Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Not as it seems ❯ Chapter one ( Chapter 2 )

Title: Not as it seems

Anime: Gundam Wing

Rating: pg13

Pairings: ? it's a surprise! You'll have to wait & review & then I'll tell you ^_^

Author: gundam06serenity

Summary: One mission, that's all it took, one mission to change it all. He thought he'd been seeing things when he was visiting L2, after all, greif can do that to you. But then, he sees him again at an Oz base...His whole life's been spent trying to avenge him, but, now he's back, and the cause, everything he forced himself to believe in, is falling apart... His team dont know him, dont trust his judgement, he can't trust the doctors, he doesnt know if he made the right decision...When it gets down to it, who will he choose? His so-called friends & team-mates, or his brother & his dream-relationship?

Author's notes: Thanks Mithros for reviewing! <hands Mithros five-year-old chibi Duo Plushie> Please, please review! NOT A DEATH FIC!

Chapter One: Missions & Memories:

The year is AC195. Opereation Meteor, and the gundam pilots first appearence was almost one year ago. The five pilots are now aware of eachother and have banded together, although they do not yet completely trust eachother.

-beepbeepbeepbeep-

"Barton, Winner, Chang, I have just recieved mission data from Dr.J. We leave in one hour" Heero's voice echoed throuought the largish safehouse they were currently staying in, one of Quatre's familie's many properties, this one, on L2.

The five pilots had 'gotten together' three months eairler. They had formed a slightly shakey friendship, but, during missions, working as a team, they were unbeatable.

Heero Yuy, the stotic, strongest member of the group, always following missions to the T. He had started out as the groups leader and was, in many ways, still the one that they all looked to for instruction.

Trowa Barton, the silent, observent, undercover expert of the group. If ever a mission involving under cover work came up, it was almost always givin to the quietest member of the group.

Chang Wufei, the justice-drivin, most anger-fuled and honorable warrior of the group. He always threw himself into battle, fighting for honour, justice, and to protect the weak. He was definatly the most hot-headed of them all.

Quatre Raberba Winner, the heart of the group, the tactition, peacekeeper, and most sensitive of the group. He did all of the groups battle plans, always made sure that they had a half-decent safe house to stay in, and stopped the others from killing eachother at times, well, the others for killing one certain piolet.

Duo Maxwell. They all saw him as the prankster, the jokester, the braided-baka who wanted to play at war with the big boys. The other pilots, whether intentionally or not, looked down on him, even kind-hearted Quatre tired of his inain babble and always too-cheereful attitude, no matter what the situeation. Whatever the others saw him as, he was the sould of the group, the one who kept them all toghther, wether or not they realised it. He was the groups stealth expert, the best when it came to mecanics, and the groups bomb-expert.

It was Duo's idea, for them to share the reasons why they all fought, what they fought for, what they hoped to achieve. No-one took him seriously, but, gradually, he got it out of all of them, when they thought he wasnt listening to them. Heero Fought for peace, he fought because it was what he was trained to do. Trowa fought for his adoptive sister, Cathrine Bloom, he fought for an answer, he fought in hopes of regaining his memory. Quatre fought for his dead-father, for his twenty-nine sisters, and for all of the innocents in the colonies who were dying needlessly. Wufei fought for justice, for honour, for his Clan, and for his dead wife, Long Meiran, or Nataku, as she had called herself.

Duo listened to them, and he understood. He knew them all better than they knew eachother. But did they ever ask him why he fought? Ever question as to why he hid behind the mask, why he wsa so cheereful, why he fought? Did they even see the mask? No. They thought he was just a stupid little boy playing at war. That it was all a joke to him.

He'd listened to Heero after his nightmare's of J's re-training, of his time with Odin Lowe, and had comforted him. He'd comforted Trowa after battle, Quatre when he couldnt sleep because of the soldiers begging, pleading, their dying screams that haunted him. He'd comforted Wufei during his nightmares, slept besides him, always making sure that he was gone before the Chinese boy awoke.

They didnt even notice when he cried out in his sleep, when he hid in his gundam at night, when he spent hours non-stop training by himself, when he went off on solo missions and came back half-dead in the eairly hours of the morning. As long as he was the loud, annoying braided baka at mealtimes, appearing to wake up later than everyone else, as long as he blasted some old rock, punk, metal or goth CD from his room whenever he wanted to train, to sneak out or to be alone, they thought all was fine, and went back to ignoring or complaining about him.

They hadnt even noticed his change in behavior when they arrived on L2, not even Quatre. They'd arrived almost two weeks eairler, after a sucessful mission. The doctores had advised them against returning to Earth for the time being, instead instructing them to hide out on a local colony for a while untill Oz had clamed down their serch a bit. The other four pilots had voted on L2, seeing as military action there was at a minimum, having barely any controal over the poverty-stricken colony, ruled by drugs, prostitution, thieves guilds, street-rats and local shady buisnessmen. Ever since their arrival, Duo had become withdrawn, spending hours in silence, by himself in his room, the libary or in the hanger, staring up out of the safety of DeathSythe's cockpit.

"Duo, there's food in the fridge and money under the vaise in the libary if you need anything while we're gone!"

"Hn. Stay away from my laptop."

"............."

"Maxwell, touch any of my things while I am gone and justice will be delt out upon my return!"

Each of the pilots called out their own good-bye as they left, not sparing the self-proclaimed Shinigami a second glance, as the closed the door loudly behind them, leaving him to his own devices.

"Well Solo, it looks like it's just you and me again. It's been, what, ten years this day since we went our seperate ways. I miss you, bro. I'll keep fighting for you, no matter what. I'll get them, for spreading that plague, for killing you. How about I visite all our old haunts for old times sake, bro? It's funny, really, now I think about it. The Maxwell Masacre, and your death, the exact same day, barely two months apart. I'm sorry I didnt visit last year, bro, I wouldnt have this year, either, if it wasnt for the good of the mission. I'm sorry, but you see, it's just too much. Too many bad memories, bro, I'm sure you'd understand, just like you did in the old days" Duo wispered, as he dawned his battered black leather trenchcoat, re-ajusting his silver cross, preist shirt and black troussers and black, slightly scuffed shoes, pulling his black baseball hat down over his sad, slightly haunted, wistful violet-indigo eyes.

-end of chapter one-