Penname: Lady Lye

Rated for strong language on behalf of the characters. Remember- it’s not the author w/ the potty mouth-it’s her potty-mouthed characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own the whole GW thing… If I did I sure as h*ll wouldn’t be here wasting my time writing fanfics about them- I’d be using them as my you-know-what slaves per my latest obsession. So don’t try to sue me- it ain’t worth it.

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The year is the same as that in which Endless Waltz takes place, though it is several months after those events. The Gundam Pilots are finally becoming accustomed to civilian life-

All but one.

Heero Yuy walked through the town, staring straight ahead, ignoring the people on either side of him. His expression did not change as he continued towards his hotel, stopping to consult the directions only once. He spoke as little as possible to the man behind the desk and went silently up to his room, needing no porter to carry his single backpack.

He had taken the flight to America for no reason at all- perhaps because he had no reason. Was rebellion against authority finally starting to assert itself in his life of obeying orders and completing missions? He didn’t like to think about what that would mean. So he had come to America to see what there was to see.

He turned on the TV, only to find clips of another of Relena’s speeches on the news. He quickly turned it off. He didn’t want to think about her- the light was gone from her eyes now. He went to sleep.

The next morning, he picked up his backpack again, paid at the desk and decided to walk to the next town. He was wandering aimlessly now. He took his trek into the forests near the town, unable to enjoy the way the early morning sunlight fell through the trees.

“Who’s there?” a female voice demanded.

Heero instantly went on alert, cursing his lack of discipline. He looked between the trees warily, one hand slowly creeping towards his gun.

“I said, who’s there?” she demanded again.

Heero went for his gun. Damn! He’d left it in his bag!

She burst threw the bushes, her own gun drawn, ready to aim at his heart. Copper hair flew back out of her face to reveal green eyes and-

“A girl?” Heero faltered. She couldn’t much older than he was. Now he understood the shock many adults had felt at seeing him on the battle field.

“A boy?” she looked equally surprised, but her aim never faltered. “Alright, who are you and what are you doing trespassing?”

“I didn’t know I was trespassing.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, really.” She seemed to reevaluate him. “You must be new to the area then. What are you doing here, stranger?”

“Andria? Andria, girl, talk to me!” another female voice with a Spanish accent came from the girl’s pocket.

“Not now, Isabel!” she hissed.

“Hey, Andria, girl you can’t just leave me hanging here!”

“Shut up, Isabel! There’s an intruder!” she snapped.

“Fuck the intruder. Bring it in already and stop fucking around.”

Andria rolled her eyes before returning full attention to Heero. He wasn’t going anywhere. “You heard the girl. March.”

__________________________________

The walk to the Keep involved Heero marching ahead of Andria, who kept her eyes and most of her attention on him while she was barraged with mild swearing in Spanish with a few question mixed in via the radio in her pocket.

Andria brought Heero inside to a room on the second floor and shoved him at a girl with black hair and eyes, but relatively pale skin. “Here is the intruder. Are you happy now? Stop calling me a frikkin Muchacha del idiota!!” she slammed the door behind her.

The girl blinked at Heero, unfazed. “You’re cute,” she said approvingly.

Heero glared at her in his usual fashion.

“And not talkative. That’s alright. Come on, materia caliente,” she handcuffed him and lead him out of the small room with the radio system in it and away down a hallway.

“Fresh meat?” a tall blonde they passed asked.

“fresco como vienen,” Heero’s captor replied, grinning. The blonde laughed and they continued on. “Here you go, materia caliente,” she said, unlocking a door and guiding him inside. “Don’t try to escape- I doubt it will work. Don’t worry, we’ll feed you and keep you clean. Someone will talk to you later as well. Adios, materia caliente,” she uncuffed him and left, locking the door behind her.

Heero looked around the room. It was well furnished, though a little too- pastel green for his taste. He went to the window, first running a hand along the seams to test for weak places. Outside, an inner courtyard was full of girls of varying ages practices martial arts sequences. “What?” he stared at them. “A training ground?”

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Gundame: Gundame- (pronunciation varies between gun-dum-eh and gun-dam-ay, but never gun-dame.) The mobile suits used by the five new girls. They are made of gundanium alloy but are coated with a newly developed substance making their shell even tougher than the gundams. Their pilots are known as the Dames.

Raisa sipped from her teacup quietly, closing her eyes and allowing the warm liquid to spread over her tongue, enjoying the flavor. Her long blond hair was tied back in a messy pony tail (AN: think Tenchi Muyo’s Nihoshi, but with brains.) but her blue eyes were sad. The tall Dame Pilot delicately put her cup down and stared out the window at the vast forests.

“Penny for your thoughts,” another girl with honey-blonde hair took the chair beside her, opening her bag to take out a sketchbag and pencil.

“I was just thinking,” Raisa said, avoiding the topic. “What are you drawing today, Estelle?”

Green eyes frowned at the sketch already on the page, and Estelle moved to erase some of yesterday’s work. “the mountains,” she said distractedly.

“Again? Why would you want to draw those horrible mountains so much?” Raisa shuddered.

Estelle raised her eyes from the drawing. “I thought you grew up in the mountains.”

“I grew up in Siberia, not here,” Raisa contemplated the cliffs in the distance.

“So? What did these mountains ever do to you?”

“They- remind me.”

“That’s odd then,” Estelle erased again. “It should be Kyla who gets bad memories from them.”

