Arys jerked forward in her harness as the dolls following her fired their beam rifles at her. She did not want to fight back and was hoping that Zechs would order them to retreat. But they didn't.

"He wants to kill me..." Arys reached for the Zero System activation button, but her hand trembled as she did so. She turned her head away from it, remembering that horrible voice. "I can't. I need to remain in control of my emotions."

Looks like we're going to have to take out these guys without help, Silverwind.

Arys smiled as she twisted her hand, causing her Gundam to turn around. "That's just fine with me."

Fire up the beam emitters.

Arys had her Gundam raise its hands and an eerie yellow light glowed from the open palms. A sphere of energy began to build up within the cup of the Gundam's hands. Arys scanned the radar blips on the screen in front of her, waiting for the right moment. She saw it, closed her eyes.

The Archangel released the building energy in a golden beam of destruction. It shot from the Gundam's hands in a devastating show of power that ripped through three of the mobile dolls. They disintegrated. The remaining two dolls hovered for a few moments, apparently trying to analyze this new weapon. Arys had to laugh.

The Archangel whipped out one beam saber from a shoulder sheath and shot forward, straight for the two hapless mobile dolls. The saber put a precise slit down the middle in each of them. The Gundam blasted away.

Arys' early warning system bleeped at her. She glanced down at the screen and saw that there were ten more Virgos heading straight for her.

"Great. Just great."

Arys toggled through the frequencies available on her comm system until she came to the one that identified the Peacemillion. She punched the transmit switch and then immediately put her hands to the flightsticks as the ten dolls converged on her all at once.

"Peacemillion, this is Arys Walker. I wish to defect. I am under attack. Request assistance. I repeat, Peacemillion, this is Arys Walker. I wish to defect. I am under attack. Request assistance."

____________

"Hey, Heero! It's Arys! She's coming in her Gundam!" Duo's voice echoed through the hallways of the Peacemillion.

Heero sighed as he sat up from his bunk in his quarters. That Duo. He had no sense of protocol. Heero sprinted up to the control bridge. Arys must have regained her memory somehow. Soon, he would see her again. He burst into the room to find all the other crew members gathered around the front viewscreen.

Noin looked up when Heero walked in. "She's under attack. And she's in a new Gundam."

Heero watched the viewscreen and saw the Gundam. It zipped in and out of the fray with the ease of a hawk, probably due to the wings on its back. It was a uniquely designed Gundam, and it barely had a scratch. But it would not be able to hold its own for long. It looked like Zechs was trying to overwhelm Arys with mobile dolls.

"She's got ten more mobile dolls heading for her position now. She's requesting assistance"

Over the din of the proximity alarms, Heero could hear Arys' voice coming in over the comm system. "Peace...., this is Arys Wal... ...wish to defect....."

"Whoa! What kind of weapon is that? It's like she's got a buster rifle built into the Gundam's hands!" Duo exclaimed excitedly.

Three of the dolls disappeared as they were struck by a deadly beam of energy. Heero glanced at Trowa. The tall pilot looked impressed.

"Trowa, go help her. Use the Zero."

"What?" Duo asked, a surprised expression on his face. "I thought you would..."

"Shut up, Duo." Heero cut him off. His gaze settled back on Trowa. "Will you help her, Trowa?"

Trowa nodded. "I'll go." He left the bridge, his stride quickening as soon as he reached the door.

Duo looked slightly miffed at Heero, so Quatre asked the question instead. "Why, Heero?"

Heero watched Arys' Gundam swoop about the screen above him. "Both Trowa and Arys have lost their memories. Arys has regained hers. She might be able to help him."

_____________

Arys was relieved when the Zero showed up to help her out. But she was surprised when an unfamiliar face showed up on her comm screen instead of Heero's.

"Arys Walker, I'm here to help you."

Arys was getting tired of using her saber and her beam emitters so she resorted to using her Shiv rifle. As she fired the half-discs at the enemy, Arys spoke, "Heero sent you?"

"Yes. My name is Trowa Barton. I... I've lost my memory, but I still know how to pilot a Gundam."

Arys suddenly realized why Heero had sent Trowa to help her. As a mobile doll in front of her exploded into shards of metal, her Gundam leaped backward, reorienting so that she was looking at the Zero.

"Use the Zero System, Trowa. It will give you your memory back. I must warn you though. It might not be pleasant."

"Understood." The Zero's eyes flashed green, and Arys backed away. She did not want to become a target for the Zero. She knew that inexperienced Zero System pilots were not always able to handle the system as well as she did.

As the Zero took her place in the battle, Arys continued heading for the Peacemillion,... and Heero.

"Arys, are you okay?" It was Heero's voice.

Arys smiled as she thumbed on her comm system. His face appeared on the viewscreen. "I'm fine, Heero. And I believe that when Trowa returns, he'll be the Trowa you once knew." Her eyes softened as she studied his face. "I remember you now," She whispered, her voice husky with emotion.

Heero did not smile, but she could see the light in his eyes. "You're set to land in cargo bay one." Then, he gave her a gentle smile, and her heart skipped a beat. "I'll meet you there."

Arys monitored the battle going on behind her and realized that the mobile dolls were retreating. The Zero hovered where it was and watched them leave. Soon, Arys found herself almost right on top of the Peacemillion. A track of lights shot from one of the cargo bays and Arys followed them in smoothly. The bright white of the cargo bay was a welcome change from the subdued darkness of outer space. She drifted forward until she saw a dark-haired woman waving two tracking lights at her. Arys followed the lights into a holding unit and set the Archangel down on its feet. It landed with a thunk.

Thank you, Silverwind.

