FLASHBACK:

Gundams had surrounded Vitality. The people who had brought their children here to live in peace were gathering at the Core. The Gundams were destroying everything we had worked so hard to build. Their teams had disguised themselves as pirates and were landing by the droves, taking anything they could touch, including people's lives.

On the other side of Vitality, the colonists had already driven away the enemy, at the cost of their lives. A young girl with matted, curly auburn hair was running from one damaged building to the next, screaming for her parents. "Mama! Papa! MAMA!!" She looked at every person she found. Every corpse, looking for her parents. Then, she came upon the ruins of a Gundam. One of Vitality's Gundams. The door to the cock pit opened and a man with black/green hair and cerulean eyes crawled halfway out. He bent down to her level, looking at her as if he were relieved that she was there, alive and well. She approached him, thumb in her mouth, and looked into his eyes. He was holding his side, trying to keep her from looking and held out his other hand, leaning against the cockpit door for balance.

"Little one, come here. I need your help." She cocked her head sideways in confusion. "Come here. I want to give you something and I want you to take good care of it for me. Hurry. There's not much time left." He gasped as a pain shot through his side and reached out to the girl, who had come closer. "Give me your hand, little one." She held out her hand like for a hand shake. He turned her hand over and laced her fingers with his, her tiny hand immediately dwarfed by his large, fighter sized hand. She noticed his hand started glowing blue and her mouth formed an "O" as she watched with wide green eyes. In his hand, the light dwindled to nothing. He opened his hand and held hers up to see. Now the light was coming from her hand. "It's a star. The Black Star is yours now. Protect it and be careful how you use it, little one. You are now a part of the Celestial Alliance." He covered his mouth and coughed something awful. "Be a good girl and find the others now, okay?" She nodded and tried to come closer. "No! No, sweet heart, stay back. Go on, now, go find the others. Hurry. Don't let them get away." She turned away from him and ran to the next desolated building. When she got there, she turned back. He was laying on the floor of the cockpit, completely motionless.

She didn't know until much later that that same day, 6 other children on Vitality had similar experiences, only they would never remember them like she had.

END FLASHBACK

KamiRika was holding her right hand and staring up at the holographic blueprints for the Gundam she had planned to use for this fight. Angelic Gundam. She reached up and typed in a code in the machine nearby. Suddenly, the robotic arms and compeer belts began working on several pieces of metal, shaping and reshaping them into large arms and legs. Soon the basic body for the Gundam was laying on the work floor at KamiRika's feet. She looked up at the clock. One hour left until she had to call. She set the machine to begin working on the main circuits and left the secret room. She opened the door and slid it back into place. Outside of the secret room were her own private chambers. A large canopy bed with red velvetine curtains sat in the middle of the room. She shut the shoji wall that covered the secret room. The wall matched the rest of the wallpaper in the room, so one had to be very stealthy to realise where it was. KamiRika reached into a drawer and picked up a leaflet of information and carried it to the communications room.

When she got there, she was met by her two assistants. "I presume all went well, KamiDidis?" She said in her most formal tone, saying quite clearly that she wasn't happy with her "friends" right now.

"As well as can be expected KamiRika." They whispered simultaneously, bowing in respect. Marsella raised her head a little to see the KamiRika's reaction. Her face was like stone, hard and cold.

"I have taken measures in case this Heero person cannot come for his own reasons." She held up the leaflet. "Let us proceed to the communications room, KamiDidis."

Once inside, the Prime Minister was contacted almost immediately. "Ah, hello mysterious colony and its people. How may I be of service to you today?" Lang's voice was like a viper's, oozing with poison.

"It is not what you can do for us but what we can do for you, Mr. Lang. We would like to make your Gundam Fight a little more interesting."

"You have my attention, young lady." He laced his fingers before his mouth and stared at the girl standing so boldly before him.

"We would like to make a wager, Mr. Lang. One I believe you will be most interested in."

"I'm listening," he was sitting on the edge of his seat. This was what he had been waiting for for the past 14 hours. 'Come on…Come on…'

"We want the people of Earth to leave our colony, our precious Vitality, alone. We want to be free of all of your greed and poverty and pestilence. And yet, Mr. Lang, the world seems to want what we have more than ever now. So, for the favour of both existences, we came up with a compromise. Let it be known now, some of the peoples of Vitality agree under protest."

