Disclaimer:  Do I own Gundam Wing, you ask? ::she and Duo are still being chased by the sword swinging Wufei:: Lemme get back to you on that one. ^.^;

Heart of Space, Dove of Peace


"She just took off?!" Milliardo asked in disbelief. 
            "That's right." Sally answered.
            "We looked all over for her," Noin replied.  "But we couldn't find her anywhere."
            "Hopefully she had the sense to find some shelter." Howard replied, remembering the incident in which she nearly opened the escape hatch on one of Peacemillion's escape shuttles in her effort to reach Heero and Milliardo.
            "That does it." Milliardo said, turning to Howard. "Howard, surely you rebuilt other mobile suits other than the ones belonging to the Gundam Pilots."
            Howard looked at him.  "Come with me and I'll show you."

~*~*~*~*~*~

            "I gotta tell ya'," Howard said as he led Milliardo and company to the mobile suit hangar stationed below the Peacecraft estate. (AN: Shh, don't tell anyone I told you where it was! @_@)  "It wasn't easy getting the Gundams back together.  You can only self-destruct so many times before it's impossible to get them back together."
            "Thank you, Howard." Milliardo replied.  "I appreciate your help."  Noin nodded in agreement.
            "It's no trouble at all." Howard replied with a grin. "An old guy like me needs a hobby these days."  He walked over to a computer console and punched in a code.  A pair of doors opened up.  "Behind door number one we have…" The door opened completely to reveal a modified Tallgeese III.  "And behind door number 2…" Then, a door next to it opened up to reveal a white mobile suit. It resembled a white Taurus but with some of the first Tallgeese and Epyon's features.
Sally cleared her throat, attracting everyone's attention.  "It's not that I don't appreciate your helpas well, but are you positive that this is all you have lying around? After all, it is our job to make sure stuff like this doesn't happen without our knowing.  Do you have any more surprises we should know about?"
            "Nah, what you see is what you get." Howard answered with a light chuckle, glaring at another pair of large metal doors that had remained closed.  Sally gave him a suspicious look, but then shrugged.
            "Who's this one for?" Noin asked, admiring the mobile suit.
            "For you, of course." Howard answered.  "We can't have his grace going out into battle alone."
            Noin blushed at this.  "Wow… that's for me?"
            "Yup,"Howard grinned.  "Whaddya think?  We call it Andromeda."
            "It's perfect." Milliardo said.  (AN: Ofcourse he would like it…)
            Sally edged up next to him with a grin on her face. "Hey, Zechs," she snickered.  "I never saw you look at Noin that way."
            Milliardo cleared his throat.  "I think we should get going, ne?" he replied, nervously, trying to change the subject.
            Noin nodded, turning back to Sally, Hilde, and Howard.  "Can you hold down the fort here while we're gone?"
            "We can give it a shot." Hilde answered.  "But if they manage to break through you guys' line of defense, we're screwed."
            Noin tossed something shiny and metal over to them – which Hilde caught.  "Take it." Hilde looked over to see it was a key.
            "And this is for…?"
            "Go to the back of the hangar and slide it into the Coke vending machine." Noin answered.  "There's about 4 or 5 of my old Tauruses left in a secret compartment behind there."  Milliardo raised his eyebrows at this.  "Unless Howard got to them already and used them for spare parts."
            "Nope," Howard grinned impishly.  "Couldn't figure out the password."
            Noin grinned.  "It's Masked Bishie." She almost feel Milliardo beginning to blush. "Well, ganbatte!" With that, she and Milliardo took off.
            Sally laughed out loud as she watched them get into their respected suits and take off.  "Oooh, Noin, you naughty girl."
            As soon as the two suits had taken off, an alarm when off behind Sally and the others.  At the same, Hilde's phone went off, causing her to immediately flip it open and answer.  "Thunder here, go ahead.  Uh-huh… yeah… Okay, we're on our way."
            "Who was that?" Sally asked.
            "Quatre." Hilde answered.  "He says that there's as quadron of mobile dolls en route to us. If he and Trowa can't catch up to them in time, they want us to wait outside the border and hold them off until they get there."
            "How many are there?" Howard asked.
            Hilde shook her head.  "He didn't say, but given his tone of voice, I'd say a considerable amount."
            "I see." Sally said, cracking her knuckles. "Well, I'm a bit rusty with suit to suit combat… but I'm up to it.  How about you, Hilde?"
            "Do you really need to ask?"
            Sally grinned.  "I suppose not."  She took off in the direction of the vending machines.  "C'mon, Thunder, we've got a fire to put out!"
            "Right behind you, Water!"
            Howard watched them silently as they took off. He looked back towards the closed metal doors, sighed, and walked back towards the elevator.

~*~*~*~*~*~

            Pagan stooped down in the middle of the hall to retrieve the blankets he had dropped for the third time due to explosions rocking the foundation of the estate's bomb shelter.
            "My heavens," he said.  "How dreadful to think that Ms. Relena is outside in that awful mess." He walked down the hall to the room where Sally and Noin had deposited the unconscious Heero Yuy.  "I suppose it's somewhat of a good thing you're not in your right state of mind to know what's going on…" he murmured.  "You'd probably have a fit if you knew what…my word."  As he walked into the room, he was shocked to find that it was completely empty.  Not only was the bed made and everything put back in its place, but also a window leading back up to the surface had been left ajar.  There were also small spots of blood on the bed and windowsill.
            "Oh dear…" Pagan said.  "This is not good.  Not good at all…"

~*~*~*~*~*~
           
            "Word from Sally is that she and Hilde are going to try to head off the first squadron of mobile dolls." Noin said over the com-link as she and Noin raced over the empty town.  "Trowa and Quatre are going to meet up with them."
            "So our job is to meet up with Duo and Wufei at the border." Milliardo replied.  Flashing a smile at Noin over the view screen, he replied, "It's been a while. Are you sure…?"
            "Zechs," Noin said with a smile.  "Like I said before… don't make me repeat myself… again."
            She smiled as a low chuckle could be heard from the ex-Lightning Count.  "Very well." He said.  "Any contact with Duo or Wufei?"
            "I'm trying to reach them right now," Noin replied. "That's funny…"
            "What?"
            "I've tried three different frequencies… but I can't seem to reach them."
            "Think they're out of range?"
            "No… I don't think so.  Do you think the equipment's faulty?"
            "No, I just tried.  I'm not getting anything either."
            Noin tried another frequency.  "Duo!  Wufei!" she cried out.  "Can either of you read me?  This is Noin… do you copy?  Say something!" This time, all she received was static.
            "Something's not right." Milliardo replied.  (AN: Hmm…took them that long to figure that out…?) "We better get to the border fast."
            As Tallgeese III and Andromeda raced on towards the border, they were met with the smoking remains of numerous Scorpio mobile dolls.
            "Looks like the fight is already over and done with."
            "Oh, that's where you're wrong." Noin and Milliardo looked up to see the main Scorpio Gundam hovering above them.  Behind itstood Shenlong and Deathscythe Hell - the two gundams' eyes were glowing white and each was in a fighting stance.  "This fight has just begun."

~End of Chapter 11~