After Colony 195… There was silence as the colony fell to Earth. In a brilliant explosion of white, yellow, red and orange, Colony LX-1999 destroyed the tender balance of life that existed on the planet, and it became barren. Life that had taken billions of years to evolve and perfect had been eliminated…in a matter of mere seconds. Thick, swirling clouds of dust blanketed the Earth, and in those mere seconds, over 7 billion innocents died. Those who remained retreated to the colonies. As the fire slowly diminished into the endlessness of space, five shapes drifted along in the thin atmosphere. Five suits. Five pilots. One conclusion to their mission. "So…that was Operation Meteor…" Someone spoke up mildly through the silence. His ethereal turquoise eyes shifted to his view-screen, where the faces of his four comrades looked back at him. "No regrets, Zero-Four?" One asked him thoughtfully. He shook his head apathetically. "None at the moment, Zero-Two." The boy answered, watching the Earth with an intense gaze. "I might have some trouble sleeping tonight…" "We all might…" The tallest among them, Zero-Three, murmured. "…Was it necessary?" Zero-Two looked toward the looming white Gundam next to him, his violet eyes filled with reflective question. "…We do not question His Excellency…" Was the lucid reply. Zero-Two nodded, accepting his answer. "We should return to-" "I know that, Zero-Five." The soldier snapped. He sighed quickly, and turned his head to Zero-Five's icon on his screen. "I apologize." He said simply. "For now…we'll stay here…there is time enough before we must return." The Chinese boy nodded in agreement. "Its fine." Fierce cobalt eyes locked again on the Earth. "Look once more. We're never going to see it the same way again." "We will not be the same again…" Zero-Four breathed. He shut his eyes, leaning back into his seat. He inhaled deeply, and once again spoke up. "My name is Quatre Raberba Winner." Four pairs of eyes looked to him, thunderstruck. They'd fought together…comrades in arms…but had never given their names. For this year, they were numbers. Soldiers. Names were useless no matter how they looked at it, redundant. There was a calm chuckle from Zero-Two. "My name is Duo Maxwell…nice to meetcha, Quatre." He said pleasantly. "…Chang Wufei." Zero-Five commented after a pause. The three of them waited to hear Zero-One and -Three speak, although they would not have been offended if either boy declined to give his name. "I'm Trowa Barton." The tall, green-eyed boy said, a strange tone of uncertainty wavering in his voice. "Zero-One?" Duo called peacefully. There was no response, and the short boy shrugged passively. "Oh well, I guess we'll be calling you Zero-One for a bit…" Zero-One narrowed his gaze on the Earth, his hands tightly gripping the controls for his Gundam. "Heero Yuy." He said abruptly, just as Duo turned away and was ready not to give it another thought. The eyes of the Gundam pilots looked to him instantly, in hues of dark ebony black, rich amethyst, a delicate turquoise, and a deep emerald green. "They call me…Heero Yuy." After Colony 197… Act 1- Dawn of a New Era A dark shadow looms over the horizon of tomorrow. A future unclear…unbidden and uncertain. A darkness unlike the twisted past, unlike the cold hearts of five soldiers. Not a darkness that would bring the rain of innocent tears, but rather a darkness for the bitter themselves to fear. A change…a new dawn. A dark path but a bright goal. Ending the tyranny of the heavens… …A revolution…. "Miss Marimeia?" Lady Une questioned lightly, peeking into the large suite. When her sharp hazel eyes found no trace of Mr. Treize's small daughter, she swore violently and shut the door. "Imagine if I'd been Her Excellency." A cold voice muttered. Lady Une jerked and turned to face a violet-eyed young man, watching her piercingly. The tall brunette sighed heavily, and backed into the wall. "You scared me." She stated directly, ignoring his comment. "Did you hear me?" He demanded, locking eyes. "What if I'd been Miss Marimeia? You know how she gets about your language, Une." She shut her eyes and accepted the scolding by a boy 4 years younger than she. Younger he may be, but the youth had a rank that Lady Une herself would never achieve. He was Zero-Two…Gundam pilot…part