DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing belonged to Sunrise and co. I’m not making any profits out of this, so don’t sue. Oh, those you think you’ve never heard before belong to me. And feedback is very welcome, people! ☺

TIMELINE: The story takes place after Survival of the Fittest, I’d say almost two years.

NOTE: To avoid confusion, I have italic-and-bold the clones’ name. Hopefully, that could help you understand who’s who.

SHATTERED MIRRORS XV: ANGUISH.

By Arayelle Lynn.

              She never saw what was coming. One moment she was watching the battle outside her house and the next, she was flying. She didn’t know how long she had been knocked out. But when she came to, Adin was tugging at her sleeve and she felt pain all over her body.

              At first, she wanted to sink back into the comfortable floating darkness. But something inside her told her not to. So, fighting back the pounding stampede in her head, she began to move. Instead of checking her surrounding, she looked up to find the person who nearly took her life.

And her eyes met the huge barrel of an MS rifle.

>>>@@<<<

The moment she squeezed the trigger, her eyes finally set on the face of the person she was sent to destroy. She gasped when she saw a mirror image of her own!

Time seemed to stop. A pair of winter blue eyes was glaring at her, through the ruffled dark red hair that nearly covered her eyes. Her glare seemed to pierce through the armor, for Kylie-clone could feel the chill from that cold, unwavering gaze. If anything, Kylie-clone could’ve sworn that the girl could see her through the armor because she couldn’t take her eyes away from the icy glare.

              That was, until she realized that her rifle was firing.

>>>@@<<<

              She held her glare as the rifle fired. She was determined to look at her executioner as she died. Then, there was a flash of brilliant light that swallowed her, followed by a loud explosion. Instead of seeing her life flashed before her eyes, she found herself shielding her face as debris and specks of earth filled the air.

              When the air finally cleared up, she saw the unmistakable form of Wing Zero’s beam saber, protruding from the ground. Coming from above, the owner of the saber hovered in the air, protectively. Instantly, she figured that Heero had thrown the saber to catch the shot to save her life. Sighing at her rotten luck in getting the final rest, she fell into the darkness again.

>>>@@<<<

              Kylie-clone stared at the form, her fingers shook where she had pulled the trigger. Still in shock, she failed to notice when her rifle fell from her grip. A movement from above caught her attention. There, she saw Wing Zero keeping its twin buster rifle pointing at her. But she knew that it was useless. She knew that she could still fulfill her mission without any obstacle.

              “Kylie, are you there?” her comm. crackled, startling her. She hadn’t realized that the battle was still on. It seemed such a long time ago. “Kylie, have you achieved our objective?”

              She flicked the sending button. “Negative. The mission is a failure. Retreat,” she said, without even remembering that Heero-clone was the one in charge. Somehow, her comrades detected something in her voice for they broke away from the battle. Kylie-clone spared a glance at the tiny figure on the ground as she moved out. Closing her eyes, she knew that the battle was over.

>>>@@<<<

              The second he landed, Quatre jumped down from his Gundam, nearly forgetting the grapnel line. He ran towards Heero who was just picking up the prone figure. He stopped a few feet away, his heart thumping in exertion as well as from the raging emotion within him. He was afraid to come closer, afraid to find out that he had heard everything wrong.

              Then blue-green his eyes met winter blue ones. His heart made a giant leapt.

              “Kylie! You’re alive!”

              Kylie winced, burying her head deeper into Heero’s shoulder. And Heero in his part, held her even closer to him. Quatre had never seen her looking so vulnerable until this day. He stepped forward, hands reached out. “Kylie…” he began.

              Heero pulled her away from him, rather protectively. “Save it, Winner. Can’t you see she needs medical attention?”

              Dumbfounded, Quatre could only watched one of his closest companions walked away with the woman he loved. He was still standing there when Duo put a hand on his shoulder, waking him up from his thoughts. The Deathscythe pilot’s face was grim.