“Kyla does get bad memories some times- she just- suppresses them,” Raisa said, reaching for her tea again. “Tea?” she offered.

“Yes, please. Our Kyla has to I suppose,” Estelle sighed. “I don’t know how she does manages to look at them everyday. I doubt I’d be able to if I had gone through what she did.”

“Sugar?”

“Good God, no! What is it with Americans putting all these vile things into perfectly good tea? Just milk thanks,” Estelle said in disgust.

“Sorry, I forgot,” Raisa smiled.

“You should smile more, Raisa, it takes less muscles than it does to frown,” Estelle took a deep breath, savoring the smell of a good cup of tea. “My mother used to make tea like this.”

The door banged open and both Europeans looked up, startled. A girl with copper hair and green eyes full of barely contained anger sat gracelessly in an empty chair at their table. “Tea. No sugar, no cream, just milk and lots of it.” She demanded.

“Are you sure you should be having caffeine?” Estelle said mildly. She received a glare in response.

Raisa hastily poured her a cup. “So what’s up?”

“Goddamn intruders… *mumble* stupid Isabel… *grumble* calling me a frikkin muchacha del idiota or some crap like that…”

“Ah,” both girls nodded.

Andria took a fulfilling swallow of her tea. “So,” she said pleasantly, having released her rage. “How was your morning?”

__________________________________

Heero was sitting rigidly on his bed when Isabel came to get him for questioning.

“Come on, mi buen pequeño amigo que mira,” was all she said.

He followed the Spanish girl to another room, this one an office. A woman sat behind a desk, working. “The intruder, Madam Anthony,” Isabel saluted.

“Thank you, Isabel, that’s enough. You may go now,” the Madam nodded to Isabel.

“Ma’am,” she left.

Madam Anthony studied Heero, just as he studied her. She was only a little passed middle-aged, with her still mostly black hair modestly tied back from her face in a complicated rope that looped up to the base of the ponytail. Her eyes were brown, but her skin was well-tanned, indicating that she spent much time outdoors. Having completed, her observations, she settled back in her chair. “Isabel called you materia calliente. Do you know what that means?”

“No.”

“It means ‘hot stuff’ in Spanish. I’m inclined to agree with her. She also said you were very quiet.” Silence while he waited for her to continue. Madam Anthony noted that she had gotten virtually no response from the translation. “Again, her judgment is confirmed very well. May I ask your name?”

“You may.”

One eyebrow delicately arched. “Come, you must realize that we can go no further without even something as simple as your name. And the sooner we conclude this examination, the sooner you will either be let go or…” she let it trail off.

“Heero Yuy.”

Madam Anthony let the surprise show clearly on her face. “The Heero Yuy? The Gundam Pilot?”

“Hn.”

“I’m surprised, Mr. Yuy. What are you doing wandering around in the woods of North America?” Again, silence. “Are you on a mission?”. Still more silence. “I assume not, or you wouldn’t have stayed with us long enough for you and I to be here now.” Silence. “I assume you’re curious about our organization then.”

“Why are there so many young girls here learning to fight?” Heero asked, not bothering with fancy language or small talk. He had watched those girls for nearly an hour. Again and again they had repeated their routines, each one refusing to stop- pushing herself harder and harder still. It was a little disturbing to see that determination in four year olds.

“It is our purpose,” she said simply. “The world is changing- you of all people should know that.” Abruptly, she changed tac. “Mr. Yuy, did you know that cro-magnons and other primitive societies had female dominant societies?” she was catching on now that he would remain silent and wait for her to continue when she stopped. (AN: Hah. You thought I was going to bore you with another “Silence” again, didn’t you? Have more faith in me!) “The women were the leaders, the priestesses, they were even worshipped at times. It is hard to say when men became dominant, shaping our present society. Look at the leaders of all the most destructive organizations in history. The Nazi’s had Hitler. Think of the Earth Sphere Alliance, Oz and the Romefeller Foundation if you want something closer to home. All run by men. All highly destructive and all leading to nothing but grief.”

“So you think that women should once again be in control.”

Madam Anthony was startled that he had spoken. (this boy just keep ‘em guessin’…). “No, I don’t believe that would work either. However I do believe that it can only be a woman to pull things as they stand now back together and establish the world- and outer space- on a course towards future peace and with it, prosperity. One woman in particular. I believe you know her very well.”

“Relena,” Heero whispered, a little startled.

“Exactly. The girls we train here, are to be her soldiers and bodyguards whether she herself likes it or not.”

“Who are you?” Heero asked, curious despite himself.

“I was an integral part of the Sanc Kingdom when it stood. I knew Ms. Peacecraft when she was a child. I’ve seen what she’s done these last tumultuous years.”

“Hn,” was the only response.

A small smile graced Madam Anthony’s lips. “Yes, I know that you’ve been very close to Ms. Peacecraft indeed.” Instant Death Glare. “If you like, you can stay with us. It would be wonderful for someone with your experience and training to join us even for a short while.”

“Hn.”

“Shall I take that and it’s accompanying glare as a ‘yes’? Good, then. Isabel! Show Mr. Yuy to a nicer room. He’s going to stay with us for a while.”

__________________________________

In the hall, Isabel walked beside Heero instead of in front or behind him. There was respect in her eyes now. As she showed him to his new room, she looked at him, reaccessing him. “Maybe you’re more than just materia caliente afterall.”

“Maybe I’m too hot for you to handle,” Heero said, shutting the door behind him and leaving the startled Spanish girl alone in the hallway.