Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, and these disclaimers are starting to depress me.

A.N. - Umm, sorry I didn't get this chapter up when I promised. My Grandma died this week though, so it's been kind of stressful. Combined with a decided lack of inspiration, it made it difficult to put up a new chapter.

Last Chapter:

"Well, we know that we're angels and we have powers, right? I'm only supposed to be telepathic and telekinetic, but I have a bit of the Sight anyways. Maybe the rest of you have additional abilities as well."

"Meaning that Wufei might be able to see spirits," finished Quatre.

"Right," agreed Heero. "We're really going to have to work on these abilities to see what we can do, and develop them so they can be used."

"Let's do that in the morning," said Duo, yawning widely. The others agreed and walked off, leaving Wufei in the living room to contemplate what he had seen.

"Is Heero right? Can I see spirits? In that case, why would I see Treize. Does he want to have one last fight with me, or does he want to tell me something..."

Chapter 20:

Quatre and Trowa walked back to their rooms together, Quatre shaking his head at what they'd just been told.

"I wonder what kind of abilities we're going to develop now?" he wondered out loud when they reached his rooms. The two sat down on the large couch just inside the door. "We don't even know how to use the ones we already have as well as we should."

"I don't know, Quatre," replied Trowa quietly. Although the tall pilot had become more open and vocal lately, he still found it hard to overcome his instinct to withdraw into himself. Being in such an unusual situation with the other pilots had helped, growing closer to them as not even the war had managed to bring them. Besides, it was getting increasingly difficult to have real secrets from the other four, Quatre and Heero in particular. He would never have guessed that the cold Japanese pilot would be so insightful into feelings, aside from his telepathy.

"Aren't you curious as to what new abilities you'll develop?"

"Somewhat. Mostly I would like to see how much my ability with animals improves. I'm more curious about the abilities you and the rest have. We've always known about your empathy to some extent, but it will be interesting to see if you can gain control over when you use it."

"I never thought about that," Quatre said excitedly. He chattered away for several minutes on the good he could do if he could consistently tell how someone was feeling at any given moment. Personally, Trowa thought he would have to develop a better understanding of the different situations people came from before he could comprehend their feelings and predict their reactions fully.

"Quatre means well, and he's certainly sympathetic to everyone. But someone from his wealthy family background can't fully understand what Duo, Heero, and I went through growing up. He doesn't know the extremes hunger can drive a person to. I've noticed the look of utter shock that comes into his eyes when Duo offhandedly comments on the lack of fresh water on L2, or when Heero says he learned to ignore hunger because he and Odin would sometimes go without food for a few days. I've seen the quickly masked revulsion on his face when he sees the scars that line my back from when I was with the mercenaries.

"Quatre can understand those from privileged or even ordinary backgrounds, but the feelings of those who've had to survive on the streets he will never understand until he opens his eyes. He needs to accept what happens on the streets as a fact of life." Quatre shifted uncomfortably under Trowa's absent scrutiny, sensing some of the underlying feelings.

"What's wrong, Trowa?" For once, Trowa decided to speak his thoughts. Maybe that would help Quatre before he got broken on walls he didn't even know were there.

"It would be great if you could sense people's emotions when you wanted to, but you're also going to need to be able to understand the reasons behind those emotions."

"What do you mean?"

"You try your best, but because of your upbringing, you don't understand what Duo, Heero, and I went through when we were growing up." Trowa saw the short blonde start to bristle at what he thought was an implied condemnation, and hurried to correct his misinterpretation. "I'm not trying to insult you, just stating a fact."

"What about Wufei then? Isn't he an orphan too?"

"So are you, now. That's not what I meant though. You and Wufei come from rich families. The rest of us were raised on the street. We don't even know who our parents are. We've had to do some questionable things in order to survive, and you can't understand no matter how hard you try because you've never been in the same position. Have you ever noticed some flashes of resentment from Duo?"

"Yeah..." Quatre replied hesitantly. "I've always wondered why."

"What were you talking about when you felt that?"

"I think I had mentioned how my father had me created in a test tube because he wanted an heir, and how it made me feel like I could easily be replaced. I didn't understand how anyone could be jealous of that."

"He was jealous because you were wanted. For whatever reason, your father chose for you to be born, while Duo was most likely abandoned on the streets by his parents. He resents the fact that you complain about having a father who cared about your existence....I feel the same way sometimes, and I'm sure Heero does too."

"I've noticed Heero looking at me wistfully sometimes lately when I talk about my childhood..." Quatre said after a moment's pause. He was clearly waiting for Trowa to explain that too.

"That's because he didn't have a childhood. You've heard him talk about Odin, how he was treated like a very small adult."

"Oh. Why is it that you understand emotions better than I do, when I'm the empath?"

