Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chaos, Confusion & Enlightenment ❯ Chaos ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. I wish I did, but I don't. Thanks to the wonderful people who do though, for letting me borrow them!

The story idea itself is mine however.

-SerinityR

*Author's notes:

This is my first fan fiction so please be nice, but please tell me what you think. Any advice, compliments or constructive criticism is welcome. I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes that I may have missed.

Also, there are many different levels, so it may seem confusing at times, please just go with it, but if you have any questions just ask. Some of the things, I may put into side stories as well. I'm not sure yet. Let me know what you think.

Usual pairings: H/R, D/H, Q/D, T/C, W/S & Z/N

CHAPTER 1

Chaos, Confusion and Enlightenment

The wind swept about her in a fury of salt air as a tendril, curly from the pins that held her long golden tresses tightly in a fashionable twist, escaped. The damp material of the sapphire gown caught about her like a torrent of waves washing over her, making her usually crystal clear blue eyes darken and dance dangerously. "Why now?" she thought as fresh tears ran down her already tear stained face and blended into the folds of the watery silks that blew in the silent wind. She looked out over the cliff, and down at the rocks below, the water quietly lapping at the sharp points. She looked into her hand, at the beautiful rose she was now holding close to her heart. Every morning for the past 4 years she would awaken to find a perfect rose, from her perfect solider, lying on the pillow next to her. And it had been enough. But now…. Was it still enough?

She thought back to all the laughter and tears that she had shared with all of her friends over the years. The friends that she had meet through and because of the war. These were the dearest, most important people to her in her life. Her strong will tried so hard even back then to protect them, even if they didn't know it. She would always do what she had to in order to protect her perfect solider especially. She knew that he loved her more than mere words could express, she likewise loved him with her whole being. But now, they were starting to push her, and for the first time ever, she was afraid. Even during the war, surrounded by constant threats of death, she was never afraid, at least not for herself. She had learned long ago what her place in this world entailed, and if she died, she would die a martyr. She had promised herself not to expect too much and to be content with the fact that she would die for what she believed in, her friends, her loved ones. But this was different, they weren't threatening her physical life, they were threatening her whole being. And because of that, she, the real Relena Dorlain, was becoming lost, as if sinking in quick sand, with no possible escape.

A sharp `snap' brought her out of her revere as she whipped her head up in the direction it was coming from and prepared herself with a battle stance that WuFei had taught her. `She may be prepared for death, but if and when she died, she would be taking somebody down with her. After all, she may support pacifism for the most part, but you didn't learn from the Gundam Pilots for nothing!' She thought feverantly.

Out of the foliage stumbled Duo. "Relena! I've been looking everywhere for you, we've got to get out of here. Quickly, the others will be waiting for us." He stated, grabbing her gloved hand and pulling her with him.

She knew something was wrong as soon as her usually jovial friend looked at her with such a serious face, calling her Relena, instead of his usually jubilant `Jousan', or even `Lena' or `Rel'. "But Duo, what's happened, what's wrong?" She asked him, as she looked up into the now night sky and saw what at first appeared to be a few harmless fireworks. "Duo…?" Her question trailed off as he caught her gaze and looked up into the night sky also.

"That's…. what happened Relena" he said so softly that she barely heard him, while they watched what became magnificent explosions deep in the heart of space, and they were getting closer. "Quickly!" Duo said snapping out of his trance from watching the beautiful colors dance around on the black backdrop. The fire returned to his violet eyes, as he bent to scope up the small girl in the big ball gown, and ran. And Relena, for the first time saw what it was about Duo that made grown men weep for fear and beg for mercy.

She was not afraid of Duo, he would never hurt her. He was one of her best friends, and she knew that he would do his all to protect her, even die for her, but suddenly for some unknown reason, she was deeply afraid for him. She didn't want to hinder him, so she started fighting against his tight grip. "Duo! Let me go! You're almost as bad as Heero! Really! Now let me go, I can run myself." She said, still struggling within his arms even though she knew that it was useless.

