Disclaimer: I only own the girl.

Author's note: Another random fic. Man, they just love to crawl out of the woodwork, don't they? Anyway, this is a Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm/ Gundam Wing crossover. I know; what MORE can I do to our poor pilots? Just wait. I got a lot more stored in my mind.

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It felt like he was floating when he came to. His eyes were closed and he couldn't hear anything. He was comfortably warm and felt completely relaxed.

'Where... am I? How did... I get here? When did I... fall asleep?...' These thoughts crossed his mind all at once, and he tensed up.

'Where are the others?!'

He instinctively tried to take in a sharp breath with the realization of the thought, but instead got a quite a bit of water. His blue eyes snapped wide open in shock. He found himself in a metal capsule of some sort, with a full-length glass window in front of him. He could see what was outside, but it didn't matter to him; he was completely submerged in water, and he had no way out.

He immediately began to thrash about as his lungs began to burn. He twisted around as he searched for an escape, a way to free himself from his watery prison and into the sweet, blessed air. He felt tubes brush up against the back of his hand, and he began to claw at them in blind panic. His lungs were now screaming and he ripped at the tubing, hoping they would cause an exit to open.

Just before he was sure he was a goner, he heard a faint hiss, and the water started to drain. He whirled around to see the glass window slowly opening on a hinge. He smiled with relief and let the flow carry him out to, what felt like, a paradise.

Instead of a paradise, however, he landed on his hands and knees in hot, wet sand. His fingers gripped the earth as his back arched, his wet braid sliding off of his bare back. His arms shook wearily as he retched and coughed up the water he had breathed in. Water and saliva dripped from his mouth as he took in deep breaths, his eyes staring at the shadow he cast upon the grains of sand. His bangs were plastered to his forehead. The piercing panic dulled to throbbing anxiety as he slowly got to his feet. He immediately registered immense heat, because, as he found out, he wasn't wearing anything but his favorite black boxers. Looking ahead, he could only find sand as far as he could see.

A sudden noise to his right startled him, and he turned as quickly as he could towards the sound. He saw a capsule, similar to his, just a few feet away from him. The window, however, was covered with cracks that ran like spider webs across the entire surface, water spurting out in random places. Then a shattering noise sounded and bits of glass and water spewed forth, a tightly clenched fist emerging from the center.

Duo jumped back a little as the rest of the window was broken, a soaking wet and dark red boxer-clad Heero jumping from the opening towards Duo, leaping over the sharp shards and safely landing on his hands and knees in the wet area caused by Duo. There he immediately began removing the water from his lungs, heaving and coughing.

Duo got down on one knee beside him. Worry was evident in his eyes and voice. "Heero? You okay, buddy?"

"Yeah....." he managed to say between gasps for breath. Duo got back to his feet and offered him a hand. He accepted and together they got Heero to his feet.

"Where are we?" Heero asked as he pushed back a wet lock of brown hair, gazing at the miles of sand before them.

"No clue," admitted Duo. "I don't even recognize the area."

Heero suddenly and quickly walked to the left of Duo's capsule, leaving Duo staring at the sand. He turned to see Heero standing in front of yet another similar capsule, his blue eyes grim and focused. He was staring through the glass at the serene face on the other side. Duo stood beside him.

"Oh..... My..... God....."

There, nearly floating inside the capsule, was the uni-banged pilot known as Trowa Barton. His face was calm, and it looked like he was asleep. His muscular arms were crossed over his chest like an X, his hands resting on his shoulders. Dark green boxers were his only clothing. His hair covered his left eye. He looked every bit like someone who was lying in their coffin, awaiting to be buried.

Duo looked further to his right and saw two other capsules beside Trowa's, all standing neatly in a row. He ran over and put a hand on the glass of the fourth, then looked over at the fifth and put his other hand on the warm glass.

The fourth capsule contained Quatre, the blonde Arabian with his arms crossed over his chest in an X, just like Trowa. His only article of clothing was his yellow boxers. His face was so calm it unnerved both pilots. He made no movement to signify he was even alive.