"You need to experience the world more. I'm silent most of the time, but I watch people. I see how they interact, and the reasons why something happens the way it does. I'm no expert though. If you want to talk to someone who clearly understands emotions and motives, talk to Heero. He's better at seeing those kind of things than anyone else I know. He's very good at reading people."

"Heero understands people and their emotions?"

"I know he used to act emotionally dead, but really it makes perfect sense. He was raised as an assassin before J got a hold of him, and assassins have to be good at reading their targets. He's also a careful observer, and notices things most other people miss or write off. Why else do you think he was the first person to figure us out?" Trowa raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe I will talk to him then. You mentioned that you resented the fact I talked badly about my father. What did you go through with the mercenaries that made you feel that way? You talked about Duo and Heero's pasts, but didn't say anything about your own." Trowa silently cursed Quatre's observation. He hadn't guessed as much as he could have, but it was enough.

"The mercenaries weren't any better with children than the assassin Heero grew up with. They didn't start training me with weapons quite as early as him, but I was still expected to earn my way in the camp. They found me when I was four, and at first I spent most of my time with the cook as his assistant. Then they had me start helping the mechanics repair the mobile suits. A number of places on the suits were so isolated it was easier to have someone of my size do the work. Otherwise they would have to disassemble a larger portion of the suit in order to reach the area." Quatre was nodding in agreement, having experienced the same thing when working on his Gundam, although he was still small enough to make most repairs easily.

"I've noticed you looking at the scars on my lower back sometimes. Those are from falling into a cavity in a mobile suit when I was about seven. I landed on some sharp edges of twisted metal left there from a badly patched area that had been damaged in battle. The mechanics had to remove a large portion of circuitry and hydraulics before they could get me out, and by then I was badly injured.

"When I healed, they had me start weapons training. The commander stated that if I could handle myself so well when injured, it meant it was time I start lending a hand in battle. My first battle happened a few months later. The mercenaries began to respect me more as I began to do well in mobile suit battle and started treating me as an equal. Then when I was fourteen, the mercenary company I was with was destroyed. Some of them had joined the Alliance and killed the rest. After that, I headed into space and wound up working as a mechanic on the Heavyarms project. When the real Trowa Barton was killed, I took his name and his place in Operation Meteor."

"What about the burn scar?"

"I don't know. Catherine thinks it's the proof I'm her younger brother, who she lost one day in an attack by the military. I've had it all my life though."

"So the mercenaries were kind to you?"

"As kind as they knew how to be. They never abused me, but they didn't go out of their way to be nice. Most of them just treated me with indifference until I became a good soldier." He could see Quatre struggling to wrap his head around that kind of life, and was glad he had glossed over the details. The blond wasn't ready for those quite yet.

"It doesn't matter anymore though," Trowa continued. "The past is the past and is no longer relevant." He slipped off to his room soon after, leaving Quatre to think about what he had said. The other pilot resolved to ask Heero for his thoughts on the matter the next day, before heading to bed himself.

scotty-lass - Thank you. I'm glad I left you wondering what's going to happen, after all that's what writers are supposed to do. (And it's intrigued, for future reference.) As for the martial arts part, well I skipped over some of what I was originally planning to write, but thank you.

Windy River - :-P

DaughterofDeath - Any other comments?

The Chaotic Ones:

AngelJef - NO STEALING WUFEI! I need him for this fic. You wouldn't like it if I couldn't write him anymore because you'd stolen him, would you?

Aaries - Thank you for holding them back. I think I'm going to need to set up barriers around my fic so that they can look and not touch. Woohoo, no more noisy crickets to distract me! Chaos will have to talk to me about blades later. First she needs to give back the other characters.

Chaos - What the hell are you doing, kidnapping Zechs and Relena? As if the Wufei lovers weren't enough. Sheesh, what is a poor authoress to do when her readers kidnap all the characters?

PR - Did you eat too much Halloween candy or something? You sound like you're on a sugar high.

darkinuyasha - Sorry if I offended. I've never seen Yu Yu Hashuko, but from what I've heard of it there's a half-dog demon in it somewhere. It was just a guess.

Mystical-Maiden - Hooray for foreshadowing! Can you guess what's going to happen though?

bellashade - I don't know how many powers the pilots will end up with. That depends on what the voices in my head tell me to write. Lol. You actually did a happy dance? That's great.

Lord Aries Greymon - Yeah, Wufei has some cool powers. There will be more upcoming, and yes, there will be a conversation with a ghost at some point. Out of it? Lack of sleep or chemically induced? (Just kidding)

Kiyoteh Kiaira - I must say, you're one of the most...enthusiastic reviewers I've had. Most people don't write all in capitals.

Zeno the Stoic - Thank you for the compliment and the candy. Keep reading!