"As to be expected in a democracy, miss." Lang nodded understandingly.

"Save it, Mr. Lang. We are willing to enter this Gundam fight."

"But, miss, with all due respect…"

"If we win, Mr. Lang, We want our total freedoms and liberties. I have drawn up a contract. It gives the exact lines of these terms."

"And if someone else wins?"

"Then, if that happens, we give any and all rights to our technology and colony to the winning fighter and his or her country. We have already decided on a fighter. KamiDidis?"

Sirena walked forward three paces. "We have decided to enter with Heero Yuy of Neo Japan. He is to be arriving in the colony in less than a week."

"Is that so?" Lang rubbed his chin. "This is a very tempting offer ladies. What if Mr. Yuy doesn't show up?"

"Then we have a replacement fighter. Her name is Satsuna Megumi." KamiRika interjected. "She is constantly ready in case of such an emergency." The KamiDidi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"KAMIRIKA?!?! What is the meaning of this?!" She shot them a glare that said quite plainly what she thought they should do with their meddling subordination.

"She is a willing fighter, not afraid to die for her colony, and she is very familiar with the colony's past and will fight with all her heart if necessary."

"And if she refuses to show?" Mr. Lang prompted.

KamiRika let a smirk show through her angry features. "I assure you, Mr. Lang, it will be a cold day in Pluto's house when this girl refuses to show."

"Alright then. I believe we have an agreement." KamiRika reached into her leaflet and produced the contract.

"This contract, Mr. Lang, when someone wins, shall be known as a Treaty. As such, we have given it a proper name." She stuck the papers in what seemed like a fax machine.

When Lang received the papers he scanned them and looked up. "The Vital Treaty. Sounds like a good name to me. But there are a few things I would like to discuss with you, KamiRika. I've been looking over the records of the first people who colonized Vitality before…"

"We understand that you want to see our superiors? Please understand, Mr. Lang, there are no other superiors above me."

"You are the oldest? But what about your parents? Where they there during that awful…"

"Mr. Lang! With all due respect, my family and my past are My business and no one else's!" She began to get angry and the KamiDidis could see it.

"Sir," Sirena interrupted, "Would you like to choose a time and place where we may discuss these terms more confidentially and face to face?"

"Yes, of course. I'll get back to you as soon as I find a good enough establishment. Good day to you, KamiRika. KamiDidis." The screen went blank.

KamiRika's heart was pounding. He had almost given away her secret. If they found out too soon… Now she had no choice. She would have to get down to Earth somehow and fight this battle on her own. For Mom. She had to keep that man from having anything to do with this colony. Heero was to have nothing to do with her home she had been trying so hard to rebuild! He didn't know anything about how she had worked and sacrificed to make this colony functional! He hadn't had to deal with all the losses and work for all the gains! He had no business here!!!

She had written Satsuna Megumi on the papers. That was not entirely untrue. That was the name she had gone by when her mother had died. When she had been left all alone… no one but the children to care about weather she lived or died. For the people who cared about her, she would fight in the name of Vitality and all it's people!!! She would use Satsuna as her name.

Then KamiRika remembered the Shuffle Alliance. She could easily convince them to leave now. She began to head for her chambers. She would have to change before dinner. After all, her guests would be leaving soon… She wanted to leave a good last impression.

She searched her closet. Inside were dresses of almost every country's design. She pulled out a kimono with crimson sakura petals falling from her shoulders to her middle. Then at the bottom hem, there were several full blooms of sakura. She sat down before her vanity and opened a drawer. The first thing she saw was her mother's hairbrush. It was one of the few things she had left behind, things that had made it anyway. K.Rika moved the brush aside and looked at the hair clip beneath it. It was another of her few and precious belongings. It was a pearly white comb like piece with lovely jade leaves off the top and a beautiful coral lily over that. She had gotten it as a wedding gift. K.Rika didn't want to think about that right now. She should be happy. She was going to save her Vitality and that was all that mattered. She wasn't stupid though. The Angelic Gundam that she was working on would have to be nearly perfect. She had one year to work before she had to leave for Earth, two years before the fights.

