Chapter 15:

"Shute!" Lark exclaimed as she once again dodged machine gun fire as the Halekulani covered the distance between them in no time whatsoever. She watched as Wing Zero's cockpit swung open and Heero jumped, and fell. Crawling to the edge of the platform, she watched as Heero swung between the two gundams on a grappling wire, just out of reach of Halekulani's gun fire. Before Octavian could go after her again, she jumped up and plopped into the pilot seat.

As soon as the doors were shut, Lark pulled Nishada up into position, she had to do something to help Heero. He had not made it to Zero's platform yet, and Octavian was all over him. Then she had a thought, remembering Trowa's opening move, and rammed the Halekulani into the floor. She smiled as the huge gundam went sprawling across the floor, wood splintering out in every direction. As the gundam righted itself and turned on her, Heero scrambled up the length of the rope and came to help her.

As if on cue, both Nishada and Zero returned Octavian's favor with a volley of their own machine gun fire, this time coming from both sides. Octavian was disoriented for a minute as he used Halekulani's arms to block the diamond encased cockpit, just in case the volley of bullets shattered it.

Lark growled in annoyance, "Octavian! You're such a coward!" In her anger, she pulled out Nishada's beam saber and swung it at Halekulani's crossed arms. Lark grunted as she pushed down on Nishada's arm controls, putting more pressure on the saber as sparks flew. She was glad that Heero's volley had not let up, but then she noticed that the other gundams had joined in on the fight.

Lark smiled as Deathscythe came up beside Nishada and swung its large lazer scythe at the Halekulani's cockpit. Then, Heavyarms and Nataku came in with a volley of gunfire from the left. Octavian's only way out was suddenly blocked as Sandrock atacked from the right. All of a sudden, Octavian's straining face popped up on Lark's screen.

"Ok! Ok! I give up! You win!"

Lark glared at him as she strained to keep the pressure on, it sure did not feel like he was giving up, "Sorry, but I really don't believe you."

"Awe, C'mon Lark!" Quatre replied as Sandrock's gun fire ceased, "He surrendered, give him a chance."

Lark snarled at the blonde Arab, "I really don't have time to get into this with you Quatre! Octavian is a snake, and if we give in, he'll finish us all."

As soon as she had quit speaking, the Halekulani pushed forward, taking Nishada and Deathscythe with it. Pulling its arms from its blocking position, the Halekulani knocked both gundams into opposite walls then turned on the other four. Zero dodged the gun fire as it pulled out its beam cannon, and pointed it at the diamond encased cockpit.

"Lark! Duo!" Heero exclaimed as he waited for the beam cannon to power up. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine!" Lark screamed as she scrambled to get a hold of Nishada's controls, "Just kill that little snake!"

"What?! Oof!!" Heero replied as the Halekulani knocked him into the floor, his beam saber flying out of his hand and landing in the middle of the banquet hall crashing tables and wreaking havoc of the carefully prepared feast.

"Ansel! Are you ok?" Lark yelled as she practically pulled Nishada to its feet.

"Ya, ya," Heero replied as he blocked Halekulani's gunfire with his stealth shield, "Just get him off so I can get my beam saber!"

"Right," Lark replied as she once again brandished her beam saber. She snarled in anger as she once again rammed the Halekulani into the floor. This time the stage gave way and collapsed. Bringing her saber out in front of her, she fired it straight at the huge Gundam. It seemed like forever until Heero came to join her. Then it was all over, with his beam cannon powered up and pointed point blank at the Halekulani's cockpit, he fired. The diamond encased cockpit exploded in all directions. As Octavian's voice filled her cockpit with a scream of horror, Lark pulled Nishada back and climbed out of the cockpit. She sighed, it was all over. _____

"Well, we can't seem to find Toabu or his army anywhere on Quarrentine." Lark looked up at her older brother somewhat in a daze as she leaned her head on Trowa's shoulder.

"So, where are they then?" Trowa asked as he wrapped his arm around Lark. "A whole army couldn't have just disappeared."

"Well, they might have just jumped ship and are moving off Quarrentine," Heero suggested as Armand frowned at him.

"But where would they go?" Baek asked, a bit confused.

"I'm not sure," Heero replied, "But I'll find out." With that, he left.

