Chapter 3

After his sister had nearly ripped him apart with her outburst, Wufei had gone home and sat in
his room. Meilai didn't know how to make her grieving husband feel better, and so she left him
alone.

After a few hours, she heard Wuten and Wuli coming through the door. "Mother?" Wuten called.

"In here, Wuten."

The twins walked in. "Mother...Wuli and I have accepted our mission," he said carefully,
waiting to see his mother's reaction.

Meilai could only smile sadly. "Yes, your father and I knew you would. But...we...we're so
sorry..." and she finally allowed herself to cry.

The two boys exchanged glances; they had rarely ever seen their mother cry, and neither was
used to displaying his emotions. However, they still sat down next to her and each took one
hand.

"Mother, please, stop crying," Wuli begged softly.

"Why are you upset? We are warriors; we are meant to fight," Wuten said.

Meilai sighed and shook her head. Looking at her sons with pride and pain, she said, "Yes...
your father and I have raised you well. You are both truly warriors...but I can't help it."
Controlling herself once more, she said, "Wuten, Wuli. We've watched over you since the day you
two were born-"

"We're perfectly capable-" Wuten began, but Meilai held up a hand. "Listen to me, my
son," she said quietly. "Once you fight...once you're out there...things will be different.
Trust me on this one. I...I don't know what will happen to you out there. I don't know...if
you will lose your souls, and your humanity."

Alarmed, the two stared at their mother. "Lose...our souls?" Wuli asked quietly.

"Yes..." and Meilai stood up and walked over to a desk in the room. She removed two
fat stacks of paper and handed them to the twins. "These stories...they were written by your
Aunt Reiming and me. It is the story of our past. Once you read them, perhaps you will
understand what I mean," and she left the room.

a while later...

Wuli glanced at his twin, who was still reading. Finally, Wuten looked up and sighed. He
rubbed his temples and smiled sardonically at his twin. "Well then, Brother..." he said,
attempting to bridge the silence between them.

Wuli was also feeling overwhelmed. "She never told us..." he said quietly.

"We never asked."

"Yes...but still..." Wuli frowned, then said, "Wuten, do you think Mother and Aunt
Reiming have lost their souls?"

Wuten frowned as he pondered the question. "No...I don't think so..." but he did not sound
certain. "I take that back," he said. "I think that they may have lost their humanity once,
but have found it again." Then he stood up. "I'll be packing," he called over his shoulder.

"Wuten," Wuli called.

"Yes?"

"What would you have done...in their position?"

Wuten sighed and shrugged. "I guess...whatever I would have to have done in order to survive,"
he admitted dully, and left.

Wuli watched his brother walk away, and he too sighed. Glancing at the papers in his hands, Wuli
said softly, "Mother...Father...We will not disappoint you."

"At least...I hope we won't."

elsewhere...

Meilai cautiously entered the master bedroom, not knowing if Wufei was still in his depressed
state. "Wufei?" she called out.

"In here."

Meilai walked into the room and found her husband throwing some things into a duffel bag. "What
are you doing?"

Wufei sighed and continued with his packing. "Trowa and Reiming are on a neighboring colony
right now, performing. I'm going to go there to apologize."

"Umm...Wufei...Why don't you let her cool down a little first?"

"I...I can't. I just have to get this off my chest. I have to..."

Meilai smiled sadly and reached over to help him pack. "I understand...I will go too then. I
have...some apologizing of my own to do..."

a few hours later

Reiming stormed around camp, perhaps dumping the water into the animal troughs a little more
forceful than was necessary. Though it had given her a good deal of satisfaction to rant and
rave at her brother, deep down, she was still furious, mainly because she knew that her
brother was probably right. Stopping her work, Reiming wiped her brow and sighed. Giselle
was a good candidate for a gundam pilot, she admitted. She was athletic, resourceful,
intelligent...everything there was to be a pilot.

"But she is too emotional," Reiming said wryly. "And people with emotions, people who
can feel...don't last long..."

