I'm back! No, I didn't fall into a coma, and I didn't forget. My computer had crashed about mid-December (who knew level 5 was a bad level for your computer to be working on?). I finally found my story documents, and managed to get them put onto my new computer. So I have returned :D

A/N: I'd like to mention again that I have no idea how the suits work, and that I'm making it up as I go. Forgive me if it seems incorrect to you, but I haven't seen the show for over two years and am running on my poor memory alone ^_^;

~*~*~*~

Chapter 12

~*~*~*~

"Do you know when the second half is going to start, Duo?"

"Umm…two minutes ago, Quatre."

"What?! You mean we're late?"

"No, genius; we're early and everyone else if off-kilter."

"We can't be the last ones to arrive for the second half! We're part of the RMSTC; we're supposed to be overviewing everything."

"Wufei, Heero and Trowa can manage well enough without us. C'mon, Quatre. This is important for me."

~*~*~*~

The crowd, packed tightly against each other in the bleachers, was louder and more energized than ever thought feasible. The entire field seemed to pulsate with excitement, a dull bass thumping down and through the earth. If possible, the screams of anticipation grew louder as they watched the two suits march into the field, waving their arms congenially, both combatants showing eagerness and excitement for the battle. Thomas Mort and Samantha Grey were ready and willing to go, the nerves of pre-battle egging them on. The television screens sitting at each end of the rectangular field flashed on, and across each splayed the likeness of Wufei, informing them that they would begin in thirty seconds. Both combatants flashed their signs of readiness, and awaited the final countdown to begin.

No one knew how wrong the day would go.

~*~*~*~

"This is so weird, seeing her fighting instead of actually fighting alongside her."

"Oh yeah, Hilde; I forgot this is your first time watching her battle," Dorothy replied to the raven-haired girl. Both were situated in the ground-level row of chairs, placed at the halfway point of the field. The seats were reserved for the RMSTC members and a few friends. Neither girl was sure of how close they were considered to being 'friends' of the Gundam pilots anymore, but no one questioned them sitting there, so they figured it must be all right.

Hilde nodded, biting her lip impatiently. "I wonder how good this Thomas guy is."

"I wouldn't be too worried about him; I'd focus instead on finding Sammie's weaknesses. You'll need to know them and overcome them when you to fight each other."

"'If', Dorothy, not 'when'. I don't even know if I'll make it through so I can battle her."

"Don't criticize yourself, Hilde! Of course you'll make it; you were trained by Lucrezia Noin and are thus expected to kick ass."

Hilde had no response for this, instead choosing to grin back at Dorothy. The excitement was contagious in the bleachers, and both girls were showing symptoms of it. They turned to face the field, now complete with both pilots in a ready position. The countdown clock ticked of the remaining minutes and seconds on the television screens, the first battle growing nearer. Hilde watched with great anticipation, unable to wait and see just how good Samantha really was.

A gentle tap on her shoulder startled her, and Hilde wheeled around in her seat to see who it was. "Duo," she breathed quietly, looking her ex-boyfriend in the eyes. Dorothy, eyebrows raised unbelievingly, turned to face him as well, intrigued by what he might have to say. A small, nearly silent squeak escaped her as she spotted Quatre standing not far behind Duo.

"Hi girls," Duo said, a nervous smile looking out of place on his normally joking face. "Can I speak with you, Hilde? Alone?" he added, giving a small glance towards Dorothy. The blonde girl gave him a short condescending look, then returned her gaze to her friend.

"All right," Hilde replied slowly. "Is that okay, Dorothy?"

Dorothy raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead if you want, Hilde, but don't you want to watch Sammie's fight? I thought we were going to look for her weaknesses..."

"You still can," Duo replied, "I don't think we'll be too long."

"Okay…" Dorothy began slowly, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Be back quick."

"We will," Hilde said back. Pushing her seat back, she got up and turned to go with Duo. She paused for a moment, and then leaned down and whispered in Dorothy's ear, "This is a perfect chance for you to apologize to Quatre. He's supposed to be down here watching the battle, so he can't exactly leave if he doesn't want to talk to you."

Giving a small wink, Dorothy pushed Hilde gently on the shoulder. "Don't take Duo back unless he grovels to you on hands and knees," she whispered in response, and both girls held back a set of giggles from escaping.

Watching as the two walked out of the stands, Dorothy then returned her attention to the beginning battle. A signal began to ring as the countdown clock reached zero. Dorothy glimpsed from the corner of her eye as Quatre sat down beside her, carefully avoiding conversation with her. Dorothy's heart pounded a bit quicker, and she felt as if everyone surrounding her could hear it, it was so loud in her ears. Just talk to him, a small voice in her mind said. She shook her head furiously, as if she heard the voice from outside her head.

