Disclaimer:  Gundam Wing isn't mine.  I don't own the characters but Karen.

Chapter six:

"Fine," He took out some papers "but no interruptions or bawling or you're gone.  Understood."

The girls nodded.

"Lets begin then." 'Damn It! I didn't want them to hear this.'

Karen stiffened when she saw the papers.  She could already guess that they contained, her background or what he could find at least.  She felt Duo lean in towards her and saw Quatre's smile.  'Oy I'm going to regret this.  Why did I tell him? Why?' 

Quatre couldn't help but notice how protective Duo was of Karen.  She appeared to be expecting the worst. Not that he could ask her why.  Heero had already started.

"Who is Death Strike?"   

"Death Strike is a gang created by one man who would take in those left over from the war or those that just wanted revenge for something.  Soon it built up to an army and is now a league that remains well hidden to all except those that have received a warning.  Such as you all."

"Why did they come after us?" asked Quatre.

"The war is over but their souls still remain in those times.  They don't like the idea of peace.  The person that created them, trained them hard but only a few. Some couldn't take it."

"What do you mean?"  Trowa leaned towards her.

Before Karen could answer Heero input one of his own discoveries into a question.  "You were one of those that were trained weren't you?"  Everyone looked at her and him waiting.  Heero then told them of the injuries that he had found out from the report. 

Karen answered indifferently but kept her eyes focused on nothing and hazed almost as if she were remembering.  "Yes, I was one of those trained.  Those chosen were supposedly stronger but they were all older so they put in me.  While the others died one by one, only two remaining, another and myself, we were put to the test of everything.  Refusing to act was not highly looked on or even considered.  You refused you were shot on the spot..."

Relena gasped and cover her mouth.  Duo curled his fist in anger.  All the others were silent.  Karen continued, "The training consisted of various things.  One you were put into a room with a million soldiers who could use anything against you from clubs to guns.  This was a game where you ran for your life.  If you made it to the designated spot you lived.  If not..." She didn't finish.  Relena looked like she was going to cry.  "Hence the injuries or some of them.  Another was almost the same but here they tried to run you down.  Then hand to hand combat.  These were not games where you get a booboo you're out.  No you get a booboo everyone went after you."

"But didn't the ones with you help out?" Relena asked worriedly. 

"No," Karen glared in her direction.  "this was not a 'one for all and all for one' if you dropped for any reason you died by all.  Of course didn't help that you could trip and end up getting stampeded too."

"Huh?"

"It was near a forest that this was done.  On a path that you must take to get to where you wanted.  You couldn't really go to the sides because it was a sheer drop on either side.  You could wait to die or die right there."

"Why would they choose to die after all, they got in the league themselves, right?"

Karen started laughing bitterly, "Oh didn't I tell you most of those people were kidnapped orphans."

Everyone froze.  Wufei let out a cry of outrage, Relena tried to stifle her cries afraid Heero would make her leave, Sally buried her face into her hands, Trowa glared at her, Heero was growling, Quatre was mad and ashamed that people like that were actually still alive, Duo was quiet. 

Trowa switched his gaze to Duo.  "You knew?"  Duo nodded; he reached out and touched Karen on her arm, looking at Trowa.  Karen was looking at him, her face a blank but her eyes said something different.  "You were one of them?" Trowa asked.

She nodded.

"That's not true!!" wailed Relena.  "Karen, you were never an orphan." 

"Relena!" Karen yelled.

"You weren't!" she insisted, "You were always there with me!"

"What do you mean?" Duo asked not liking where this was going. 'Is this what she meant with she had more to tell."

Karen sighed and glared at Relena. "I suppose I should explain."  "Please." Quatre leaned in to hear her.  "First of all Relena, my name is Karen, ...but Dorlain was not my last name.  I was not related to you in any way."  Gasps all around, eyes shifting from Karen to Relena and back.  Duo was in shock, "Is this what you meant?"

Both girls nodded not sure whom he was asking.  Relena nodded as if to explain why she had threatened anyone, Heero, if any harm came to Karen.  Karen because of her earlier conversation with him in the gym when she told him that there was more to tell.

 Heero looked at Relena waiting.  She weakly smiled knowing what they wanted.  "When I was with the Dorlains I was alone, always alone.  Then one day, when I was like five, my father told me that I had a sister who was away traveling.  He was going to pick her up at the airport the next day and wanted to know if I wanted to go.  Naturally I said yes.  When we got there she walked up to us.  Karen was a little older than me..."

"By a year."

"Still.  Anyway we grew up playing and always together than you just suddenly disappeared.  Father sent everyone out to look for you and...we never found you." 

Karen snorted.  "Of course you never found me."

"So you mean you do remember me?" Relena asked hopefully.

"...Yes."  Relena squealed and threw her arms around Karen.  Karen went rigged and sat still, not touching her.  Relena backed away, "I don't understand."

"Why should I risk getting too close to you when something is bound to happen."

"No.  Karen I can't afford to lose you again."

"Careful sis or you're going to make your boy angry." Sending a glance at Heero.  She turned to look at Duo who was just staring at her in disbelief and a little mad.  She groaned.  'Why?' 

"Karen, where did you go?"

She looked into the blond girl's eyes.  She sighed, "Relena, do you remember the last time you saw me?"

"Yes, we were playing tag when you said you'd race me to the house.  Why?"

