I'm not..." and she started to cry.
The two siblings sat there for a moment, but suddenly, Reiming's eyes grew flinty. "Trowa
Barton!" she barked. "Come here...now!"
Trowa stood up and walked towards the bed to an apparently angry Reiming.
"Trowa," she began, her eyes flashing, "You are pathetic, weak, spineless...you don't
deserve to be a gundam pilot!"
Trowa just stood there, taking the abuse.
"You risked your ENTIRE mission, AND the lives of millions along with the future of
mankind. How could you have been so SELFISH?!"
Trowa looked at her.
Glaring, and trying to maintain a straight face, Reiming said furiously, "You're useless, that's
what you are, and-Oh stop that...Stop looking at me like that! Hey!" and she burst out
laughing.
Everyone stared. "She's...she's...laughing..." an incredulous Zechs said. "I don't
believe this!"
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Reiming reached out and took Trowa's hand, "And I thank you,"
she said simply. "Thank you..."
At that moment, Wufei could see that Trowa was wrong. "Trowa...this relationship IS two-way,"
he thought. "Reiming...she has feelings for you too...Do you see that now?"
And Trowa did. Looking into her sparkling eyes, he leaned down, took her face in his hands, and
kissed her.
Everyone just stared. Duo, his eyes bulging, turned around and muttered, "Now I've seen it
all...I've seen space battles, exploding colonies, and now this! This completely blows my
mind...OW!" he said, as Hilde "accidentally" trod on his toe. Hilde just laughed, and, taking
a firm grip on Duo's braid, led him out of the room. Everyone else did the same, but Wufei
paused in the doorway. "Take care of my sister," he said quietly. Looking up, Trowa nodded.
"I will."
"Hey!" Reiming said furiously, "I don't NEED to be TAKEN CARE of!" she spat, sounding
more like her normal self. Both Wufei and Trowa laughed, while she glared at them
fiercely. "Patronizing males..." she muttered. "They're all the same...well, maybe not," she
thought, looking at Trowa. "Maybe not..."