Arys popped open the cockpit hatch and walked out onto the platform. She grabbed the haul line and slid down it, landing solidly on her feet. Heero stepped forward from where he had been waiting. Arys gazed at him for a moment, taking in the expression in his eyes. She did not even notice the other pilots watching the couple curiously.

"Hey," Heero said softly.

Arys smiled as she met him. He took her hands in his.

"Hey, yourself," She replied, squeezing his hands tightly.

He released her hands and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I missed you."

"I know. I'm sorry," Arys whispered as he gently kissed her.

The kiss gradually deepened as Heero poured out all the grief he had been harboring over the past month and a half. His arms went around her in a tight embrace that Arys was helpless to escape. The emotions whirling through her were almost overwhelming as she pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, desperately trying to stay on her feet.

"Aww... how sweet..." Duo said in a high sugary voice. He turned to the others watching. "Don't you all just think this is so sweet?"

Arys broke off the kiss, and Heero gave her a disappointed look. He looked so much like a lost puppy that Arys had to smother a laugh.

"I wasn't finished..." He began.

Arys put a finger to his lips. "Shh... Hold on a sec."

Turning in Heero's arms, she glared at Duo. "Shut up, Duo."

Duo's mouth pulled into a pout. "It's times like this I wish Hilde was around."

Arys ignored Duo and turning Heero's face toward hers with a slender hand, she kissed him again. Heero closed his eyes and sighed contentedly.

Duo threw up his hands, exasperated. "That's the second time someone's told me to shut up today. Let's go, you guys." He had to smile as he motioned to where Arys and Heero still stood locked in each other's arms. "These two lovebirds need some time alone."

Quatre, Wufei, Sally, and Noin followed Duo toward the door. Sally and Noin stopped in the doorway to glance back at the couple.

"Who is she, Noin?"

"Arys Walker. She's been through as much as Heero has." Noin smiled. "They're perfect for each other."

"Do you think we'll ever find someone, Noin?"

Noin chuckled. "I've already found mine, Sally. But I'm afraid I don't know about you."

Sally's gaze followed the three retreating Gundam pilots. Her gaze settled on one particular Chinese pilot. "Hmm... Maybe I have found mine. We'll see."

__________

Arys and Heero were still standing in front of her Gundam when Trowa finally came back with the Zero. He hopped down to the ground and walked over to them. He tapped Heero on the shoulder.

"Heero?"

Heero raised his head to look at Trowa. Arys gave Trowa a mishievous look and ran her fingers through Heero's dark hair. It flopped over his eyes, making him look like he had just woken up.

"Uh, hi, Trowa." Heero blinked at him, like a man who had just come out into the sunlight after spending too long in a dark prison. He looked nothing like a prisoner though. In fact, there was a dreamy look on his face. "Is your memory back?"

"Yeah." Trowa smiled wearily. The Zero System had taken a lot out of him. He had seen many things that he never wanted to see again. He grinned for real when he saw an irritated look appear on Heero's face. Obviously, Heero didn't welcome the interruption. He had never seen Heero like this. It was very amusing. "Thanks to you and this young lady here."

Arys tapped Heero on the nose. "Aren't you going to introduce me, Yuy?"

Heero glanced at her, slightly confused. "Huh? Oh yeah. Trowa, this is Arys Walker. She's my... my..." Heero couldn't seem to get the word out. His concentration had been broken when Arys laid her head on his shoulder.

"Girlfriend?" Trowa finished for him.

Heero nodded. "Yeah, that's the word." He gave Arys a mock-glare as she lifted her head from his shoulder, laughter filling her gray eyes. "Arys, that's so distracting when I'm trying to talk sensibly to someone else."

"Why do you think I'm doing it?" Arys grinned at him saucily. "Not many people get to hear you talk nonsense, you know."

A semi-serious look swept over Heero's face when he glanced at Trowa. "Excuse me, while I teach her a lesson." He sounded angry, but Trowa could see the teasing glint in his eyes.

"Sure." Trowa walked away, hearing Heero and Arys laughing behind him.

__________

Trowa made his way to the Peacemillion's command center. He finally remembered all those who were gathered around the radar screen. It was a wonderful feeling. He had been feeling a little left out lately as the other pilots reminisced about different events that he could not remember.

"Hey, Trowa!" Duo noticed his arrival first. "You sure cleared out those dolls!"

"Are Heero and Arys still down there?" Noin asked.

"Yeah." Trowa rolled his eyes. "They're still down there."

Noin sighed. "I think we're going to have a problem with those two."

Duo grinned. "As long as you stick them both in suits equipped with a Zero System, there shouldn't be any problems."

Quatre noticed something different about Trowa right away. "You've... you've got your memory back!"

"How'd you guess?" Trowa allowed a hint of a smile to touch his lips.

Quatre shrugged, giving Trowa one of his friendly grins. "I can just tell."

"Quatre, do you think you can go down to cargo bay one and drag Arys and Heero up here?"

Quatre hesitated, and Duo jumped in for him.

"I'll go!" Duo ran out the door.

Five minutes later, Duo showed up on the bridge again with Arys and Heero in tow.

"Good of you two to join us," Noin said sternly. "I know that you're both very happy to see each other again, but we've got a war to fight here."

Both Arys and Heero looked sheepish. They nodded in agreement, and both attempted to put serious looks on their faces. But every time they looked at each other, they had to stifle a laugh. They resorted to looking away from each other. Noin sighed, slightly annoyed with them. She turned to the viewscreen.

"All right, now that we've got that settled. Let's get down to business." Noin pointed to the radar grid projected on the viewscreen.

____________

To be continued...