Penname: Lady Lye

“The greatest honor of all, is to die for your nation! To fight for it! To give your life in heated battle against the enemy in the name of all that is righteous!” The man cried charismatically. The legions of soldiers before him cheered. “My friends, we are approaching a time when action must be taken! Freedom, liberty, justice, and honor must be fought for and won! The weak fools of the Sank kingdom shall tremble at our feet, as we bring to the world, a new era! One in which your protection is assured! Where you shall be free to go about as you would! But we must take these hopes for our future, and use the energy is gives us to defeat the Sank kingdom and all who support them! They are all that stands between us, and New Life!”

Andria Ntengi shook herself out of her pit of despair. She moved to the window to see that all was right, knowing that whatever was bothering her wouldn’t be out there.

“What is this new thing on the wind?” she opened the window to taste the air. This air- under the dewy sweet scents of the flowers in the garden, was the desert and the bushlands. Her home. But not. “The savanna… it’s time to return there. That’s where I’ll find my fight.”

An explosion came from the direction of the city. “They’re attacking Sydney?” she gasped. Then her eyes narrowed. It was time for her to earn her rights to her gundame. “Isa! Kyla! Raisa! Estelle!”

__________________________________

The others heard it as well.

“What the-?” Estelle stood.

“Damn hibrido!” Isabel swore. “Come on! We have to find Relena!”

“Aye!” Estelle and Isabel raced out of the room.

The four former gundam pilots exchanged looks. They headed for the basement where Quatre always kept several MS’ on hand.

“Muchacha! Leave the dingbat!” Isabel cried as they passed Duo and Kyla.

“Kyla-!?” Duo grabbed her arm before she could go.

“I’m sorry, Duo- I’ll explain everything later!” the pain on her face couldn’t be hidden. She joined the other girls and raced through the shadows of the house.

“What happened?” Raisa had joined them leaving her flute in the hall.

“Someone’s attacking the city!” Andria called from up ahead. “Where’s Relena?”

“In her room- this way-“

They burst into Relena’s room. She and Hilde were both at the window, staring in horror at the red blaze in the distance that sparkled with pinpricks of yellow and white the colors of weapons firing.

“Relena, are you alright?” Kyla asked.

“Yes- why would they be doing this?” Relena turned.

“They may be after you-“

“Or maybe just after the city,” Raisa cut off Isabel. “Either way, we can’t let them do it.”

“Requesting permission to fight,” Andria looked Relena in the eye.

“Permission granted. Do what you must,” Relena returned her look.

“Then let’s go!”

“What’s the plan?” Duo asked, settling into a Taurus.

“We check it out, then decide whether or not to battle,” Quatre responded.

“Don’t we have a responsibility to protect the city?” Trowa asked.

“There are civilians in there- it is dishonorable for these people to attack them,” Wufei seconded.

“We’ll make our decision once we’ve assessed the situation,” Quatre said firmly. “Head out.”

__________________________________

The Dames emerged onto the battlefield.

“You and me are going places, Jungle Orb,” Andria said to the gundame fondly. She squinted up ahead. “What the hell kind of suits are those?”

“I’ve never seen anything like them before!” Raisa gasped.

Before them was a new kind of MS. Larger than a Taurus, and obviously better equipped. Their bright red color blended into the fires they had started.

Estelle quickly messed with her on-board computer. “The system can’t find them. Could they be new?”

“Whatever they are, they’re invading our turf,” Kyla said through clenched teeth.

“So let’s give ‘em hell, eh muchachas?” Isabel smiled.

They descended into battle, knocking away as many new suits as they could.

“This is Dame Final Kiss- We request that you leave the area immediately! Ms. Peacecraft is in the area and we are sworn to defend her. Repeat: leave the area immediately!” Estelle tried to establish communication.

A man in the uniform of a nation’s leader appeared on her screen. “Greetings. As it so happens- Ms. Peacecraft-Darlian is our target. We shall not leave the area.”

“Who the hell are you?” Estelle couldn’t help glaring at him.

“I am Markiah Chisholm, leader of the new nation of Edin.”

