A/N: I don't think I need to explain to anyone that I have not a flying clue how a mobile suit really works, so the details are skewed (made up) to how I figured it might work. If you think it seems really, really unlikely that there are any buttons that could control those things, go ahead and keep that to yourself and leave me to my fragments of sanity. Thankies :)

Time: a couple weeks later

Place: Diamro Battle Field, SE

~*~*~*~

"Hurry up, Samantha; the RMSTC's already begun their announcement!"

"I'm coming, Hilde, I'm coming! I can only run so fast!"

Wildly dashing between passersby, Samantha and Hilde ran through the crowded corridor towards the outside hangar. The RMSTC's important conference, which involved all competing pilots, had already begun and the girls were late. Shoving a middle age woman she never met out of her way, Samantha said breathlessly, "I knew we shouldn't have stopped for ice cream; those bastards take forever to make a sundae!" she slowed for a moment to clutch a pain in her side.

"How was I to know it would take 20 minutes for a small ice cream? At least I didn't order a large…" Hilde retorted, gasping for air between words. Pulling themselves along the remaining distance, the girls stopped just inside the entranceway to the hangar, leaning against the cool cement, closing their eyes, and catching their breath.

It was hard to believe that only one week had past since the commencement of the Registered Mobile Suit Tournament Competition. Over half the pilots competing were eliminated, sent home wondering what they could have done better and where they had made their mistakes. Hilde and Samantha rose steadily to the top, crushing all opponents beneath them. There, of course, were times that they came close to losing, but somehow they managed to bring certain defeat into miraculous victory every time. Rumors were flying about Diamro Battle Field that the two, dubbed team "Royale"(codenames Queen of Spades for Hilde, Queen of Hearts for Sam), could not be defeated, regardless how skilled the pilot fighting against them was.

Samantha now opened her eyes and let out a despaired groan, glancing around the packed hangar. "Look at how many people are here!" she said, hardly able to hear herself over the murmur of the crowd. "There's no way we'll hear what they're saying up there, let alone reach the front."

"Then let's ask someone else what's been said already," Hilde replied hastily, glancing around the crowd, hoping to spot a familiar face. Samantha gestured to Relena and Merrick were near the front, but Hilde frowned and shook her head; she and Relena had had another small bickering about Merrick and were not on speaking terms right now. Continuing her search, Hilde sighted Dorothy near one of the back walls where it was less crowded, wearing a wide hat, shades and a light blue summer dress, standing in the summer sun. She signaled to Samantha about her finding, and both girls pushed their way through the throng to the sunning girl.

"How goes it, ladies? Lovely day isn't it," Dorothy said, smiling and removing her sunglasses.

"Fantastic," said Samantha dully. Wiping the back of her hand across her forehead, she continued, "I don't know how you can stand the heat like this - I'm an autumn girl myself. Could we move somewhere more…shady?"

"I agree," added Hilde, looking equally tired and sweaty from the run to Diamro. Dorothy nodded obligingly, and they repositioned themselves against a wall in the shadows, pushing their way through the crowd for the second time. A man Samantha never met before shouted "You're stepping on my toe there, hun!" before being silenced by an elbow to the ribs and slowly backing away. Finally reaching the sunless area, Hilde leaned against the wall for support. "So what was the announcement about, Dorothy? Anything exciting?"

Shaking her head, Dorothy responded, looking over the crowd towards the podium, "Nothing we didn't know already. There's no more team competition any longer. From now on it's every man and woman for themselves." She grinned, facing both girls. "I guess Team Royale must part their ways."

Giving a mock gasp of horror, Samantha responded, "The Queen of Hearts and Queen of Spades must now be on their own? Oh the misery, the exquisite tragedy of it all!" Gesturing at Hilde, she continued, her voice falsely mournful, "This old maid here won't last two minutes without my assistance."

Catching on, Hilde retorted, "Watch what you say about me, or I'll have to club you."

"Just calling a spade a spade, dear. Don't tell me you're so touchy-feely sensitive."

"Well have a heart, Samantha; that hurt."

Suddenly both girls grinned widely, and burst out, "And Diamonds are a Girls Best FRIEENNDD!" finishing with fits of giggles.

