Disclaimer: I still don't own Gundam Wing, despite my plots to take over Bandai company…hehe…and I don't own any of the Gundams. Seriously, I don't have any of the models…sobs as she whimpers "Deathscythe…" I also don't own the manga "Episode Zero" or the character Odin. . .someone beat me to their past stories…grumbles as she chucks her sketches of the Gundam pilots' lives

Chapter 3

"Master Quatre hasn't returned yet, sir." One of the Maganac soldiers responded, taking off his shades to look at his superior.

"Alright, thank you, Abdul." The tall general of the Maganac army turned away and looked out the window of his meeting room.

May you be safe wherever you are, Master Quatre. . .the man thought as he looked up at the full moon with a sigh of worriment.

"General Rashid?"

"Hmm?"

"The boxes around the city, sir, do you know where they came from?"

"Oh yes, we had some visitors from OZ, they left them behind when they departed."

"What are in them?"

"Bombs."

"What! SIR!"

"Do not worry, my friend, everyone has begun to evacuate to the lower levels of the city where they will wait out the explosion. You should join your friends and family, there is nothing more we can do now."

"Yes, sir." The soldier then departed to journey to the storage bay for the Maganac fleet. Rashid returned to his stargazing.

"Nearly there, just a few more miles. . .this sandstorm is getting worse by the minute." Quatre said. He was woken from his driving trance by the blips of objects on the radar. Looking up, he saw the beginnings of what he assumed was the awaiting OZ troops posted outside the city. He was about to contact Heero to warn him but saw the other plane veer to the right, heading for cover. He followed it and they both landed on a patch of sand, out of the storm. Quatre powered down and unbuckled just as he received a transmission from the other vessel.

"Yes, Heero?"

We can't fly in any further without being detected, lucky for us that sandstorm out there is messing with their radars. Heero responded, a little fuzzy from bad reception.

"Should we depart in our Gundams and attack them now or after the city blows?" Duo asked as he entered the cockpit with Rachel behind him. Quatre cringed at Duo's blatant comment.

Before, they won't be expecting it then. Heero answered.

"Too busy watching the city?"

Something like that. I won't be able to join you till this sandstorm settles down a little more and I can fly in a little closer. Head over now, it's ten minutes before midnight.

"Right, over and out!" Duo said. Quatre shut off the comlink and said, "Please be careful, I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"What, me not be careful? I'm insulted!" Duo said, touching his chest and leaning in a hurt way. Quatre ignored his response and turned to Rachel.

"Are you going to be alright here alone?" Quatre asked.

"Sure, I don't think they'll find me." She responded.

"Alright, be back in a jiffy!" Duo said, waving and running back into the hangar. Rachel grabbed Quatre's sleeve as he walked by her and said, "Be careful out there, you don't know what to expect." He smiled and said, "I will, thank you." Then walked out to join Duo. Rachel ran over to the control panel and activated the comlink.

"Duo, can you hear me?" She said.

Yeah? What is it? He said.

"Tell me when you need the hangar door opened, okay?"

Oh, right, thanks! Right now is good, I think Q-man is in his Gundam by now. Duo said cheerfully.

"Okay. . ." She pushed the hangar button and said just before shutting down the comlink, "Be careful, Duo."

With multiple explosions, the city shook and fell, much to the OZ troop's glee.

"All OZ troops, advance-" As the lieutenant leading the battalion was giving commands, ammunition fire sprayed the back of the attack force, causing many of the suits to explode into burning rubble.

"Darn, we missed our cue. . ." Duo said sarcastically, firing at two more mobile suits that soon after fell to the ground in flames.

Let's finish this, the sandstorm is thinning out! Quatre said to Duo as he slashed suit after suit in half with his Heat Shotels. In desperation, the lieutenant shouted to the troops, "About face, TURN AROUND! Enemy fire from behind!" The soldiers danced around in confusion as Duo shot through the gathering of suits and caused an uproar of chaos to ensue among the troops. Visibility still low, the soldiers began to mistake their fellow pilots as the enemy and shot each other.

"No, you idiots, they're behind us!" The lieutenant yelled in frustration. Suddenly from within a tornado of sand, the Sandrock Gundam slashed through the Lieutenant's mobile suit with two swings of his Shotels.

"AAAHH!" the last words from the lieutenant before his death echoed in the pilots' ears, causing the melee to erupt with scrambling troops attempting to retreat.

"Where do you think you're going? COWARDS!" Duo mockingly yelled as he chased after some fleeing suits.

