Hey you guys! This is my first fic, so I hope you like it. This work has some funny parts, and I might not get every detail right, but so what? This is my theory of what happened ten years after EW; you don't have to agree with it. As always, I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters, so don't sue me, please. (A fair warning:, the characters have changed a little from the show. This is intentional, and my way of saying how I think *this* and *this* would have affected them. I take their characters pretty seriously, so don't argue with me on such issues as "Relena is too a whiny little ditz" and soforth.) Oh yeah, and I apologize for my occasional mangling of the Japanese language. I don't really speak very much of it. Also, if you would like to display this fic on your website please contact me at ItsumademoRelena@aol.com and we'll talk. I've already let one person do it, so it's not like I'll turn you down. This is quite possibly the Never-ending fic, so enjoy and I'll post more as soon as I can. Oh, and please Review :-)

*sigh* Fine, I give in. I'm gonna dedicate this to Shinigami 2.0, 'cause he helped me a lot with this, I.E. plot tweaking, hours of reading the stupid thing, and just generally being my friend. (Although he could talk a little less sometimes. Oh well, I guess you've got to take the good along with the annoying.) Thanks also to Robert, Danielle for support during the occasional emotional crisis, and countless others. Your input has been great, guys.

*DISCLAIMER* I DON'T OWN GUNDAM WING, THE CHARACTERS, THE MUSIC ET CETERA AND I ONLY HAVE A WHOLE HELLOFALOT OF MERCHANDISE. We really aren't required to write disclaimers, are we? I mean, who would want to sue me anyway? 's not like I have much to offer except the sticks I used to build my shack . . .

After Colony 206; The Change Time Brings (Part I)

"Prologue"

The year: After Colony 206. The war that ravaged the Earth and its colonies and almost tore humanity into pieces is almost forgotten, and the people have begun to get on with their lives. The five gundam pilots have all gone separate ways, all in a hail of fame. Relena Darlian continues to maintain an ever-increasingly-shaky peace and there is not a household that does not know her name. Heero Yuy, Milliardo Peacecraft and Lucrezia Noin haven't been seen since their final battle over Earth, the others disappearing into relative obscurity . . .

The rolling hills of northeastern Honshu were lit through a small break of the clouds on the horizon with the gentle caress of the rising sun. What was once farmland was seen as a large, grassy expanse, on which a single road wound its solitary way towards the highway that lead South, on to Tokyo, which had shrunk considerably since its days of poverty and overcrowding. Over the expanse of tranquil beauty peered a young face, much changed from what it had been ten years previous and strangely sad. Dark brown hair fell across deep blue eyes that seemed much too old for their years, which invariably hovered on, not the early-morning scene of peace, but instead a spot of pavement, empty of its usual vehicle.

Soon, the light blue house on the hill seemed to wake with a brief scurry of activity, then fell into unnatural calmness again. Still, the face peered out the window into the sky, as if remembering, as if praying. Fingers tapped a nervous percussion accompaniment, betraying his anxiety. Lonliness seemed so strange now, after years of having none of it. For hours he could be seen in the window, until finally, when the sun was high behind the clouds, it left.

The grandfather clock in the entryway of the empty house rang twice, and the teakettle began to squeal. Soft, strong hands that hadn't lost their slenderness picked it up and poured a cup of green tea, which they then carried to the table in a small room, set off to the side. The small mug sat on an old cherry wood table, surrounded by walls painted soft beige and covered with personal memorabilia. Heero Yuy lay down on his old couch, eyes closed, arm over his forehead as if his head ached, although it felt perfectly fine.

He knew there was no point in worrying. It was common enough to be alone as he was. For a long time, memories flitted through his head as easy as fish through water. Worrying was so easy to do, after all that had happened. There was still too much fear in his own mind for there to be proper comfort. Mysteries plagued him night and day, and the bits of information available to him only alluded, like a distant plane in the night sky you think is a star. Just like so, so many of his dreams had been shattered, but so many of his suspicions quieted and comforted

A sudden rumbling shook the house's foundation. The earthquake-braced shelves and desk rattled. Perfect, round ripples formed inside the teacup as it bounced on the table, trembling towards the edge and threatening to fall to the expensive knit carpet. Heero sat up and his hand shot out to catch the cup, which, with an unnatural crash from the landscape had bounced clear off the table. A single drop splashed into the floor silently, but Heero's attention was focused elsewhere.