The fifth and final capsule held the Chinese warrior himself, Wufei Chang. Dark blue boxers were his only coverings. Just like his companions, he looked very much like a corpse waiting for burial.

Duo, scared and worried for his friends, began to franticly look for a button or handle to open the glass doors. "There's got to be a way to open these things!" he growled.

It was Heero who noticed Quatre's face twitch as he swept over the capsule with his eyes. "Duo!" he urged as he pulled on the American's left shoulder. The braided boy jerked his head around to see Heero looking intently at Quatre's still form. He turned to see Quatre's expression change from peaceful to a grimace of pain. His body tensed and his shoulders jerked a little. His eyes, however, remained closed.

Duo felt his heart skip a beat with relief. "He's alive!" he cried. "Quatre's alive!" He began to pound on the glass in hopes of reviving his friend. "Quatre!!" he yelled. "Quatre, wake up!!"

At first, there was no response from the teen inside. Then his eyes suddenly snapped open, terror reflected in the aquamarine depths. Bubbles burst from his mouth and floated to the top of the capsule as he tried to scream. A hand immediately shot to his throat as he inhaled water, the terror in his eyes increasing. He looked at Duo, pleading for him to find a way to get him out of the capsule.

"Damnit!" Duo cursed as he pounded on the glass.

It was then he noticed the blinking red light. It was about the size of a quarter, and was level with Quatre's shoulders. A second glance revealed that it was sticking out just a fraction, meaning it was a button. He quickly reached up and slammed his fist down on it.

There was a loud beep, then the glass door began to open. He backed away as Quatre was washed out onto the sand, landing on his hands and knees as he forced himself to cough up the water he had inhaled. Both Duo and Heero were at his side in an instant, Duo patting his back to help him expel the water.

"Uh..." groaned Quatre once the water was gone. He began to take deep breaths as they took hold of his arms, gently helping him up to his feet.

"Are you going to be okay man?" Duo asked. Quatre nodded, his eyes closed as he attempted to calm himself. The immediate terror was gone, but a sense of danger and uneasiness still remained.

"Quatre, do you have any idea as to where we are?" Heero asked him.

Quatre looked at their surrounding area then shook his head. "No. It doesn't look familiar to me. Sorry."

"Well," said Duo, attempting to keep his friends from getting depressed. "At least we know how to get Trowa and Wufei out when we need to."

"Speaking of which..." Quatre walked over towards the third capsule, looking up at Trowa with concern in his eyes. "Why were we put in these things?" he asked as his mind leaped ahead to find a reasonable explanation. Maybe a few remnants of hard-core OZ believers had them confined? But how could have they without a fight? He didn't remember anything about a fight, or the capsules they were trapped in.

He was so deep in thought; it was no wonder he cried out in surprise when Trowa's one visible eye snapped wide open, his pupil contracting to the sudden exposure to light. Heero rushed up and slammed on the blinking button; two beeps were heard, then the sound of two glass doors opening. Quatre turned to see the door to the fifth capsule opening, Duo standing nearby, his hand still over the button. Both of the newly awakened pilots fell to the sand, coughing and gasping.

"You alright Wufei?" Duo asked as he helped the Chinese pilot stand up.

"I'm fine," he said between gasps for air.

Heero and Quatre helped Trowa regain himself. After a few minutes, all five pilots were situated enough to organize themselves and plan their next move.

"Okay," said Duo. "Let's make a list of what we know."

"We're in a desert," said Wufei.

"In our underwear," added Quatre.

Duo blinked. This wasn't quite what he had in mind.

"We apparently got here in those," Heero said, glancing at the capsules.

"You know," said Trowa. "I don't remember anything about those. The last thing I remember is all of us being at Quatre's."

"Me too," said Duo, wringing out his braid.

Quatre timidly raised his hand. "Um excuse me? But could we go find some clothes? I don't want someone finding us out here in just our skivvies."

"I agree," supported Wufei, looking down at his dark own blue boxers. "They won't give us much protection from anything."

Trowa scanned the horizon, shielding his eyes with his right hand. He spotted something and pointed it out with his left hand. "Look," he offered.