"No reason."

"Is there something you're not saying?" murmured Duo.

She stayed quiet.

"I have a question."  Quatre interrupted.  "Could you explain the electric burns, the trauma, and the concussion, please?"

"Sure, I received the concussion when I fell on the path..."

"How weak can you be when you got one falling down?  You are lucky you aren't dead from what you told us."  Suspicion written in Wufei's face.

"...And over the side and for your information I was eight at the time.  The only reason I wasn't dead was because this was not during a test.  It was during my attempted escape."

That got Heero's attention.  He was wondering why she had never gotten away if she was the best.  "So what happened?"

"I blew it.  I was still going through training and I was the most rebellious one on the force.  I did what I had to do to survive but I refused to follow most orders.  One night I snuck out of my cell and made it outside.  To get to the other side where I could get help and be free I had to cross the path they made us do every test day and this time instead of turning at the wall blockade I had to go over it.  I never made it that far...as soon as I stepped onto the path ground the alarms went off.  Seems someone missed me and went to check on their prized sheep to see if it was still there.  Guess what?  I wasn't and now I had to run for my life.  I made it halfway, running from the dogs they had released, when one of the jeeps came barring down the road.  One of the dogs jumped at me.  I jumped to the side to dodge it at the same time the car increased speed..."

"Oh my god..." was all Sally could get out.  They all listened almost entranced.  Duo as mad as he was about the whole thing, gripped Karen's hand to offer comfort.    

"I threw myself to the side into the dirt, unfortunately for me I started to slide down to the edge and there was nothing for me to grab.  I went over and skidded down.  Rocks scratching at me, drawing blood, my clothes getting torn and doing nothing to protect me; somewhere sometime while I was falling I hit my head on a rock.  I blacked out and later told that I was found at the bottom surprisingly still alive."

"And the burns?" Quatre quietly asked.

"I woke up in the lab..."

"Lab?" ask Trowa.

"The lab was where they torture the cadets that were still not broken in."  Karen paled.  "I was first there when I managed to break from my chains and used them as weapons on anyone that came near me on my first test day.  I got the fire burns there.  They heated up a poker and...well lets just say they didn't care that my screams vibrated the walls."

Wufei's eyes narrowed.

"Anyway as I was saying I woke up there.  I was locked into a chamber, more like a metallic wheel.  I had my hands spread and raised at two and ten.  My legs at five and seven."

"What?"

"She means the numbers on a clock Relena."  Quatre explained.

"Oh."

"I was contained by metal clasps that trapped my wrists and hands also clasps around my ankles.  They had removed my clothes except for the bandages covering my chest and underwear."

"So they knew you were a girl?"

"Just the medical personal, the top chief, and one other that found out by mistake."

"How bad was the mistake?"

"Cost him his life."

The girls' mouths dropped. The guys looked at her with shock except Heero.

She cleared her throat and continued getting more uneasy and pale by the minute.  "The top chief doesn't take chances.  He goes all out.  So when he found out what had happened and that I had survived he decided to put me through a test when I woke up.  Once I did it made me wish I had never opened my eyes.  He ordered that I receive jolt after jolt of electricity.  Only when I passed out did they stop and check to see if I was alive.  Stupidly I was."

"No way!" yelled Duo seething.  "There is no way you could survive that!"

"Calm down it probably didn't last long."  Wufei voiced.

"It took three hours."

"What?!" It was Wufei's turn to jump to his feet in anger.

"Well you didn't expect them to just give me maximum bolt did you?  No they started from the bottom up."

Relena almost fainted from all she heard.  Sally was frozen.  Trowa too.  Quatre was surprised and he felt sick.  Duo and Wufei were pist as hell.  While Heero remained indifferent; he already knew to what extreme most training went.

"And the trauma?"

"Enough!!!!" shouted Duo.  "I refuse to let you ask her anything else about her past right now.  Stop making her relive it!!!"  Sally took in the pale texture that Karen had and her eyes looked hazed and unfocused.  She looked much older and tired.  Duo grabbed Karen's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Hey!"

"Come on!" he dragged her out of the room to the stairs heading straight to his room. 

"I think everyone got carried away." Quatre said.  "Sally, please take me back to my room.  I want to rest."

She nodded and moved to do it when Trowa took hold of the wheelchair handles and started to wheel him out of the room.  She smiled gratefully.  "Heero, take Relena to her room please."  He nodded and gently probed her to move then lead her out.

Wufei still didn't move to enraged to even think.  He was mad more on the fact that they had done that to a girl and that he even cared.  'Injustice!'

"Wufei?"

"There is no way she could have gone through that."

"Well most girls aren't as weak as they look."

"But she was a kid."

"Then maybe she had a reason not to give up."

"Maybe."  Wufei left the room to mad to even think straight.  He knew Sally was bound to ask more questions and he didn't want to answer any of them. 

AN:  So-o what do you think?  I'm not all that sure on this chapter because I feel that I could have probably done better.  Problem, nothing was really coming to me so I made this from scratch.  Hopefully its ok and that it held your attention and that you enjoyed reading it.  I know it's confusing and who would have thought that Relena and Karen were close to being related.  But what happened to them?  And what the heck is up with Wufei?  Is he acting strange, anyone else think he's acting strange because I do...but then again I already know why.  *Grin* Ciao.