Note: The Fallen series takes place right at the beginning of the second season of Gundam Wing at which point Relena has rebuilt her Sanc Kingdom, but before Romefeller takes it from her. Almost every aspect of the plot is the same from the show until then for my story. The only differences are that the Gundam pilots are all together in the same house and have their suit upgrades, and Relena's birthdate has changed to suit my needs.
Time
by JAG
"Time without end. Time flows into forever. Forever returns from whence it came. History repeats.
It is now After Colony 195. For two-hundred years, you in the colonies have lived in constant fear. Fear that your lives will be torn apart by wars on Earth. Well, your greatest fears have come true. Romefeller is here and they have taken your colonies. If not by force, then by something worse. Lies. As I said, history repeats. We have returned to a period of war. War without hope. War without meaning. We stand at a crossroads. What path will history take this time? Will we end up destroying ourselves through conflict, or will we learn to live in peace? If so, is this peace attainable? So many questions. So little answers.
I have the answer to at least one of these questions. Yes, peace is attainable, but it need not be through conflict. As I said, Romefeller has lied to you. There is no need to increase your defense. There is no need to allow them to take your children. Your fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers. There is no need to allow them to ravage space as if it were a treasure to be kept. We have built this period of war ourselves, and we have the means to end it ourselves. Romefeller will not take the colonies!
I can show you the path, but you need to follow. Thank you."
"That was a beautiful speech, Ms. Relena," said Dorothy Catalonia as Relena Peacecraft stepped off the stage, "but do you really believe that peace can be attained so easily?"
Relena looked the blond woman standing at the foot of the stairs up and down, looking for a trap in her words. She wasn't sure, but she swore that they sounded sincere. There was something strange in those clear, blue eyes, the way those strange eyebrows were arched, questioning.
"Yes, I do, Dorothy," she answered. The tour of the colonies was taking as longer than she had expected. The colonial leaders just would not see what should be so plain in front of their faces.
"But how can you say that you believe in peace when you make so many 'friends' that follow the ways of war?" Dorothy had dropped the sincerity and was baiting her again.
"We have had this talk a hundred times, Dorothy, I believe the Gundams to be so much more than violent war machines. In fact, I do not see them as killing machines at all. I see them, however, as a force capable of uniting the world towards a common goal," this was as much as she had said before, but she felt a need this time to go further, "besides, they're also kinda cute."
Relena's eyes widened as she realized what she had just said. 'How could I be so stupid' she thought as she cursed herself up and down. She looked over and was relieved to see the same expression as must be on her own face on Dorothy's. Wiping away all expression, Relena went to see the colonial leaders and talk further with them about the current wars.
"Ms. Relena, which one is it? Which one has caught your eye?" Dorothy asked to Relena's back.
Heero sneezed.
"God bless you," Duo called from near his Gundam.
Heero looked over at the God of Death from under his partially destroyed Wing Gundam. The last battle had been espescially hard. Usually, he would ignore the other pilot's happiness. People who were happy all the time annoyed him to no end. Although he didn't like the braided moron, he had respect for his fighting ability.
"You should know about gods, Shinigami," Heero called back, if not quite playfully, then showing less stoicism than usual.
Duo was caught off guard. After working his mouth for about a minute, he finally came up with words to say. "Hey, why the good mood today, Heero?"
Heero decided not to tell him. Duo was no friend of his, just an obstacle to get by. He knew why he made that joke although Duo didn't seem to know. That surprised Heero a bit. Duo usually knew these things before he did. Heero realized that he was humming the tune to "Happy Birthday" before he could stop himself. Quickly, he looked over at Duo to see if he had heard. Unluckily, he had.
"Heero, you're having a birthday!"
"No," Heero said seriously.
"Than who?" Duo questioned.
Heero realized that Duo would not give this up. "Nobody," he replied. There was still hope that he would after all.
"Oh, come on, you know you can tell me."
"If you must know, it's Relena," Heero decided to get back at Duo for his prying ways.
"Relena!" Duo exclaimed, "I didn't know you knew she was alive much less her birthday!"
"Hmmph," Heero snorted, the invisible walls he used to keep people out reappearing.
"Well, come on, Heero. We gotta plan," grabbing Heero, Duo ran out of the underground repair shop into the home that the pilots shared.
The man kept a good distance away from the group of colonial leaders huddled around Relena Peacecraft, but he could hear just fine using the peice in his ear. Planting the microphone on one Jasper Kun was harder though. All of the colony leaders had tons of bodyguards around them, and although that meant that his master's plans were going right, it also made his job a lot harder. All that mattered now was that he had succeeded in the hard part, and now he could just listen.
Listening real quick, he could hear that the colony leaders had not yet finished introducing themselves. This was getting old, but finally, he could hear Relena begin her propaganda pushing.