As she stood there, lost in her thoughts, Trowa walked out. The return flight has been
extremely unpleasant; Reiming and Giselle had bickered all the way to the airport; had sat in
stony silence on the flight back; and then now, Giselle had fled to her room for refuge,
sobbing all the way. Trowa sighed. He had to admit, Giselle certainly was not a bad
candidate to be a pilot. Mariko was much too kind and lacked the physical ability; Eva was too
young; Clare certainly had the potential to be one but was still somewhat lacking in the
skills department; and Reena was too sheltered, and her personality was totally all wrong.

Reiming looked up and saw her husband. "Trowa...?"

"I don't want Giselle to fight either," he said simply.

She smiled thinly, and allowed him to draw her close to him. "But Trowa...are we doing the
right thing...?"

Trowa rested his chin on his wife's head; she had said the exact thing that was worrying him.
"What if...if she doesn't fight...we lose...?"

"Reiming?"

Jerking herself upright, she turned to glare at the sheepish forms of her brother, sister in
law, and two nephews.

"Er..." Wuli said uncertainly.

"Um..." Wuten stammered.

"Reiming, Trowa, we're sorry," Meilai blurted out. "We hadn't wanted to involve our
own children either, and certainly not yours-"

"Save it Meilai."

Meilai winced inwardly at Reiming's sharp tone; she evidently hadn't forgiven them yet.

Wufei took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Reiming, this is all my fault-"

"Yes it is."

"Well, what I'm trying to say-"

"What is it?"

"Reiming, let me finish!" Wufei exploded.

Reiming was nonplussed. "I understand. You try to place my daughter in jeopardy, and you think
a simple apology is going to do it? Well then, you're-"

CLICK

CLICK

CLICK

"What-?!" Wuten whirled, and stared at the barrel of the gun in his face. There were
similar arrangements for his brother, parents, and aunt and uncle.

"Don't move," one of the men holding the guns sneered.

"Who are you?" Wuli demanded harshly.

They laughed. "Well then, won't hurt to tell you then...we are here on the orders of the
Neo-Rommefeller Foundation. We were sent here to spy, to see if you Preventers had caught
wind of their plans. And since you obviously have, all that's left is eliminating you, and then
to report back."

The three men laughed, while the others glared. Wufei ground his teeth in frustration. He
couldn't believe what was about to happen.

Then...

Suddenly, all three stopped laughing abruptly. Their eyes seemed to bulge, and all three
slumped forward, dead.

Reiming stared, not believing that she was not dead. Then she got a second shock. There were
knives protruding from the backs of the three men. "Those are Cathrine's knives. But..." and
she stared at the figure standing in the trees, right behind the three bodies. "Giselle..."
she choked.

Giselle stared at the shocked expressions on the faces of her relatives, and she started to
tremble. Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore, and she tore off into the forest.
"Giselle!" Wuli called after his distraught cousin, and tore off after her.

Meanwhile, back at the camp, Reiming stared dully at the bodies of the three men. Then, she
said in a trembling voice, "I...I will..." she choked, and she flung herself at Trowa and
began to cry uncontrollably. "Giselle...will fight," she finally managed. "I...can't
protect her...anymore..."

Trowa comforted his grieving wife, a tear trickling down at his face. "Wufei, Meilai," he said
quietly. "Please send word to Lady Une...that there will be an eighth member to the team..."
and the two turned around and went back to their trailer.

Wufei, Meilai, and Wuten stared at their retreating figures. Finally, Wuten cleared his
throat. "I will...inform Lady Une now," he said, and quickly turned away, not wanting his
parents to see his tears.

elsewhere...

"Cousin! Giselle! Where are you?" Wuli called, crunching through the leaves. Watching
the light filter through the leaves, he thought bitterly, "It shouldn't be this beautiful on a
day like this..."

Wuli stomped through the forest some more, before he heard the sound of Giselle crying. Sighing,
he steeled himself and headed in that direction.

Giselle was curled up in a fetal position at the base of a tree, her body wracked with sobs.
Hesitantly, Wuli went up to her. "Cousin...?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she cried. "I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!"