Dorothy, however, was not as amused. She said, punching both girls in the arms, "That's enough girls! God, stop with the puns already! Marilyn Monroe would be spinning in her grave if she heard you butchering her song like that!" Samantha and Hilde ceased their giggles, both girls taking on false expressions of shame, muttering "sorry" under their breath.

The girls paused to listen over the murmuring crowd, seeing if the announcement was still on. When they found it wasn't, Hilde turned to Dorothy and asked, "How are you doing, Dorothy? What I mean is, is Quatre still avoiding you?"

Turning her gaze to the ground, Dorothy replied (in a small, dejected voice), "Yes…I tried talking to him earlier today, but I can't even get the chance to apologize because he won't speak to me." She let out a frustrated sigh, drumming her fingers against the wall. "I don't know why he hates me so much. I didn't hurt him that badly, did I?" Rather than answer, Hilde and Samantha proceeded to look more interested with the ground than it actually was.

Quatre continued to avoid Dorothy with a passion, which resulted in Dorothy having more than one killer hangover from all-nighters pulled at Madame Keeri's ("Grroff me; just leave me to diiiee!"). From the conversations Hilde had with him, it seemed that Quatre wanted them to be together again, but he also seemed to want to prove he was no one's "bitch" just a bit more (and as we all know, manliness is more important than happiness ^_~). Quatre had simply decided that since he had suffered, Dorothy should have to suffer as well. This, of course, was completely pointless, but it proved to himself that he did, indeed, have a backbone. He was no longer anyone's "bitch", and it felt good.

"You should go talk to him anyway, Dorothy. He can't avoid you forever," Hilde said. "Just run up to him and say you're sorry. He's got to forgive you sooner than later."

Dorothy released a snort of disbelief. "Yeah. Right. I'll do that when you apologize to Relena."

Samantha snickered quietly, and Hilde retorted angrily, "Like Hell I will! She has to apologize to me first!"

The fight that caused Hilde and Relena to hate each other with a passion was far too stupid to be shown. All that needs to be said was there was a stack of YM magazines, a "Duo'll never love you!" retorted with a "Merrick is a man-whore!", and a hair scrunchie involved. Neither she nor Relena were speaking to each other at all, except for a few rare occasions when Dorothy or Noin managed to drag them, kicking and screaming, into the same room. The conversations were choppy and difficult to uphold, only lasting until the girls tired of formalities and wanted to scratch each other's eyes out. As Dorothy and Samantha soon found out, the two girl's immaturity was a big pain in the ass.

"Um, speaking of the devil, Relena is on her way over here," Samantha said slowly, pointing over Hilde's shoulder and back towards the crowd. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Hilde turned to face the approaching girl. It was, indeed, Relena, clutching onto the arm of Merrick. Samantha murmured to Dorothy, "If he says so much as one word to me –", adding a gesture that looked as if she'd cut her head off. Dorothy giggled, her mood lightened.

"Look at the ladies gathering inside the shadows," Merrick said charmingly, giving a warm smile. "Why aren't you out in the sun? You should be enjoying this fantastic weather."

"Try saying that after you've ran six blocks with ice cream melting on your hands," Samantha replied, shaking his hand and smearing stickiness all over it.

Merrick looked at her, disgusted. "Still childish, aren't you, Sammie? Is washing your hands below you?"

"Nope. I just haven't found the facilities yet."

"Well you should hurry," Relena replied, giving an icy glare to Hilde in the mean time, "I'm certain you are one of the first pilots in this half of the competition."

"WHAT?! You're kidding!" Samantha said, grabbing Hilde's wrist to see her watch. "Do they start at four?"

"Yep."

"Crap! I gotta go, girls; I only have fifteen minutes before I go kick some unsuspecting guy's ass!" she exclaimed, rushing through the crowd for the third time. She met the middle-aged woman she had pushed past before, and proceeded to push past her again.

Watching as the redheaded girl disappeared into the throng, Hilde laughed to herself. "The Queen of Hearts is quite the card, isn't she?"