Again, he went to the window, looking out into the sky with wild eyes. There was no way they could be back . . . not now, of all times! He'd never actually graduated to full-fledged hallucinations, and it was just too real to be anything but. The green tea continued to soak into the carpet behind him. "No," he whispered, "it can't be. It's impossible." But there was nothing in sight.

Heero's hands trembled at the very thought. Of course they were gone, but what he'd heard was real. To calm himself, he sipped his tea. The steam from it drifted across his harried features, bringing color to his pale face. The hot liquid did little in the way of comforting him, but at least it steadied his nerves for a moment.

The void house echoed suddenly with three knocks on the double front doors. Heero jumped and his teacup fell from stiff hands to shatter against the ground. Perplexed and full of suspicions, he straightened his old green shirt and went to it. The door was old-fashioned and didn't have a method of peering at the visitor, but he didn't need a spyhole to know who his guests were.

The four young men who stood at the door were all failing quite successfully to look aloof, especially the round-faced one who threw his arms around the shocked Heero. Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner and Chang Wufei all started to laugh outright (Was it him, or did it sound too shrill to be unforced?) as the flabbergasted former pilot attempted to disentangle himself from an overenthusiastic Duo Maxwell, who upon his rejection immediately seized Heero by the shoulders and shook him. "Heero! Man, it's so good to see you! So this is where you've been hiding all this time, huh?"

"What the Hell—" Heero managed in way of demanding to be let go and given an explanation. Trowa and Wufei each gripped Duo by a shoulder and dragged him backward. Everyone else quickly regained a solemn face, and the foreboding was almost too much to stand. Only Duo was still grinning, but then again he never had a serious expression when something bad was happening or about to happen.

"Heero," started Quatre, glancing at Duo, who was now trying to brush himself off with an indignant air. The blonde Arabian's face had grown longer and heavier-jawed, and his voice was much deeper. "We've been looking for you."

"Why?" Demanded rather than inquired Heero, who recovered his dignity and stood with his fist clenched against the brass handle of the door. It would be so much better if everyone could just leave him alone! He knew what was coming, and he would rather ignore it. "I've worked long hard to stay away from the world, and it would be nice if some people came to realize that!"

An awkward moment passed between the five recently reunited companions of nearly a decade ago. Wufei cast his eyes around, back to the road and into the sky. Quatre looked a little hurt at being brushed off, and Duo's eyes showed that he was a lot more concerned than he was willing to express.

"But why?" Echoed Trowa solemnly, his hair obscuring whatever feeling he might have been showing.

Heero sighed and clenched his teeth. It was inevitable that they should know, just as it was inevitable that they would be spending much more time together anyway. "Why don't you come in, then? It looks like you'll be here for a while if you really want to know."

~~@[~*,~]@~~

Out beyond the home of man; the poetically gorgeous gem, its surface smoother than that of a child's marble, shining of blue oceans and green forest and golden desert and white, pure white; she watched with a sense of foreboding. He was right, something was wrong, but there was nothing she could do until someone asked her.

Almost forgotten in the bustle of everyday life, war hovered in the bushes by their peaceful existence. The human race, she reflected, was beautiful and ignorant, a dangerous combination (though nowhere as dangerous as beauty and evil). And so, ignorance spawned one who was Aware of them, Aware like no one was. They rejoiced at the day when this beautiful man swore to help them, as always before man had been so cruel and greedy towards them.

He died an unwarranted, undeserved death. At least to her it felt that way. Perhaps to those who could only see the trees from the forest thought different, but they only knew part of the story . . . and of that very little.

You couldn't blame his killer. He was merely a young boy confused and lost with grief, mislead by his own people, ignorant. But now . . . the question arose of how to make others Aware, and finally she thought she knew. The time came, and the time would pass her if she did not act, a critical mistake that could have saved so many lives so long ago. Now was not a time to regret the past, only learn from it.