Wuli turned away in pain; he didn't want to see his cousin suffer like this. He let her cry a
little longer and finally said, "Younger Cousin...you had no choice. We'd all be dead if it
weren't for you...you saved us all."

Giselle looked up at her cousin with a tear stained face. "You don't understand!" she cried.
"It was...horrible..." she gasped, then she started to cry again. "Oh my God! I...I...KILLED
them!"

Wuli sighed and sat down next to her. "Is this what Mother meant by losing your soul?" Looking
at his cousin, he thought bitterly, "Yes...this must be it. Giselle...she has been destroyed..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For those of you who haven't read Operation: Natural Selection, well, that is what Meilai
gave Wuten and Wuli to read. Basically, it's a prelude of sorts to Ghosts of the Past, and it's
written in chapters alternating from Reiming's and Meilai's POV. It's the story of Reiming
and Meilai's past.

Chapter 4

"I see..." Lady Une said slowly, regarding the solemn young man on the vidphone in
front of her. "So then, they have been investigating us..."

"Yes Lady. However, it seemed like that they were the first to come investigate. But
even so, when they do not return, the Neo-Romefeller Foundation will know that they have been
discovered," Wuten said.

"Yes, that is right...Well then, Trowa and Reiming have decided to allow Giselle to
undergo training then?"

"Yes..." Wuten said slowly and hesitantly.

"Wuten, what's the matter?" Lady Une demanded.

Wuten sighed. He had told Lady Une that the three spies had been killed; he had not said by
whom. However, he took a deep breath and began to explain.

"Lady Une, I had hoped not to tell you this right away; please forgive me, that was
very cowardly of me to do. But when I told you that the three spies had been killed, I had
hoped to make it seem that my father had killed them. That...is not the case. The three of
them had secretly surrounded us before pulling out their guns. We would all be dead if it
weren't for the fact that Giselle appeared from nowhere and killed them by throwing the knives
she performs with into their backs. But that...has destroyed my cousin. As we speak, she is
somewhere in the forest, crying her heart out," he finished heavily.

During his speech, Lady Une's eyes had widened. "Giselle...killed them?" she stammered.

Wuten nodded heavily. "Yes...it was she. We owe her our lives...but she had to pay for them
with her soul...That is why Uncle Trowa and Aunt Reiming have allowed her to go; her fate has
been sealed; she is destined to be a soldier."

Lady Une sat, stunned. "Giselle..." she whispered. "Oh, the poor girl..."

"With all due respect, Lady," Wuten said stiffly, "I should be getting back to my
parents, unless you have any more questions?"

"No no, Wuten. Thank you very much...Please tell your parents that there has obviously
been a change in plans; please arrive at Preventer Headquarters tonight. We will be starting
Operation: Firestorm much earlier than planned."

Wuten's mouth jerked up in a half smile. "Firestorm...time to fight fire with fire, is it?"

"Yes..."

After he had terminated the connection, Wuten sighed and leaned against the wall. "I think...
that I'm beginning to understand what Mother said..." he admitted to himself quietly. "And it
is more horrible than I could have every imagined..." Then, he straightened and went back to
him parents.

After the initial shock had worn off, Wufei and Meilai had begun searching the clothes of the
dead men. There wasn't much to find; since the three had been spies, they had carried no
identification with them. Sighing, Wufei stood up. "Nothing more we can do here," he said
heavily to Meilai. "All we can do is take care of this," he said, waving to the bodies.

Meilai nodded, then turned as her son returned. "Yes?"

"Lady Une says for us to arrive at Preventer headquarters tonight. Operation: Firestorm
will begin earlier than planned," he said flatly, staring at the three bodies.

Wufei and Meilai nodded, understanding. "Well then, we'll wait for Wuli to get back, and then
we'll head straight there," Wufei sighed, staring into the forest.

In the forest, Wuli sat uncomfortably next to his still crying cousin. Finally, however,
Giselle managed to reduce her sobs to hiccups, and finally, Wuli said, "Giselle...we should
be getting back."

