Disclaimer: I don't own it!

LadyMeko: I have no clue why others aren't reviewing, I wish some did but in time there will be others reading it I'm sure. I'm really glad ythat you still like that last chapter the next few are my favorites and of course there are many more to come. Keep reading and thank you for your input I really apperciate it.

"..." Speech

'Thoughts'

Chapter 2: Encounter

Mobile Suit Testing Site

The screen in the mobile suit blipped only to be answered by the opening of a girl's eyes. "They're early," She mumbled. "What's going on here? They're half an hour early, this isn't right," The girl watched the blip on her radar as it moved swiftly toward her as if it knew where she was and what she was about to do.

"This can't be right. How could he know I was coming?" As the blip moved closer she hit the screen to turn it on from its usual dark state. She wasn't to thrilled since it gave her no time to ambush the pilot.

'It's not flying right to be my target.' She thought as she watchedthe mobile suit move toward her rapidly. 'It's not his style to come charging right at me. This is wrong, it's not what I was taught!' The girl took a closer look and could feel her body trying to tell her to run. 'Why am I worried? It's just a Taurus, I've destroyed enough of them in my life...Huh? I know who fights like this! Shit that's not right, how did he know I was coming.' The girl shook her head trying to keep herself in check.'No matter, I can destroy him easily.' The girl moved her hand quickly and opened the com line. 'I'll give him a chance to change his mind; he's of more use to me alive than dead.'

"Heero, it's no use! Either you turn around and live, or you stay and be destroyed."

"I won't let you kill Duo, you should stop this and disappear, like we all should have. Killing him will only get you in deeper than you already are." Heero's eyes narrowed as he added. "I hope you know, Wufei is out looking for you now; if you stop here I'll call him off."

"It's to late for that! The war has already started all over again! I follow my instincts and what I know, not what you tell me." The girl answered back with the same tone.

"Then stop! Duo isn't even involved in this war, none of us are." Heero began to sound a little annoyed.

"You have no idea why I'm doing this so stay out of it!" Ray was expecting Heero to answer her back but he made no reply. Instead she noticed that he was preparing to strike.

Pereventer's Headquarteres

Heero's face appeared on the large screen where everyone was waiting for a response from the pilot.

"I found the target, commencing test run, I will destroy the target."

"Ha! Told ya," Duo said waving a finger in Wufei's face. "I told you he took it and you didn't believe me."

Wufei gave Duo the best death glare he could, and looked back at the screen only to watch Heero reroute the camera so they could see the mobile suit he was intending to fight.

It wasn't much, actually it looked more like it was falling appart. There was no noticable weapon and it seemed to operate much like a gundam. The question was, what was it?

"What's going on here?" Sally questioned as she entered the room only to see Duo staring at the mobile suit "Duo! You're supposed to be testing the new Taurus we got back from repairs." She looked down at the young man in the chair and crossed her arms waiting for an answer. She wasn't expecting one, Duo rarely gave her a straight answer when Heero was involved. Right niw she was more worried about the Taurus, both Heero and Duo seemed to be the worst for breaking them and the other pilots weren't much of an acception.

Duo just simply looked up and smiled "It's a long story, but so far Heero's going to test it for me. Let's just say we made a deal and he promised to keep it"

"That's a new one Maxwell!" Wufei laughed."How did you manage that? Can he trust the deals you make? Is that a safe idea Maxwell?" Wufei laughed again. Duo's deals were usually one sided and uaully it was the braided man that won everytime. Occasionally it would be Heero who wins the bet but it's almost normal to hear a gun was involved.

Moments later the door to the control room flew open "WAIT HEERO!" Quatre yelled as he ran forward with another young man and Howard following.

"Please don't start fighting now! Let me talk to that pilot, I might be able to get them to stand down." The strange young man pleaded looking desperate.

Heero studied the blonde on his screen and made a quick decision, "Fine, avoiding a fight right now is the best thing to do now. We don't need to give anyone else any more ideas right now!" He sighed. 'That's odd it's been a year since I had been in a mobile suit or in a fight and I almost welcome them both.'

"Thank you Heero." Howard said realising that if it wasn't for his presence Heero might not have believed the boy next to him at all.

Sally walked towards the consol and pressed a few keys, "It's a safe line, so you can talk to them without anyone listening in."

"Sally, is it also possible that we could talk to that pilot alone as well?" Howard asked trying not to push his luck too much with her.

Looking confused Sally nodded, "Alright! Duo, Wufei, Quatre lets go. I've got a few things I need to discuss with you three anyways." With that all four left the room.

Plunking himself down in one of the chairs Howard turned to look at the blonde. "Well go on Jock, you dragged me here to get them to listen, lets just hope that she didn't change her mind while she's waiting."

Jock sighed heavily, "You do know she'll kill me with the night shift right?"

"Hmm... She could always do worse to you."

"Yeah you're right she could make me clean and fix that mobile suit of hers." Jock grabbed the head set sitting on the consol and pushed the right sequence so he could talk. "Ray! I hope you can heard me, you're making a big mistake!"

The girls face came into view. "Jock you don't have to yell it's quiet over there, you're not at the scrap yard." She answered calmly looking annoyed.

