"I don't know what you're trying to do, but it ends here!" she whispered harshly. Wufei kicked the knife out of the girl's hand and she glared up at him angrily. Heero pried her arm away from Duo's neck and sat on her stomach, holding both her arms down. The girl struggled to get up, but Heero refused to move.

"Him and Quatre here just saved you pathetic life," he said, but the girl ignored him.

"Let her go, Heero," Quatre demanded and pointed a gun at Heero's forehead. Heero glared at him, but released her. She immediately reached for another dagger, but Duo grabbed her arm. She attempted to stand and attack them, but her leg prevented her from doing anything but fall on her side.

"Kill me. I have failed my mission," she hissed through clenched teeth and lay where she fell.

"No, there are a few things we need to know first," Trowa said calmly and reached into his jeans pocket for a tissue. He wiped the blood from her face and she glared at him helplessly.

"What's your name," Duo asked and tore off a strip of leather from her trench coat.

"Why should I tell you!?" she hissed as Wufei grabbed her arms and held them behind her back.

"We can't help you if you won't let us," Quatre said when she tried to kick him away from her broken leg. Heero sat on her knees so she couldn't move.

"Why should we help you?" Duo asked and wadded the leather up. He stuffed it in her mouth, half to muffle any screams, and half to keep her from biting her tongue off when Quatre set her leg. It seems the former wasn't necessary. Her face twisted in agony, but she didn't make a sound. Trowa helped bind her leg with more leather strips and Heero's gun as a splint, and Heero and Wufei released her. She spit out the leather which she had bitten clear through and wiped her mouth.

"Duet Maxine, if you must know," she growled begrudgingly, and looked away from them. "Who are you?" she asked. Everyone blinked in astonishment.

"What's your name?" Duo asked and tried to read her face.

She glared at them and repeated, "Duet. Maxine."

"But that's impossible!"

"Why? I ain't no big shot!"

"No, it's just… weird…"

"How so?" she asked and stared icily at the group.

"Because I'm Duo Maxwell!" he cried and stood up, absent-mindedly clutching his gold cross. He didn't know whether to cry or to laugh at the irony. The girl seemed frightened for the first time since they met. The others watched, not wanting to disturb either of them. She reached down her shirt and pulled out a gold cross exactly the same as his.

"Father Maxwell," she whimpered and closed her eyes, clutching the necklace to her heart. Duo sat down next to her and pulled her against him. She clung to him and wept, tears mingling with the blood still on her cheek.

Heero and the others sat in a semi-circle around the two, careful to avoid the pool of blood still on the floor. "Why are you here?" Heero asked once everyone had calmed down.

"To destroy OZ," Duet said, practically spitting out "OZ."

"Where'd you get a Gundam?" Trowa asked and fixed her with a questioning look.

"I didn't steal it," she laughed at herself and snuggled against Duo, "though I wish I did. Then, I wouldn't have to answer to those stupid engineers."

Wufei sighed inwardly, but nothing showed on his face. She's no different from the other female pilots: emotional and weak, he thought.

"Does anyone have any plans to get out of here?" Wufei asked. Duet smirked evilly and fished around in her pocket. She pulled out a detonation device and tossed it to him.

"Where are the mines set?" Trowa asked and looked around.

"Along the hallway and in the hangar. My Gundam's in there, but Washi Ookami can take a few hits." She brushed the hair away from her face and her eyes sparkled.

"Ah, so the blue one was yours!" Quatre grinned and he and Duo helped Duet to her feet.

"I wasn't counting on being stuck here, so we might end up a little bruised and battered," she warned. Wufei nodded and pushed the button. The wall across the room exploded and they were thrown to the ground. Duet shrugged off their help and they ran through the new door into the hangar.

Duet's Gundam was lying on the back of a transport nearby. She ran over to it, trying hard to ignore her leg, but when it gave out, Duo caught her. "I'm fine!" she insisted and looked up at Duo. Her stood her up and she looked a little indignant. "Where are your suits?" she asked the boys.

"Mine's in the woods nearby," Duo replied.

"Ours are on Earth. We came by shuttle," Wufei said, and gestured to include Trowa and Heero.