"O...Okay..."

Giselle hunted around until she found a stream, and splashed water on her face, and the two
cousins headed back.

Wufei turned around quickly at the sound, but relaxed when he saw his son and niece come into
view. Wuli looked despondent, and Giselle's eyes were red and puffy, and the light that was
once in them was dampened considerably.

"Giselle...your parents have given you permission to fight," Meilai said hesistantly,
not knowing how her niece would react.

At this, Giselle burst into tears once again. "They...they must HATE me!" she choked out.
"They don't want anything to do with me again!"

"No, Giselle! Don't say that!" Meilai cried, distressed at her niece's words.

"Then why are they pushing me away?!"

Meilai really couldn't answer her niece's question; she only could embrace the crying teenager.
After she had calmed down somewhat, Meilai told her to be at Preventer headquarters that
evening. "You'd better start packing," she told her gently. "We will wait for you."

Giselle nodded miserably, and slowly headed for the trailer.

inside...

Giselle stood in the entry way, not wanting to go in. Finally, she steeled herself and
opened the door.

Trowa was leaning against the wall in the family room, staring off into space. When he heard
his daughter come in, he turned to face her.

"Daddy..."

"Giselle, I am so sorry that you had to go through that."

When she heard her father say that, she began to cry once more, and she flung herself into her
father's arms. Trowa started at his daughter's sudden burst of affection, and he patted her
awkwardly, innerly cursing to himself. "I'm so inadequate!" he thought angrily. "I can't
even comfort my daughter when she's upset."

"Oh Daddy...Please don't hate me! I'm sorry! I didn't-"

Trowa cut off her daughter and stared at her sadly. "Giselle...the reason your mother and I
didn't want you to fight was precisely this reason. Do you understand that now?"

"Yes..."

"But now, we realize that we can no longer protect you. You'll have some very fast
growing up to do now. But never forget, we will always love you...and when this is all over,
we will be waiting for you...we will always be here, waiting for you..."

"Oh Daddy..."

"Hush now, Giselle. You must be strong now. Don't cry."

Giselle nodded, and wiped her eyes. "I...I have to leave now...Jiisan and the others are waiting
for me outside."

Trowa nodded. "I know. Your mother and I are coming also." When Giselle looked up,
surprised, he said, "Yes, I know that you're surprised. But Lady Une decided that it would be
better if the relatives of the new gundam pilots stayed at the Preventer headquarters. For
safety reasons."

Giselle nodded uncertainly, then asked, "Where's Mom?"

"Inside our room."

"I'd...I'd better go...see her..."

When Giselle entered the dim master bedroom, she saw her mother sitting on the bed. There
were various items on the bed: a few bags, a stack of papers, and some other miscellaneous
objects. When Reiming heard her daughter come in, she smiled sadly at her and opened her
arms.

Giselle dove headfirst into her mother's arms and hugged her fiercely. When she removed herself
and looked at her mother, Reiming smiled thinly. "That's good Giselle...you're not crying..."

"Daddy...told me...that I had to be strong. That I shouldn't cry..."

"Yes Giselle...That's right. You'll have to be very strong...from now on..."

Regaining her composure, Reiming handed Giselle the papers. "Your aunt has already shown these
to your cousins; it is time that I do the same. The story in these papers is not pretty; it
talks of your aunt's and mine past. It is time for you to read it...to prepare yourself
mentally for what lies ahead..."

Giselle nodded mutely and took the papers. Then Reiming reached under her clothes and pulled
out a necklace she always wore: a charm in the shape of a phoenix. She stared at the
glittering object for a few seconds, and then she sighed and took it off and handed it to her
daughter. "Mother...?"

"Your Jiisan has one in the shape of a dragon. When we were born, we were given these;
a symbol of our unity as twins. Later, when we were separated...I believe that it is this
necklace that allowed me to cling to the remnants of my humanity, and to never forget who I
was. It's yours now. Wear it...and never forget who you are: that you are my daughter...a
person with a soul...Perhaps...this will allow you...to preserve your humanity..."