“Edin? I’ve never heard of that!” Kyla exclaimed from her Thistle Wing. She had picked up the frequency.

“Actually, we’ve only become established today,” Markiah smiled wolfishly. “It’s been a very eventful afternoon here in Europe.”

“Crap…” Andria quickly typed in a search on her computer, cutting down several of the new suits as she went. They didn’t seem to have figured out yet that the Dames were their enemies. “Shit! He hacked a part out of Italy!” Andria cried, wide-eyed. The new map showed a new nation at the head of the Italian peninsula.

“I think it makes a very pretty new addition,” Markiah smirked.

“That’s too close to Sank!” Isabel grit her teeth.

“Anywhere is too close to Sank! And if you’re thinking of aquiring it- then you’re our enemy,” Kyla said.

“Well I hope you ladies enjoy battling my Scorpios. They’re the very latest in MS technology combined with that of the Mobile Dolls. I’ll see you when I’ve captured Relena.” He dropped the communication.

“Damn! I couldn’t trace it!” Estelle swore.

“What the hell is a mobile doll?” Isabel asked.

“Exactly what it sounds like…” a new voice picked up the frequency, but no visual. “A suit that doesn’t need a pilot to fight.”

“Who are you? And what side are you on?” Kyla tried to establish a visual.

“Who we are doesn’t matter.”

Raisa picked up several Taurus’ on her radar. “Are you for or against this Markiah guy is the kicker though.”

“Against. We fight to protect Relena and Sank.”

“Five of them…” Andria muttered, glancing at her radar.

“Then you’re not our enemy in this battle,” Isabel said decisively. “What are we waiting for- trash those new suits!”

All conversation stopped and the ten MS focused on the battle. The Capricorns fought back viciously. The Taurus’ just weren’t doing well. The Gundame finished off the last. The smoke started to clear as the sun slowly came up. They faced each other.

“Alright. It’s our turn to ask the questions here,” one of the Taursus’ said. “Who are you and what are your intentions?”

“And where did you get gundams?” another asked.

“That’s gundame,” Isabel corrected.

“I’m not getting any hostile feelings from them…” Raisa said.

“It can wait, then. We need to get back to Relena,” Kyla said.

“I agree.” Andria spoke to the group. “We’ll probably cross paths again. When we do, we’ll have this conversation again.” The five Dames flew upwards, the better to confuse these new suits as to where they were going.

The GW pilots watched them go.

“This is a new development…” Trowa said.

“They sounded female, which is odd,” Quatre said practically.

“Dishonerable… leaving the field like that…” Wufei muttered.

“Hey, Heero- aren’t you happy? There’s a new war to fight! No more sitting on your ass!” Duo tried to sound helpful.

Heero didn’t answer. He watched the- gundame?- enter a bank of clouds and disappear from view. “Yeah… really happy…”

The Dames landed and stored their suits in the warehouse. Relena and Hilde came to meet them.

“What happened?” Hilde asked.

“New enemy- some guy’s just made his own nation above the Italian peninsula last night. He says he’s your enemy,” Kyla delivered the news.

“But why? What has the Sank kingdom ever done?” Relena looked pained. “Peace will never be attainable at this rate. I should contact him-“

“Not yet, Relena,” Andria said forcefully. “And not here. We need to find out all we can first and get you home as quickly as possible.”

“She’s right,” Hilde looked to her mistress.

Relena sighed. “I suppose you’re right. We leave immediately.”

“So… Relena Darn-we-missed-Peacecraft has protectors,” Markiah said idly to himself.  “Made of Gundanium alloy at that. This shall be a very interesting war…”

---

Kyla and Raisa bent over the computer printout of Thistle Wing’s current state. They assessed the damage and went to work, tinkering and making repairs. They had finished with Whisper War and were slowly making their way to each of the gundame. They were the only two who really liked repairing the machines. Andria had opted to go out hunting for parts, though she would normally happily have joined them.

They worked mostly in silence so they could concentrate. It was thus that Kyla was able to pick up a small scuffling sound. She paused, listening. Raisa glanced up briefly. She understood. Kyla would look into it.

