Title: Mirrors
Author: Daine Artillo
E-mail: atia@crosswinds.net
Rating: high PG (violence - no more than what is in the show)

(Quick note: For the story to have the best effect, I recommend you concentrate when you read it. It might be even better if you read it toward the early evening. However, I might warn you that if you have an overly vivid imagination, it might not be best to read it when you are on your computer, alone, and at night. *notices that it's dark, and she's on her computer… alone* *whimper*)

Part One: Advancing Storm

The clouds loomed over the sky, blocking out the sunlight that had shone so brightly only a moment before. Light shades of gray outlined the fluffy edges indicating a storm that was approaching, and closing in. Fast.

Along the ancient dirt road, a forest green minivan sped along with remarkable speed, considering the conditions of the road used for travel. Behind the wheel, Catherine drove, careful to keep an eye on the road as well as the activities going on in the back seats. Trowa sat next to his sister in the front seat, appearing to be dozing. Quatre and Wufei were also fairly quiet, staring out of their respective windows. The source of the noise was from the other five passengers in the car.

Duo seemed to be trying to change the channel on the radio from the controls in the back of the van, while Heero struggled with him to keep it on the station they were on now. Relena, Hilde, and Dorothy just watched from a safe distance. That is, as far as they could manage to get in the cramped quarters. Hilde, who was crammed against Duo, took the brunt of the fight. She sighed and wished they would hurry and get to her aunt's house.

"Oi, Heero! I don't wanna listen to this!" Duo exclaimed while trying to reach over his comrade to switch the channel. Heero just continued to glare at him and block his attempted access.

"Touch the controls, you die."

"Heero! Let's just listen to WAR for a few minutes! Something good might be on!"

"No."

"Heero!" That was all that Duo managed to exclaim as Heero somehow managed to pin his hands and arms behind him in a very uncomfortable position. After a few moments of brief struggle, Duo managed to pull free and switch the channel. Of course, chaos reigned.

"...now listening to WAR..."

"...power of..."

"...next up is..."

"...happens to..."

The car suddenly went silent as all eyes turned to the front. Catherine was leaning forward with her hand on the power button. The car had come to a stop.

"That," she said, turning to face the people in the back, "is enough of that." Duo and Heero then turned and settled grumpily in the back seat.

Now faced with peace and quiet, Dorothy turned around in her seat and turned toward Relena.

"Miss Relena," she started, "did you want to hear about the book I am reading?"

"Oh yes, Dorothy! Tell me, weren't you at the part where they had just confessed their feelings for one another?"

"Yes. I'm sure you would like this book; it seems to interest you very much already."

Hilde looked curiously over at the two. "What happens in the book?" Dorothy pulled out a leather-bound book and opened it to the book-marked section. "You see, the two main characters are in love. Soul bonded, I believe."

Relena sighed happily and closed her eyes. "You know, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if there were such things as soul bonds." Hilde looked over toward the princess and smiled slightly.

Duo snorted. "You actually believe in this stuff?"

Relena opened her eyes to look at the braided Gundam pilot. "What's wrong with a little romance? Don't you think some couples are just destined to be together?"

"After all I've been through, I don't believe in that stuff. Things like fairly tale romances don't have any place in the real world. It's just something you grow out of like believing in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy."

Quatre turned around and looked at Duo quizzically. "You mean Santa isn't real?" Wufei sighed slightly, and quickly grabbed the Arabian's head, turning it toward the front.

"Just watch the road, Quatre. Ignore all the idiots in the back."

Duo ignored them and continued. "It's all just kid stuff. Who believes it now a days?"

"You don't believe in it?" Hilde asked, looking down at her folded hands. "Not even a little?"

"Aw, Hilde," Duo said in an almost scolding voice, "you're too old for that kind of thing."

Hilde felt tears forming slightly in her eyes, but she forced them back. Like many times before.

The van stopped again, as Catherine turned the motor off.

"We're here!" she said.

Everyone piled out of the van.

¤¤¤¤¤

"Hey, Hilde! Where's this aunt of yours to greet us?" Duo asked as he stretched.

Hilde glanced at him and said icily, "I don't know, Duo, you tell me."

"Is something wrong?"

"No." Hilde sighed. She glanced around at the surrounding greenery. Her aunt had always preferred living alone. Aunt Marie had picked a location that suited her personality and her wealth. The stately Victorian house perched on the hill that overlooked the grandeur of the mountains and the forests. Taking a deep breath of air that was scented with pine needles and cold wind, she turned with the others to head toward the entrance of the house. The entrance that no one had greeted them at.