Giselle took the necklace with trembling hands, and stared at it. "I won't forget, Mother..."
she whispered, looking down at it. "I swear it...I will never forget..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What did you think of chapter four??? Feedback please!:)

Chapter 5

Clare walked around her room restlessly. Ever since Lady Une had contacted them, her nerves
had been frazzled. Thanks to the superfluous amounts of servants her family had, they had
been able to move into Preventer headquarters within half a day. As Clare surveyed her new
temporary room, she felt like breaking something.

"The color's all wrong; there isn't enough room for my things; WHY don't I have the
corner window?!" she ranted, not really angry at the room itself; just upset about the
reason behind the room. Finally, she grew tired at screaming at the room and went to find her
brother.

in another room...

Rayan regarded Wuli worridly. "So how is Giselle now?" he asked quietly.

Wuli sighed at the face on the vidphone in front of him, and glanced over at his stony faced
cousin. "Well..."

Rayan looked past Wuli and at Giselle. "I see..." he sighed, grieved. He couldn't believe how
much he cared for the girl; he felt as if her pain was his. "So, how much longer until you
arrive?"

"About an hour."

"Alright...see you in an hour...and please, take care of her for me?"

"Yeah...sure."

"Rayan?"

Turning around, Rayan saw his sister staring at him. "What was that all about?" she asked, a
worried expression on her face.

Rayan sighed. "Giselle...is having some problems."

"Oh, you mean how she isn't allowed to fight?"

"No..."

"Rayan, what is going on?"

"Clare...Giselle was forced to kill three Neo-Romefeller spies today," he said flatly.
"She is taking it hard."

Clare's eyes widened. "Kill?!" she exclaimed, shocked. Rayan nodded tiredly. "Yeah...that's
the reason why Trowa-sama and Reiming-sama have allowed her to fight. She may as well now, now
that her innocence has been lost."

Clare shook her head, shocked. "I don't believe it," she whispered. "GISELLE?! Are you
sure?"

"Clare...what do you think? Just...be prepared. Giselle's changed."

"I know...I just don't want to believe it," Clare sighed, then asked, "Rayan, could it
possibly get any worse?" she said, not really wanting to hear his response.

Rayan didn't say anything, only stared out the window. "Oh Giselle..."

a few hours later...

Giselle walked around like a zombie. The initial shock of killing had worn off; she had
withdrawn to some corner in her mind. She had not spoken after her discussion with her
mother, and had simply unpacked her things after they had arrived. Then, someone knocked on
her door.

"Giselle?"

Clare hesitantly poked her head into Giselle's room. "Hey there," Giselle said tonelessly.

At the doorway, Clare cringed at her voice. "Rayan was right...she HAS changed..." Regardless,
she entered her friend's room. "So...when will you all begin training?" she asked, trying to
start up conversation.

"Tonight."

"Oh."

Giselle continued to rearrange her belongings as Clare sat there helplessly. Suddenly, she
couldn't take it any more. "Giselle, I'm so sorry," she blurted. "I...I don't know what to
say..."

"So don't say anything."

"Giselle!" Clare gasped, feeling as if she had been slapped across the face.

Giselle turned to her hurt friend. "It's the only way," she said dully. "It's the only way I'll
be able to live with myself."

"Oh Giselle..."

"Hey what's up?" and Thomas stuck his head in the room cheerfully. "Hey Clare! Hey
Giselle! Awesome rooms, eh? I've actually got space left over for new things."

"Yeah..." Clare said listlessly. Thomas frowned. "Geez, what's the matter with you?"
Then he grinned. "Oh...I know...the room at YOUR place is huge compared to your little
'cubicle' here eh? Haha, silly girl!" he mocked, glancing down at her and winking.

Clare rolled her eyes at him and ignored him. Thomas sighed and went to work on Giselle. "So
Giselle, sup? Hey, what's with that long face?"

"Nothing..."

"Aw, come on! Lady's just told me that your parents have finally given in! You get to
join us! Aren't you happy?" he said somewhat sarcastically.