She picked up the hair piece and slid her hair up into a twist, securing it with the hair piece. The reflection staring back at her seemed years older than sixteen. She imagined her mother behind her, holding her shoulders, whispering to her how beautiful she looked in her hair piece, how lovely the colour crimson looked against her hair. K.Rika laid her head in her hands and let herself cry a little. It had been so long… She shouldn't even remember her mother… but she did, oh how she did and oh how it hurt. She would never be able to walk along the newly created streets on the surface of Vitality and talk about how beautiful the stars were. They'd never talk about how Tai had caught his first fish or got a perfect score on one of his exams. He'd never even know what school was like.

She wiped her face and set to putting make up on. She made herself look natural, like she had not been crying and straightened her shoulders back. She stood up and held her chin up with pride and walked out of her chambers and towards the dinning hall.

~*~*~

The fighters had been wandering around Vitality for some time. They had gotten the KamiDidis to allow someone to give them a tour of the surface. They had seen many villages. Every person had a job to do. Every part of the colony was reserved for something. They had been into the houses that where considered average and normal. The residences were built like old palaces from Ancient Japan or China. They didn't look or seem very high tech. But when they went inside one of the apartment like homes, they realised that the house was basically just for comfort and living in times of peace. They were also shown that each living area had a trap door in it that led to the core, the safest part of Vitality. They noticed that the shops looked like the market places in India and southern Asia. The children looked as if they were bartering the food and goods. Everyone of them seemed to be smiling and happy. They noticed that every once in a while, a bell would ring on one of the building's rooftops.

The tour guide said. "The bell will ring once every hour, as many times as are the hours. Children of different ages have different times to go to school. Each one of them must go for 4 hours each day. They must study language/literature, arithmetic, some type of science, and history."

"What do they do for the rest of the day?" Sai asked.

"We work together to grow food, work on our own culture, and once children become of a certain age, they can sort of adopt a sibling. They can take care of a child younger than them after taking a test to be sure they are ready."

"So they all work together. It seems like you are fixing your colony after something horrible that happened. What was it that happened here?" Domon questioned.

The tour guide was stumped. "I understand what you mean, Mr. Kasshu, but I'm afraid that I don't know what it was that happened. No one really knows except the KamiRika. She is the only one who truly remembers what happened all that time ago."

"So, you kids don't remember anything of the past? What about your parents?" Chibodee began to feel sorry for these children.

"There are records of them, but KamiRika has ordered that no one be allowed to look at them until she gives them the Okay. She is looking out for us. She thinks that we will become ill if we find out." The tour guide began to fidget. "I do not know much on this particular subject. Perhaps you should take it up with the KamiRika herself? Then maybe it will seem clearer."

"Yes, maybe we should." Domon muttered quietly while continuing to follow.

~*~*~

KamiRika was the first in the dining hall. She watched as some smaller children came out and laid down silver ware and dishes, each of them turning to her and bowing before running back into the kitchens for more. She sat down and waited for her guests to arrive. It didn't take long.

The five fighters walked in, talking like they would any other day. Argo was the first to notice KamiRika sitting there quietly. "Excuse us for being late," he began to apologize for the entire group. She waved her hand dismally.

"Don't worry about it. It's understandable that you would be amazed at our colony and want to see more of it." They all noted that she always said "our" instead of "my" when referring to the colony. "Besides, it has given me some time to think and that is very rare in the present time." That caught their attention, she noticed amusedly.

"What sort of time do you mean?" Domon asked. "The Gundam Fight?"

She laid her mouth on her folded hands. "It would have something to do with your Gundam fights, yes, but I do not think that this problem is any of your concern as of yet. Believe me, when things are arranged, I am sure that as Gundam Fighters you will be some of the first to know what is going on." She noticed some 8 and 9 year olds coming in and the KamiDidis came in to sit beside her, bowing their heads respectfully before sitting.

"…But, as of now, let us be more concerned with this wonderful, plentiful food than the future. We must cross bridges as we come to them." The KamiDidis nodded in agreement. The three girls said a short grace that all of the children bowed their heads for and KamiRika reached for the cover on the lid of the largest dish.

When she removed it, the small children removed the other covers too. The dinner looked and smelled delicious. There was a roasted chicken, baked potatoes, boiled green beans, a Caesar salad, and a few more dishes besides that. (I'm hungry and this part is making me drool!) Another child, a boy around 9, came around with fruit juice and beverages to those who asked for it. The children who had served where eating at smaller tables around the larger one, against the walls.

