Chapter 2

Duo drove into the Fieldson meadow a half-hour before dawn the next morning, dressed in jeans and a dark blue shirt, topped with a denim jacket. It was late fall and was getting chilly, and he dressed for the weather. His dark blue eyes flew over everything in the meadow, and he was surprised to see that a sleek, shiny X-103 was resting in the middle of the meadow. He didn't see Relena anywhere.

Duo parked his car – Hilde would pick it up later – near a fringe of trees and got out, hauling his dufflebag on one shoulder. He walked under the ship and dropped his bag. He didn't see Relena anywhere, but her bag was here, and a bunch of mechanical tools littered the ground.

"Re?" he called, braid swishing as he looked all around.

"Up here, Duo!" she called from somewhere in the ship.

Duo looked up, but he couldn't see anything. "What – where are you?"

"Right here!" she said, and there was a light thud behind him.

Duo whirled around to see her and stopped short.

"Ohhh boy…" he said, his eyes wide and jaw hanging.

Relena stood there, but it was not the Relena he had known for the past years. Her blonde hair was darker – she had washed out the lighter highlights – and hung in a thick braid over her shoulder. She wore a dark green tank top and tan khaki pants, along with hiking boots. Also, the heavy makeup she was required to wear every day for press conferences and meetings – and everyday appearances – was gone. In its place was still makeup, but it was so subtle he hardly noticed it was there, yet there was enough to make her look feminine enough. A gun hung in a holster from her waist, and Duo's experienced eyes noticed the hilt of a knife sticking slightly up from her boots. Her face and arms were smudged slightly with oil and grease, giving her a tough, dirty look.

Duo was, altogether, speechless.

Just then Quatre appeared – he had walked from his nearby home. He stared at Relena and, after a long moment, said, "Wow."

Duo, his speech no longer affected by awe and surprise, said, "Yup, I think that'll just about do it past the admission gates."

There was a humorless laugh behind Duo, and he turned to see Wufei, carrying a big backpack over one shoulder. He had a question for the group.

"Do you think anyone will recognize us?"

Relena looked up, and though Wufei tried hard not to show it, he was astounded by the change. "Well, I've also got green contact lenses. Plus, the way I see it is no one really knows who you guys are – they just know there's five Gundam pilots. 'Course," she added, sadness creeping into her tone. "Heero's not with us anyhow, so…"

Quatre put an arm around her and said, "Don't worry, Relena, we'll find him."

The sadness was gone from her face in an instant, and she said quickly, "The first thing you guys need to do is to not call me Relena. My name, from now on in public, is Rei. Also, you've got to trust me." She raised an eyebrow. "After all, you know, you guys haven't seen the secret me."

"We've heard," said Trowa, coming to stand beside Wufei. He glanced over Relena and nodded in approval. "Very nice."

She grinned. "Thanks. Now, if you boys are ready to board, I've just finished fixing the slight mechanical problem in our main engine. So…" She reached up and pulled herself into an opening that Duo hadn't seen before; a slight space where only someone slim would be able to fit. Relena twisted a knob and slowly, the door to the X-103 opened and the ramp slid down.

Duo ran for the ramp with his dufflebag, yelling, "Dibs on the top bunk!"

Relena grinned. "He hasn't changed much, our Duo."

Quatre nodded. "He's been needing a bit of adventure lately."

Relena turned to her companions. "Guys, you really don't need to come with me. You know, the minute you board this ship, you're on until we've found Heero, or, if he's – if he's – "

Quatre realized suddenly what she was trying to say and swallowed. "You mean…if he's dead."

Relena didn't move. Her face was an expressionless mask that reminded Quatre strongly of Heero himself. She said flatly, "Yeah. Anyhow, you're in it until we get back here – with or without Heero."

"Wait a minute." Duo broke in, coming to stand with them outside. "You mean you're going to bring him back here?"

Relena nodded firmly, her eyes hard and determined.

Duo let out a low whistle. "Holy cow, you've got guts." He shook his head fervently. "I tried to do that once, and all I got was a gun pointed at my head and a 'Get the heck out of here, Duo, if you want to stay alive for Hilde' and 'Leave me alone, Duo!'"

Wufei snorted. "In your place I would have simply taught him a lesson."

Quatre smiled and said, "Well, that's what Relena's here to do."

The black-haired Chinese man raised his eyebrows and looked even more superior than he usually did. "Women. What can they do?" He moved to board the ship, but Relena stopped him.

"Guys," she said quietly. "I haven't told you something."

Trowa's head snapped up. Wufei blinked. Duo looked slightly scared, and Quatre's eyes widened.

Suddenly, Relena grinned. "Lighten up. Nothing too serious. It's just that…you'll have to wear disguises too."

She said all this incredibly fast, so it took them a while to register it. When it did, however, it was the usual Gundam Pilot Explosion.

"WHAT?!"