"Yeah, overjoyed."

Thomas frowned. "Hey hey now," he frowned. "This isn't your style now! The Giselle I know
would either hit me or giggle or roll her eyes at me or something, not walk around like she
was half asleep! Come on! What's wrong?"

"Save it, Thomas," and Geoffry walked in. He nodded to Clare and turned to Thomas.
"Look, not everyone on this planet is as excited as you are."

"Whoa man! Relax! Not everyone on this planet is as cold as you are!"

"Look, I just killed three people. Are you happy now?!" Giselle exploded, and a tear
slipped down her cheek.

"Yeah yeah, I kn-WHAT?!" Thomas sputtered. "You're not serious!"

"Look at her Thomas. Do you THINK she's joking?!" Geoffry snapped at his friend. The
two were completely different; Thomas was loud and cheerful, Geoffry was silent and calculating.
Despite that, however, the two were best friends. However, at this moment, Geoffry really
wished his friend weren't so dense.

"Hey...I'm sorry Giselle," Thomas said meekly, then turned to Geoffry. "How did you
know?"

"Lady Une called my father. She didn't tell everyone because she didn't want to
publicize it."

"Clare, did you know too?"

"Yeah...Wuli told Rayan, and Rayan told me," she said quietly, and then went over to
comfort her friend. "It's probably best...if you guys left right now..." she said quietly, an
arm around Giselle. The two boys nodded and left, shutting the door behind them quietly.

Once alone, Giselle completely broke down. "Shh shh...go ahead and cry Giselle," Clare soothed,
rubbing her distressed friend's back. "It's okay...just let it out..."

"I'm...I'm not supposed to..."

"Why not?"

"I...I have to be strong."

"Bull. Just cry."

"But you don't understand! I'm a soldier now, I can't be weak."

"Contrary to popular belief, soldiers can be human too. My father is living proof of
that. Stop torturing yourself Giselle."

"I guess..." Giselle murmured, and she reached down and clutched her pendant. "My
mother...gave this to me today. She said that it would help me retain my humanity, but I
don't know..."

Clare smiled sadly at her friend. "Have faith, Giselle. One war will not destroy the
cheerful girl I've grown up with. I believe in you...as does my brother."

"I hope so...Clare, I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"Hey, it's all good. Don't worry about me so much."

Giselle nodded uncertainly, and dried her tears.

Out in the hallway, Thomas smacked himself on the head. "Ugh! I can't believe I did that!
Sheesh, I'm acting more like Jerry more and more everyday!"

Geoffry's expressionless face cracked into a smile. "Yeah...that was kinda dumb," he
admitted. "But I'll give you credit: you had no idea what was going on."

"But still, I can't believe how stupid I was!"

"Oh well, you made a mistake. Deal with it."

"Thanks ever so much for your sympathy."

"Mmm...you're welcome," Geoffry said smoothly, then smiled. "I have to wonder...are
you upset because you just stuck your foot in your mouth, or because you stuck your foot in
your mouth you also upset a certain blonde in the other room?"

"NANI?!?!" Thomas sputtered, nearly falling over. "What is THAT supposed to mean?!"

Geoffry only chuckled, and continued walking, as Thomas continued to sputter. "There is
NOTHING between Clare and me! I've hardly ever seen her growing up! How the heck did you get
THAT idea?!"

Geoffry smiled. "I know you have feelings for her, even if you yourself don't know it yet,"
he said calmly, and then changed the subject, "Ready for training tonight?"

Recovering his composure, Thomas muttered, "Yeah sure, right." Then his eyes lit up. "I'm
gonna whup your ASS! Wing Gundam all the way!"

Geoffry rolled his eyes. "Pathetic," he sneered, and grinned. "We'll see about that!"

Laughing, the two young men strolled down the hall to the hangar to pay a visit to their
gundams.

Chapter 6

Rayan stood uncertainly outside of Giselle's room. He longed to see her again, to comfort her,
to hold her...but he was too frightened. "How has she changed?" he wondered. Images of her
cold face kept on coming back to him, and he shuddered; they were completely unlike the
Giselle that he knew.

