Episode 8: Sisterly Love

The next morning the Gundam boys awoke to something they hadn't heard in their lives. It was an unholy sound that could only belong to a demon, and it had them rolling out of bed and running down the hall, Duo clad in only his black and red flame boxers. The sight they found terrified even the stoic Heero.

There, in the middle of the hallway, her face flushed with anger and her fist clenched, stood Relena Peacecraft. She was glaring at a younger girl who was sitting in a chair in front of Melanie's room, her black boot clad feet propped on the doorframe, preventing Relena from entering. The girl was dressed all in black, tight jeans and a tank-top, and her dark red hair was pulled back in a loose bun at the nape of her neck.

"Get out of my way before I do something rash!" Relena shouted at the top of her lungs.

"What are you going to do?" the girl dressed in black asked as she glanced up and down at Relena's school uniform. "Tie me down and make me have a tea party with your teddy bears?"

Duo chocked on the laugh he had attempted to hold back, which drew Relena's wrath upon his unclothed head.

"What do you think is so funny?" she demanded as she turned on him. Immediately, she turned back around and covered her eyes, embarrassed by his dress…. Rather, his lack there of.

"Nice boxers," the girl commented as she looked him up and down. "You know, a girl could get the wrong idea about you. I mean, flames?" She laughed softly as she sat up, keeping one foot on the corner of the door so it couldn't be opened. "You don't happen to be gay, do you?"

"I have a girlfriend!" Duo cried indignantly as he pulled his braid over his shoulder in a futile attempt for some modesty.

The girl's green eyes flashed dangerously as they narrowed to evil slits. "You do, do you?" she nearly growled. "And who might this whore be?"

Relena and Quatre both gasped at the profane word, while Duo's back stiffened. "You'd do best not to speak that way about our friend," the young blonde warned.

"What are you gonna do about it, short stuff?" she asked Quatre, staying seated in her chair. "Ask me nicely? Trust me, I've heard the best begging in the world. People become desperate when asking for their lives to be spared."

Before anyone could say anything, the sound of shattering glass filtered through the slightly opened door the girl guarded so faithfully. "Melanie!" the girl shouted, a note of worry entering her voice as she jumped up from the chair and threw it toward Wufei. The Chinaman bearly caught the chair before it smacked into him.

"Melanie?" Duo mouthed in shock as the girl disappeared into the room. He realized with a shock the girl had been there the night Melanie had been taken away. But why had she brought his girl back?

"Not cool!" the girl cried unhappily as she dodged a knife, the blade zipping past her head and into the wall behind her with a soft thud. Another knife was thrown and the girl easily caught it between two fingers before throwing it into the ground. "This is the thanks I get for helping you get back to your 'sweet and caring' little friends and attempting to take care of you? Makes me want to do things for you all the time."

Inside the room, Melanie sat on the edge of her bed, her head hung low and her katana balancing on her knee. She refused to glance up at her sister.

"How about you try something new?" the girl offered in an annoyed tone as she crossed her arms. "Let me see, 'Good morning, Skye. It was so nice of you to risk the wrath of father and the family just so I could see my pathetic excuse for a boyfriend who wears tacky boxers that question his sexuality.' Would that be too much to ask?"

Melanie's silence was her answer. "I'll guess that's a yes. A thank you is too much to ask from a silent hunter such as yourself. I mean, earth to Melanie! Wake the hell up!"

The Gundam boys stared in shock as the small girl berated the person they suspected was their friend. They didn't know what to say, do, or how to react in general, since they still weren't even sure this was their Melanie. Relena, however, wasted no time in blinking like an owl.

"Melanie!" the princess cried happily as she shot into the room. She didn't get far though. Skye had grabbed her around the middle and thrown her back into the hall with in a moment.

"Don't be stupid," the girl said dryly as she glanced over her shoulder, giving Relena a cool glare. "Blades are never good for little girls like you."

"You don't know me well enough to make that observation," Relena said, attempting to regain her usual calm as she started back toward the room. Heero gently grabbed one of her shoulders to stop her though. "Heero?" she whispered in surprise.

"Enough," he said softly.

"At least one of you shows some hint of intelligence," Skye grumbled as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. The heard a click as someone from inside locked the door. A wicked smile spread across the girl's face. "It looks like no one is getting in unless she wants them to get in."

Duo turned and walked down the hallway, plans of breaking and entering already flying through his mind.

"I wouldn't try the balcony, by the way," Skye called after the braided pilot. "A, she's armed, dangerous and pissed as bloody hell, and B, I made some modifications to the balcony that will prevent even the most clever of assassins from getting in. I doubt your small mind will allow you to top them."

He simply ignored her and continued forward.