For the first time since Octavian had been killed, Lark spoke, "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"Hwoarang went to get them," Armand replied as he smiled at his sister and hugged her to him, "I'm so glad you're finally back."

She smiled back as she hugged him tightly, "Me too.......me too."

Armand pushed her back and held her out at arm's length, "Yeah, beautiful."

"You're such a retard." Lark smiled as she freed herself from her brother's grasp and went back to Trowa's side.

"Oh, ok, I get it," Armand replied, feigning hurt, "You don't love me anymore, you'd rather go off with him."

Lark rolled her eyes, then looked up at Trowa and smiled, "But Armand, he's the love of my life, you know that."

"I know Ly, but he still has to prove himself," Armand smiled, "Oh, by the way, where's Keely?"

Suddenly Lark's eyes got big and she took off running, "Oh my word! I completely forgot about the animals!"

"Lark!" Trowa exclaimed as he took off after her. "Wait for me!"

Armand and the other pilots just stood there as they watched the two run across the dilapidated ballroom and out the huge hole in the wall onto green lawns bathed in warm sunlight beyond. Armand shook his head, "I'm just glad she found someone just as crazy as she is."

After about twenty minutes, Lark and Trowa returned with the trio of animals. Just as they entered, Heero, Hwoarang and Mr. and Mrs. Yahara entered.

"Mom! Dad!" Lark exclaimed as she practically shoved everyone out of her way to throw herself into her mother's arms. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too Lark," Mrs. Yahara replied as she hugged her only daughter tightly to her chest.

"Never let me go away for that long again Mom," Lark said on the verge of tears, "I was so homesick."

"Oh Lark," her mother laughed as she pushed Lark out to arm's length, "You accomplished your task. There will never be another need for you to go away for so long."

"I see you brought Ansel back to us, safe and sound," Mr. Yahara chimed in as he smiled at Lark.

She smiled back as she pulled away from her mother and fell into her father's loving embrace. Then she looked at Heero and smiled, "Safe and sound? I don't know about the sound part, but I did my best to keep him safe."

"Was that an insult?" Heero asked as he scratched his head. "'Cause if it was, then I didn't get it."

"Oh Ansel!" Lark laughed. "Have you really lost your sense of humor?"

Then Duo joined in on the conversation. "I don't think he has one humorous bone in his body," he said as he grabbed Heero's elbow and squeezed it, for which he got a piercing frown. "You see, not even his funny bone is ticklish!"

Lark laughed at this as the rest of the "company" joined them, "Well Duo, we'll have to teach him then."

"Teach me what?" Heero asked, a bit annoyed with everyone's jovial spirits. He looked around at all the smiling, laughing faces, until his gaze landed on Wufei. He smirked, well, at least I don't feel so left out now. Wufei looked as though the whole conversation bored him and he was ready to go off and disappear, but Heero could not let that happen, there was way too much to do.....so little time....... "I don't know what all this laughing has to do with the present situation, but I found out that Taobu's army has moved off of Quarrentine, taking most of the carrier ships with it."

"What are you saying?" Armand asked as his whole countenance became serious. "Do you actually think that Taobu took the Gundams with him?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying."

"But what would he need the Gundams for?" Baek asked.

"Yah, Taobu's army poses no threat to us," Lark replied as she tried desperately to raise some hope in the hearers hearts.

"No, not right now, but don't you think for a minute that he won't hide and slowly rebuild his army by enslaving some other planet and come back to attack us one day when we least expect it," Heero spat. "I know him better than that. I know his heart. Taobu is an evil man and will stop at nothing to see me and the one's I love suffer!"

There was silence for a minute until Heero spoke again. "I'm leaving to go get Relena, I'll be back next week." With that he was gone.

"Yah," Wufei, who had been silent for the most part chimed in, "I'm gonna go back to the colonies for awhile and find me some job. If you ever need me, just leave a message with Nataku. I'll be around."

Lark, Armand, the remaining pilots, and the rest of the Yaharas watched as both Wufei and Heero climbed up into their Gundams and headed outdoors where they both in turn transformed into space crafts and headed straight out and up into space. No one spoke as the last whirling stream of smoke disappeared from the horizon.