Rayan stood at the door, and nearly had a heart attack when the door suddenly opened. "What?!"

"Brother?"

"Er...hi Clare."

Clare frowned at her brother, and stepped out. "What are you so afraid of?" she hissed to him
quietly. Rayan sighed and shrugged helplessly. "I don't know..."

Clare rolled her eyes and shoved him into the room. "Really...do I ALWAYS have to do
everything for you?!" she grumbled as she shut the door behind him. Rayan sighed, and turned
to face Giselle. "Um...hi Giselle."

Giselle smiled sadly at the nervous Rayan in front of her. "Hello, Rayan. Am I that scary?"

Rayan's head jerked up at her sad tone, and in a few strides, he crossed the room and held her
close to him tightly. "Giselle...I'm sorry. I didn't know what to say; I was scared, and I'm
so sorry. Please forgive me."

Giselle smiled a little and put her head against his shoulder. "It's okay...I don't blame
you..." she said softly.

Rayan tightened his hold on her, his heart being ripped in two. "Rayan, you were so selfish!"
he scolded himself angrily. "You were just thinking about yourself; you didn't think about how
SHE felt." Taking her and looking her in the eye, Rayan said firmly, "Giselle, I still love you.
I always will. Please...do you still love me?"

Giselle's eyes opened in shock. "Rayan..."

"It's fine by me if you don't feel the same way; I know, we're really too young to really
know anything about love...but the feeling I have for you, it's love. I just...wanted you...to
know that..."

"Oh Rayan...I love you too."

"You do?" he said somewhat stupidly, then blushed. "I mean, great! Er...I mean, um...
what I mean is-" he stuttered before Giselle went up and kissed him.

"Giselle..." he said softly, and then bent down to kiss her. "Rayan...I will love you,
always and forever," she murmured after they parted. "But please...I don't know what this
war is going to do to me. Please...don't leave me...please," she whispered, not daring to
meet his eyes.

Rayan smiled, his insecurity completely gone. Tilting her chin up, he looked into her eyes and
said, "I promise. I will never leave you. I swear it."

a few hours later...

The original gundam pilots, their offspring, and Lady Une gathered in the hangar for the first
part of the training.

"Now," Lady Une said briskly. "We are NOT," she said severely, staring at Jerry in
particular, "going to be doing anything extravagant today. Tonight, ALL we are going to be
doing is getting you eight acquainted with your mobile suits. For those of you that have not
had any MS training, let me tell you, it is NOT easy. Your suits all give off extremely high
levels of intensity, and they are NOT easy to control. Also, the cockpit system in itself is
particularly dangerous. If not controlled, IT will control you. So, NONE of you are going to
go and do anything foolish. Is that understood? Good," she said when eight heads nodded.
"Now, are there any questions?"

"Yeah..." Thomas said. "I was just curious; how did you assign us our suits?"

"Each suit is unique, just like all you are, and based on your personalities, some
suits are better suited for some than others. Also, personal preference also figured in.
For example, Heero," and she nodded to the stoic former pilot, "does not have any children of
his fighting, unlike for example, Wufei. It is natural that, with sons so similar to him,
Wufei would have his sons pilot his suit. But since Heero isn't in that position, he instead
allowed the children of his best friend to pilot it. Also, the reason you are piloting the
Wing Gundam instead of your father's Deathscythe is because, one, we all remembered how
Jerry pestered his father all the time when he was little, begging to pilot it some time," she
smiled at flustered Jerry, "and also because, and I mean no offense by this, you have a more...
focused...personality than your brother."

"Hey!"

"Sorry Jerry, but that is the truth. Wing Zero is an VERY difficult suit to control;
out of the eight, Wing Zero and Epyon are the two most uncooperative suits. They have been
known to drive pilots insane. Therefore, we were very careful about assigning those suits."

"Oh..."

"Yes...MS piloting is not all fun and games," Lady Une said grimly. "In fact, NONE of
MS piloting is fun and games. Now, any more questions? Giselle?"