"Ray you can't kill Heero, or Duo for that matter. They're both too important, they can actually help you, just use them to finish off OZ." Ray gave him a glare that made him feel small and insignificant. 'Damn it! Why does she have to do that, it's creepy.' Jock thought as he shivered. "Ray listen to me you have to stop this there's no point in killing the people on your side. They'll help you if you tell them what's really going on. You promised me you'd do what you can without killing them." Now he was worried, she didn't say anything. 'Can that thing in her head be censoring what I say? Wait no it makes her sane; did she turn it off?'

"Ray, one of them works here from time to time, He's a sweeper just like you. What did he do to deserve this?" Ray looked him right in the eye. Now Jock felt he got the response he wanted. 'That's it, now you'll listen to me.'

"What are you talking about? Just let me do what I'm supposed to do." Ray snapped back calmly.

"Ray! What are you trying to prove? Killing them won't change what OZ did to you. It'll make catching you much easier without them as a distraction. The only reason you're here is to test yourself. Only I know that you'll get carried away and kill him anyways, you know that!" Jock watched her reaction but he wasn't going to let her off that easy.

"Last week you barely escaped from OZ! If it wasn't for Duo and Heero distracting them you would have been caught and god knows what they would have done to you then." Now all he had to do was wait.

Mobile Suit Testing Site

Ray looked at Jock for a moment, cut the line and opened a newone to Heero. "Fine, I'll back down. You're lucky Jock came to your defence. I'll let you go for now, but if I ever run into Duo he'll end up dead!"

Heero's eyes narrowed. 'She means it! But I doubt Duo would make it that easy.' "I hope it won't come to that," He answered calmly trying to equal her tone. "Duo won't be an easy target especially when being attacked. He knows more places to hide than even I know!" With that Heero turned his mobile suit around and flew back to base.

Ray flung her fist against that keypad and shut all lines. She sat there in the dark shuddering. 'This has to end soon I 'm losing control.' This failure wasn't Heero's or Duo's fault it was her own fault she had listened and she had to admit that she was running to conclusions too fast. Sighing she turned her mobile suit in the direction she remembered and OZ base. 'I might as well take care of another problem if I can't finish this one!'

Perventer Headquarters

Sally stood outside the control room with annoyed look playing across her face while she glared at Duo as he slowly backed away, "Duo what the hell's going on here? You were the one schedualed for that test run not Heero. He's not even a Perventer!"

Duo stopped and looked around answering simply, "I have no clue what's going on, we'll have to ask Heero when he comes back."

Behind them the door to the control room opened. Howard and the blonde stepped out.

Quatre smiled "You stopped the fight?"

"Yes and just in time, we were lucky they listened to us!" Howard answered.

"Is there any chance you could tell us who 'they' are?" Duo was getting annoyed; they didn't tell him anything. No one seemed to want to tell him anything.

"Sorry Duo, not this time it's more important that we keep their identity a secret." Howard laughed as Duo crossed his arms and pouted like a child.

"So now what?" Sally asked, "Will this happen again or is it over?"

"Well there won't be any problems from this pilot, but there are some rumours flying around that you guys aren't the only ones still with mobile suits."

"Well I'll be glad to take them on any day" Duo said coming back into the conversation cracking his knuckles. "I miss a good mobile suit battle, it's getting too quiet around here. The air just seems to hang and people don't seem to say much." Duo looked at Howard, "Are you still planning on building the Taurus for us?"

"So far, as long as if we don't have any problems with the new laws!"

Sally smiled. "We have it all worked out, your people will be allowed to work on them without any problems. Actually I have the paper work in my office. Do you mind coming with me to get them?"

"No not at all, why not kill two birds with one stone!" Turning to the blonde boy, "Jock wait for me at the truck I'll be there in five minutes"

"Okay!" Jock nodded.

As Howard and Sally walked to her office Duo gave Jock a glare "So you're that new guy everyone was talking about!"

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm not really new, I just haven't beenon Earthfor a long time!" Jock answered with an honest smile that faded to match Duo's glare.

"Well it's nice meeting you Jock. I hope we'll see you when we pick up the other Taurus!" Quatre jumped in trying to change the subject.

"Yeah it was nice to meet you! I should go!" He sighed as he walked to the entrance.

Quatre watched him walk away and then turned to Duo, "Why did you do that? He was being nice! You scared him away!"

"I just don't trust him! Besides he should get a tougher skin." Duo answered

Wufei smiled and laughed, "I have a feeling Maxwell, that you wanted his job! Are you jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous?" He asked as they all walked towards the cafeteria to wait for Heero. "I haven't been there all week and I don't remember seeing him at all!"

"Maybe you're over reacting a bit, I think he's quite normal!"

"Nope I don't believe that he's normal. That bandana on his head had blood on it, and he was 'acting' nervous the whole time. He was perfectly calm! There's no why that he's normal at all and besides he works with a mechanic that first of all I never met, and I heard that they're really rough. I mean they work you to the bone!" Duo smiled as he noticed that Wufei understood what he was getting at!

" You're right he did seem pretty clam."

"I can't believe it both of you are nuts!" Quatre said looking at them both "I bet he's more normal than..."

"You!" Duo added, "I bet you fifty bucks rich boy!"

Now Wufei was interested in this bet. 'Is Winner going to take it, I doubt it!'

"Fine you're on Duo but I know I'm right"

"Oh no you're not! There's just no way he's normal."

...TBC

A/N: well there are mostly small changes but it's better than in the other story.

Well anyways please review.