              “Come on, we better go,” he said, steering his friend away from the ruin. As he walked, he noticed something that looked like a chair being consumed by the raging fire.

>>>@@<<<

              “How could this have happened? How could she be alive?” Duo wondered aloud.

              They were all waiting outside the infirmary, waiting for the results. All of them were there, including Noin, who had come down to the Preventers’ underground main headquarters on Earth. All of them, except Heero, who had ignored the doctor’s orders and joined Kylie inside the room.

              Duo looked around him for an answer. Silence greeted him. Quatre was sitting quietly, his head bowed low. He was still trying to get over the shock and Duo’s heart went out for him. He knew that his friend was taking it hard.

              “I may have an answer to that,” someone said. All heads turned to Lady Une.

              “While Gundam Nova was under construction, I have requested a new modification.”

              Zechs leaned forward. “Really? Like what?”

              “I requested a special modification in the cockpit. A safety device,” she continued. “To be short, when Kylie activated the self-destruct system it should trigger the safety device as well.”

              “And what does this safety device do?”

              “It separates the cockpit from the Gundam. Sort of like an escape pod.” She paused. “It wasn’t in the Gundam schematics because I was afraid that Kylie might discover it and shut it off. Anyway, the safety device was left untested because the urgency of its presence in the battlefield. So, when Nova was destroyed, I thought that the safety device did not work so I never mentioned it.”

              “But now we know it did work, right?” said Trowa who was sitting next to Quatre.

              Duo nodded. “That explains it. But…” He turned towards Wu Fei. “It does not explain how you knew that she was still alive. And in that house.”

              Now, the spotlight was on Wu Fei, who met their gazes steadily. Instead of answering Duo, he kept his silence. “Well?” Duo prompted.

              “They’re coming out,” was his answer. A second later, the door slid open and Tricia Farrell came out with a man in white lab coat. They all stood up. “Who’s the legal guardian of the patient?”

              Lady Une smiled a little. Kylie’s almost twenty now and she hardly need a guardian. Somehow, the doctor must’ve gotten her age wrong considering that Kylie looked like a seventeen-year-old. ‘In fact, all of them do,’ she thought as her gaze swept across the faces of the Gundam pilots.

              “Lady Une?” the doctor broke her thoughts. “Your guardian seemed to be fine, just a little bruises and cuts here and there. She’s a very tough young lady.” Lady Une smiled gently at that. The doctor continued, fixing his glasses. “We’ve also arranged a new wheelchair for her…”

              “Excuse me, what?” she stopped him. Her hearing caught something new.

              “We’ve arranged a new wheelchair to replace her old one so…,” he repeated.

              He caught his next words when he saw her face paled. In fact, everyone in the hallway seemed to be staring at him in disbelief. Somehow, Dr. Farrell sensed something in the mood. She turned to the doctor. “Perhaps I should take it from here, Dr. Warner.”

              He nodded, thinking that it would be better for someone familiar to take over right then. He said his good bye and left. When the doctor was finally out of earshot, Dr. Farrell regarded the group. “Please be calm when you hear this,” she began, noticing that at least one of them, the Chinese pilot, was unmoved by the declaration. “Kylie’s paralyzed. The injury she sustained during the Telrhani war has caused a damaging effect on her spinal cord.”

              Lady Une reeled and Zechs caught her in time. Quatre fell onto his seat again, with Trowa holding him. Mylin watched everything silently while Duo turned to Wu Fei’s expressionless face. “You knew this too, didn’t you?” his tone was accusing.

               Instead of answering him, he looked at the door behind the doctor. Heero was emerging, wheeling Kylie out in a wheelchair. Quatre quickly rushed to her side. “Kylie…” he wanted to say but couldn’t. Despite of the discovery that she was still alive, the thought of her not being able to walk plagued his mind and rendered him speechless.