"So," the girl said as she turned to the others. "What's for breakfast around here? Anything good?"

Quatre stared at the girl in disbelief. "You're asking for breakfast," he gasped, "at a time like this?"

"I figure it's like this," she began calmly. "My sister has locked herself away in that room and won't be coming out anytime soon. She's safe enough for now, and a girl's gotta eat if she wants to complete a long term mission."

"You amaze me," Relena admitted.

"I amaze even myself sometimes," Skye said with a shrug.

"Let's get some breakfast," Wufei grumbled as he walked by.

"Do you think that braided wonder will think to find some clothes before he tries to get to my sister?" Skye asked as the group vanished down the hall. "I mean, it's really gonna hurt when he falls into those rose bushes under the balcony, especially if he doesn't have anything other than some thin material to protect his privets."

"Ow!" Duo whined in agony as he landed in the rose bushes for the fourth time. He hadn't thought there would be so many different ways to booby-trap a balcony. He had expected the oil on the railing, but the actual cutting of the post so they broke when someone grabbed them had caught him off guard. He didn't even want to think about how she had managed to catapult him straight down into the thorny torture below. Then, when he had thought he had figured it out, Melanie had thrown a vase at him and sent him slipping over the edge again. Apparently, the railing wasn't the only thing Skye had oiled down. The floor had been worse than wet ice on a sunny day.

Forcing himself to move, despite the fact his boxers were mostly shredded and he was scratched red in places he didn't know could change color, he attempted to scale the balcony once more. He had never been more paranoid in his life. He kept expecting some new trick to pop out and toss him back down.

Carefully, he climbed over the railing, freezing when he touched the balcony. Cautiously, he stepped forward, finally reaching the door that would allow him to enter Melanie's room. He went to take one more step, only to find his feet were stuck in place by some odd sticky substance. Looking down he realized he was beginning to slide backwards. Apparently, Skye had managed to create some human sized sticky flytrap that slowly slid toward the edge of the balcony. "Melanie!" Duo whimpered after trying to break free a couple times, managing only in making himself move faster toward the edge.

From the dark shadows of the room a hand shot out and grabbed Duo shoving him into the room. The force was so much the paper flew off his feet. Then he found himself slammed against the wall. A soft grunt escaped him as he made contact with the wall.

"Thank…"

"Shut up," she growled dangerously as she put the blade of her katana against his throat. "I want you to leave me alone."

"Melanie let me explain..."

She pushed the blade closer making small beads of crimson form on his tanned skin. If he made the wrong move he'd slice his own throat open.

"Leave me alone."

She dropped him and went to unlock the door. He walked slowly towards the door. When the light hit her he finally saw the wreck that his girlfriend had become. Her skin was really pale.

"Have you been sleeping enough?" Duo asked quietly.

She shoved him out the door and locked it behind him. He heard through the wood her back hitting it and she slid to the ground. Muffled sobbing came from the other side.

"Melanie no matter what happens you will always be in my heart love."

Duo walked slowly down the hall and changed into his school uniform. Without a word to anyone or even a smile to everyone he passed he went to sit with his friends at breakfast. The line that Melanie's katana made was still visible. He got the blood to stop flowing but the red line was still there. Duo was finally at a loss for what to do about the situation.

"Don't worry Duo it'll work itself out in the end," Quatre said softly to the braided pilot.

"I doubt that Quatre she's really mad now."

"What was your first clue?" Skye asked after swallowing a mouthful of toast. "Was it her evil glare or the katana pressed against your throat? I really must know."

Duo sat down heavily in a chair with a downcast look. Skye stared at Duo a long time before sighing and pushing her plate of food away. "Listen," she said softly, choosing her words carefully. "My sister doesn't take to betrayal very well, and seeing as Quatre here as set me straight about you, I feel it is my humble duty as a kind hearted human being to help you out." Wufei snorted at her comment but Skye ignored him and continued. "Let her calm down a bit. She needs her strength back before she can even start the think clearly. You see, braided wonder, she's kind of had a rough time the past few weeks we were at home."

"And?" Duo prodded as he glanced up, a forlorn look still on his face.

"Well," Skye said slowly as she leaned forward. "She had a tendency to train herself like a crazy woman whenever she gets a little upset. Needless to say, she was more than just a little upset when Daddy dearest made her leave."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning," Skye said in a slightly annoyed tone, "she tried to train herself literally to death. Well, maybe not quite that, but that's certainly how it seemed half the time."

A gentle cough caught everyone's attention as Mr. Peacecraft approached the table. He simply glanced at the boys before they all got up and followed him from the dinning room. After a few moments, Relena excused herself and went after them.

"You know," Skye said softly to herself as she leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on the table, "I almost don't want to kill this bunch."