Quatre glanced at her questioningly, and then cleared his throat lightly. "So…uh, its nice weather for the battle today, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh," Dorothy replied, nodding agreeably. "I – I had to bring my hat and shades today, it was so bright out here." She cringed at the pointlessness of her remark, wishing she could slap herself on the forehead. Stupid!

"Yeah," Quatre responded, giving a quick nod and glance in her direction. "I see that you, uh, wore your blue summer dress. It – it looks good on you."

Jackpot! I win! "Thanks, Quatre. I'm glad you like it." Careful not to let a grin slip onto her face, Dorothy looked back to the field, the participants now fully-fledged in combat. It seemed that both suits were evenly matched against each other. An uneasy silence broke out between them.

"Hey, Dorothy; do you know how we make sure no one gets hurt in these battles?"

"I wondered how you could still have weapons, yet no one is in danger of being killed," she replied, eager to start another conversation.

Quatre nodded again, this time more confidently. "Most of the weapons are still allowed, but the ammunitions were changed so they were less lethal; no high-caliber arsenal. Missiles or other explosives were banned, in order to protect the crowds. Plus, any light weaponry – you know, like the beam sabers – were banned."

"So the battles are closer to paint ball games than actual wars. How come light weaponry was prohibited?"

"Too dangerous," Quatre replied. "Firing lasers inside a battlefield crowded with people was just too high-risk. The strength of the weapons were also difficult to keep low, so we just kept them out all together."

"Well, I feel safer knowing that there are none here," Dorothy responded, giving a warm smile to Quatre. "My protector."

~*~*~*~

Meanwhile…

~*~*~*~

Samantha grimaced as another shot hit her suit, sending her reeling backwards across the field. She regained her footing quickly, and proceeded to release a round of shots at Thomas Mort's suit. I underestimated this guy.

Thomas' Leo suit faced hers, watching her without firing. The two suits, standing and facing each other, reminded Samantha of an old cowboy western she saw when she was young. She no longer could remember its name, but muttering "Showdown at the Diamro Field," served to calm and cheer her up at the same time. She had expected no trouble defeating Mort, but he was proving to be a tougher competitor than she had originally believed.

Ceasing the showdown, Thomas ran at her, his left arm raised out in front of him. This stuck Samantha as odd. Did he forget they removed the beam rifle from his Leo's arm? She thought, momentarily confused.

Then she realized it.

Oh, no –

~*~*~*~

Also happening…

~*~*~*~

"Thanks for agreeing to come with me, Hilde. I know you didn't have to," Duo said nervously, grinning at the girl beside.

"I know I didn't, but I thought I'd give you the benefit of the doubt," she replied, likewise grinning. "This is your one shot, so don't screw it up."

"I don't plan to."

"Well good. I'm glad." Silence broke out between the two, walking towards the suit hangars. Hilde waited for Duo to begin speaking again; to tell her what he dragged her over here for, but it seemed that he wasn't sure how to start. "Duo? What did you want to tell me?" she began for him, hoping it would be enough to get the ball rolling.

"Well…" he began, scratching his head nervously. "I'll just skip right to it. I- I wanted to ask your forgiveness. You know – for the other week? When I threatened you and –"

"I know when you mean, Duo," she interrupted, holding her hands in front of her in a peaceful notion. They stopped walking, not too far away from the field.

Nodding fervently, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Well, I was acting like, well – like a…"

"An ass?" she finished for him, catching a grin from breaking out on her face.

"Well, in my defense, I happen to be an idiot who couldn't think his way out of a paper bag…"

"That's not what you want to talk to me about, is it? Because you could have said that in front of Dorothy and Quatre," Hilde continued, looking both ruefully and hopefully at Duo.

He shook his head slightly. "No, that isn't the reason. It's just…I'd really like it if we could go back to…back to the way we were before."

"As a couple."

"Yeah."

"Hm." A smile playing on her mouth, Hilde fought to regain her composure. It was hard to stay mad at Duo, especially with those puppy dog eyes of his…

"Well?" Duo said, lightly clearing his throat.

Hilde remained silent for a moment longer, weighing out her options. Chewing her bottom lip nervously, she tossed around the thoughts in her mind. He did seem sincere in his apology, the way he kept fumbling over his words. And she did miss him; he seemed to be in the same pain as her. My options are either to a) stay mad and continue to miss him, or b) give him a shot.

"Well?" he asked again, a bit more impatiently than before. It was clear that he was anxious for her answer.

"Okay, Duo. I'll take you back," Hilde finally said, allowing the smile to break open on her face. "I missed you too."