              “Save it, Winner.” Were the first words he heard from her in a long time. They would’ve warmed his heart, if they weren’t said in such a distant and cold manner. She turned to Lady Une, her face was aloof. “Find me a secure place. We need to talk.”

>>>@@<<<

              Winteridge waited for the arrival of his clones patiently. He had heard of their failure and expected a very good explanation from them. So, the second they returned, he sent for them. And he purposely had his right man by his side so they could both evaluate if the clones were starting to show deterioration in their performance.

              Kylie-clone came in first, looking rather subdued. Behind her, Heero-clone, Duo-clone, Quatre-clone and Wu Fei-clone followed in. Their eyes were looking Kylie questioningly.

              “I take it you have some sort of an explanation for this?” he asked the girl, knowing who caused the recent setback.

              Kylie-clone looked up. He was a bit surprise to find her eyes twinkled in excitement. “I have news, Your Grace. Good or bad, it’s entirely up to you and Instructor.” She nodded at the man who trained her.

              That peaked their interests. All of them stared at her curiously.

              “My original still lives.”

              Winteridge rose from his seat. Behind him, Instructor D took a step forward. “You mean…”

              “Kylie Rayden is still alive.”

>>>@@<<<

              They settled down in the conference room silently. Lady Une was talking to an agent, Grant, who was in charge of the Preventer’s Earth headquarters in the northern hemisphere. The topic of discussion was whether Grant should be in the room. It was a normal procedure for an officer to join in any discussion that took place in his base but Kylie had pointedly refused his presence and refused to talk as long as he was there. Grant had taken this badly for it was rarely for an Earth-bound officer to find as many excitements as in space. And when one came falling into his lap, it was only natural for him to be eager to help. However, the form of an arrogant handicap dared to refuse him his right. Refused him in his own base!

              And so, Lady Une found herself trying to convince the agitated man that it was all in the name of high secrecy. After a few minutes, the agent left the room in a huff, sparing a sharp stare at Kylie, who ignored it nonchalantly.

              Once he was gone, all eyes set on Kylie. They each wondered if she was really there. Kylie, in her part, ignored their stares especially a certain blue-green one. Instead, she activated the database. Her fingers danced in a fashion that reflected her longtime experience in using one.

              “So, you’re Heero’s mysterious source,” said Mylin, breaking the uncomfortable silence. She was the only one, beside Heero and Wu Fei, who was less surprised by the dead girl’s sudden appearance. When Kylie didn’t answer, she shrugged. “Figures. Only a true soldier knew what information that could be of use in the dawn of a war.” She looked at Heero with a hint of approval. “Though I failed to guess how long Heero’s going to keep the pretense?” As she said this, her eyes strayed on Wu Fei.

              The two kept their silence as Kylie busied herself over the database.

              “Kylie…” Quatre began.

              She drowned the rest of his words. “When Heero and I discovered Winteridge’s first sign of defection, we have been keeping a close eye on his activities. While Heero gone mobile, I made my move through the cyberspace.” She patted the database, a constant companion since her paralysis. “We agreed that I should provide all the necessary information and Heero take all the actions.”

              “So that’s the reason for the secrecy?” asked Duo. “The reason for playing dead? You were afraid that Winteridge would catch on your little operation?” That jab earned a sharp look from Heero but Kylie ignored it. She simply continued.

              “However, through all the events that you’ve undergone, none of you’ve ever asked the most important question,” she pointed out, looking at them squarely. Heero, Wu Fei, Zechs and Trowa looked at each other, realization hit them. Duo looked at them, lost.

              “What?” he started to ask.

              “Right. How do the clones got so good?” Mylin guessed for all of them. She was beginning to understand Kylie’s hidden meaning in her words. Although she was the only one of them who came close to defeating the clones, she had also felt a slight strain while fighting the clones earlier.

              Instead of confirming Mylin’s guess, the database whirred and projected a hologram of a document. “I was looking through this when the attack came.”

