Disclaimer: I'm sure, by now, that we've all come to the realization that Gundam Wing does not belong to us, the fans. And I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who makes ZERO, ZILCH, NADA profits off the fanfics I writeso I ask you, is it really necessary to repeat it again? Didn't think so!

Author's Note: Well, here we are again! My usual thank you going out to those of you still reading and reviewing. You make it all worth while! For those of you that may have missed Episode 8, you should definitely go back and read it, you may be a little lost otherwise. For those of you who did catch it, more secrets will be revealedso sit tight and hold on to something, this might be a bumpy ride!

Pain...

It was dull, even distant at first.

But gradually, almost subconsciously, it began to surface.

He could sense eyes, watching him, carefully scrutinizing even the slightest of movements from somewhere close by. He recognized the familiar sound of feet shuffling, and mentally allowed his senses to take over.

His training would give him the edge he needed, making it possible for him to regain consciousness, without any outward signs that he had; and as the unknown figure drew closer, he was prepared to retaliate.

She couldn't help but study the handsome face before her, feeling the slightest tinge of regret, as she noticed fresh blood seeping from the wound on his forehead.

Sadly, she had managed to find out very little about the young man since she had rendered him unconscious. Having mainly concerned herself with tending to his previous, and now reopened, injuries, she had been both shocked and surprised to find a small handgun concealed beneath his shirt, tucked, inconspicuously, inside the waistband of his blue jeans. Contemplating the reason why someone his age would need to be carrying a gun, she had decided it was a question better left unanswered...at least for the time being.

She stopped briefly to examine him again, silently hoping that she hadn't aggravated his injuries further in her little sneak attack, when she thought she saw his eyelids flutter.

Convincing herself that she had imagined it, she shook off her apprehension and moved over to kneel beside him. She was just about to press a clean cloth to the wound to stop the bleeding, when in a blur of movement, his eyes flew open and he forcefully caught her hand, mere inches from his face.

"Woah...Hold it! Take it easy!" She screamed, her eyes pinched shut in expectation of the attack that, surprisingly, didn't follow.

Instead, she felt the vice-like grip on her wrist loosen, as his quick motion took its toll, causing him obvious pain.

She took the opportunity to push back, safely distancing herself, despite the overwhelming concern for his well being. She could only imagine the mental pep talk he was giving himself as she stood by, watching helplessly.

He felt like he was on fire, the stabbing pull in his side intensifying with each breath he took. He knew the girl was watching, and struggled to work the pain from his body, convincing himself that he could show no weakness. A moment later, and his mask was back in place.

"You okay?.." The girl asked, her voice, a bit more shaky than she would have preferred. "I'm sorry I hit you...I thought you were one of the guys who grabbed my sister. Figured maybe you came back to finish me off..."

Whatever she had planned on saying next was lost to her as Heero's sudden movement forced her to take a few additional steps back. She observed him in silence as he rose to his feet, committing his slow, guarded movements to memory.

"You know, it seems to me that somebody went through quite a bit of trouble stitching you back together there." She commented, dryly, nudging a wary glance toward the smears of blood staining the left sleeve of his shirt. "I re-bandaged it while you were out, but it really wouldn't hurt to take better care of yourself, you know."

Heero followed the direction of her glare, before turning to resume the search she had interrupted, acknowledging her statement with a quiet, "Hn."

"My name is Beth....Are you a soldier or something? You look kind of familiar."

He ignored her, intent on rummaging through what little remained intact of his mentor's lab; memorizing each spec and blueprint, as well as every scrap of information about the potential weapons installed in the enemy Gundam.

"So you got a name, or should I...." Beth continued, until her incessant chattering was cut short by
Heero's short-tempered retort.

"You talk too much."

"And you don't talk enough, so what's your point?" Beth replied, evenly, as she made her way up behind him. "And while we're on the subject, Mr. Talkative, is there something I can help you find, 'cause I really don't appreciate you rifling through all this stuff"

He didn't answer her, his thoughts consumed with trying to make sense of the tattered blueprint of Dasenya's Gundam.

...Gundam Avenger... He thought to himself, as the name at the top of the design, caught his eye. He seemed to remember hearing the old man mention it before, though it seemed like little more than a dream now. Certainly not the monster that he had encountered on L2.

He had just finished the thought, as Beth's voice reached his ears.

"That's it!" She yelled, viewing the blueprint from over his shoulder. "I knew it....you're Heero Yuy, that Gundam pilot!..."

Before the idea could fully register in her mind, the young pilot had quickly jumped to his feet, spinning to confront her, with weapon in hand. She felt the smile leave her face as an icy glare that could only mean death, clouded the surface of his eyes.

"I say we go after him!" Duo suggested, doing his best to conceal the concern under his typical, well-worn guise of enthusiasm.

"But we don't even know where he went..." Trowa argued.

"Well, we can't just stand here and do nothing, Trowa." Quatre said, softly.

"Heero is doing exactly what he's always done...following his emotions." Trowa stated, calmly. "I've never known them to lead him down the wrong path."

"But in his condition, it's just too dangerous..."