"What's that?" Trowa asked, eyeing the door of the house. On the frame of the oaken door, stood a piece of white paper.

"Maybe it'll tell us something," Hilde said, ripping the paper from the nail that held it. The others crowded around the girl as she read the note aloud.

"I'm sorry, dears, that I couldn't be here to greet you, but something urgent came up, and I was called away to the town. The blasted business will probably take the weekend, so I probably won't get to see you all. You are still welcome to stay in the house for the weekend, because I'm sure that you are all capable of taking care of yourselves. The key to the house is under the stone lion near the front. Don't worry about food; I've stocked up for your arrival, so help yourselves. Have a lovely vacation!

-Aunt Marie

PS-Try to avoid the mirror room.

"'The mirror room'?" Catherine asked. "What did your aunt mean by that, Hilde?"

Hilde just shrugged. "She has this room that is completely covered in mirrors. She didn't really seem to say much about it when I came to visit. Maybe she's just worried that we'll damage it."

Everyone nodded slightly, understanding the reasoning behind the request. Then, noticing that Quatre seemed to have disappeared, they turned to see him walking up from the van with Catherine's keys.

"Thanks, Catherine," he said, placing the keys in the red head's outstretched palm. "You guys, we should get into the house soon. The radio said we should be expecting a pretty big storm that sprung from the remnants of a tornado."

"That's wonderful," Heero said somewhat sarcastically. "So we're going to spend our vacation weekend indoors?"

Quatre shrugged. "Sure looks that way."

Trowa nodded his agreement. "Let's get our things and get into the house."

While unloading the van, Dorothy asked Hilde, "You said that you've been here before, right, Hilde? Make sure to show us around so none of us get lost. The house looks pretty big."

Hilde smiled toward the blond girl and shouldered her bag. "Sure thing."

With Hilde walking in front, she felt under the base of the stone lion and grasped the iron key. Walking somewhat faster due to the weight of her bag, she unlocked the door and held it open so the others could enter. Once everyone was inside, she let the heavy door slam with a resounding thud.

It was very dim within the house except for the few shafts of light that remained clustered around the draperies.

"Is it supposed to be this dark?" Quatre asked, stating the obvious.

"No, usually Aunt Marie would have everything ready, but since she's not here, we'll have to do it ourselves." Hilde set her bag back down on the floor and neared the large velvet curtains. She grasped the twisted, coils of rope that would pull the curtains back.

The bright, outdoor light flooded the room as Hilde sneezed at the extra dust that seemed to have settled in no time at all. The others, now seeing what needed to be done, went to the other tall windows in the room and begin the task of uncovering them.

Wufei also sneezed slightly. "Doesn't this Aunt Marie ever dust? It looks like this house has been untouched for a while."

Hilde glanced at him while brushing her hands together to get rid of the remaining dust. "She has the servants clean pretty often, but the house is so drafty that it's easy for the dust to accumulate. It gets pretty cold at times, too."

After Heero had pulled the drapes back from the last window, he went back to the middle of the room where he had dumped his carry on bag for the time being. "Let's get situated in our rooms before we do anything else. That way, we won't have to worry about later."

Hilde nodded, picked up her own bag, and motioned for the others to follow her upstairs.

¤¤¤¤¤

The upstairs was just like the other sections of the house. Large. The stairway led to a spacious hall. The first door they encountered was open slightly. Hilde pushed it, causing the hinges to creak. Everyone glanced in.

"This is the mirror room, just so you know." She too glanced in and saw the room she remembered so well. All the walls were completely covered with mirrors with about three inches of wall between each. In the middle of these spaces where metal candleholders, with soft white candles.

Hilde shut the door, and continued to lead the procession. Further down the hall, both walls were covered with five doors. Hilde gestured to these and said, "You can sleep in any of the rooms in the hallway. The ones on the left have a balcony, and the ones on the right have the larger bathrooms, with the fifth door having its own personal bathroom. If you go down the hallway and turn left, you'll see a set of stairs that lead to the star gazing room. If you take a right, you'll see a hallway that leads to my aunt's bedroom."

The others nodded their understanding and began to look into each of the rooms to see which one would be to their liking. Hilde, seeing that none of the others were taking the first door on the right, stepped into the room and dropped her bag on the floor.