"Duo, leave them! They won't make it on their own fuel very far." Quatre called to his friend. Reluctantly, Duo ceased his attack and watched the remaining troops disappear into the sandstorm. As the two Gundams stood watching the city burn, the ground began to shake and an opening appeared in the sand as five Maganac mobile suits emerged from the hole.

"Woah, the desert just gave birth. . ." Duo joked as he watched the suits come out to greet them.

Master Quatre! We heard battling up here and came to investigate! Came a message from one of the pilots.

"Ahmad! Am I glad to see you! Sorry I'm late, I hope I didn't worry you too much." Quatre cheerfully responded, glad to hear the voices of his friends.

Master Quatre, Rashid was worried for you, he sent us to search for you for hours! Another of the pilot's said.

"Is everyone okay?" Quatre asked.

Yeah, we managed to get underground before the bombs went off.

So she was right after all. . .it wasn't a trap. . .Quatre thought.

Master Quatre, come inside and refuel, I'm sure you're in need of repairs! A pilot cheerfully offered.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am. I have some friends with me who need help as well, if that is okay with you guys." A slew of confirmations echoed into Quatre's ears and he laughed.

It's good to be home. Quatre thought with a smile.

Hey, Quatre, what's going on? Duo said.

"These are my friends, they're going to help us and give us some supplies while we stay the night. Go back and get Heero and Rachel and meet me inside, Auda will wait for your return." Quatre said as he followed the other Maganac inside. Duo nodded and headed back to where the planes were hidden.

"I hope they're okay. . ." Rachel said to herself, boredly staring out the viewing window in the cockpit. She crossed her arms over the edge of the control panel, resting her chin on it and tilting her head to the side, sighing, as all she could watch outside was gusts of sand. She pursed her lips in thought and then one thought in particular perked her eyebrows. She cocked her head to the other side and stared at the comlink button next to her.

"I wonder what Heero's doing right now. . .probably doing system checks on his gundam if I know him. . ." She said, sticking her tongue out at the button. Then she grinned and said, "How many times in life do people get to talk to cartoons? Not many! Let's see what our little soldier is doing. . ." She sat up straight and pressed the button, saying, "Hey Heero, you there? Or are you off somewhere cleaning your gun?" She couldn't help grinning at her own comment. There wasn't a response and that brought a frown to her face.

Well aren't we rude. . .I guess I shouldn't have expected him to answer. Rachel thought as she frowned at the button as if it would transmit her attitude to him as well. She tried to think of some things to say to get his attention and she grinned again, another plot to prod a response out of him popping into her mind.

"So, Heero, I was wondering, do you have any family that you can remember? There was never really anything in the mangas and shows to insinuate whether you did or not. Though there was that one manga about the beginning called 'Episode Zero', it had the life stories of how your lives were before you became Gundam pilots. You were being, somewhat, 'trained' by a man named Odin. . .I can't recall his last name though. Do you remember him? He killed you. Well, not you, but the real Heero Yuy. Do you remember him?" She paused for a response but the line was still dead. She made a face again, figuring he probably wasn't there so she decided just to keep talking, just so she wasn't bored.

"He must have meant a lot to you, you even based your whole life on something he told you just before he died. He told you to always act on your emotions, and you passed that philosophy on to Trowa in the series. I guess you'll never get the chance to now, seeing that I messed everything up for you guys. He really looks up to you, Trowa that is. Don't tell him I said that, he might get embarrassed or something. I guess you're not there. . .you haven't said anything. I don't blame you; I wouldn't want to talk about someone who wasn't alive anymore if they meant a lot to me. Oh, I hope I didn't make you angry, I was just. . .kind of lonely over here. I'm not used to being anywhere without someone I know. I mean, I know you but you don't know me. . .great, I'm turning into Duo. Sorry to have talked so much, I'll leave you alone now. I know you hate it when someone talks like they circular breathe, never ending talking. Well, enjoy the silence, bye. Er, I mean, over and out." She leaned over the control panel again as she said to herself, "Well, that was a nice one-way conversation. This is gonna be SO much fun. I wonder how long I'll be here, or if this is even real or just a dream. The last thing I can remember is going to bed after staying up till 3 in the morning reading Gundam Wing Fanfics. . .that was smart, I probably got my hyperactive imagination going a mile a minute! This has to be a dream, how else could I be here!" Just as she was about to take a short catnap, she heard the familiar rumble of Mobile suit thrusters and stood up to see Deathscythe appear out of the dissipating sandstorm. She smiled and pressed the comlink, saying, "Boy, am I glad to see YOU! Is everything okay?"