"Heero can take care of himself." Trowa finished, somberly, placing his hand on Quatre's shoulder. "Besides, we have our own problems to deal with."

"You're right, Trowa." Noin agreed, as though standing as judge and jury over the Gundam pilots' debate. "Heero was fully convinced that Dasenya was preparing to attack again"

"Yeah, but it's not like Heero to run from a fight, so he probably went after her on his own." Duo replied, shaking his head in obvious disapproval.

"Heero wouldn't go into this without knowing exactly what it was he'd be up against. He's way too thorough to jump into things with out a plan of attack." Trowa declared. "What we should be doing now is figuring out what we're going to do in the meantime?"

"You mean if Heero doesn't make it back before she attacks?" Noin asked, though it sounded more like a statement, than anything.

"Exactly."

"Well, we fight her, what else?" Duo answered, boldly.

"It's not that simple, Duo." Quatre replied. "We don't have any idea what her mobile suit is capable of. Heero is the only one of us who fought her, remember"

"So we avoid direct contact with her Gundam...." Duo answered, quickly. "The odds are still in our favor three to one. We've just got to play it smarter this time."

"That would be fine if it was only the Gundam we were facing, but what about the rest of the mobile suits. It's pretty unlikely that she wouldn't bring more reinforcements this time." Trowa added, quietly.

"So what are you suggesting we do? We can't just turn tail and run, not with the whole colony at stake." Duo argued, raising yet another valuable point.

The room fell silent as the pilots, Noin, and Sally sat lost in thought.

"There's no easy answer on this one." Sally stated, finally. "Now it comes down to what's in your hearts. We risk everything whether we stay or go...."

"So we might as well go down fighting." Duo finished, adamantly, giving a thought to the one constant that they had managed to maintain in the course of the war.

...Well, Deathscythe, old buddy, looks like we got one more losing battle on our hands....

The words tumbled endlessly inside her head as she stared up at the mechanical beast dubbed Avenger.

....VARGAS, huh?... Dasenya questioned silently, gently chiding herself for not studying the suit and it's system better before attempting to pilot it.

She turned to pace the platform, anxiously awaiting her comrade's return to the base. Undoubtedly, she would have questions concerning the suit. Questions that she now had answers for.

She quietly dismissed the guard stationed by the main lift controls, eager to escape the prying eyes of her subordinates.

Somewhere deep in the pit of her stomach, the energy surged, reminding her of the moment when Avenger and Wing Zero had collided. At that moment, a new existence for battle had been born in her, emerging with the raw intensity brought on by her enemy.

She smiled as the thought of facing him again, surfaced in her mind.

....What did you learn of me, Heero Yuy?... She pondered to herself, as her eyes met those of the cold, metal monster before her. ...What other secrets do you hold, I wonder?....

"Was it something I said?" Beth asked, jokingly, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender, silently berating herself for not disarming him when she had the chance.

She swallowed hard, attempting to rid her throat of the constricting lump that had suddenly formed there while struggling to meet the feverish intensity burning in Heero's eyes.

"Who are you?" He questioned, harshly.

"Look, I already told you, my name is Beth. My grandfather was Julian Vargas" She answered, nervously, noticing, with some displeasure, that he didn't seem to be eased by her answer. "Dr. J?"

She noticed his eyes shift slightly, and took it as a sign of recognition to her grandfather's well known alias.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, after a moment, his distrusting features taking on his best 'convince me' expression.

"I've been hiding out here ever since the attack. I figured that once they got Aly they wouldn't risk coming back here. But when I saw you poking around over there, I was positive that they had come back for me, too."

He took the opportunity to size up the young and equally reckless youth, with an eye of curiosity, if not intrigue. She appeared to be telling the truth, from what he could tell, but that wasn't really a surprise considering she was staring down the barrel of a gun.

He hadn't really bothered to notice her before, but looking her over head-to-toe now, he figured her to be about 12 years old.

"Why come after you? You're just a kid...they would never consider you a threat on your own." He stated, monotonously.

"I'm not that young...." She yelled, defensively. "I got you, didn't I?"

"Hn...." He replied with a slight smirk, before lowering his weapon.

She breathed an audible sigh of relief as he tucked his gun away, and even turned his back to her.

He stepped over to what remained of Dr. J's computer, now just a broken heap of shattered glass and twisted circuitry laying on the floor.

"What were they looking for exactly?" Heero asked, examining the remains as though pondering whether or not it could be salvaged.

"This." She answered, smugly, digging into her jacket pocket.

He turned as light reflected across the surface of the small, copper-colored computer disk that she now held in her hand.

She could see the curiosity in his eyes, and could hardly contain her enthusiasm as she held it up for him to see.

"VARGAS....."

Ooooooh! Don't you just love it when things finally start falling into place. Hehehehehehehee! It's coming together nicelyI hope you're all enjoying it. Won't be long now. Oh, and if you think I'm done with the actionWoah, BABY! You ain't seen nothin' yet. Episode 10 marks the return of you know whoWill Heero make it back in time to help the others fight off Dasenya? You'll have to wait and find out!