"You have no idea," he replied, grinning as well, "I have so much dirty laundry piled on my floor, I can barely walk through my apartment."

"We've been back together for five seconds and you already want me to do your laundry?! I think I was happier being single…"

"I'm bugging you, Hilde. I wouldn't do that to you; not anymore, at least. I'll try harder not to load so much stuff onto you."

Laughing, she slung her arm through his and rested her head on Duo's shoulder, walking back toward the field. Never in the past weeks had she thought Duo would be back with her so quickly. Hilde had thought there was little chance of them ever returning to each other. But I don't have to worry about that now; we're a couple again. She smiled to herself at the thought.

Without warning, a loud explosion ripped through the air, followed by a high-speed stream of air and dust. Hilde let out a gasp of shock, the wind whipping past her strong enough to wipe her off her feet. She felt her boyfriend's grip, strong but gentle, on her arm, keeping her from being carried away. Pieces of metal rained down around them, and Hilde screamed as one large piece flew by her head before it collided with the wall beside her. Hilde shivered, pulling herself closer to Duo, cringing at the thought of how close she had come to being injured. She coughed croakily, her eyes tearing up from the debris. "What was that, Duo? What's happening?"

"I don't know," Duo replied, his arm now wrapped around her shoulders. His free hand was covering his mouth and nose, blocking the dust from being breathed in. He squinted in every direction, but the thick dust blocked out any details of their surroundings. They could barely make out the walls on either side of them. Duo huskily replied, "Let's go to the field, quick. It doesn't sound good, whatever it was."

"Do you – do you think it was the battle? Is Samantha all right?" she asked quickly.

"I don't know, but let's go and find out. Hurry!"

~*~*~*~

Meanwhile…

~*~*~*~

"I'm glad that you're talking to me again, Quatre. I wanted to see you so badly in the past week or so," Dorothy said warmly, smiling openly at the blond Arabian.

"I know you did, but I just had some…things I needed to work through before I saw you again," Quatre replied, looking slightly awkward. "I was upset when you broke up with me. I didn't understand why you did it."


"I think I still don't," she responded, giving a weak chuckle. "I was messed up and wasn't thinking."

"I'll believe that," he joked, added in his own small, dry laugh. He glanced at the field, seeing the two suits staring each other down without firing. He vaguely recognized the scene, but from where he could not remember. Returning his attention to the girl beside him, he asked, "How are you feeling now, Dorothy? Any less 'messed'?"

"I have no guarantees on that," Dorothy said disbelievingly, "but I think the fog has cleared in my mind. I've figured out that I was a dumbass for breaking up with you."

"You can say that again."

"I was a dumbass for –"

"Not literally."

"Oh." Dorothy gazed forward, watching as the Leo suit charged toward Samantha. "Hey, Quatre? Why is that suit holding its arm out like that? Aren't the beam rifles disar-"

A sudden flash of light ripped from the Leo as it fired a massive shot, feet away from the face of Samantha's suit. The following effects were instantaneous: Samantha's Taurus' body shattered, exploding like a firework, and spraying the wreckage across the field. A gale wind whipped through the battlefield, sending streams of dust and debris everywhere. Dirt whipped about the place, raining down on the crowds. Fragments of Sam's suit spattered down around the field. People began screaming, running chaotically away from the battlefield.

"Quatre?" Dorothy coughed, the dirt clouding her vision. "Quatre, where are you? I can't see…"

"Dorothy! That Leo suit had a small missile launcher or something welded inside the arm! It mustn't have been found during inspection –"

"How could they have done that? And how could it have been potent enough to do so much damage? What about Samantha, Quatre? Is she all right?"

"…I don't know, Dorothy. The impact of that shot…it was too powerful to have been from a regular weapon."

"But - but what about Sammie? We have to go and find her! She wouldn't be too hurt, would she?" She gazed at him hopefully.

Quatre locked his eyes on hers for a moment, barely able to see her through the floating dust, and then let them drop to the ground. "I – I just don't know. That explosion…it was pretty bad; just look around."

Bit by bit, the smoke and dust settled, and Dorothy could now see the emerging pieces of scrap metal littering the field. Parts of both suits were scattered about, some burning with low fires. A figure emerged from the less damaged one, Dorothy could not tell who, but they clutched their right arm close to their body. "Quatre, look there!" she cried, pointing towards the stumbling figure. He nodded, running towards the person, holding Dorothy's hand in his own.

"Excuse me!" Quatre yelled, surprised by a slight ringing he now noticed in his ears - a low hiss flowing through all the sounds around him. When the figure did not respond, he yelled again, "You there! Stop, you may be injured." Inwardly Dorothy scoffed at Quatre, who mustn't have noticed the way he was clutching his arm. Dorothy had decided the figure was a male, seeing it was Thomas Mort's Leo suit they now approached.