"Do not start with puns again," Dorothy said warningly. Hilde just nodded and shot a quick glance in Relena's direction, only receiving a cold glower in return. Deciding she no longer wanted to be part of the conversation, Hilde turned to watch as pilots busied themselves with their mobile suits. This left Dorothy as the only one to uphold their side of the conversation, which she would "readily" thank Hilde for.

"So…" Dorothy said slowly, struggling to find something more intelligent to add. Finding nothing, she continued, "Have you learned anything about piloting yet, Relena? Hasn't Merrick been teaching you over the past bit?"

Unsure what to say in response, Relena began, "Well…"

~*~*~*~

Flashback…

~*~*~*~

"…And this is how you steer forwards," Merrick finished, resting Relena's hand onto the control. "You know everything you need to fly now; why not give it a shot, Relena?"

"Are you sure?" she asked nervously, chewing on her bottom lip. "I don't think I'm ready to fly without you yet."

"You'll do fine," Merrick replied, giving her a warm, reassuring smile.

Relena paused to think for a moment. "Fine. All right. I'll try…"

"Excellent. I'll get out of the suit now and watch from by the stands. If you need any help, just hit the emergency stop and I'll come and see you."

Relena smiled. "Thanks, Merrick." Watching him as he disappeared towards the bleachers, Relena cautiously flicked on the ignition and slowly moved towards the rest of the battlefield. Gaining confidence, she sped up her Taurus suit and ran the length of the field. "Look, Merrick," she excitedly cried over the intercom, "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!"

"Great job! Try flying now," he replied.

"All right…I will." Pressing a button and leaning her controls downward, the suit shot upwards like a rocket into the sky. Glancing around desperately, unsure what to do, Relena followed her first instinct and rammed her thumb onto the emergency stop button. Immediately the Taurus suit ceased rising, and instead, began plummeting towards the ground like a stone. "Oh shit!" she shrieked, screaming into the microphone, "I'M GONNA DIIEEEE-"

~*~*~*~

End Flashback…

~*~*~*~

"She's been doing excellently," Merrick replied for her, giving a gentle squeeze to her shoulder. Relena smiled at him, pulling him in for a quick kiss. Hilde made gagging noise in the background, causing Relena to shoot a dirty look in her direction. "Listen," she said, turning back to Dorothy, "We've got to be heading out quickly; Merrick wants to take me out for the afternoon."

Merrick added, "I have something I must attend to first, Relena; but I'll meet you at the car. Is that all right?"

"Of course!" Relena replied. Calling out over her shoulder, she yelled, "It was great seeing you, Dorothy!"

"Bye!" Dorothy said in response, giving a small wave to the retreating couple. Once they were out of sight, Dorothy punched Hilde in the arm. "Just what do you think you're doing?! You had the perfect chance to make up with Relena!"

"Sorry, she was too busy making out with her boyfriend to even speak to me."

"And you were too busy ignoring her and/or making retching noises."

"Your point being…?"

Sighing exasperatedly, Dorothy thumped her head against the concrete wall a couple times, hoping to wake herself up from a completely pointless dream. After a minute of constant thumping, she realized it was here to stay. Sighing, she said, "Has Lucrezia contacted you since she left on vacation?"

"Once. She and Catherine were going to see a café in Venice."

"Yeah. I received a postcard from her a couple days ago. She asked how everyone's doing, how you and Sam are doing in the competition; you know, stuff like that.

Hilde gave a quick nod. "I think she's doing a lot better now that she's had some time to think." She paused, enjoying the sweet breeze blustering through the hangar. "When she vid phoned me, she told me to give a message to Milliardo. She's ready to forgive him; I think she finally gets that he really didn't mean to do it."

"That's great! No matter their domestic issues, those two are really perfect for each other."

"I think so too. Still, I think we should tell Milliardo that if he ever tries anything like that again, we're all going to jump him and kick his ass!"

Milliardo Peacecraft had not been informed of Noin's departure from the country, but only found out once he bribed Relena into telling him. It cost him his car for the next four weeks, plus allowing his sister and Merrick out on dates whenever they wanted, but at least he was capable of giving messages for the girl to relay to Lucrezia. He, along with Heero and Samantha, we not pleased with Relena's choice in boyfriends, but now he could not say anything without being threatened by Relena, saying she'll key his vehicle or "accidently" leave it unlocked, the keys in it, in the middle of a rundown street.