Sai Sici was the first to start chowing down. After the first bite being carefully chewed in his mouth, he looked up with wide eyes and an over all surprised look on his face. He looked like he'd tasted something that wasn't supposed to be there. Domon stared at him hard for a moment, thinking the food was poisoned. He knew they had been acting too nice. Then Sai Sici looked at KamiRika. "This is really GOOD!" He piled his plate up. And began tasting each and every dish he came across.

The KamiDidis stifled their laughter in napkins and watched him continue his assault on the meal.

Domon ignored the food before him, watching the KamiRika. She picked at the food, but didn't seem hungry. She looked distracted.

"Somethin' the matter?" He asked her.

She looked up startled. "Oh, no. Nothing really. Like I said, lets worry about the future later."

"Seems to me you're not really interested in the food."

She stared down for a moment, thinking about how to respond. "My appetite is not what it used to be. I just don't eat as much as I used to, that's all. I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about." She took a bite of the chicken on her plate to emphasise the point. "It's good. I've just been preoccupied with some work, I suppose."

Domon acted as if he accepted that answer, but he really wondered why she was so "preoccupied."

"Besides, Mr. Kasshu, I'm sure you and your friends will be wanting to head home soon. You have your families to look after."

"Yes, of course." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Was she trying to get rid of them? "But, we still need to see the Core of this place."

KamiRika's eye twitched. "I assure you, Mr. Kasshu, there is nothing of any interest to you or your fellow pilots down there. The Core is for the most part, hollow. No weapons, no secret labs, just a protection from unwanted invaders."

"Then you won't mind us taking a look, right?" Chibodee joined.

KamiRika folded her hands before her mouth again. "Why are you so interested in seeing our Core anyway? Would the person who sent you be looking for something in particular?"

"No. Besides the fact that we were wondering where you keep all the records of the babies you bring here and their parents, nothing interests us about the core or this colony." Argo spoke. "So if you would just let us have these records, then…"

KamiRika, for the first time in her short career, blew her top. "We DID NOT steal those children! Their parents contacted US and we went to pick them up! We did not steal them! Just ask Molten Gundam's fighter! He's seen Harpy Gundam land enough times to know! Yes, we know every parent of every child. Yes, we keep records of all of the things that happened to them, but NO you may not be allowed to see what even the people of this colony cannot…cannot…" She took a deep breath. "I am sorry, Shuffle Alliance, but I would like to request that you leave as soon as possible. I can allow that you spend the night, but no more." With that, she turned and exited the room.

~*~*~

She ran into her chambers and opened the shoji wall. The Angelic Gundam's main frame was almost ready to be put together. She sat down at a computer keyboard and began downloading files. She had hacked her way into top secret files from all over the planet. She downloaded files from many countries, fighter files that gave information on all Gundam's main techniques. She continues downloading them onto a series of micro chips. She then began to set all the circuits together. The Gundam was almost ready to begin piecing together. It would take a good few hours more to connect the circuits, though.

She was so absorbed in her work, she didn't hear the automatic doors in her chambers open and shut again. The only time she looked up was when she heard a gasp. Her head shot up from her work at the keyboard. Staring back at her, were two pairs of wide shocked eyes.

"Oh. Darianna, Harley. I didn't hear you come in." She took a deep breath.

"What is all this?" Harley asked breathlessly. "This looks like the equipment that we were to get rid of a few weeks ago, only it looks new!"

"I did some upgrading, but other than that, it is the same. Harley, you must swear on your honour as a fighter not to tell a soul about this. You too, Darianna. But I'm glad you found out." She eyed Harley's hair and size. "You could help me."

~*~*~

The KamiDidi's were highly embarrassed at the KamiRika's outburst. They immediately apologized for her.

"We're really sorry about that. She's very temperamental when it comes to our past. She acts as if it's a big deal and our past deserves some sort of reverence from everyone." Sirena bowed her head.

"Miss KamiRika hasn't been herself lately. I'm sure she meant no offence." Marsella continued.

The fighters just stared way she had left for a moment then looked at each other. Something was definitely up.

~*~

Hey guys! Thanks for reviewing so far! I'd like to take this moment to tell you why we haven't had Heero join in on our story yet. My good friend and reveiwer, Gundam Zero, will be doing Heero's part of this story on her own name. I'd like to thank her very much. THANK YOU VERY MUCH GUNDAM ZERO! Now, please R and R? Thanks!