              “This is the list of Winteridge’s main personnel!” Noin breathed, reading it hungrily. “Dr. Robert Randells. Isn’t he that famous genetic expert from Nigeria? The one who studied the science of rapid growth of clones? I’ve read his work, pretty impressive.”

              “Yeah and he’s also pretty dead,” said Wu Fei. “He’d been lying in the morgue for the past few months, a gunshot wound through the head.”

              “Geez, poor guy,” Duo interjected.

              Heero looked at Trowa, who flinched. “You were there, weren’t you?”

              “The alley, when I first discovered that you’re still alive. I didn’t know who he was. Thought that he was being robbed until your clone came and knocked me out and killed him.” He looked at Heero. “I guess, now it’s proven that the man is connected to Winteridge.”

              “Connected how? I mean, he’s a great genetic expert and all, though not many shared his enthusiasm. Some even went as far as telling him that his theory in human cloning and growth acceleration is next to impossible,” said Noin.

              “Well, now it does not sound so impossible, does it?” said Mylin, pointing at another holographic image. “Read that. It is an experiment report.”

              They read and a lot of questions were answered. At the end of it, they returned their attention back to Kylie. The Gundam pilots were grim and strangely silent. “Wait a minute. I don’t think I understand the last part,” said Duo, frowning. He looked at Quatre for clarification but the blond pilot was lost in his own thoughts.

              “Randells was the head scientist for Winteridge’s cloning project for the past five years until he was killed,” Sally explained.

              “Duh! I can read that,” said Duo, impatiently. “But I want to know what he means by ‘certain measures of modification are essential for higher performance on the subjects’ part.’ What does he mean by that?”

              “He altered the genes, Duo. To make them more efficient than the originals.”

              “You mean… is that why they’re good?”

              “Yes. Randells had thrown away all the weaknesses of the original pilots so that he could create beings that are free from weaknesses.” Sally shook her head. “Randells had erased any weaknesses in your genes and had created, maybe, the most perfect soldiers in mankind history.”

              “Making it harder for us to battle them,” Duo exclaimed, displease and then sulked. “Suddenly, I don’t feel so sorry for the guy anymore.”

              Kylie switched to another image. “That’s not all.”

              All five Gundam pilots, including Zechs gasped. Lady Une and the others stared at the chart, incomprehensibly. There were series of long and jagged lines on the chart as well as some numbers. “What is it?” Noin asked her husband.

              “The clones had been exposed to the Zero System since day one!” Zechs answered. “The system is already embedded inside the clones. That’s why they could predict our movements so well!”

              “All of that without using the necessary program or equipment for the system,” Kylie added.

              “A clone of us without weaknesses and exposed to the Zero System since the day they were in diapers? I don’t think I can take much more of this,” said Duo, his head spinning.

              Heero turned to Kylie. “Why wasn’t I made known of this sooner?”

              “The file was heavily encrypted,” she answered. “This is one of the files that I’ve downloaded from the outpost the other day. And some are still encrypted and will take time.” Suddenly, she wheeled her chair back and started to leave.

              Lady Une’s head perked up. “Where are you going?”

               “Leaving. I’ve told you what I know and now you must decide what you’re going to do with the information,” she answered, shrugging.

              For a second, Lady Une almost told Kylie to stay. But once the wheelchair was made visible, she was painfully reminded that Kylie was no longer a Gundam pilot. A part of her wanted to thank the heavens but a part of her was torn at the pitiful sight of Treize’s ward.

              “Right,” she cleared her constricted throat. She turned to the members of the room. “Anyone with an insight?” She turned to the leader of the Gundam pilots. “Quatre?”

              Only silence greeted her.

>>>@@<<<

              Throughout the meeting, Quatre could hardly concentrate. He only listened half-heartedly at what was being said around him. Though his eyes were looking at the projected images, he was actually seeing the girl, who was on the other side of the image. His heart pained, his mind hurt.