The others turned and shielded their eyes as well. Heero's eyes narrowed.

"Buildings. Possibly a city. It's a ways away, but we should be able to make it by sundown."

"Great! Then let's go!" Duo enthused.

----

The five boys stood beside each other in amazement. Their eyes scanned the area in front of them with disbelief.

"Well," sighed Duo. "So much for the city idea..."

The "city" was laid in ruins. Large white skyscrapers were lying in chunks on the ground. Some remained standing, but it appeared half of the building had been ripped away or blown off. The roads were cracked and stained with blood. There appeared to be no living inhabitants.

Quatre just stared at the destruction in front of them. He couldn't believe that this used to be a city. How many people used to live here? How many were killed? How many corpses are lying on the road? Had any escaped? Was there anyone left to help them?

"I don't like this..." Duo mumbled to himself. His bangs had dried, but his braid was still heavy with moisture.

"We have to check it out," said Heero, his eyes locked on the remains of a tall office building. He didn't like it either, to be honest. But they still needed some decent clothing.

They all walked into the city, stepping over the pieces of pavement where the road was abruptly cut off.

"What on earth could cause this much damage?" wondered Quatre as he stepped over a chunk of pavement that was as high as his knees. His hair had completely dried in the hour it took for them to walk here.

"Most likely a war of some kind," responded Trowa as they continued walking into the ruins. Only his bangs were wet, as they were the longest.

"Nuclear?" Wufei offered. His hair, being black, was the first to completely dry.

Duo suddenly averted his path, running to their left until he kneeled down on one knee about ten yards away. The other four followed him and stood beside him; Heero and Wufei on his right and Quatre and Trowa on his left.

Duo sadly shook his head. His voice had a sad tone to it. "Definitely not nuclear."

It was a girl, approximately their age. She was wearing baggy jeans and a black T-shirt. She had red hair that was full of tight waves. She would have been very pretty, if it weren't for the bullet hole in the middle of her forehead. Duo gently opened her left eye to reveal pretty green eyes staring blankly back at them. The pupil of the eye had no reaction to the sudden exposure to light. She had been dead for a long time, judging by how the blood that ran down her face and matted her hair was dry and crumbling.

Duo again shook his head. He hated this. Whoever did this obviously had no regard for civilians. From the way the area looked, they just shot them on sight. Frankly, it seriously ticked him off. But he had time to be angry later.

Quatre became horrified when Duo began to try to take the girl's shirt off. He took a step back. "Th-this isn't right! We can't just take the clothes from their bodies! It's just not right..." He drifted off as he saw the look Duo was giving him. He could clearly see just how much this hurt Duo. He could see the moisture that was threatening to gather, but was being fought off to the best of Duo's ability.

"I don't like it either, Quatre," he said with a calm tone as the other three walked off to find clothing. "I didn't want to do this. But we don't have a choice. But if we can stop this," he paused, looking down at the girl, then looking back at Quatre. "From ever happening again to anyone else, it would be worth it, right?" He had managed to keep his voice calm throughout, giving the scene and eerie feel.

Quatre could feel the hotness behind his eyes, but he fought against it. He numbly nodded his head, lightly rubbing his upper arms as a sudden chill ran down his back.

Duo nodded back. "Go find yourself some clothes. It's going to get colder later."

Quatre nodded again, then slowly turned and walked off towards the nearest body.

----

It was another girl. She appeared to be about fifteen years old. Her hair was a sandy blonde and cut short, about to the base of her neck. She was wearing glasses with small, round lenses on her face. She was also wearing regular blue jeans and a hooded sweater. The sweater, although a faded gray, was stained with large red spots surrounding four small holes where a bullet had gone though. She had been shot four times in the chest.

Quatre got down on his knees, still looking at the girl and saying silent apologies. But the second he touched her clothes, he felt a torrent of pain; pain that wasn't his own. He almost fell backwards from the initial force. He flinched and brought his hand back to his chest, staring wide-eyed at the corpse before him.