"In that dress?!" Duo exclaimed in disbelief. "You know Heero would kill me, along with everyone else, including myself, if something happened to you. Now, be a good girl and stay still." He tiredly panted.

"No, Duo that's ridicules! Now help me with this dress, I don't want to slow you down anymore than I already have." Relena huffed.

"Okay, okay, but we've got to be quick. Now stand still and close your eyes." He ordered as he placed her quickly, yet gently upon the soft damp ground.

"Okay, all set." She said squeezing her eyes closed tightly.

With one quick swoop of his dagger he managed to remove the two top skirts and quite a few inches off the bottom. Relena opened her eyes one at a time. "I'm not even going to ask how in the world you did that." She stated, looking at her now knee length slip of a dress with a small smirk forming on her lips.

"You know me by now babe" Duo laughed for the first time that night and raised an eyebrow as he noticed that the proper little princess was actually wearing running shoes, and the two took off again.

Farther away in the dense forest, 4 men came barreling through a small clearing. Each one pulled a girl along with him.

Heero pushed through the bushes, holding it away, as he waited for Sally to follow. He surveyed the area with quiet stealth, as three more bushes rustled, and three of his four comrades came forth, only to come face to face with the end of Heero's gun.

"Yuy! Put that down" Wufei nearly shouted, until he remembered their predicament. He was striding toward the tosseled hair pilot and Sally, with Dorothy walking right besides him, the two trying to vie for who would lead. "I can't believe you gave me this onna to watch out for! If anything…." He trailed off as Sally put up her finger to silence his angry rant.

"Wufei, now is not the time. We all need to regroup, make sure everyone is okay. Then we will fight." Sally spoke softly, yet sternly and with passion. It was only one reason as to why Wufei truly respected and cared for her.

Next came Quatra with Catherine. The blond pilot was watching the circus performer as she unconsciously twirled her throwing knifes between her nimble fingers. She looked up at her friend, a questioning look in her green eyes. It was a look that they all shared, that they all questioned. But nobody was yet brave enough to try the answer.

"Wait!" a voice called for attention. Everyone looked towards the black haired girl and the man with one bang. "Where are Duo and Relena?!" Hilde questioned with fear rising in her voice. "Duo was one of the first to leave, shouldn't they be here by now? Heero?! Shouldn't they?!" The panic continuing to rise as she thought of her loved one and of her best friend. "they have to be okay, right?" she whispered into the night, wringing her hands incessantly.

"I'm sure they're fine, Hilde. Just believe in that." Trowa quietly stated, putting a arm around the now shivering girl, trying to give her comfort and hope. He looked over to Heero, and noticed the other man's eyes flashing. He caught his eye, and Trowa silently offered his friend, comfort and support as well. Heero nodded once, at the quiet reassurance, acknowledging his good intent, as his hand balled into a white knuckled fist.

Heero looked up into the night sky. `I will find you, Relena. I will.' He promised to himself and to the stars. He looked down at his watch frowning. "We can't wait any more, we've got to go. Any longer, and we'll all be in danger." He finished through clenched teeth. He passed Hilde and placed a hand on her shoulder, "We will find them Hilde, I promise. I can feel her." He said quietly, his voice struggling with the hidden pain. He looked back up into the sky, looking for that wishing star that Relena was always telling him about.

"I know, I can feel Duo too. I would know if something had happened" She spoke quietly, and yet fiercely at the same time. Returning Heero's look, she joined the others, and they all walked on, disappearing back into the dark night.

They kept a steady pace, following behind Heero. They had all unconsciously stayed in the pairs that they had started out with when this nightmare of theirs began. They watched him and the surrounding forest, looking, listening, for anything out of the ordinary, or even the ordinary, that was the problem. None of them really knew what they were looking for, or really, what was looking for them. They bravely continued onward, their thoughts never leaving their two missing comrades. They knew that Duo and Relena would take care of each other, but still, when you didn't know what was out there….

Relena, threw aside any of her past thoughts of self-pity and frustration with a disgusted snort at herself, and focused her attention on what was at hand. She was brought to an abrupt halt behind Duo, as a shiver went up her spine, the chill giving her Goosebumps. It was as though someone or something was watching her. She looked over at Duo who was now tensely crouched, surveying his dark surroundings. She did like wise, following him into the tall grass, watching for a sign of what was going on and what they would do next.