              ‘Why? Why didn’t you tell me that you’re still alive?’

              ‘Why are you ignoring me?’

              ‘Why won’t you look at me, Kylie?’

              ‘Don’t you know that I miss you so much?’

              These questions kept on playing in his mind over and over. Ever since he discovered that Kylie was still alive, all sorts of emotions swirled inside him. One second he felt like crying then he felt so angry but only to be replaced by confusion. And all the while, there’s one emotion that stayed in his head.

              Betrayal.

              Even so, that feeling would always battle with that raging need to hold her. To make sure that she was indeed there, not just a figment of his imagination. His heart fluttered at the sight of her again but he was held back by something. Something that flashed in her eyes. Something old, yet new.

              Hatred?

              ‘Do you blame me for your condition?’

              ‘Yes, I blame myself too. I should’ve been there to save you. I should’ve been there for you.’

              ‘Please look at me, Kylie. I’m so sorry.’

              ‘Please forgive me.’

              ‘Don’t turn away from me.’

              ‘Don’t hate me.’

              Suddenly he realized that everyone was looking at him. He straightened himself, his eyes torn away from the retreating form on the wheelchair. For a moment, he furiously tried to recall what was being asked of him but couldn’t.

              Lady Une sighed, knowing that the events of the day had taken its toll on all of them. And so she called the meeting to an end, informing them that temporary quarters had been prepared for all of them at the base.

              However instead of leaving, everybody seemed to linger for one reason or the other. All except Heero, who joined Kylie at the door. Quatre stood up as well but he hesitated once he saw the warning glance that she gave him. Whatever he wanted to say was stuck in his throat.

              They all watched as Heero and Kylie disappeared from the room. Silence shrouded over them for a while, until they heard a sigh coming from Duo. “What does it take to kill the girl?” he wondered under his breath so Quatre wouldn’t hear him.

              “I never really believe that Kylie is dead,” said Trowa, surprising everyone. He had been tight-lipped as late. “At least, after I discovered that Heero is alive.”

              Mylin looked at him, deeply interested. “Really? Why do you say that?”

              Trowa stared at the closed door. It was then they heard a muffled sound of a dog barking. “Because Heero didn’t bring his dog.” At that, they looked at each other in realization. What Trowa had just said made sense. Heero would never entrust his dog to anyone, save those whom the dog accept as friends. And that ranged only Heero himself, Kylie, Quatre and Trowa. Even Wu Fei had a hard time controlling the dog when he was taking him to Heero two years ago.

              Then Trowa looked at Wu Fei. “I guess, you knew about her from the start, didn’t you?”

              Now, Wu Fei was trapped. He had no excuse to escape from the dreaded question.

              “Yes,” he answered, grudgingly. “I discovered that fact when I met Heero at the hospital,” he said, but he hid the fact that Kylie was in a coma then. He knew that she would’ve demanded him of that.

              “Why?”

              The pain in Quatre’s voice was so evident that Wu Fei, for once, felt sorry for him. But then, the image of Kylie on the hospital bed cried back at him and he was reminded of what she meant for him. He looked away from the blue-green eyes, ignoring Mylin’s cynical look.

              “It’s none of your business.”

              With that, he was gone.

>>>@@<<<

              He walked around in daze. The news hit him like a ton of bricks. She’s alive! The news both excited him and disturbed him. He was excited because he hadn’t seen her for a very long while. However, the news also awakened a memory long forgotten. A memory that fuelled the burning rage in his mind. And it made his life even more complete because he could now finally get his revenge. He could now quench his thirst for her presence.

              ‘Watch your back, kid ‘cause I’m coming for you,’ he swore, a malicious smile touched his lips.

              “Are you alright?” a voice behind him said. He turned around slowly, knowing who exactly it was.

              Duke Winteridge regarded his longtime friend. “You left so quickly when you heard the news.”

              “I’m sorry. That was very rude of me, your grace,” he apologized.