It wasn't physical pain he was feeling. It was emotional. Like a sharp piercing of a needle was wedging itself in his heart. It almost hurt physically. She hurt so much; she probably welcomed her demise.

Quatre fell backwards, landing on his rear. He began to try to put some distance between him and the body. 'What's happening to me?!'

----

Wufei didn't have to walk far before he found a body. Kneeling down on one knee, he saw that the girl appeared to be fifteen, the same age that he was when he began to fight OZ. She had blonde hair that was cut to her jawbone. She was wearing a white tank top and baggy blue jeans. The left pant leg of the jeans were stained red, mostly around a bullet hole. Another bullet wound bloodied the girl's left shoulder, and then finally a hole in the side of her head. Wufei's mind quickly assumed that she had been shot in the leg as she tried to run, shot in the shoulder, then, after being allowed to writhe in pain for a bit, put out of her misery.

Wufei shook his head. 'She was too young to have to go though this,' he thought to himself. 'She shouldn't have had to find out what it felt like to be shot. No one here should.' He felt it, deep in his gut- was it guilt? Guilt that they hadn't arrived sooner? Guilt that he couldn't have helped save her life, along with many others? Or was the guilt of his days as a Gundam Pilot finally catching up to him?

----

Heero felt his stomach lurch as he kneeled by the body he had found.

She appeared to be seventeen. She had brown hair that was cut short, about mid-neck in length. There was a bullet hole in her right leg, which Heero assumed was supposed to keep her from running. The last bullet was lodged in her throat, her neck pierced and bloody. Her baggy denim jeans were stained, along with her dark blue shirt that appeared a size too big for her frame. He quickly summarized that the bullet didn't kill her directly; she died of suffocation.

Heero closed his eyes and bowed his head as the familiar words forced themselves into his head. They were words he wished he could forget; a voice he wish he never would have to hear again; and, thanks to that young soldier, he wouldn't have to.

'This is war!! It is no big deal sacrificing the general pubic! Got it?!'

"This is all wrong....." he whispered as he opened his eyes, the usually sharp blue orbs softening. "This shouldn't have happened....."

----

The first girl Trowa found appeared to be about twelve years old. She had shoulder-length brown hair that was a bit wavy. She was wearing a rather tight black long-sleeved shirt with a glittery spider and web on the front. Baggy blue denim jeans with a black belt made up the rest of her attire. Both of her shoulders were bloody, and the exit wound to a bullet was formed in her forehead.

"So young....." he said softly, his green eyes developing a shade of sadness. No one should have to go through this at such an age; she never got to live her life.

Trowa gently shook his head. He needed to focus: he needed to find clothes. The girl's pants would fit him; he would need to use the belt, no doubt; but her shirt just wouldn't work. Black and long-sleeved was a bad idea in the desert. He didn't know what she was thinking in the first place. Begrudgingly, he started to remove her pants. It took him a few minutes, but he finally managed to get them on himself. Tightening the belt, he set out to find a shirt.

It didn't take him long. Just down the road another girl lay. She appeared to be about fourteen. She was wearing a green T-shirt with regular blue jeans. She had straight brown hair that went past her shoulders. She was wearing glasses with small lenses. There were a total of three bullet holes: one in her stomach, one in her chest, and one in her forehead. The shirt was stained, but still usable.

As Trowa put the shirt on, him mind raced to find an explanation. What was the reason for such slaughter? These were innocent civilians- adolescents even- and yet they were still being killed. It just didn't make sense. These people couldn't fight back; so why were they being treated as enemy soldiers? Who would be psychotic or sadistic enough to do such a thing?

----

The five young men met up near a damaged office building, fully clothed.

"Okay," said Duo, looking at each of his companions before he finished. "So what's our next move?"

"We find living people who can tell us exactly what's going on." Heero hoped he would never have to take the "leader" position again after all that time it meant life and death for all five of them. But now he had no choice; if he and his friends were to live, action needed to be taken immediately.

"I'd like to find out what date it is too." Quatre's voice told everyone he was uneasy- scared even- but something else was wrong. He sounded disturbed, and he kept looking at the buildings around them as if they were haunted.