Yeah, Quatre sent me back to get you guys, his friends are going to give us a place to rest till morning and get our Gundams fueled up. Duo replied.

"Sweet! I'll open the hangar for you!" She said cheerfully, pressing the release button to let the hangar gate fall open. She heard the gundam land and she figured it was safe now to close the door. As she did, Duo came into the cockpit and said, "Hey, did ya miss me?" With a wink, he sat down next to Rachel in the pilot's chair. She just smiled as he started the engines and prepared for takeoff.

"Did you tell Heero we were going?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, I just said let's go and he said okay. He sounded upset though, I wonder what's wrong. For him to show emotions, must be something bad. . ." Rachel gulped and sunk down in her seat.

So he did hear me. . .man, I'm dead. . .Rachel thought as she closed her eyes and moaned.

"You made it, good! Everyone, I'd like you to meet my good friend, Rashid." Quatre said happily to the two gundam pilots and their guest.

"It's good to meet allies of Master Quatre." The tall Arab said in a low and confident voice.

"Hey, thanks for giving us a place to stay, it's awfully generous of you in your current living conditions, are you sure it's okay?" Duo said.

"We are honored to give what we can to you and Master Quatre. What are your names?" Duo stepped forward to introduce himself first, grinning as he did.

"Duo! I may run and hide but I never tell a lie-Duo Maxwell!" Duo said, almost bringing a feeling of dejá vú to Rachel.

"My name is Heero." Heero simply responded, not making eye contact as he scanned the spacious room full of people happily and sadly chattering away about many things, but mainly the explosion.

"My name is Rachel. Thank you for your hospitality, sir." She said, bowing to Rashid, trying to do as the Japanese always seemed to do when grateful.

"It is good to meet all of you, follow me and I will show you to where you can stay the night." Rashid said, turning to lead the group to their sleeping quarters.

"And what about our Gundams?" Duo asked as he followed.

"Our engineers will repair them for you while you rest. Come." Rashid said over his shoulder. As they walked through the crowds, Rachel sneaked a peek at Heero's expression. He looked miserable, for him, and she felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

I'm not gonna sleep tonight. . .Rachel thought, almost imagining the cold touch of Heero's gun against her head as he pulled the trigger. The thought sent a chill up her spine and she shivered, slowly rubbing her arms and looking straight ahead, sure that Heero saw it.

"You okay?" Duo asked Rachel, walking up beside her after noticing her shake.

"Yeah, I just got a little chilly. I get cold at anything below 70 degrees Fahrenheit." She said with a chuckle. Duo laughed too and said, "Where do you live?"

"Florida, 'The Sunshine State'." She said with a smile.

"Florida? Where's that in America?"

"It's down in the lower right area; it's a peninsula. I live almost at the tip, on the right side of the state, just an hour away from the ocean."

"Wow, I haven't heard of the name but I guess things are a little different in your, um, time." Duo said, trying to keep his voice down so no one would hear him but her.

"Hmm. . ." She looked down at the ground and sighed.

Things definitely are different, that's for sure. Rachel thought. Just as she was ready to let another sigh out, Rashid stopped and said, "You can choose from these rooms to sleep in; we haven't used them in a while since there hasn't been much reason to. If you need anything, just come to me or one of the men around can most likely assist you." At that, he walked away and left the group to do as they pleased.

"Well, might as well get some sleep while we can. See ya later!" Duo said, waving as he walked into one of the rooms and closed the door.

"I see he doesn't waste any time!" Quatre said, chuckling.

"Do you guys know each other very well?" Rachel asked, curious how close they had gotten.

"Not really, I know his name but not much more than what I've learned by being with him earlier tonight. Heero is pretty much a mystery to me. . ." Quatre said, pointing to him with his thumb.

"Ah, I see. . ."

"Well, I should be getting to bed as well and so should you. Goodnight, Rachel." Quatre said, smiling before turning to go into one of the rooms. Rachel waved to him and then turned to see Heero was still standing nearby, staring at the floor and occasionally her. She blinked and felt another chill run up her spine, but shrugged it off as she smiled at him and said, "Goodnight, Heero." As she walked toward a room, she heard him say, "Why did you say all of that."

"Hmm?" She looked back to see him walking away to a room. Sadly, she sighed and thought to herself as she entered the room and closed the door, What have I done. . .