Duo saw a red light quickly moving towards them. He pushed Relena completely down and covered her, using his black outfit as camouflage. "When I tell you to run, you run, got it?!" he whispered roughly in her ear.

"You know I can't do that Duo" She calmly stated. "Where you go, I go, you know I'm not leaving you until I know that we're both safe. What would Hilde say?" She teased, turning his constant ribbing about Heero around on him.

She was quickly silenced however, as Duo's hand covered her mouth. Something was approaching, and he was hoping, as unlikely that it was, that it would pass them in the dark. They didn't know who or what these new enemies were yet, and they didn't want to underestimate them, at least not until they knew what they were up against. Duo thought with his famous shinigami smile.

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She tried to keep a calm face as her husband strode purposfully towards her, his steps almost jerky in his hurry to reach her side.

"Noin" he gasped out. "It's happend. We have to get you out of here."

"What are you talking about Zechs? What's going on? You know that if you're fighting I'm going with you." she stated simply yet passionately.

She flinched as his hands slammed down on the desk besides her. "Not this time" he grit out as he gestured towards her expanding stomach.

She took a long look at him as she steped back, queitly noticing how truly tense he was. "Where are the pilots Zechs?" she asked, a curious and slightly suspesious tone in her voice.

"I... I don't know Noin. They were sent out to retrieve Relena and the others, but they have not yet returned. And they don't seem to be in a hurry to break radio silence, so I can only surmise that something has happend that is making them already move to the next level, which is why we have to get you out of here as well." he finished as he looked at her now widening eyes.

"There's something that you haven't told me, isn't there? What have you been keeping from me?" She clenched her teeth as she tried to keep her anger down in order to stay alert. Obviously, this was no time for such childish feelings of betrayal just because her husband wanted to try to keep her safe. Not that he wouldn't answer for that later, but for now, she just wanted to know what was going on.

"You have no clue Noin. It's far too complicated to try to explain at this juncture, but soon, soon it will all become far too aparent wheather or not we want it to."

"I'm not leaving without you Zechs." Her chin jutted out with determination. She was confused, more confused then she remembered being. Even more confused then when Zechs seemed to be fighting on the other side, but she was determined. She would not lose what she and the others had worked so hard for. She would not let Zechs and the other pilots give up the happiness that they had found.

He looked at the strength and sterness hidden in the depths of her beautiful eyes and knew that he could never leave her even if he wanted to. " I wouldn't dream of it" he whispered truthfully. "We'll get through this together, don't worry, I promise that I'll take care of you."

"You mean you promise that we'll take care of each other" she said, as small smirk forming on her lips.

"Of course." he nodded his head in apology to her, a small smirk on his face as well.

"Oh, but Zechs, what about the others? She gasped, quickly remembering the situation. The little that she knew about anyways.

"Don't worry Noin, we'll find them. Those kids will be alright, they're pretty much an army on their own. Thankfully." he said serioulsy.

"You do know that they aren't kids anymore, right? she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

He raised an elegent eyebrow in repsonse. "Yes, but I'd rather not be reminded of that when Relena is out there probably all alone with Heero. And before you give me that look, know that I do respect and trust him, probably more then any other actually, but Noin, come on, she's still my baby sister, you've got to give me something" he finished almost sounding exsaperated by the time he was done.

"Okay, okay. I understand. So, do you know where they are then, or where they are going at least?"

"Well since they didn't come back here as originally planned and they have not tried to contact us, I can only assume that they went to the next stage. And the road that they are taking could be extremly perilous."

"And that's where we are going, right? We are going to follow them, correct?" It was more of a statement then a question, as if she was reassuring herself.

"Yes Noin, as I told you before, we will find them, it just may take some time, we just need to have some faith. That's all we can do for right now. Now, quickly, we must get going ourselves before it is too late!" Zechs stated quickly as he grabbed her hand and rushed towards the hidden door behind one of the tapestries.