Kyla slid down onto the floor and crouched under the platform the gundame was on. She thought she saw a shadow moving and crept the long way around to investigate. Whoever was in their secret hanger was in trouble… She slipped into the shadow between the huge storage cabinets. She felt a blade being pressed to her throat and froze.

“Where’d you get the gundams?” a voice hissed.

Kyla took a deep breath, careful to avoid being cut. She was sure she had heard that voice before…

“I said, where’d you get the gundams?”

“Duo…” Kyla croaked, trying her best not to move. “It’s me, Kyla.”

“Kyla?” Duo recognized her voice and her walk now. He removed the knife. “What the hell are you doing?”

“How the hell did you get in here?” she hissed.

“Those are the mobile suits that were defending Sydney- how did you get those?” he hissed back.

“I pilot one!” Kyla was able to make it feel like a shout, though she never raised her voice.

The sound bounced between the walls of the cabinets. Duo stared at her. “No. You’re lying- I didn’t hear that.”

“You accuse me of lying?” she took an angry step forward. “I wouldn’t lie about my mission!”

“Well you obviously did earlier, seeing as you withheld information that could be vital- does Relena know?” he said back, just as angry.

“Of course she knows! She gave us permission to battle today!”

“Does Heero know?”

Kyla looked down and away. “Duo… there are things about us that no one but Madam Anthony ever knew about us… even we don’t know everything.”

“So the answer is no.”

She nodded.

Duo whistled softly. “How about that. My girl’s a gundam pilot,” he said almost proudly. Nearly reverently even.

“What do you mean YOUR girl?” she looked up in surprise.

“Kyla? Are you ok?” Raisa called.

“I’m fine!” Kyla called back. She looked at Duo, unsure of what to do.

“So Raisa’s in on this as well? Are all of you girls?” he asked.

“I’m debating how serious the Madam was when she said to kill anyone who learned of this,” Kyla said half-jokingly.

“Hey, It’s not like I haven’t heard THAT one before,” Duo shrugged heartily.

“Kyla?”

Kyla looked at him skeptically. “Alright, Thanatos, come on. I want you to meet my gundame- Thistle Wing,” she drew him out of the shadows.

“Gun-dam-eh?” he blinked, looking at her MS.

“Gundame,” she confirmed. “Yo, Raisa! Look at what the dingbat dragged in!”

“Huh?” Raisa slid to the floor to greet them. “How did he get in here?”

“I flew,” Duo said sarcastically. Almost.

“Kyla! Raisa! There’s a Taur- us- out-side-“ Andria came panting in, then stopped when she saw Duo. “What the hell is HE doing in here?”

Duo whistled again. “This is going to be fun telling the others.”

All three girls turned cold eyes on him. “You WON’T be telling the others.”

“Well you’re not seriously going to kill me, are you?” Duo laughed, getting that jaunty tone in his voice that he always got when he knew he could take on whoever was threatening him.

“We wouldn’t do that,” Kyla shook her head. “But you can’t tell them.”

“It would blow our cover completely!” Raisa agreed.

“Please- Duo?” Andria pleaded, racking her brain for his name. “You CAN’T tell the others about this. Especially not Heero. He’d think we lied to him all this time…”

“You did,” Duo said coldly.

“Not because we wanted to! He would never be able to trust anyone ever again! Please, Duo. I beg you- don’t tell Heero,” Andria said imploringly.

Duo looked at the three girls. They all looked so earnest. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t sympathize. He turned his attention to the MS. “Bet I can help you with this.”

“How?” they asked.

“I have a few tricks up my sleeve, is all. I’ve piloted lots of suits- like that Taurus outside. I, uh, didn’t make it in time to fight, but I followed you when you left. You can take this as my word,” he winked, hoisting himself up to have a look at what needed to be done.

“You trust him, Kyla?” Andria and Raisa looked at her.

“I think we have to…”

Isabel and Estelle ran back to the living room as quickly as they could. They flopped down into seats and tried to regain normal breathing patterns. They had to make it look as though they had never left.

In the hallway, the four former pilots also raced towards the living room. Heero got there first, saw it’s occupants, and stopped the others outside the door, so they wouldn’t blow their cover.