              “I told you not to call me that, D,” said the aristocrat. “Not after the way you saved my life.”

              “I’m sorry again, Kent,” said D, the instructor for the clones. “And yes, I’m fine. The news just shook me, I guess.”

              Winteridge joined him at the window. “She’s certainly surprised both of us, I see.”

              “And she’ll never cease to surprise us in the future.”

              The duke spared a glance at him. He exhaled. “I guess you should know her even better, my friend. Which is why we need to speed things up.”

              Startled, Instructor D looked at him. “Is that wise?”

              “You said it yourself. She’ll never cease to surprise us. Who knows how much information on our operation she has downloaded. Now that she’s with the Gundam pilots again, it would be a matter of time before they’ll figure everything out.”

              Remembering his duties, Instructor D pushed away his thoughts. “I’ll take care of everything.”

>>>@@<<<

              For the second time in a week, Mylin found herself in the hangar, working on the repairs of Gundam Altron. It had taken little damage but she still wanted to make sure that there would not be any tiny damages that could affect her performance. And as she worked, her mind played over the first fight she had with the clones.

              The battle had been indescribable to her. She had never felt so exhilarated. Mylin was never train a pilot and only honed her skills in hand-to-hand battles, so it took her by surprise to find that she was actually looking forward to the next battle. And she knew that she owe it to the Zero system. It had made her a better pilot than the Gundam pilots.

              The others were very impressed too. Mylin knew this when she was walking along the corridor. The way the humans looked at her had change somehow. Before this, they had look at her in suspicion but now, their eyes betrayed their gratefulness and acceptance. Even Lady Une had expressed her admiration. But she personally, did not take their reaction into heart. She knew better than to drown herself in self-congratulatory. Especially since she had her own reason for being there. Her secret mission.

              A faint sound interrupted her thoughts. Mylin looked up to see Wu Fei.

              “Is there something you want?” she asked, meaningfully.

              Wu Fei shook his head, without even sparing a glance at his Gundam. “I just want to see what you’re up to.”

              Mylin spread her hands. “Well, as you can see, I’m repairing your Gundam,” she answered. “Is that satisfactorily enough?”

              Wu Fei nodded, and then turned around to leave. “One more thing,” he suddenly said, standing under the threshold of the hangar. He looked at her over his shoulder. “Good job, Mylin. That was the best fight ever.”

              Mylin watched him go as a smile tugged at her lips. She found herself feeling slightly warmed by Wu Fei’s words. “It would be a lot better if you’re the only piloting it,” she murmured, but of course, Wu Fei was already gone by then.

>>>@@<<<

              Silence filled the room. After all these years of pain and misery, they were finally together. But now, none of them seemed to be able to find the right word to break the thick shroud of silence that fell on them. And so, the silence stretched on.

              It had been Duo Maxwell’s idea that they should talk. The braided-haired pilot couldn’t bear seeing the guilt on Quatre’s face and so had taken the initiative to arrange a secret meeting between the two. Surprisingly, Kylie accepted willingly, though the expression on her face betrayed everything but good news.

              But to Duo’s dismay, Heero joined them too. And as much as Duo wanted Quatre to be alone with Kylie, he didn’t have enough courage to throw the dangerous pilot out. “Let him be. This concerns him as well.” Kylie had said when he tried to shoo Heero away. It warned him that something else was amiss.

               And so he left them in the room, standing on the other side of the door, on watch.

Kylie studied the rain pelts sliding down the window. It was raining outside and the glass felt cool under her touch. She waited patiently, feeling Quatre’s eyes bore into her. Her heart was set in doing what she had intended to do earlier.

Quatre stared at Kylie, ignoring Heero completely. He debated on what he should say to her. His heart pleading for her to look at him. But she didn’t. The eyes which had once watched him in a quiet protectiveness were gone. In their place were the eyes of a complete stranger. Void of feelings.