She watched with sad eyes as the beautiful and utterly alone planet earth turned through its perpetual half-night, half-day. She would not allow a tragedy to befall these people as tragedy had befallen their predecessors. She would not allow them to see the suffering she had seen. She would not allow any of the others to get in her way.

+Activate+

+Activation Successful+

+Receiving Aknowledgement . . .+

GETTING ANXIOUS, MY LADY?

ONLY BECAUSE I REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENNED LAST TIME.

~~@[~*,~]@~~

He, too stared into space, but he out from the little dying planet Earth. The plans had been ingenious, incredibly ingenious, and they made great sense to him. Earth was dying. The old ways were gone, the old ways lost. It was time to begin a new era of human living, existence as they knew it would be shattered and re-glued into a new mold, melted and recast and re-colored . . . oh yes, that would be the way to go.

Suffering was only human, as his hero had come to realize. Unbeknownst to him, that was not the ideal his hero had wanted to convey, but with a man as intelligent as he was, those who happen to not be so advantaged will often misinterpret him.

He had pushed and pushed with all his power, and finally success was becoming his. He held the human race in his palm, and was squeezing as much as he could from it. Soon it all would be his . . . and all that wasn't would be lifeless.

~~@[~*,~]@~~

"I tried to lead the small life for a while, but I'm just too famous," admitted Quatre when the five young men had settled themselves in a small cozy sitting room after being offered tea. "It doesn't work. There's always someone or something that blocks your way. The only way I could calm the public down is to live with what attention you get."

Duo, still grinning insanely, shrugged. "Aw, who would want to? You should see some of the letters I get these days—"

"—from sweet-looking women all around the world." Finished Wufei, sounding annoyed. In fact, a vein was faintly visible on his forehead. "Yeah, Duo, you've said it already about a billion times since we got together, um, yesterday."

"Well . . . I can't really help it if I'm hounded by honeys all the time, can I?"

"But you don't have to keep talking about it. You like it." Wufei snapped. "You're such a lech. It's disgusting."

"Yeah, Duo. From the way you talk you must've gotten laid ten times more than the rest of us combined— including past lives. Somehow I don't think that's possible," added Trowa, looking amused.

"Hey, hey, what is this, Gang Up on Duo Day?" Duo demanded, now blushing and obviously searching for a distraction. "I thought we'd all agreed to pick on Heero for abandoning us?"

"Hey, hold on just a minute! Leaving of my own free will is not exactly abandonment! Don't come into my own house and accuse me!"

Quatre rolled his eyes and gave Heero a knowing look. Heero sighed and put his head in his hands. "Do you guys want to hear this or not?" He said loudly, his voice muffled and slightly irritated.

Wufei paused, his hands gripping Duo's throat in an I-could-choke-you-if-I-wanted-to position, and calmly reasserted himself, though from thereon keeping the maximum amount of distance allowable from Duo on the small couch.

"All right, Heero, but it better be a good story," Trowa said, still fighting to control a grin that was a total contrast on his usually unobtrusive face. Heero realized Duo must have been at it constantly to have both Wufei and Trowa so annoyed.

Heero settled back into his armchair, assuming such a classic storyteller aura that the others had quite a time controlling the threatening chuckles. Heero, in the black shorts and green muscle shirt that never seemed to go away didn't quite fit the bill for the image they all saw in their minds. But Heero's icy glare was so reprimanding they all suddenly felt inexplicably like kids who'd done something wrong (which was, of course, the intention).

"I live here with a woman and her daughter— they helped me pay the lease on the property. It was Relena who helped me find this house."

There was a pause. "That's it? So you're not . . . no, never mind. That wouldn't be you, would it?" Duo shook his head, waving away his suspicions. "Man . . ."

"She knew where you were all along? We asked her and she said she had no idea where you were living these days! She lied to us about that. That's not the Relena I knew!" burst Quatre.

"She knows I like my solitude," continued Heero smoothly. "And she probably didn't actually say she didn't know, knowing her. Which brings me to my original question. Why are you guys here? It was obviously important if you spent all this trouble on trying to find me. I deliberately made if difficult, after all."

None of the others said anything for a minute.