"Thomas!" she yelled out, and the figure visibly started at hearing her call out. Watching as he peered through the settling dust around them, Dorothy continued, "How could you, Thomas?! Why did you do this?!" Quatre gave her a look of surprise; he hadn't expected her to be so brash.

She hadn't expected a response, but Thomas replied, his voice shaky and unsure, "I-I was…not my f-fau – H-he-him…it was because of h-h-him…He- wanted me to, he t-told me-e…"

"Who?" Quatre asked as they closed the space between themselves and Thomas. "Who do you mean?"

Dorothy and Quatre could finally see Mort clearly, the dust around them clearing enough for better visibility to return. Thomas was sickly pale, his eyes wide but unseeing. His left arm clutched his right convulsively, as if he were afraid it would crawl away if he didn't hold onto it. He opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came out. He quickly fell to the ground, motionless.

Quatre ran the remaining distance, and felt beneath Thomas' jaw for a pulse. Dorothy was in shock. "Is-is he…?"

"No," Quatre replied, "Just unconscious. The shock from the explosion must have done it."

"Who was he talking abo-" she began, but stopped immediately when she heard a low moan nearby. "Was that Thomas?" She asked Quatre, but knew for herself that the voice sounded feminine: Samantha was nearby.

~*~*~*~

"Sammie!" Hilde called through the descending dust, her hands cupped around her mouth. "Sam, are you okay? Answer me!"

"Over this way," Duo said, pointing towards a nearby heap of metal. "This looks like the largest piece left of the suit. If she were anywhere, she'd be here."

Together they ran across the remaining yards, ducking around the clusters of warped metal. Hilde coughed again as she took in a breathful of the cloudy air. Duo placed his arm around her shoulders, as support as well as comfort. Hilde let out a low gasp as she looked towards the remains of Samantha's mobile suit.

The cockpit was a twisted, charred piece of metal, radiating heat from the blast. An electronic beep was sounding from inside of it, a warning signal for something unknown. Small sparks ignited from the ends of ripped electrical cords, their power unable to reach their destination. Hilde, unable to control herself anymore, gave a stifled sob, stepping towards the remains of the Taurus suit.

"Samantha?" she asked cautiously, afraid her voice would fail her. "Sammie? Can you hear me? Sam!"

Duo stepped closer to it, placing his right hand gingerly on the metal door, which hung on by only one angle.

"Samantha? Are you inside here?" he called into the cockpit, squinting to see if the female pilot was lying inside.

A second low groan came, this time closer. Hilde looked frantically about, trying to find its source. Spotting a small shape not too far away, Hilde let lose another sob and ran towards it. "Sam, is that you?" she cried out again, choking slightly on the settling dust. She stumbled on a piece of debris in front of her, nearly falling herself. The small figure moved slightly, and let loose a stream of coughs.

"Duo! She's over here! I found her!" Hilde shrieked, her voice higher than usual. She quickly bent over to the injured girl, hesitating whether or not she should move her. Letting out another stream of coughs, Samantha tried sitting up, only to fall back down.

"Don't move, Samantha – you could be seriously injured," Duo yelled out, running to close the distance between the girls and him. He tripped over the same piece of metal Hilde did, this time wiping out and landing on the ground.

"h-hil-de" Samantha choked out, trying to turn to face her friend. "I sh-ould have told…you – every-one…it-it was h-him…"

"What? Who do you mean, Sam?" Hilde said, wiping her shining cheeks from tears. She noticed Samantha's struggling, and tried to help Sam face her. Samantha's eyes were struggling to stay focused, and blood was dripping from a deep wound on her forehead.

Duo, limping to the girls and bracing his injured leg, reached inside his coat pocket. What he pulled out was a small cellular phone. "I'm going to call an ambulance right away for you, Samantha." Seeing his eyes darted down to the injured girls legs, Hilde looked down and released a shocked gasp.

What was Samantha's right calf was now primarily a mangled mass of flesh. Her left calf, while less injured, was riddled with deep cuts and gouges, and was on a peculiar angle compared to her knee. Blood flowed from scrapes and cuts along Samantha's arms and face. She was losing large amounts of blood, yet was still struggling to tell Hilde something.

"I-you…need t-to know…" she breathed strenuously, every word causing her great amounts of pain. "M-Merrick…he's da-dangerous. He wan-wants the g-Gundams…badly. He-he's going to u-use Relena as…" but before she could finish, Samantha collapsed of exhaustion.

The siren of an ambulance wailed nearby, growing closer every second. But Hilde could not hear it as she was sobbing into Duo's comforting arms.