“It’s over, Winner,” Kylie suddenly said, as Quatre had almost mustered his courage to say something. She turned around to look at him. “Don’t dwell on it anymore. That’s my advice.”

His mouth opened and closed again. He was shocked by her words. ‘What does she mean? How could it be over? How could she say that?’ were the only things he could think of. His thoughts started to mix with others. ‘Don’t you care for me anymore? Don’t you miss me? Why didn’t you tell me you’re still alive?’

She didn’t wait for him to respond. “Forget about me and get on with your life, Winner.”

“How could you say that? Don’t you know how long I have been waiting for you?” he managed to blurt out.

Kylie laughed bitterly. “That’s a crazy thing to do. Why wait for someone who’s already dead?”

That hurt him even more than what Kylie’s clone had done to him. How could she say that after all he had been through?

“Why…”

Kylie interrupted him, raising her hand. “I’m married, Quatre.”

The news shocked him even more. He stared at the golden glint in her hand, his head reeling. He hadn’t realized that he had taken a step back. “Wh… who?” he rasped, as something in his chest started to hurt. He was beginning to feel light-headed.

Kylie didn’t answer. But another glint coming from his right took his eyes away from her and landed on Heero. It was then he saw the identical gold ring around his fingers. Something broke inside him at that moment as the feeling of betrayal fuelled his growing anger.

“You’re married to him?” he found himself shouting. His heart raced and he couldn’t find a way to shut his mouth from saying the next hurtful words. “What do you see in him? Why couldn’t you wait for me? Dammit! Why didn’t you tell me that you’re still alive?”

Someone touched his shoulder from behind.

“Quatre…”

              He hit Heero squarely in his face. The impact sent Heero reeling a little. “And how could you do this to me? I thought you were my friend? I trusted you and this is how you show your friendship?” Chest heaving, he clutched his throbbing heart as tears were starting to form. His fist balled for another punch.

              “Do not forget your place, Quatre Raberba Winner!” Kylie barked. She didn’t mind him getting angry at her but didn’t want to see Heero getting dragged into it as well. “Go to Dorothy. She’s right for you.”

              Quatre choked at the reminder. He had totally forgotten his engagement!

              Heero jumped forward to catch Quatre before he hit the floor. For a moment, he held the shaking body of his friend tightly. “Nobody ever wanted this to happen, Quatre,” he said gently. He pitied his friend greatly. “But it did.”

              “Let me go,” came a muffled voice. Heero released his friend, who pushed himself up. His head hung low as he made his way towards the door.

              “Forget about me, Winner,” said Kylie, the hard edge in her voice was still there. “Go to Dorothy. She cares for you.”

              Quatre nodded dumbly. He exited the room. Everything that happened that day was all for the wrong reasons. What should have been a happy reunion for them both had turned into a sorrowful one. This time, they had ended it all.

>>>@@<<<

              Dorothy rushed into the complex, almost colliding with Trowa in the process. She panted, looking at him as he steadied her. “Is it true? Is she alive?” she asked, breathless. She had been running from the Preventers landing port to the upper ground main complex. Behind her, was Hilde.

              At the sound of desperation in her voice, Trowa felt pity for her. He knew that the reappearance of Kylie would change her relationship with Quatre, for good or bad. Especially since they were only three months away from their wedding day.

              “Yes, she’s alive,” he said, deciding a direct answer. He didn’t want to hurt her but he didn’t want to lie to her either.

              “And Quatre? Where is he?”

              Trowa nodded at the close door at the far end of the hallway, where Duo was attempting to eavesdrop. Aside him, Wu Fei was there too, waiting. “He’s in there. With Kylie.”

              Dorothy’s face dropped. Suddenly, the door opened and Quatre emerged from the room. His head hung low as he staggered into the hallway. He didn’t acknowledge Duo’s hand on his shoulder. In fact, he didn’t seem to be noticing their existence. His face was white and drawn and he seemed to be shaking a little.