¤¤¤¤¤

Catherine switched the hand that was carrying her suitcase to open the door of one of the rooms on the right. It had seemed the idea of a larger bathroom appealed to all the girls. This caused them to choose their rooms on the right, even if it meant sharing a bathroom. The knife thrower smiled slightly. As much as she loved the idea of a balcony, she refused to be bunked between the Gundam pilots.

In the third room on the right, she noticed a simply made bed with a homey looking quilt and pillow. She walked in letting the door shut, and laid a hand on the mattress to push down.

A feather bed, she thought, smiling slightly. This ought to be fun.

Having made her decision, Catherine put her suitcase on the bed with a soft plop. This caused the dust to stir up slightly, but she did not seem to mind. Her eyes came to rest on an antique dresser with a large mirror. Surrounding the frame of the mirror were intricately carved designs. Catherine, having a liking for somewhat historical relics, fell in love with 'her' room immediately.

She was about to begin unpacking when she heard a slight knock on the door. Turning and walking the short distance, her hand grasped the cool metal doorknob and held the door ajar.

On the other side was Dorothy, who smiled pleasantly.

"Hello, Catherine," she said hands clasped in front of her. "I was just wondering who had taken the room next to me. Are you having any trouble unpacking?"

Catherine returned Dorothy's smile and invited her in. "No, I was just starting to get settled." She gestured toward the suitcase waiting patiently on her bed. "You can help if you like."

"I'd be glad to."

Both girls began the task of putting Catherine's clothes into the drawers of the dresser the circus performer had taken such a liking to. Despite the fact that Catherine had grown to like clothes, her traveling experience with the circus had taught her to pack lightly. Once that task had been finished, she then dropped her toiletries off into the shared bathroom. Picking up her suitcase, she placed it under the bed.

"Could I help you unpack, Dorothy?"

Dorothy smiled and waved a hand in a dissuading manner. "No, I'm all ready finished. I offered to help Hilde, but she said she didn't need any. Have you noticed how strangely she's been acting?"

"What? That incident in the car?" Catherine asked. "Anybody would act that way. If Duo had made a comment like that to me, I'd probably do a lot more than simply ignore him!"

Dorothy giggled slightly. "I'm sure you're right. I guess I tend to worry about things, that's all."

"How's Relena handling this?"

"The last time I saw her, she was at the end of the hallway with Heero."

¤¤¤¤¤

Relena walked down the stretching set of walls with Heero on her left. Holding her remarkably light bag, she queried, "Aren't you going to bunk with the other Gundam pilots? I wouldn't think that you would want to be on the same side as us girls."

In his usual stony expression, Heero answered without even looking at her. "In order to let you come, Zechs made it impeccably clear that you were to guarded by me. If something should happen to you during your stay here, under my protection or not, I'll be shipped to Siberia." Now turning toward Relena, Heero locked his gaze with hers. "Wherever your room is, I'm going to be next door."

Relena smiled, both at her brother's overprotectiveness, and at Heero's acceptance of his job. His stormy eyes seemed to hold a bit more emotion than they usually did when she was around him.

Having seen Catherine slip into the third door on the left side of the hallway, Relena decided on the room next to it.

She smiled slightly at Heero. "I guess you're the one who gets the bathroom to yourself. I'm sharing with Catherine." Heero did not seem to respond in any way except to continue walking toward the fifth door on the left. Relena's smile still remained on her face as she nudged the door from its frame.

Inside was a canopy bed with curtains bunched together at the corners. Relena, thinking of A Christmas Carol, felt transported back to the times of Charles Dickens. However, unlike the bed in the movie, the wooden beams that the bed was composed of had many intricate carvings.

Hilde's aunt must have quite a fortune, Relena thought, delicately fingering the polished wood. Placing her travel bag on the bed, she rubbed against one of the curtains and was surprised by how thick it was. "It gets pretty cold at times" Relena remembered Hilde saying. Now she saw proof of it.

Unzipping her travel bag, Relena unloaded her many articles of clothing into the empty drawers of the dresser. The dresser, too, reminded her of nineteenth century London. She was not quite sure what it was about it, but the combination of the bed and dresser made the room look like some sort of time warp.

Relena shrugged off her thoughts as she put her bathroom things away. Thankfully, Hilde's Aunt Marie had provided towels - something Relena had forgotten to bring. Glancing over through the other door of the bathroom, Relena caught sight of Dorothy and Catherine talking about something or other. Dorothy, who was facing the bathroom, noticed Relena standing there. She waved. Catherine, seeing Dorothy's gestured, turned around and smiled when she saw Relena.