of the Fukachi Team that completely wiped out Earth. The Shadow Team…dark angels of Oz. Marimeia Khushrenada's prized soldiers, higher than the queen herself on some level…even Marimeia knew it. "I'm sorry, Maxwell-Fukachi," She gushed, "I'll learn to be careful…but Her Excellency is missing…I can't find her." Duo paused, his bright eyes flickering momentarily with an internal debate. Then the boy shrugged, and began to walk away nonchalantly. "Yuy-Fukachi will find her, I wouldn’t worry about it." And with a wave of his almost knee-length braid as he moved, Duo disappeared around a corner and out of her sight. Yuy-Fukachi…Maxwell-Fukachi…Barton-Fukachi…Winner-Fukachi…Chang-Fukachi…has it all gone to your heads? She wondered hazily… ~^~^~^~ She dances…with her face lifted up smiling to the clouds. There is no blue sky, only steel and bolts. This does not cross her mind as she twirls beneath the cotton clouds, for she does not miss the crystalline skies of the past. Her mind is blissfully clear, for these few, fragile minutes. Life was glass, it could shatter…time was just like that… She loved time, since she had so little of it. Her time could shatter at any moment, as someone calls her name… Her life could shatter at any moment, and yet….in her joy…as she dances, lost in the green wilderness behind her palace…she fears nothing. "Miss Marimeia?" And time shattered… ~^~^~^~ Heero hadn't meant to startle his queen, seeing as how she froze when he called for her softly. And she spun around, clasping her hands behind her back. Her copper hair swung freely about her shoulders, and she smiled at him. "Yes, Heero?" She questioned, her blue eyes oddly chilly. He knew he'd somehow disturbed her, although she was a clever one with concealing it… He gave her a quick once-over, studying the dirt and grass stains on her simple white dress. "Miss Marimeia…Lady Une is looking for you." The slightly cold tint in her eyes partially increased. "Oh…is she? Nothing serious, I hope?" Heero thought about it for a moment and shrugged. "Master Dekim has requested for you….I do not know why." And yet again, his thoughtful cobalt eyes searched her expression. "I haven't bothered you, have I, Your Excellence?" Marimeia shook her head, giving him an assuring glance. "No, Yuy-Fukachi. It's nothing. You merely startled me. Do I have time to change?" And she gestured down at her smudged dress. He didn't even bother to answer, and he gently pushed her in the direction of the palace. She huffed, but scampered off. He silently watched her go. That was his queen…the eight-year-old Marimeia Khushrenada…she was still a child, he constantly reminded himself. Although she did have a rather strict way of running things in a way that was unlike any child, occasionally she did run off… She'd lose herself out into the lush gardens behind the palace, and only Heero could find her within the first hour…with anyone else, it would take practically an eternity. So what does the sovereign of space do out here….? He wondered, glancing up towards the 'roof' of the colony. He allowed himself a small sigh just as the sound of someone stepping lightly through the grass reached his ears. "Duo." He acknowledged without even looking. The boy behind him chuckled. "Yeah…'tis me, Heero. You found Her Excellency?" Duo asked, coming closer. He slid his hands inside the pockets of his uniform black slacks and watched his friend expectantly. "Yes. She was here, as usual." Heero responded, observing the area closely. He could tell what his queen had been doing by the little tracks in the dirt and the grass matted into the ground. Apparently she'd been running around in circles or…something. "Hm. Well, okay. On my way here, I ran into Dorothy. Seems Master Dekim wants us to meet up with him, as well." Duo said, his voice shady. Heero cocked an eyebrow before finally turning around. His eyes were lit with a dark curiosity that made Duo want to step away in caution. "But we haven't even seen Dekim since--" Duo nodded bitterly. "Yeah. Operation Meteor. Heero, don't quote me or nothin'…but I have a bad feeling about this." @--->----- Agh…it sucks. If you managed to even make it down to here, please review if you'd like me to continue… ^_^ Which I doubt you will...it gets a LOT more interesting, I promise!!