              Duo handed him to Dorothy. “Take him to his room,” he said, gently. As he watched the couple went, he spared a sharp glance at Kylie, who was watching them all. His eyes reflected nothing but anger for the girl who had hurt his friend.

              He was still watching them as Heero wheeled her chair passed him. His lips twitched on an angry question.

              “None of your business,” she said, as if sensing the words coming out of his mouth. Her eyes warned him coldly. That was enough to silence him.

>>>@@<<<

               Dorothy helped Quatre to his room. She was deeply concern for him. She was afraid that whatever happened in that room would affect his health. Though he looked fine, the doctor had said that Quatre still had a long way to full recovery.

              Once they were finally in his room, Dorothy was finally able to open her mouth. “Quatre?”

              He looked up. The lost look on his face nearly broke her heart. It was the same look that he had when Kylie was confirmed dead. It was a look that greeted her when he had finally broken through his temporary madness.

              “Dorothy? You’re here?” he said, his voice faint. Then, his face fell into an anguish pain as a sob escaped his lips. He held onto Dorothy. “She… she left me, Dorothy. She left…” he choked, before succumbing into his uncontrollable sorrow.

              Dorothy closed her eyes as she held the crying love of her life.

TO BE CONTINUED…

AUTHOR REPLIES: Since I barely have time to reply all of your kind reviews anymore, I decided to reply them after the chapter. Besides, my dad has been telling me that I’ve spent waaay too much online. He’s threatening me to terminate the service! (No! The horror.) Hope you guys don’t mind.

Ookami Kage: I’m sorry that you’re getting confused. Heero called Sara Kylie because she IS Kylie. Yes, what you hoped for and guessed earlier came true. Be happy about it. The reason Duo’s retiring is because he felt he had failed Deathscythe. However, there is also another reason. Won’t tell you what though ^_^. But thanks for the review. Glad to know how much you love my stories.

Arina Kim: I’m working on the whole language thing. Sara and Kylie related? That’s a good idea but a lot of people want Kylie back so I have to use Sara in this sense. No worry. Still got plenty of OCs to explore, particularly Mylin and Amy (if only I can find the opportunity) Though Heero and Kylie claimed to be married, we all know that they’re actually twins, so that pretty much a ruse. The reason? That’s why we’re here to find out.

X- Calibur: Thanks for reading the story and review it. Hope you’ll keep on reading it.

SilverRocks: Ai! Can’t tell you the end of the story until we reach it *smacks head*. That’ll ruin the surprise. But tell you this though, Shattered Mirrors is almost over. Somewhere in July, I’ll be posting Shattered Walls.

Justin: Actually, I wanted to test if Duo has a serious side in him. And am attempting to use Mylin more than just a minor character. I guess, I just want to try something new. It’s a little hard to include Zechs in the action since he’s one of the prominent pilots in GW universe when all I want to do is highlight the GW boys. Hopefully I can make it work. As for the battle sequence, I am trying to be more descriptive but the story is already long as it is. And I have the knack to explore the emotional part of GW. Maybe in the last battle, I’ll try to concentrate on the battles.

As for Relena, don’t be too heart broken. She is, in fact, one of my favorites. I like her despite what everyone says about her. I’m just twitching things a little bit between her and Heero. The reason? I love breaking people up and matching them again ^_^. Makes things between them even more interesting. Relena-Quatre? Wow! Now that’s a pair. Actually when I saw GW for the first time, I thought it would be possible. The two are so right together. Relena’s strong spirit would complement Quatre’s gentle kindness any day. Sadly, she met Heero first. And most girls always fall for tall, dark and mysterious stranger. Especially a stranger who practically dropped from the skies. I admit, I am one of the suckers but now, I’m divided between that and innocent, beady eyes angels.

Relena-Quatre-Noin? Uh, I don’t know about that.

Meow Cat: He… he… your name betrays your passion for cats. Thanks for the review. Hope you like the new chapter.