Relena returned both the smile and the wave as she returned to her room, shutting both doors to the bathroom. She then fell backward onto the bed, satisfying the child-like urge she had never gotten rid of. Making a slight face, she pulled her bag out from behind her back, forgetting that she had not put it away.

Throwing it so it slid across the floor, Relena laughed at what she knew her brother would say for such behavior. Well, now she had four glorious days without meetings, paper work, or over attentive servants. This was going to be fun.

¤¤¤¤¤

Quatre shut his suitcase with a defiant thud and placed it under the twin-sized bed. He had always hated packing and unpacking. Now that he had finished, he could go around and see how everyone else was doing.

Peeking into the shared bathroom, he noticed a blow dryer lying neatly upon a dark green towel.

Must be one of the girls' or Duo's, Quatre thought to himself, even though it was a little hard to imagine Duo using a hair dryer. He quickly ruled out the girls, deciding that they would probably remained clustered together. So it must be Duo.

Quatre opened the door leading to the other room and started saying, "Duo! How are you..."

He stopped short when he saw Trowa putting his clothing into one of the dresser drawers and glaring slightly at him.

"I'm not Duo."

"Yah. I can see that..." Quatre said, blushing slightly. It was quiet for a few moments, then, "You blow dry your hair?"

Trowa decided not to answer this, as Quatre expected, and just continued unloading his travel bag.

"Need any help?"

"No."

Quatre sighed and resigned himself to sitting on Trowa's bed until his silent comrade was finished. Quatre looked around the room and noticed how much it was like his own. The only differences were the positioning of the furniture and the colors. Both rooms supported simplistic furnishings that served their purpose without much else. The dresser was a smooth reddish color with a medium sized mirror. Surrounding it was an unadorned wooden frame. A dark green blanket covered the bed that was also twin sized.

Trowa, now finished unpacking, set his travel bag under the bed much like Quatre had done moments before.

"Done?" Quatre asked.

Trowa nodded.

Quatre sat in awkward silence, glancing out the window surrounded by forest green curtains. Trowa's room had a view of a small, blue lake that was mostly covered by trees. The leaves around the window were showing signs of soon changing their colors.

Trowa also glanced out the window, then asked. "Are all the girls on the other side of the hall?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. I think they are."

"It seems like they've decided to stick together."

Quatre simply shrugged. "It must be a female thing." Getting up, he headed back toward his own room while asking, "I wonder how Duo's doing."

¤¤¤¤¤

Duo paced the left side of the hall. Apparently, all the rooms on the right had been girl infested. He knew that Heero was also on the right side fulfilling his 'mission.' Duo grinned at that. Zechs sure gave him an earful before leaving.

Finally noticing a room that was not taken, he stepped into the fourth door on the left.

He had barely put his hand around the ancient metal doorknob when...

"I hope you're not planning to stay there, Maxwell."

Duo turned to see Wufei standing with his arms crossed. He leaned against the doorframe of the last room of the hall with a look of impatience. Wufei seemed to have already unpacked. Duo smiled inwardly. That guy was so efficient at everything; it would not surprise him if he had already packed for the trip home.

"Actually..."

"Because I know how loud you are. One room down. Now."

"Just a minute, Wufei! What makes you think you can just order me around? It's not like I'll listen anyway."

Wufei now lost his cool exterior. "Kisama! Maxwell! Just move already!" Now brandishing his sword, he glared menacingly in the American's direction.

Duo, not feeling up to dealing with 'Kisama' just moved a doorway down. Successfully managing to enter the room this time, he noticed that the balcony door had swung open. A few scattered leaves whispered their way across the floor as a slight autumn breeze stirred the sapphire curtains.

Duo smirked sourly at his luck. "Figures." Taking the bag off his shoulder, Duo sat on the neatly made bed that sighed gently under his weight. He sat there for a moment, then began unpacking.

¤¤¤¤¤

The group of teenagers noisily trampled down the staircase.

"What do you guys want for dinner?" Hilde asked. "Aunt Marie said she had just stocked up on supplies, so we should have a nice selection."

"Can we order take out?" Duo asked.

Hilde glared at him.

"It seems your Aunt Marie didn't believe in using telephones." Trowa said after looking around.

"You can just call her Aunt Marie."

"Are you sure she won't mind?" Quatre asked.

Hilde exploded. "She won't care! She's not even here!"

Everyone nodded.

"Makes sense."

"Sounds good to me."

"I'll just call her 'Onna.'"

Everyone facefaulted.

"Well," Catherine said, "as much as I would like to eat dinner, I'd rather see the house so I know where I'm going."