In the distance, a bell chimed, signaling the end of the third hour. Dorothy let out a soft sigh. "Should we go and see Samantha's battle?"

"You mean her 'victory', right? Of course." The girls left the comfort of the shady wall to cross the scorching pavement of the hangar, heading out towards the stadium.

~*~*~*~

Upon reaching her designated hangar for her suit, Samantha found a small note pinned to the door informing her she was scheduled to battle first. Her opponent would be "Thomas Mort". Nodding in acknowledgement, Samantha then began checking over her suit for any final adjustments. Grinning and shaking slightly, her excitement to be the first competing was obvious. Slamming shut the casing on her Taurus suit's right arm, she wiped her forehead free of the sweat droplets forming on it.

"Tired, are you?" a voice called from behind her.

Recognizing the voice, she sighed and turned to face the person. "Only of you, Merrick. What do you want?"

Clicking his tongue, Merrick stepped out of the shadows towards the girl. "Why do you always assume that I only speak to you when I want something?"

"Because that is the only reason you speak to me," she retorted. "Cut the crap; say why you are here for or leave."

"I want to know if you are still in on the deal."

Samantha let out a small gasp of shock, her eyes widening slightly. "You're still serious about it, aren't you? Still trying to take over the world?"

Releasing a small 'tsk' of annoyance, Merrick retorted, "Of course not; how trivial of you to judge me so."

"Then why are you here? You're not competing at all."

"I'm here for Relena," he replied, a playful tone entering his voice. He enjoyed toying with Samantha, refusing to tell her what she desired to know.

Samantha responded with a snort of disbelief. "You don't love her."

"Of course not. But she does have…connections. And so will you when you win."

"You mean the Gundam pilots," she said slowly, unsurely. Seeing his expression, she knew it was. Releasing an annoyed sigh, she continued, "Are you still obsessed over that? You weren't picked for the Operation; suck it up!"

"It has nothing to do with that! I'm merely using this unimportant contest to find the elite pilots worthy enough to be graced with my presence."

"Uh-huh, right," Samantha said disbelievingly. "And then use them in a battle against your home country. Why don't you just accept the fact that they didn't want you there? You were too much of a shit-stirrer to be allowed to stay, even as a child."

Merrick's calm composure began to flicker. "I should not have been sent to the colonies to live! My father was the leader of my country; I was next in line. It was me who should have been in control after…after my father…"

"I know," Samantha interrupted, not wanting him to complete the sentence. She and Merrick weren't the best friends, but she still looked out for him. She promised his mother before she… she promised his mother that she would. "You don't need revenge, Merrick. You're parent's deaths were of natural causes."

"Or so they say," he replied bitterly. He seldom showed his emotions, but when he did, they were apparent. Now, he was greatly angered.

"Don't go for revenge," she repeated, hoping he would listen. "It isn't worth the price you'll pay."

Ignoring her, Merrick simply responded, "You have a battle beginning shortly; you best be prepared. Take care, Sammie."

"I will," she replied. Samantha watched as he exited the hangar. "And, Merrick?" she called out, catching him just as he was nearly out the door, "Don't hurt Relena; she really loves you."

Without responding, he left the hangar, leaving Samantha with only a few minutes left of preparation. The church bell chimed down the street, telling her she was needed on the battlefield. "Time to get moving," she said to herself, slamming the leg cover shut. Glancing back to the door one last time, she climbed inside her suit and walked it out onto the field.

~*~*~*~

Feedback on my story has been fantabulous and by far more than I ever hoped or anticipated (43 reviews?! *faints dead away*). It makes me very, very happy to have so many people responding to my work and giving me the will to continue further than I expected on this story. You faithful readers (and new readers, I need you too!) who have stuck with me this far have kept me going, and I can't express how glad I am to know that at least one person out there is enjoying this (or at least lying to me and making me feel better ;). Your reviews have added fuel to my creative fire, and I thank you!

Kiwii