"Well, um, there's a reason we're all here together, actually . . . uh . . ." Duo said, trying to look innocent and not guilty at the same time. "Actually, the Earth Sphere United Nations has been working on a secret project for a few years, and we all received messages asking us if we'd mind, uh, piloting for them. You know, as a symbolism sort of thing . . ."

"They rebuilt our gundams," said Wufei, now unable to look Heero in the face, "without the weapons. And without our permission. They've been having problems with the farthest colonies recently. Nothing violent, but it's starting to concern the representatives. They think that if they use the gundams as peacekeeping tools, it will remind everyone of the war and people won't desire to cause that kind of pain anymore. Frankly, I think that's a poor excuse for rebuilding tools of mass destruction. It's started to worry us."

"You'd think they'd learn after y'know, a giant war," Quatre muttered.

Heero looked away, and was silent for a long while. "I was afraid of this," he said. "I knew it was coming, but I still hoped that it wouldn't. Even without the weapons, the gundams are a temptation. It won't be long before . . ." He trailed off and let the others finish the sentence with their own thoughts.

Soon the five comrades had gotten on with things, however. The joy of seeing each other soon decided to establish itself, reminding everyone silently of the closeness they had felt in their youth. Despite trying times, was the unspoken message, we can still manage to find a common will between us.

The chime at three-thirty marked the slamming of the door. A small voice shouted, "I'm home!" A little girl, no older than five, marched into the room as if she owned it. She deposited a backpack on the floor and stood, her hands on her hips, surveying the scene. "Who're these people?" She asked, looking at Heero.

Trowa, strongly reminded of his niece Mariemaia, smiled. "I'm Trowa. Who are you?"

"Akiko," she said, still looking at Heero questioningly. "Where's my mom?"

Heero motioned for her to come to him, his face softening a little. It was more apparent than he'd probably intended that he had an affection for the child, and she for him. "She had to go off again this morning. She didn't even tell me, so don't look at me like that. She knows you don't like it. I'm sure she'll be home soon."

"I just don't see why," Akiko muttered, climbing into Heero's lap. Some of the others gave each other glances. They'd never have guessed that the ice-god Heero would have a soft spot for kids.

"You know your mom has to work. I guess she believes in what she's doing. I'm sure she'll be home soon," he said again. "Anyway, how was school?"

"Okay." Akiko surveyed the guests warily. "I guess . . ."

"Why don't you go play for a while, huh?" Heero suddenly became conscious of the situation, lifted the little girl down and shooed her away.

"But I have homework!" she protested, eyes imploringly cast on the former pilot. "And I need your help." She said something in another language, and he smiled.

He said something back, half-reprimanding. Quatre suddenly realized it was Japanese. Heero's made a face. "Later."

Duo laughed as the little girl ran off, huffing with indignation and disappointment. She had obviously been wanting attention when she'd found Heero already busy. "Cute kid, Heero."

"Most of the time," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Are you sure she's not yours?" Wufei's question induced edgy stares, and Heero's expression hardened.

"You can ask her mother when she gets back," he said. "But I wouldn't be so sure."

~~@[~*,~]@~~

Late that night, after Akiko had gone to bed, Heero stood on the wooden front porch of his house, staring up at the five gundams parked on his lawn. The moon, silhouetted by thin clouds shone upon the armor of the monstrous machines, making them gleam ominously. Not Here, not now, Heero thought. The eyes of Sandrock-Rebuilt glowed for a moment, then darkened again as the pilot inside communicated with the gundam. Quatre was having trouble sleeping, he knew. So were the others, for the lights of the upper floors of the house kept blinking on and off like bulbs on a faulty circuit.

Heero looked towards Wing Zero Custom-RB, his heart fluttering. How they'd found the blueprints and the necessary pieces from the original, he had no idea. It was a sight horrifying to see back in this world, but relieving to know that it was in his possession. Sprinting out into the dark field, he boarded the gundam with the familiar movements that he knew he'd never forget. Gently, he caressed the circuitry, the control panels, the machinery itself, as if searching for something. The interior of the cockpit was slightly different, more streamlined, but other than that identical to the original. The weapon controls were missing, but Heero noticed that the blank panel where they should have been could be removed easily. Further checks of the computer confirmed it. Zero was ready to go to war.