Hilde nodded. "You've already seen the main room," she said pointed to the room that had the large windows as well as a few couches and a fireplace. "so I'll show you the library next."

Hilde showed them to the area that had the dining room and the kitchen. Both rooms were right next to each other. Straight across from the dining room was the library that led to the garden outside. On the second floor were all the bedrooms, and the mirror room they had seen earlier. The tower-like third floor contained a small room that had various equipment for stargazing, and strangely enough, also a mirror.

Once everyone felt comfortable with his or her bearings, they headed back down the stairs, and prepared to make dinner.

¤¤¤¤¤

Hilde tossed and turned, groaned, and rolled over on her back. She stared for a moment at the white ceiling, then kicked off her warm, woolen blankets. Aunt Marie's house was usually drafty and cold, but not on this autumn night.

Padding to the window in her bare feet, Hilde pulled one of the yellow curtains aside to look at the quarter moon in the sky. Its light cast a glow on the German girl's features, especially accenting her dark hair and thoughtful eyes. She sighed and pulled the curtains shut again.

Why was it she could not sleep? Goodness knows she had worn herself out filling the many wood boxes around the house. All of them had done this after dinner so they would be prepared in case the storm hit that night. It was grueling, and they had all been tired, but...

Hilde sighed again and sat wearily on her bed. It must be my mind, she thought. Too much has happened today, and I just can't shut it off. The idea of Duo scolding her in the car sprung to memory, but she quickly pushed it aside.

She caught sight of herself in the mirror directly across from the bed. I wonder why Aunt Marie wanted us to stay away from the mirrors. She herself had said it was for fear of breaking them, but it was only a halfhearted comment. The others had bought what she said, but Hilde still wondered.

Deciding that getting up for a brief stroll was better than just sitting there, Hilde quietly strode to the door and walked toward the mirror room.

¤¤¤¤¤

Duo, two doors down and across the hall, was awakened from his light sleep by a slow creaking and the soft padding of bare feet on the wooden floor. He groggily opened one eye and stumbled as quietly as he could out of bed. His arms ached slightly from the extra work of carrying wood that had been done during the evening.

Opening his door a crack, he saw nothing at first. Then, he saw Hilde slip quietly out of her room and head in the direction of the stairs. But instead of going down them for a midnight snack as he had suspected, she turned and opened the door to the mirror room.

That imp, he thought fondly. Wonder what she's planning on doing. Too tired to find out himself, Duo crept back to bed with the door still open. He would keep an eye out for Hilde. If she was not back soon, he would go look in on her.

¤¤¤¤¤

Hilde tread softly into the mirror room. Instead of it being pitch black like she had expected, the room glowed softly with candlelight.

That's odd, she thought. I didn't see anyone come in and light the candles. She looked up at the nearest one and saw that it had not even burned down a centimeter. Hilde shivered slightly.

Someone just lit them.

¤¤¤¤¤

Duo slapped himself as he tried to stay awake. Glancing at his wristwatch, he made out a set of blurry numbers. Blinking, he saw the time: 11:50.

¤¤¤¤¤

Hilde looked at one of the reflection of the candles in the mirror. That light was reflected in the other mirror, and would be bounced back from mirror to mirror. There was no end to the candle's reflection in this room. That was one of the things about mirrors that had always intrigued Hilde.

She looked at the reflection in the mirror and noticed the images looked much sharper than usual. Hilde placed her hand against the reflection's hand. Looking into the echo of herself, she had a feeling something was out of place. She stared deeper into the reflected face and noticed what was so eerily different: her reflection had no waterspots in her eyes. They were empty, void, and endless. Hilde gasped and jerked her hand back. Her image sneered and grabbed her, moving so quickly Hilde was pulled through the mirror before she could even scream.

¤¤¤¤¤

Duo glanced at his watch in an irritated manner. Just what was so interesting in the room? Whatever it was, it had caused Hilde to be gone quite a while. The braided Gundam pilot shifted his position slightly. If she was not out soon, he would go and look for her.

¤¤¤¤¤

Hilde wrenched her hand away from the reflection's and screamed as she desperately raced back toward the mirror. However, she was grabbed again and pinned to the floor.

"All sound is silenced when it reaches the mirror," Hilde heard a flat voice say.

Her reflection locked her gaze with Hilde's as she apparently waited for someone. The trapped girl shuttered violently at her counterpart's touch and gaze. Both were as cold and as frigid as ice. That was the only thing that convinced Hilde she was not dreaming. That, and the throbbing of her head where she had hit it against the ground.