"Well...is there any reason I'm piloting Seraphim instead of my mother's Phoenix?"

Lady Une smiled a little at that. "If you had piloted Phoenix, that would have left one of your
cousins with Seraphim. I had a feeling that, your cousins both being males, that they would
not appreciate having to pilot a suit with a woman's face on it. Is that all? Okay then,
each of you, approach your suits."

Jerry approached Deathscythe II with glee. "Wow...I don't believe this, I'm actually finally
gonna be able to pilot this thing! Now...how do I open the door...Hey!"

In his enthusiasm, he had forgotten that the door opened straight up and out, and had nearly
been swept off his feet. "Smooth move bro!" Thomas called over. "Now THAT is sure to
impress Reena!"

"Shut up," Jerry muttered, blushing. Down below, Reena let out a giggle.

Still laughing, Thomas turned to Wing II and carefully stood out of the way as he opened the
door. "Nice," he murmured, appraising the interior. Along with his brother and sister,
Thomas had done some work with mobile suits in the salvaging business, and he knew them well.
"Very impressive...Well then, Wing, I like you. Do you like me?"

Giselle cautiously entered the Seraphim. It's design was different to the other mobile suits
with the exception of the Phoenix; it was roomier, and there were many more controls.
Giselle stared helplessly. "I'm supposed to pilot this thing?!" she thought incredulously.
"I don't even know how to start it!"

"You okay over there Giselle?" Rayan called over, poking his head from the cockpit.

"Yeah, sure...Where's the start button?"

At this, Jerry nearly collapsed with laughter. "Start...button!" he gasped, clutching his
sides. Giselle glared at him. "Hey, it's not my fault if I haven't spent my life investigating
pieces of mobile suits!" she snapped.

Jerry continued to laugh as Rayan shook his head. Out of all eight pilots, Giselle was the
one with the least mobile suit experience. Jerry and Thomas worked with mobile suit
repairs; Quatre and Dorothy had made sure that their children received training in small
arms, computers, and mobile suits; Wuten and Wuli had been trained to fight all their lives;
and Aelis and Geoffry, being around the Preventers since they were little, had become well
acquainted with weapons, mobile suits included. Giselle...on the other hand...

"She throws knives, walks tightropes, and does flips," Rayan thought wryly. "Oh this
isn't going to be pretty..."

In the meantime, Wuten and Wuli were having no trouble at all. Though neither of their
parents had ever actually allowed them to pilot either of their mobile suits, they had had
plenty of experience with Tauruses and other models. The twins each scanned the various
consoles critically. "About the same..." Wuten mused, "but of much higher quality."

Wuli was having a little more trouble. Since the Phoenix and Seraphim had been designed
independently of the other suits, the layout was different from the suits he had worked with all
his life. Still, he studied it carefully, and soon had a good idea of how to pilot it.

Aelis agilely leaped to the Epyon and studied it quietly. As with her brother, she was fairly
quiet and serious; her sister was constantly trying to get them to open up more.
"Interesting..." Aelis murmured. "This suit was designed by my father's old friend; I wonder
how it works?" and she set herself to acquainting herself with it.

Geoffry was doing the same with Heavyarms. Of all the assignments, he had received the most
surprising. Thomas receiving Wing was no surprise; his father and Heero were good friends.
Giselle receiving Seraphim was no surprise either; it was her aunt's suit. But Geoffry really
had little relation with Trowa and his family. Zechs and Noin weren't particularly close to
Giselle's parents, and he wasn't particularly close to Giselle. For a moment, he wondered if
he had simply received this suit because there weren't any left. "No," he thought, realizing
the connection and then smiling. "Trowa-sama and I...we are nearly identical in personality.
That is why I received his suit. Well then, Heavyarms, do you think you can accept me as your
new pilot?"

And so, the next generation of gundam pilots took the first step in acquainting themselves with
their gundams. As they went off to bed, Lady Une called, "Don't forget! All eight of you,
meet me here tomorrow at 7:30. Good night!"