"Zero, why?" he asked quietly, receiving only the blinking of lights and quite humming of the computer. He didn't care . . . it almost seemed as if the giant feathered thing was laughing at him. ::What a fool you are,:: he seemed to say, ::to think you could ever escape what I am.:

Ghostly voices echoed inside. The screams of so many enemies killed twisted his ears painfully. Battle alerts sounded shrilly, making his heart surge in anticipation of the condemned battles he had sworn never to fight again. Mission, Accepted . . . I have to fight, and die if I must . . . Relena, forgive me . . . Zero, what's happenning? It's - It's a gundam!

"Dammit!" he swore, pounding his fist against the control panel. "Why here? Why now?"

The others wouldn't have been fooled either, he knew. Heero snorted. Politics. Petty politics was all it was, nothing more. These abominations had been built as a result of personal ambition, not a greater will of the people. Relena had said that the Gundams were a symbol to the people . . . but as OZ, the White Fang and all the others had realized, only because they were feared. Heero turned away and was met in the dark by the barrel of a gun.

With a startled jerking motion, Quatre pulled it away. "Heero! I thought you'd gone to bed!"

Heero shook his head. "I couldn't sleep. Sorry I startled you."

Quatre massaged the bridge of his nose. "I've been on edge all day. This place is secluded, but there is any number of people waiting to get their hands on these things God, Heero, do you know how scared I am now? I . . . I understand what can happen now, and I see a regrettable future ahead. It could so easily have been left alone, but those bastards still love their big machines. You saw how easy it'd be to . . ."

Heero motioned him into silence. "I know."

Quatre sighed, sharper adult features that Heero wasn't entirely used to looked especially sharp in the colored, dim lighting. 'I guess I'd better get back over to Sandrock . . ."

"Mn." Heero nodded and shut down the lighting system, recognizing Quatre's insecurity. How easily the motions came back, after ten years. Last time he'd had to turn off the lights, he'd been needed every ounce of energy for the buster rifle that early Christmas dawn to penetrate the fortress and rescue Relena . . . but that had been long ago, and so much had changed. It almost seemed as if Zero was laughing at him. "Shut up! You don't have the faintest idea why it's wrong now, do you? You're so -"

He broke off, pounding his fist against the wall again before grabbing the elevator. Zero . . . was different. He was colder, somehow, bitter perhaps.

Heero found the road and began to trek back to his house. The gravel was rough and black and smelled of wet slate from the lawn sprinklers. The night was cool and clear, and the stars twinkled pitilessly in space. The colonies were up there, waiting for just the right opportunity. Ohh, just wait until they got word. The air felt electric now, and he knew he wouldn't sleep tonight.

"Heero!" Yet another familiar voice called to him as he approached the house. He felt soft, comforting arms around his neck. Her business suit was tired from the long day, seeming worn and old. He'd been living here for eight years, and he'd never had someone understand him so well in his entire life. Akiko was the sweetest child, an absolute joy to have around - most of the time. He'd thanked Relena profusely for finding the house and his friends, and still didn't think he'd thanked her enough.

"You're finally home," he sighed, gripping her around the waist. At least she was back, and he had comfort. It was late, and he'd sleep better knowing she was home, for many reasons. "I've been worried, and Akiko's missed you."

"I know. Oh, Heero, what's going on?" But she knew, even though she asked. She knew more about him than anything else, knew his fears and knew what Zero and the others meant.

Heero looked back towards the field, where Sandrock's eyes still glowed with the restlessness of his old friend. "I'm not sure . . . but it's not good."

~~@[~*,~]@~~

As the sun rose the next morning, to a temporarily clear sky, Heero found Duo asleep at his kitchen table, a gun clenched tight in his hand. Predictably, the smell of bacon frying and bread toasting soon woke the slumbering security guard. "Man, I didn't know you could cook!"

"Put the gun away before Akiko sees it," Heero said, setting the bacon pan in the sink. Just a moment later the little girl walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes.

"Is breakfast ready?"

"Uh huh. Eggs, bacon and toast." Heero put the plate in front of child, who gave him a strange look.

"Why are we all fancy today?"