“Where’s Maxwell?” Wufei asked.

“He went to investigate those new gundams,” Quatre panted.

“Everyone ok?” Heero asked. They nodded and went in as calmly as they could.

“Hey,” Isabel said casually. “Where were you?”

“Uh… watching that battle…”

“Yeah, uh, it was fascinating…”

“Bad, but fascinating.”

“Boys,” Estelles shook her head in disgust.

“Hey, anyone else realize it’s 7 a.m. and not one of us has had any sleep?” Trowa said.

Isabel and Estelle exchanged looks. “We were planning to sleep on the flight home…”

“What flight home?” Quatre blinked.

“We have to return to Sank immediately,” Estelle told him sadly.

“Oh…” awkward moment in the room.

Trowa coughed. “I’m going to go to bed. Wake me when you leave.” He exited. He paused in the hallway, seeing clearly what he had barely glimpsed on their way in. A flute case. He carefully picked it up. ‘Raisa’ was written on a tag in calligraphy. Well, he would just have to return it to her, wouldn’t he? He gave a small, sweet smile.

“So protecting Relena is really your mission?” Duo asked as they finished up.

“Yes. It always has been. We wouldn’t lie about that,” Kyla said honestly.

‘I’ve been there…’ Duo thought. “So do you girls like her or what?”

“She’s ok,” Raisa said, toweling her hands dry after just having washed them. “She seems so sad though.”

“She has a right to be sad,” Andria’s big green eyes couldn’t hold her emotions. She couldn’t help sounding defensive when she spoke. “Heero’s not an easy person to love. Losing him is even worse.”

Raisa coughed. “I’m gonna head back now, see you.” She skipped out.

“Are you still really upset?” Kyla asked Andria quietly.

“Doesn’t matter. I have to move on, don’t I?” Andria put her chin up defiantly.

“You act like the world’s going to come and destroy you if you show the slightest weakness,” Duo said nonchalantly. “It won’t. I can see now why you and Heero got along. All I can say to you is good luck.”

“No wonder Isa calls him a dingbat,” Andria rolled her eyes, being silly.

“Well he’s MY dingbat now,” Kyla yanked on his braid. “Isn’t that right, Thanatos?”

“Whatever you say Girl-With-A-Big-Mobile-Suit,” Duo said obediently.

“And don’t you forget it,” she grinned.

“They’re gonna start missing us,” Andria smiled, happy for Kyla. She ignored the twinge of pain in her heart. She had never been jealous in her life and she wasn’t about to start now. “Let’s go.”

“Lead on, O Dames!” Kyla whacked Duo lightly with his braid.

Raisa took her time walking back to her room. She really didn’t want to leave. It felt as though they were all meant to be here, together. Her heart ached a little. And she had never gotten to say anything to- him. Sadly, she opened her door and put a suitcase on her bed. She pulled out one of the drawers in her closet and put it down next to the suitcase so she could sit while she packed.

She looked up at a knock on the half-open door.

“May I come in?”

Raisa sucked in a breath quickly. Trowa smiled kindly at her. “Sure- sure-“ she moved the suitcase a little in case he wanted to sit.

“I found this in the hallway-“ he held up the flute case.

‘STUPID!’ Her head screamed. “My flute! Thank you!” she took it, trying not to flush as their hands touched briefly. “Where did you find it?”

Trowa blinked, startled. What had he felt when their hands met? It was like- like a spark had passed between them. “In the hall outside the living room. You should have joined us- I would love to hear you play sometime.”

Raisa blushed and let her hair fall forward to cover her face. She quickly added a few more things to her bag. “I’m better at piccolo…”

“You play pic as well?” Trowa was happily surprised.

“Yeah, it’s my favorite to play. I wish I’d brought it with me,” she smiled genuinely. ‘Hell yes I wish I’d brought it with me…’ “Madam Anthony believed in always exercising our full potential.”

“Hm. I would still love to hear you play.” She started to protest. “Please? Before you leave?” his blue eyes pleaded with her.

“Sure. I’ll get my music,” she said, faced with them. ‘Ooh… How’m I ever going to leave?!’

---