"So, what are you still unsure about?"
"Ms. Relena, you must understand that we cannot reject Romefeller offhand. We do not like being used the way we are, but we are powerless to stop them," the man had expected as much from Dal Tanden. The leader of the nearby L1e-166 colony never had much of a backbone.
"Oh, can't you? You still have the means to reject Romefeller's ways and say that you will not arm yourselves, and they will be unable to stop you. Romefeller spent all it's resources on keeping the various resistance on Earth down. They are unable to be a threat to you now," the man slinking around the group realized that Relena did have a way to threaten Romefeller. He had to report in right away.
He realized that Jasper Kun had walked away from the group. 'Doesn't matter,' thought the man, 'I have what I need.' He looked one more time at Relena. She was reading some note that a messenger had just handed her and had a worried expression on her face. The man would give anything to see what was in that note, but there was no changing what was beyond his control. He left the meeting and went to tell his master the news.
Quatre looked up to see Duo rush in the door followed by a reluctant Heero. He went back to the puzzle that he was working on. Why should he worry? After all, that's the way it had always been with Heero and Duo. Trowa stood up from his chair though.
"Something's different," Trowa told Quatre.
"So, what's up, you guys?" Quatre asked warily, seeing the way Duo bounced up and down. Duo worried him sometimes. Quatre could bet that Duo was manic most the time.
"Where's Wufei?" Duo demanded without even looking at Quatre, "He needs to hear this."
"Did I hear my name?" said Wufei as he walked out of the kitchen. Amazingly, he carried some good-looking food.
"Hey, that looks good. Did you cook it yourself?" Duo asked.
"Yeah, you want some?"
"Nah, it's probably loaded with rice," Duo ignored Wufei's face turning red, "We have things of more importance to discuss."
"Like what?" asked Quatre.
"Guess," said Duo, finally acknoledging that Quatre was even there.
"Why should we care, you weakling?" Wufei was a little hurt by the rice crack.
"Oh, come on, guess," Duo could hardly restrain himself. Trowa looked worried.
"Relena's having a birthday," said Heero, ruining Duo's fun.
"Well, then we'll have to plan something big," remarked Quatre.
"That's what I said! Heero, didn't I say that?" Duo almost yelled. Heero ignored him.
The sun set as the Gundam pilots planned late into the night.
"Aah, it's good to be home! Even if this place is old and musty," Relena exclaimed upon returning to her castle in the Sanc Kingdom, "How are the students, Paegan?"
"They are doing well," her aged butler replied, "Some have even returned home to teach the rest of their people the ways of pacifism."
"That's good, I was afraid that they didn't wish to leave this utopia."
"And what of Dorothy, Ms. Relena? Did she give you any trouble?" Paegan inquired. He never really trusted Dorothy. For that matter, he didn't trust Relena's judgement most of the time. He still seemed to think she was a child.
"None that you should worry about," said Relena, hugging Paegan, "Thanks for always being there for me. You've been like a grandfather to me."
"You're welcome, but where does this come from, Ms. Relena?"
"It's just that, you're the only one left from my previous life," Relena's voice broke. It was true that he was like part of her family now.
"I see, Ms. Relena, but what of your mother? At least your adoptive mother still lives."
"She's dead, Paegan. Romefeller found her and tried to use her to get at me." Relena said through misty eyes.
"I see, I had no idea. When did this happen?"
"Two days ago, while I was touring space. I was handed a note from her just before she was executed," Relena was weeping openly now.
"It's ok, Ms. Relena," said Paegan, letting her cry on his shoulder, "Remember, you have a birthday coming up. Maybe there will be something to cheer you up." He smiled, remembering the call he had recieved earlier.
"Some birthday it'll be," cried Relena.
Dermail paced from wall to wall in behind his desk. He glanced at the man sitting on the other side of it. It had been a full five minutes since the last word had been spoken, but Dermail liked people to be agitated and uneasy when he dealt with them. He also liked time to think. Turning from him, Dermail looked out the large window in the back of his office. 'The Peacecrafts have always been a thorn in my side. I thought I was rid of them this time.' He looked back at the man and decided he was uneasy enough.
"So you're saying the Sanc Kingdom is increasing it's influence over surrounding countries AND the colonies?" Duke Dermail repeated what the man had last said. He could see the man visibly relax. He never really trusted anybody, but if anyone came close, it was Mandron, his most trusted spy, adviser and assasin.
"Yes, sire," replied Mandron.
"Keep me informed, Mandron. You're dismissed," Dermail waved him off.
'Something must be done. This news changes everything. I have to be sure that the Sanc Kingdom will never rise again,' he said to himself as his top adviser left.
The castle was totally silent, Relena realized. This had never happened. Although the castle was large, a student could always be found nearby, and Dorothy never left her side.