"Well, we have guests, plus your mom got home late last night. I thought it'd be nice if we all had a nice breakfast today." Heero ruffled Akiko's chestnut hair and went to find the others. Quatre was lounging uneasily on the front porch, trying to read the morning paper. Trowa was still trying fitfully to get some sleep, but there were freshly-ruffled papers on the nightstand. Wufei was meditating, his sword on the bed as if it had been at hand all night. All of them looked extremely tired, no different from how Heero felt.

As the three assembled for breakfast (already getting cold), Akiko surveyed them all and said again, "I thought you said Mom was home."

"She'll be in here any minute," said Heero. Were his eyes sparkling or was is just them? "I just bet."

No sooner than the words had left his mouth than Akiko's mother walked into the kitchen, smiling. "Smells wonderful, Heero . . .Hello, everybody. It's good to see you again."

Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei all shot straight out of their chairs. "Ms. Relena!"

"Mom!" Relena found herself caught around the waist by her daughter. Behind his four shocked comrades, Heero was having a grand time trying to stay silent. She caught his eye, hugging her daughter in return. There would be explanations warranted, and Akiko probably shouldn't be hearing that story yet.

"Oh, sit down, all of you. This is my house, you don't have to salute me here!" Relena sat down in the empty chair next to Heero (which he had specially reserved with many a mock-disappointed look from Duo), who quickly regained his normal poise.

"I think we're owed a little story, Heero," said Duo, batting his eyelashes and shoving some toast into his mouth. The others glanced at each other trying to hide grins.

"Later," said Heero, nodding pointedly to the interested-looking Akiko. "She's never going to eat if we tell stories, and she has to leave for school in twenty minutes."

Without another word, they all ate their breakfast.

~~@[~*,~]@~~

Heero stared at Relena, disbelieving. His hands were frozen halfway up, elbows crooked in a kind of comical frozen-in-place position. If the subject had not been so dire he would have been met with laughs. "You mean to tell me that you knew about this all along? Why didn't you tell me??"

Upset, Relena shook her head. "I didn't want to worry you. I really didn't think the idea would get off the drawing board. Heero, I wasn't involved. I even lodged a formal protest, but I guess they ignored it . . ." She slumped back. "I didn't want to jeopardize you."

"We're negotiating a contract about the gundams right now with the government, but they won't lay anything down until they know you're in for it, Heero." Trowa jumped into an explanation to save yelling. "They want the original five pilots for the original five Mobile Suits. Well, except Wing Zero-Custom. See, once we have the gundams in our possession, we can do whatever we want with them. Did you happen to notice that they built the self-destruct mechanisms in?" He sipped his coffee, smirking.

"I did," said Heero, remembering the familiar red switch. Relena's eyes widened. "That was very unwise of them."

"But," interjected Duo, refusing to be deterred, "first of all, you two owe us an explanation. Relena, how can you stand living with this guy, and why didn't you tell us?"

"And the kid. Don't forget the kid," added Quatre.

Relena raised her eyebrow at Heero. He shrugged. "It's a long story, on both parts. To put it simply, Akiko's our daughter— it's completely legit, Duo" (who jumped) "— and we're married. No one knows because the only existing marriage certificate resides here with us, along with Akiko's only authenticated records. Only a handful of people know all of this information, so don't go telling everyone."

"I kept it quiet because Heero likes his solitude. I felt I owed it to him," continued Relena. "And I never actually lied to you. If you remember, I never actually said I didn't know where he lived."

"True," Quatre admitted to himself.

"That still doesn't explain everything," said Wufei.

"I know," replied Heero delicately. "Like I said, it's a long story."

"Hey, we got all day," said Duo, stretching out comfortably and dropping his arm around Relena's shoulders, of which it was immediately removed with a warning look from her husband.

"You want to start?" Relena asked.

**************************************

Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of AC 206: The Change Time Brings. I know this fic is very long, but the second book is even longer! If you like a real deep story, you'll like lots of later parts to this one. It's also got some really funny chapters. Don't know what I was on when I wrote them, though *sweatdrop*.

Two years after the Mariemaia incident, Relena's finally tracked Heero down. Why'd he run away in the first place? What does this reunion hold in store for the two of them (well, besides the obvious)? Next Chapter of AC 206: "Between Us and No One Else".