After his stunning self-detonating act, Heero Yuy was taken cared of by the pilot of HeavyArms Trowa Barton. When Heero recovered enough to move around, he went searching for the family members of Marshal Noventa. However, instead of retaliation, he apologized to each one of them and even offered his own life in return. Even though they were very sad about the lost of their family, they forgave Heero. Trowa accompanied Heero all the while, and helped distracted the Romefeller spies and agents for Heero. Yes, the Romefeller Foundation decided that since there was no body, the pilot of the destroyed Gundam must still be alive. They had located his whereabouts and tried to capture him, but so far, they were without luck. Though they were unsuccessful, their search prevented the two pilots from leaving the city with the Gundam HeavyArms un-noticed.           "We can't stay here much longer. Sooner or later they will find us." The usually quiet Trowa commented when the two were alone in a warehouse.           "They have their eyes on every single carrier and ship in this city, and all the roads are patrolled." Heero added.           "Maybe if we can steal an Oz carrier for disguise..." Trowa pondered aloud.           "You can use my carrier." The two boys jerked their heads toward the direction of the sound, and Trowa had a gun ready in hand. To their surprise, a young woman dressed in civilian clothing walked in.           "Who are you?" Trowa's green eyes narrowed at the stranger, pointing the gun at her.           "My name is Lucrezia Noin, and I am here to offer my help." She stood before them, oblivious of the weapon in front of her.           "What makes you think we'll accept your help?" Trowa asked.           "I know you will." She smiled.           "What are you offering?" Heero spoke out.           "You're going to trust her, Heero?" Trowa frowned slightly at his comrade.           "If she could stand up for the sake of the colonies before her superior, she sure would not mind playing against the Romefeller." Heero said. "Besides, she is too kind to put her childhood friend in danger."           "So she is the one that spoke out before you committed self-detonation." Trowa looked at Noin carefully.           "Am I really that predictable, Heero?" Noin sighed at Heero's confidence. "How do you know it was me? Weren't you boys fighting at that time?"           "Some thing just doesn't change, and that includes you, Noin." Heero said. "The comm line of the control room wasn't closed, so we could hear every single word you people exchanged. I knew it's you because I heard the pilot of Tallgeese called out your name."           "Zechs?" Now she was surprised. She shrugged and continued. "Speaking of him, I am here to invite you, Heero, to finish the battle between you and Zechs Merquise, pilot of Tallgeese. This has nothing to do with Oz or the Romefeller, and it's strictly personal."           Before Heero could answer, Trowa lowered his gun and spoke. "I'm surprised there still are honest people within Oz. He seems like a good pilot, that Zechs of yours. You are devoted to him, aren't you? With the Romefeller after us Gundam pilots, doing this would get you in big trouble."           Noin smiled sadly and did not reply. Instead she turned to Heero. "What do you say?"           "Take me to him." came a firm reply. * * * * * * * * *           On the way to the battle site, Trowa remained suspicious, but Heero seemed relaxed. He looked out from the carrier window. No one was after them, but Noin and the crew did not let their guard down for even one moment.           Noin noticed his looks and explained. "Romefeller has been following me for weeks now, trying to get hold of some information regarding the Wing Gundam and its pilot. Since both of us are sought after by the Romefeller, we have to keep watching out for their search party, even though it appears uneventful right now."           "That's a wise decision under the circumstances." Trowa nodded. "So Oz does have one elite officer."           "Oz has many outstanding soldiers, but I'm not one of them." Noin only smiled weakly.           The two pilots looked at her questioningly. She sighed and continued. "I've resigned from Oz before I took on this mission. Zechs will be considered a traitor after this by the Romefeller, so he will leave Oz to pursue his own path. I've been planning on leaving Oz for some time, and now seems to be the right time to do so."           "Does he know?" Heero asked.           "No." Noin shook her head. "But that doesn't matter. He is my friend and I will do everything in my power to make sure he gets his wish."           "Sounds like you're ready to die for him." Heero eyed her seriously, at which she only answered with a sad smile.           "Are you ready to die for your childhood friend then?" Trowa asked, still trying to understand the connection between the two.           "You just have to know what's going on between me and Heero, don't you? The answer to your question is yes." Noin chuckled. "I was transferred to a L1 orphanage when I was nine years old. I met Heero there while he was undergoing training. Apparently Dr. J thought he could make Heero into a perfect soldier if he was to have no bond with anyone, that's why he put him in the orphanage."           