Duo's brow furrowed slightly as he noticed his friend's perturbed look. He waved his hand in front of Quatre's face. "Quatre? You okay man?"

The blonde Arabian blinked and refocused his eyes on the braided American. "I'm fine, but..." He continued to look at the buildings, the distant look in his eyes returning. "This place feels like... well, like something's wrong."

Duo snorted. "Besides the fact that we're standing in the middle of a ruined city with dead people all around us?"

"This place feels... strange," continued Quatre, ignoring Duo's comment. "It feels different from the Earth I remember. Like something's here that wasn't before."

"I agree with Heero," said Wufei, looking at the people around him. "If we can find someone living we might be able to get the information we need."

Duo kicked at the road underneath him, watching his shoes scuff the asphalt underneath. Both of his hands were behind his back. He looked a lot like a little kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, trying to hide his eyes behind his brown bangs. "You guys go ahead. I'm going to stay here and look for survivors."

Wufei cocked an eyebrow. "What makes you think that anyone- if anyone survived, that is- would want to stay here after that... that massacre?"

"I'll go with him," Quatre said suddenly.

The other three young men gave the two strange looks, but then just shrugged and accepted it.

"What'll you guys be doing?" asked Duo, raising his head to look at Heero and folding his arms in front of him.

Heero turned and looked over his shoulder. "I thought I saw something further down in the desert over there. I think we should check it out."

The braided American nodded. "So we'll just follow your footprints when we're done."

"Right. We'd better hurry; we don't have much time left before it gets dark."

The group then separated, the Arabian and the American heading deeper into the city while the others moving out towards the desert.

----

It took Heero, Trowa, and Wufei an hour to walk to what Heero had seen, and it wasn't what they were expecting. From far away, it looked like a bunch of small, oddly shaped buildings. But now that they were close, they realized it was something else entirely. Their lower jaws dropped open and their eyes widened.

The crystals were about as high as the young men's knees. They were a solid shade of bright green. They were gathered into what looked like an unorganized field about four football fields large.

The shock wore off after a few minutes. Then Heero stepped closer and kneeled by the closest crystal to inspect it closely.

"What... are these things? I didn't think crystals could grow this big..." Wufei awed.

Heero carefully reached out to touch one of the crystals. He got about an inch away before he suddenly brought his hand back. "Don't touch them," he warned as he stood up. "They burn."

"They burn?" asked Wufei incredulously.

The blue eyed young man just showed his friends his hand. His fingertips were red where a layer of skin had been burned off.

The other two previous Gundam pilots moved next to their friend and stared at the crystals. A few moments passed before the 01 pilot turned and took a few steps away, his eyes scanning the ground. He bent down to pick something up, then straightened again and walked back to his friends. They saw a small rock in his hand, about the size of a ring. Without a word, gave it a light toss into the field.

The rock hit the side of a crystal with a "ting" and bounced, flying another foot and a half before hitting the side of another crystal and flying another foot and a half. It continued in a similar zigzag pattern until it got about twelve feet away from the boys, who were standing amazed at the distance it had traveled. The rock bounced into two crystals that were right next to each other, then fell to the ground between them with a "thunk".

Wufei turned to his friend that had tossed the stone. He blinked a few times as one eyebrow raised. "Heero, how much power did you put into that toss?"

No time for words had passed before the area around where the stone had landed suddenly raised itself on four legs.

The three boys jumped back, eyes wide, as the beast; for indeed it was an animal; shook the loose soil from its back.

It was about the size of a large dog. It had black skin, its back growing green crystals similar to those still in the ground. Its muscles were solid looking, almost as if they had been chiseled from rock. The canine-looking head turned towards them, its beady red eyes focusing on them like a laser beam. Its lips drew back as it growled, brandishing razor-sharp teeth. Trowa Barton, being a young man of few words, said the one thing that was on all three of their minds.

"RUN!"