"W-what do you want?" Hilde trembled.

"You know you have raging, violent emotions, Hilde," the reflection said, apparently ignoring her question. "Yet, you never let them out. The reflection glanced up, giving Hilde a moment to struggle. The aggressor shifted her position on Hilde to prevent her escape. "And since you hold it in, your emotions have grown strong. Would you believe they can now control you?" She paused.

"That they can take your place?"

Hilde's image accepted something from another being who was standing above. Hilde turned her eyes upward to see, but the figure was cloaked in darkness. The girl now felt thin threadlike stands binding her hands and feet. Once they had been knotted, they seemingly vanished. Tape, also becoming invisible when applied, was placed over Hilde's mouth.

"And now, with everything set in motion, never again will you be able to set foot on the other side of the mirror."

The image forced her to stand. Hilde tried desperately to struggle, but the now-invisible bindings allowed no movement. She could not help but tremble at the image's hand as it lifted her chin and forced her to look up. They locked gazes once again, and Hilde felt as if some part of her was being forcibly ripped away. The pain intensified, but she could neither scream nor move.

¤¤¤¤¤

Duo glanced at his watch, and swore. Stalking darkly out of bed, he made his way to the mirror room.

¤¤¤¤¤

Hilde breathed heavily as she felt her limbs try desperately to collapse. They would do no such thing. It was as if she were frozen in place. She watched helplessly as the imposter stepped through the mirror into the other side.

Mirror Hilde's face was expressionless, her skin pale. Experimentally, she raised her hand to touch the glass to see if the bindings had done their work. Hilde had no control over her body as she matched the moves exactly. Like Hilde had only minutes before, girl and reflection regarded each other in the mirror. Chilled to her very being, she was forced to look again into the dark, bottomless eyes.

¤¤¤¤¤

Duo swung open the door to the mirror room and saw Hilde with one hand on the glass.

"Hilde! What do you think you're doing at this time of night?! It's almost midnight!"

Hilde did not seem to respond. Slowly, she turned to face the spouting pilot. Duo felt icy prickles run over his body, though he was not sure why.

"Is it? I'm sorry, Duo." The Gundam pilot shivered again. It sounded like Hilde, but her voice seemed to have lost its melodic lilt.

"Um, sure. Are you all right, Hildey?"

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Duo glanced at her face, but could see nothing because she avoided his gaze.

"Did you light the candles?"

"Yes."

"It looks nice."

Hilde said nothing as she started to walk past him. Duo stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. He felt the same prickly icy coldness seep into his fingers from her nightgown.

"Is something going on? Something wrong?"

"No. I'm not sure what you're talking about."

Hilde left the room with Duo watching her reflection in the mirror before fading out of sight. The image in the mirror seemed much clearer than usual. He brushed offer her odd behavior blaming it on the late hour as he too went back to his room. Glancing at the candles in the room, he saw that they had not even begun to burn down yet. She must have finished lighting them when I came in.

He shut the creaking door that enclosed the mirrors softly. Passing Hilde's bedroom, he poked his head through the doorway and asked, "Would you like me to build a fire? You seemed pretty cold."

"No, I'm fine."

"Good night."

There was no answer.

His watch beeped twice, announcing the hour: 12:00.

In the mirror room, one of the candles quietly flickered and went out.

Thunder cracked the sky like a whip in air. Lightning stung and burned the cloud cover. The storm had arrived.

¤¤¤¤¤

Author's notes:

Well, Minna-san (everyone), I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I've wanted to write it for some time. In case some of you are confused with some of the things in the story, here's a quickie explanation:

-Waterspots are those reflections that you see in an anime character's eyes. Usually when they die or are knocked unconscious, the eyes become dark and empty.

-WAR is an online anime radio station. Since I really don't listen that much to the 'real' radio, I wouldn't know the first thing about what stations the characters would listen to.

-The idea of mirror people was originally my dad's. Take it, and I won't finish the rest of the story (well, that and I'll send Duo after you after he's consumed a box full of pixy stix).

I hope that you have enjoyed the first (very long) chapter. If you would like to read the latest parts as they come out, you can check my web page at: http://www.crosswinds.net/~atia/storm/index.html

This will probably be the only AN (author's notes) you'll see until the end of the story. Have fun!

-Daine
Written 6-25-00

Disclaimer: All characters, trademarks, etc. of Gundam Wing are copyright of Sunrise, Sotsu Agency, Bandai and others. All story content is copyright of Daine. Please ask before posting.