"Sandrock's on a transport headed for Earth. My crew took care of it already," Quatre sighed and gazed longingly at the sky.

"We've got two Gundams between the six of us? This'll be a tight squeeze!" Duo remarked.

"Whatever we do, it has to be fast!" Heero yelled and pointed to the small army of OZ soldiers in Leo mobile suits heading towards them.

"You come with me!" Duo said and grabbed Trowa and Wufei. "You two help Duet!" he added to Heero and Quatre as they ran off.

"I can run myself!" Duet protested when Heero scooped her up. They hid behind the jeeps parked in the back while the Leo chased after Duo and the others.

"Whatever I was expecting from you, it wasn't that," Quatre smiled and gave her a boost into Washi Ookami's cockpit. She immediately headed for the pilot's seat, but Heero stopped her.

"I'll pilot your Gundam for now. You take care of your leg," Heero mumbled. Duet nodded her thanks and sat down beside the chair, opposite Quatre.

"I've never rode like this before," he confessed. Heero jumpstarted the Gundam and the harness clicked into place.

"Your harness is… different," Heero pointed out as he squirmed uncomfortably. Duet rolled her eyes and leaned forward to unhook it. "Thanks," he nodded and Washi Ookami sprung to life.

The blue and silver mobile suit stood up and everyone inside lurched forward and held onto anything nailed down. Heero grabbed the controls and began firing madly at the OZ troops. In less than a minute, he had cleared them away. He escaped and met up with Deathscythe.

"Hey! You get out okay?" Duo appeared on the vid screen and asked.

"We're fine," Heero replied coldly and whirled as more Leos appeared. Both suits fired unmercifully until they ran out of ammunition.

"Great, and I just restocked, too," Duet sighed and crossed her arms.

"What else does this thing have!?" Heero demanded.

"Thrust that lever for the Fang, that for the Beam Cannon, that for Talons, and that for self-destruct. You do NOT touch that button! " she yelled and yanked the first lever. Washi Ookami pulled a Beam Saber from its left arm and held it high. It glowed black and purple volts of energy coursed along the length of it.

"That's quite a weapon!" Quatre exclaimed as it neatly sliced through three enemy mobiles. Duo was fighting just a fiercely with his scythe, mowing down his opponents.

"I am Shinigami!" he laughed over the connection. When Heero spared a glance at the screen, Duet seized the controls. She expertly destroyed four suits while they were regrouping, leaving only two left.

"Gee, thanks for leaving me some," Duo grumbled jokingly and finished them off.

"We have to head for Earth before more troops arrive," Trowa frowned. Heero sheathed the Fang and nodded assent. Duet hit another button on the control panel and both suits took off.

"Do you want to intercept your crew and pick up your suit, Quatre?" Duet asked and sat back so Heero could take over the controls again.

"No, Sandrock will be safer where it is," Quatre explained. Duet nodded and reclined against the wall of the cockpit.

"Where are you from?" Quatre asked, drawing his knees tighter in the very limited space.

"Colony L2. I lived in Maxwell Church for as long as I can remember, that is, until I was adopted. I was taken in by, oh, six or seven other families in the course of a year, but I kept running away. I got into trouble a lot, and finally, they sent me to an OZ training camp for some discipline. I stole a mobile suit and flew to Earth, and that's where I met this guy named Howard. I stayed with him for a while, helping him salvage and repair mobile suits, and I became fascinated with them. When this engineer brought Howard a Gundam to stock, I stayed up all night working on it. Professor G saw me and said I could have it if I could pilot it right. I agreed, passed the test, and he gave me my Gundam, the Washi Ookami," Duet yawned and patted Washi Ookami's control panel. "That's my life story!" she added.

"Eagle Wolf. Strange name," Heero commented and closed his eyes. She's a little odd, he thought, But I suppose anyone who's anything like Duo is odd. Heero sighed and stared out into space.

Duo, Wufei, and Trowa appeared on the vid screen. "Where exactly are we going?" Wufei asked. Heero regarded them with one Prussian eye.

"Earth. That's where our Gundams are."