"THERE IS NO WAY WE ARE GOING TO – "

"NO POSSIBLE WAY!"

"YOU CAN'T MAKE US DRESS UP!"

"I AM NOT GETTING A HAIR CUT!"

At the last yell, everyone fell silent and stared at Duo, who was clutching his long braid protectively, his violet eyes wide. Trowa raised an eyebrow.

Duo dropped his hair, a very slight blush tingeing his cheeks. "Well…" he said, embarrassed. "I'm not."

Wufei turned indignantly to Relena. "What is the meaning of this, woman?" he yelled. He opened his mouth to say more, but before he could, Relena clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Listen, guys," she said sternly. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to start the search. We can continue this discussion as soon as we're in the air and the ship's set on autopilot. Deal?"

With nothing but angry glares, the pilots picked up their luggage and stomped onto the ship.

Relena sighed, boarded the ship, and entered the cockpit.

Within minutes, the X-103 was in the air and soaring toward space. It was early enough in the morning that the only people who would see the craft would be the milkmen, and the X series was famed for its silence. Relena had no worries.

She set the autopilot for the L1 admission gate, which allowed ships as big as a gigantic 6A3. Then, smiling, Relena turned to face the pilots in the bunk rooms behind her.

The X-103 was a fairly large ship, with a cockpit, small kitchen, tiny bathroom, and two rooms with a bunkbed and a singular bed in each. The pilots were in the kitchen now, on unpacking duty. Relena glanced into the rooms and noted with a smile that all of them had left their things hanging unceremoniously all over. It was a small downside that she would not be able to have a room to herself, but there was a curtain she could hang up around her bed. There were six beds – a perfect number. They would have just enough when they caught up with Heero.

Heero. Relena's heart gave a jolt at that name, and she hated herself for it. How could she still think of him, much less love him, after nearly seven years. She hadn't seen him for so long, yet his image remained more vivid than anything else in her mind: the roughly-cut brown hair, hanging over his forehead; those incredible, dark blue eyes that gave her heart a jolt whenever she looked in them. Relena saw him in a hundred different places and situations; in his Gundam, directing Wing to a nearby colony; in a fighting stance, his gun aimed directly between a soldier's eyes; yelling at Duo for being noisy and making life difficult; and there, her favorite memory: him telling her softly that he was going to protect her, no matter what.

Of course, Relena knew she had been silly during those first few weeks and months of their acquaintance. At the beginning, she had been taken with his freedom only, and admired it; at the beginning it was a silly infatuation. Later, it deepened into a strong liking, and then over the years it a blossomed into a deep love. Even though at every single party or ball she attended she was set up with nephews, brothers, cousins, etc. of every single noble into the Earth and Colonies combined, she knew deep in her heart that the only man she could ever truly love would be Heero.

Heavy footsteps rang out behind her, and Relena whirled around. Wufei stood there, his hands on his hips, dark eyes flashing. "Woman," he barked, "get the heck in the kitchen and tell that braided-haired buffoon that the broom does not fit in the refrigerator!"

Relena smirked at him. "What's the matter, Wufei, have to have a woman to do the job?"

Unruffled, Wufei shot back, "The idiot will only listen to a woman, ever since he's been married to Schbeiker!"

Rolling her eyes, Relena hurried to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, everything was unpacked in the kitchen. The Gundam pilots sat Relena down in one of their rooms and demanded to know why she thought they would ever don disguises.

Relena sighed. "First of all, I'm not saying anything until you four start cleaning this room, no matter whose stuff is on the floor. We're keeping the ship clean, got that?"

Reluctantly, the pilots agreed and began working.

Relena continued, "All right. Now, I know the only thing people know about the infamous Gundam pilots is that they're five of them, and they're all male. Well, for starter's, there is four of you and one of me, so we're not in any trouble straight off. However, I am not taking any chances. Your files most likely got out into public but some leak, to some important people, and you are going to have to wear disguises. Duo, you won't have to cut your hair, I promise, but you'll have to hide it under a hat or hood or something. I'm serious, guys. This won't work if you don't do this."

In the end, they agreed to her terms.

The day passed uneventfully. They would reach the L1 cluster by midmorning the next day, and everyone knew that this would be their last relaxed day before a frenzied search was begun.

Duo stared up at the ceiling, his hands behind his head. Very lumpy bed, he thought, wriggling to get a more comfortable position on the top bunk. Kinda reminds me of lumpy milk. Just at the thought, the braid-haired pilot wrinkled his nose. He sniffed once, then thought, Hmm, smells like it too.

Duo sighed and jumped off the bed. He must be going soft, thinking of lumpy milk when he should have been collecting information for Relena. He walked quietly down the main hallway of the ship to the computer control room, where he could begin research. At home, Hilde was doing work, too, trying to find the whereabouts of a certain brown-haired, blue-eyed pilot.

Duo closed his eyes momentarily and thought, Heero, buddy, where are you?

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