To Trowa's surprise, the quiet pilot spoke up. "Everyone in the orphanage minded their own business, but it was fine with me to be alone. However, Noin showed up one day and befriended me. I tried to discourage her, but she was stubborn. By that time I was getting bored from the training. I had no competition and therefore didn't find it reason enough to improve myself." Heero's voice trailed off at this point, his eyes looked at Noin's.           Noin picked up the cue and continued. "One day I saw him shooting targets with a water gun. He looked bored so I offered to play against him in a shooting contest and won. Dr. J came to me the next day asking if I would like to join Heero in his training. Just some physical and simulation trainings, of course, and he didn't say anything about a Gundam. The training continued for three years and ended when I left the colony to come to Earth. I had no idea Dr. J was preparing him to pilot a Gundam at that time."           "So you've essentially had three years of Gundam pilot training." Trowa commented.           "She can pilot a Gundam if she wants." Heero said. "She only missed the mechanical and engineering parts of the training, but these can be made up by her studies in military academy."           "Too bad there are only five Gundams, and all five are taken." Trowa said.           "Actually, Dr. J promised Noin that if she could prove herself a worthy soldier, he would..." Before Heero could finish the sentence, a soldier came bursting in.           "Commander... I mean, Miss Noin! We have just detected several enemy carriers heading this way!" The soldier informed.           "Sent out the Aries! I'll take an Aries and distract them. You just keep going to the Antarctic base!" Noin gave out the order and was ready to leave for battle.           "You would not be able to survive several carriers of mobile suits with just one unit of Aries." Trowa looked up at her. "I'll come with you in HeavyArms."           "No, you don't." Noin frowned. "If you do, they would know that we have a Gundam here."           "Not if there's no one left to tell." Trowa replied and walked past her for the hangar.           Noin stared at his back in amazement, wondering about his sudden determination. Heero folded his arms with his eyes shut. "Trowa has made you his friend, Noin. His background does not allow him to have feelings about other people easily, but when he does care about someone, he would do anything as you would."           The battle did not last very long, since no mobile suit troop could resist the showers of bullets from HeavyArms. However, one soldier managed to transmit a message confirming the presence of a Gundam and the traitor Zechs down in Antarctica before his suit was destroyed. The carrier arrived at the Antarctic base without further trouble, but they knew more troops would be sent to arrest them. The crew called Noin Lieutenant in the presence of the masked ace pilot Zechs Merquise, so he did not know of her resignation from Oz yet.           "I've brought Heero Yuy, pilot of the Gundam Wing, as you requested." Noin saluted.           "Thank you, Noin." Zechs nodded. He turned to the boy and extended a hand. Heero hesitated a few seconds before reaching out and shook his hand. "I don't do this very often, but I do have that much respect for you." The blond soldier said.           "Same here. I've never done this with anyone before." was Heero's reply.           On their way to the hangar of the base, Zechs started. "Is Heero Yuy your real name?"           "Is Zechs Merquise yours?" Heero just shot the question back at him.           Zechs nodded. "You're right. Names do not matter in the battle that's to be taken place between us."           As soon as they entered the hangar, Heero and Trowa were stunned by the sight of Wing standing before them. "Do you like it?" The deep voice of Zechs sounded behind them.           Heero surveyed the restored Gundam and turned to Zechs. "Yes, and I will thank you by defeating you." The masked man smiled at the boy's gratitude, while Noin and Trowa looked at each other in silence.           The battle was to take place the next morning. When Trowa went to the assigned resting area, he found Heero deep in thought. "What's wrong?"           "Trowa, I need to ask you a favour." Heero looked at his fellow Gundam pilot seriously. "Can I use HeavyArms in tomorrow's battle?"           Trowa was a bit surprised, but he did not show it. He asked calmly. "Aren't you going to use Wing?"           "I don't feel I can fight Zechs when he is this generous to me."           Trowa only nodded. "I understand. I'll do some modifications on HeavyArms for you."           "Thanks." Heero could only say this before the other boy left the room. * * * * * * * * *           The crisp cold Antarctic morning found two mobile suits standing motionless on the ice field, ready to strike at a moment's notice. The control room of the headquarter was full of people, there to witness a sorrowful battle fought out by two great pilots. Noin did not bother to put on her military uniform since Zechs was not around. She leaned against the wall without watching the fight on the display screen, her eyes shut tight with worry and sadness. Trowa was standing at the opposite wall, staring at the floor instead of the monitor.           "This is meaningless." The pilot of HeavyArms suddenly spoke out.           Noin looked up at the boy across the room. "It is a meaningless battle for us, but they need this battle to find themselves again. After Lady Une's threat to destroy the colonies and Heero's self-destructive act, both of them had lost their reasons to keep going. Zechs fights so he can find his spirit. I'm sure Heero feels the same so he accepted the challenge."           Trowa stood up straight. "Three hours is long enough for them to find whatever they are looking for. Continuing the battle would not help them. I am going to stop the meaningless fight."           He proceeded to leave the control room, but Noin intercepted him. "What are you planning to do? You can't go there in the middle of a fierce battle in an Aries."           "I'll just have Heero return my favour then." He left for the hangar storing Wing.           As soon as Trowa left, Noin noticed an approaching aircraft on the radar. She located it and found out it was Relena Peacecraft's private jet. Noin frowned and contacted the jet.           "Noin?" Relena did not expect to see her dressed as civilian, but she quickly regained composure. "Noin, I have greatly misunderstood you. I can't believe you're allowing this to happen. Where are Heero and Colonel Zechs?" She demanded sternly.           "Relena." Noin saluted her. "You may be right about misunderstanding me, but I believe in Colonel Zechs. I am not going to let anything stand in his way."           Before Noin could say any more, the jet arrived at the battle scene. Relena ordered the two pilots to stop fighting at once, but to no avail. Zechs only beat up HeavyArms all the more to show her the brutality and mercilessness of wars and battles. Furious, she cried out to Heero. "Heero, defeat that man!"           "Relena!" Her order was immediately rebuked by a stern and harsh call from Noin. She looked at the raven-haired woman on the screen with wide and startled eyes. Noin looked back at her sadly. "Relena, whatever you do, you shouldn't do something as horrible as wishing for the death of your own brother."           "My... brother?" Relena was shocked at Noin's words. "He is... Miliardo?"           Time seemed to freeze at that moment as the true identity of the masked pilot Zechs Merquise was revealed. Tallgeese stopped retaliating as its pilot was seized by a mixed feeling of shame, anger, and sorrow. Wing suddenly appeared on the cliff overlooking the suits.           "Heero and Zechs, can you hear me? Troops sent by the Romefeller are heading this way, and to my estimation, there are about 100 suits. That would be 30 suits for each of us." Trowa said inside the Gundam Wing.           "No. I'll take on all 100 of them." Zechs suddenly exclaimed. "Get out of here while I distract them."           "What?" Both boys were taken off guard by his determination. "No, Zechs!" Heero called out inside HeavyArms, knowing very well that he would have to surrender if he faced the troops alone.           "Noin, please evacuate the base and get Relena to safety." Zechs gave out orders calmly.           "Zechs! You can't fight by yourself! Let me fight with you!" Noin protested.           "Noin." Zechs sighed, his voice tinged with sadness. "Treize called me this morning. You are not an Oz soldier anymore. If they catch you, you'll be executed right away. I can't have you risking your life for me like this." Seeing the distressed face of Noin on the screen, he said softly. "Noin, please understand and get yourself and Relena to safety. I'll surrender myself once everyone is safely distanced from here."           Noin's deep blue eyes locked with Zechs' ice blue orbs for a brief second, then she shut her eyes and replied with a lowered head. "I understand. I'll do as you asked." She saw resolution in his eyes and knew that he had found a focus to protect and fight for. She also knew that she and Zechs would be separated after this moment for a long time, if not forever. "Good bye, Zechs." She murmured under her breath.           After seeing Trowa scooped HeavyArms away in Wing's bird mode and making sure Noin had gotten everyone to safety, Zechs smiled to himself sadly, mentally saying good-bye to his best friend. He turned Tallgeese around and shot out like a flash of lightning toward the coming Romefeller troops. "Glory to all the colonies!!" ~to be continued~

Author's Note: Aww... Noin and Zechs are really separated now, and they won't meet again until sometime later in the story :( One large chunk of the puzzle is spelled out in this chapter as the relationship between Noin and Heero is revealed. You're shocked, aren't you?^^ Yes, that's why Noin knew how to pilot a MS when she first arrived on Earth and beat two students, and that explains why Noin is better at some things than many people. There is also a foreshadowing in here concerning a certain mobile suit... If you've been paying attention, you'd have picked up little hints regarding the same thing and know what I am talking about. It will happen. Just wait and see. All remarks and comments are loved by me. Please be generous and tell me what you think^^ ~Handsome Puppy~