"Where is everybody?" she called to the empty halls. There was no answer, "Hello?" All that answered was her own echo. 'This is not right' she thought, 'What if something happened to them? What if they're in trouble?' She started searching , getting more and more worried by the second.
She continued her search throughout the castle. She found absolutely nothing. 'This can't be right.' Finally, she stepped out onto the front lawn.
'What the.....?' she thought as she gazed up at the grand display sitting in the middle of the castle grounds. The Gundams had been situated into a pyramid, including the Epyon.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RELENA!!" everybody shouted.
"Happy birthday, Relena..," Heero muttered a little after everyone else. He stood away from the group looking like he didn't want to be there.
"Thank you, thank you, all!" cried Relena, "I wasn't expecting anything. Heero! You're here!" she went to Heero and hugged him. She was just so happy.
"He's actually the one that came up with the birthday plans," Duo said with a large grin on his face.
"It's nothing....," Heero mumbled, turning red. He struggled away from Relena's deathgrip on him.
"Heero, I wanna thank you for all you've done for me."
"I count this as the first," Milliardo said, slapping Heero on the back. He was unusually happy too.
"And my dear brother, I'm so glad you could make it," Relena said, giving another hug.
"How could I not? You're my little sis. I also broke Treize out of his castle, revived Lady Une and brought Noin," all three waved from near the snack table. Relena waved back.
The party continued for a long time until a strange sound was heard on the air.
"Mobile Suit carriers!" exclaimed Quatre, "Get to your Gundams!"
The shout was unnesecary. The Gundam pilots, Noin and Milliardo were already on their way. The civilians ran into the castle and hid. All except Relena, she just stood where she had been. She looked as if she was going to cry.
"Up and running," said Heero, starting his systems.
"Ready for action!" exclaimed Duo, in Shinigami mode.
"Let's go," Trowa said quietly.
"I'm ready," sighed Quatre.
"Let's take out these weaklings!" Wufei said excitedly. He was the first off in his Altron.
"They're Mobile Doll Virgos," Noin stated, "There's too many of them!"
"There's never enough," Milliardo said, sounding as if he meant it. Truly, he was doing the most damage. Besides Heero that is.
Relena would not move, Paegan could see that. He saw the look in her face. The defiance in her eyes. She was ready to die. He went out to try to talk her out of waiting to die.
"Come, Ms. Relena, it's not safe here," Paegan put a hand on her shoulder. Relena turned to him and started crying.
"Paegan, why must there always be fighting?" a sob ripped through her, and she clutched Paegan's hand as if it was the only thing keeping her sane. Paegan was worried that it was.
"I don't know, Ms. Relena, but there's no way you can stop this one. You can only hope to live to stop future fighting."
"Ok, Paegan, you're right. I can do nothing if I am dead." They headed for the castle. Watching the battle overhead. Relena with open disgust. When they neared the castle, though, a stray Buster Rifle shot from a Virgo blasted apart a tower.
Paegan could see that they could not get out from under them. "Ms. Relena, RUN!" he yelled as he pushed her out of the way of the falling stones.
"Paegan!" cried Relena as the rocks fell on him, crushing all life out of his body.
Relena just looked at the pile where all she used to be lay in ruins, and seeing her old life die, she came to a decision. "You were wrong, Paegan, there is something I can do to stop this fight," she said as she ran into the castle, "Goodbye, my dearest friend!"
She ran blindly through the castle, tears stinging her eyes until she found the communication room.
"Get Duke Dermail on the line!" she yelled. A student reached over and pressed a button.
"Dermail, call off your Mobile Dolls," she yelled, "I surrender."
"Aah, excellent. You shall come her to Romefeller headquarters where we will discuss the terms of your surrender," Dermail stated, "I expect you to turn yourself over to my troops by dawn tomorrow. If not, you will suffer eternal defeat. Dermail out!"
Relena turned from the comms station and walked out of her castle where she came upon Heero.
"You should not have given up so easily," he said, threateningly, "We can still win this battle. There was no need to surrender.
"I had to, Heero. I cannot stand the fighting any longer. It must stop."
"But you won't stop it now. you can do nothing as a prisoner"
"No, Heero, I believe I can stop it from inside Romefeller itself."
"Relena, I....."
"Yes, Heero, I know," she said, running to him and hugging him.
"Where do we go from here?"
"That is one thing that nobody knows, Heero."
"Time without end. Time without beginning. Rest in the flow of time...."
To be continued...
Gratuitous Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Gundam Wing or any of the characters. Those belong to the good people at Asahi TV and the Sotsu Agency. Niether do i own the rights to the song "Happy Birthday" I don't know who owns those. No lawsuits please.
Thanks to Grant, Becky, Lisa and Ruza for helping me write this. You always know where to point out my faults.