In an instant all three had turned 180 degrees, running as fast as they could back to the city. The beast, however, ran after them and stopped at the edge of the field of crystals. Its body jerked forward four times in rapid succession, each movement shooting a long and skinny green crystal like an arrow from its body. Sand flew forwards as three of the crystals embedded themselves into the ground. The fourth buried half of its length, about five inches, into the back of Trowa's right leg.

It was one of the few times he actually screamed in pain and agony. It was like a searing hot point that seemed to go through the bone and muscle to the other side. The pain spread until it felt like his entire leg was on fire, quickly being consumed while the only thing he could do was writhe in agony. He fell forward; not bothering to try to catch himself before his face hit the sand. His eyes were shut tight and his teeth were bared as he gnashed them together to keep himself from screaming again.

His two companions stopped at the sound of his scream, and now quickly returned to grab him before he could roll onto his back to grab at his leg. The beast chased them no further and shot no more crystals. Heero and Wufei kept running, adrenaline taking its course through their veins as they half carried, half dragged the injured Trowa as he left a red trail in their wake.

----

Duo and Quatre had searched the city for an hour, going down each street individually and checking each of the bodies they encountered. Needless to say, they were becoming less and less spirited as each moment passed. They had gotten about halfway through the city before they found themselves walking in the middle of the road, surrounded by the ruins of once great buildings.

Duo sighed, watching the cracked road pass underneath him as he walked. "It seems pretty hopeless, man. I'm starting to think that there's nobody alive here but us."

Quatre shook his head. "No; someone's out here."

The American looked up at him, one eyebrow lowered slightly. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't think. I know."

"How can you- Hold it!" Duo cut himself off, his voice suddenly becoming hushed and urgent. He took hold of the sleeve of Quatre's shirt as he suddenly stopped, making his friend stop as well.

Quatre became alarmed. He knew that when his American friend used that tone, he was serious. He turned his head to look at the braided young man beside him. His own voice became urgent as well. "What? What is it?"

Duo just stood rooted to the spot, staring forward, a look of utter concentration on his face, still grasping Quatre's sleeve. "I can hear... vehicles..." He looked at Quatre, his blue eyes mirroring the urgency in his voice. "They're coming! Hide!" He gave his friend a small push towards the ruined buildings as he let go of his shirt. They split up, each going to the buildings on their side of the road, Duo to the right and Quatre to the left. The building the American ran to had the first floor still standing, so he ran through the doorless doorway and crouched down against the wall facing the road, finding a small bullet hole to watch what was going on.

Quatre ran to a building similar to Duo's, only this one didn't have a bullet hole to see out of; just lots of large holes big enough for the Arabian to crawl through in an army style. So he stayed on his knees near the doorway, with one eye looking out at the road.

For a few moments, silence prevailed. Then a low rumbling could be heard in the distance, getting louder and louder until the very ground they kneeled on shook. Quatre saw the giant dust cloud approaching from the way he and Duo had come down the street. The roar of engines being revved became audible, and soon small dots became visible. The dots grew and took shape. Quatre's jaw dropped and his eyes widened as a multitude of armored vehicles came speeding by. The armor was always red and accompanied by weapons. First it was motorcycles; each with one driver and a rocket launcher attached to the right side. Then there were odd vehicles, like a wide, fairly flat vehicle that was armed with a machine gun trailing the motorcycles. Then came the tanks, large vehicles with large barrels attached to a freely rotating top section of the tank used purely for attacking. And behind them, far back enough so they wouldn't notice the blonde head quite yet, were jogging infantry. They were armored with the usual red armor, including a complete helmet with tinted visors. Each man carried a hi-tech and heavy looking gun, looking at their surroundings as they passed. The blonde Arabian could see something moving behind the squad of infantry, but it was then he got the vague feeling that someone was right behind him.

A split second later a hand shot over his mouth, muffling his yelp of surprise. He was suddenly yanked backwards, his back and everything above it being forcefully held against a warm body. His eyes were now wider than ever and his breath quickened. A low and whispered female voice with a warning tone enveloped his right ear.

"If you value your life you'll keep quiet."

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Author's note: Wow, this thing took me a REALLY long time to type. And even longer to post. I hope you guys like it, because this is going to be a long one.