Author's Note: This is probably the most ambitious crossover I have ever attempted. If anyone is with me on this one, thank you, and I hope you enjoy it.

So far, the fandoms used in this story are: Gundam Wing, Tekkaman Blade, Escaflowne, Ronin Warriors, Peacemaker Kurogane/Kaze Hikaru/Shinsengumi NHK, Inuyasha, Descendants of Darkness, Weiss Kreuz, Saiyuki, Naruto, Hands Off, Juvenile Orion, and the list will probably go on as the roster needs to be filled. The story is influenced by the novels Ender's Game by Orscon Scott Card and Orphanage by Robert Buetttner.

There are many main characters, so the story will never center on one fandom for more than a chapter or two.

And, just in case someone hasn't figured it out by now, this story is AU. You will get a headache trying to attach too much canon to any character from any realm. Hopefully, none of them will be too OOC for anyone.

Warning: There are some same sex pairings within this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the animes, television shows or books used in this piece.

Our War

Prologue: A Reunion with Hope

Takaya Aiba squeezed his eyes shut at the sound of his twin brother's screams. That voice... Shinya's voice... he hadn't heard it in four years.

"Gods."

They're not hurting him. No one is hurting him anymore.

Strong hands closed over his shoulders. "It's almost over."

Takaya opened his eyes to look over at his friend, Noal, still in his blue pilot's uniform. The blond man offered him a small smile and nodded to a nurse dressed in light blue scrubs walking in their direction.

Takaya's heart skipped a beat. Would he get to see him now? Another howl.

"Gods."

"Mr. Aiba," the nurse bowed her head slightly. "Lord Peacecraft and Lord Kushrenada request your presence."

"Y...yeah, ok." Takaya's hands shook as he patted Noal's shoulder. "T...thanks for coming out here with me, man. I owe you something."

Noal snorted. "You owe me a lot of somethings, kid, but this one don't count. Now, get in there and see your brother, and don't report back to duty unless the Lords in there ordain it. I gotta get back to scaring...er... training cadets."

Takaya nodded. He watched his friend's retreating backside, then turned back to face the petite, dark-haired nurse.

"Follow me, Mr. Aiba."

Milliardo Peacecraft watched placidly as the pale, dark-haired young man restrained to the hospital bed was sedated. Red-rimmed green eyes, bright with fear, dimmed as the drugs took hold. Military doctors and nurses in white coats and various colored scrubs sighed as the boy's thin body went limp against the white sheets. One nurse grabbed a damp towel from a basin at the bedside and used it to wipe blood from the boy's chin. He'd bitten his lip or his tongue, or perhaps both.

"How long will he be down?" Treize Kushrenada asked, and Milliardo turned his attention to his general, and best friend. He couldn't possibly be thinking about interrogating the boy any further.

"We need more answers, Mill, and he's the only one who can give them to us," Treize said, catching Milliardo's eyes.

Milliardo nodded, gazing back down at the broken soul of Shinya Aiba, the boy taken and enslaved by the enemy–the Radam– who had been recovered weeks ago on an English shore.

"The Radam seized the space vessel you and your family were traveling on near Saturn. You were all taken into custody in which your twin brother, Takaya Aiba, was freed by your father who was killed as a result. You fought as a Radam soldier."

Blank green eyes fixed on a point beyond Treize.

"They use the bodies of their prisoners as hosts; they're parasites."

"Treize, he's too far gone. He probably can't remember his own name right now, much less anything about..."

"If I keep feeding him what we know, maybe he'll supplement it with some of what he knows. He lived among them, Mill! He has to know something that can help us! We're..."

Fading. Milliardo covered his eyes with a hand. He knew that. Earth was becoming a lost cause, and the Radam teased during each new raid that they should give up and submit to a future as slaves of the Radam nation.

The war had started four years ago with a missing spaceship called the Argos, carrying a family of six, the Aibas, and a small crew of twelve. The first projectile, a large chunk of metal debris flung from space, struck Earth approximately three weeks after the Argos vanished and the second, days later, destroying entire cities and killing millions.

Warships from Earth and the space colonies L4 and L1 were deployed, but were defeated by the then unnamed Radam forces. The space colonies were evacuated; they'd become the next targets. Only a few of the evacuation crafts made it to Earth.

Takaya Aiba appeared months after the destruction of the space colonies from the wreckage of an alien escape pod. He brought the scattered military forces information on the enemy, and gave the enemy a name no one ever would have known otherwise. Takaya had joined the growing Sanc military, the largest country not yet bruised by war, with hope of reconnecting with the family he'd lost.

The only one Sanc had been able to save was brought to Takaya almost three years after he'd joined them.

"... one weakness, one..."

"Treize, Takaya will be here any moment. Please stop this. We'll talk with him again tomorrow." Milliardo took a step toward his friend, wanting to touch him, comfort him.

The medical staff was glancing at them both nervously, and Milliardo smiled at them. "His daughter was visiting her mother in Paris."

Two days ago, on Tuesday at 2:30am, Paris, France was struck by a projectile that killed its entire population. Milliardo shut his eyes.

"Treize, please... I..."

"...anything...!"

"Ganymede."

Milliardo swallowed the lump in his throat, vision blurring as he reached for his older friend, pulling him into the hug he needed but would sooner shoot himself in the foot than admit it. Treize was tense in his arms, fine tremors coursing throughout a body running on nothing but caffeine after two sleepless nights.

Milliardo was pushed away, and Treize threw himself at the bed, hands landing beside the pillow supporting Shinya's head. "What did you say?"

"Base... on Ganymede."

Milliardo's brows raised as Treize's watery eyes met his. "It's on a Jovian moon? Shinya, can you tell us where exactly? Can you tell us what it's like?"

"Ganymede," the boy murmured, dark lashes fluttering. "Tired. Takaya, I'm tired."

"No, no, Takaya's not here yet. He's coming. We've called for him."

"No, I'm here! Gods, Shinya, I'm here!"

Milliardo jerked at the disheveled appearance of Takaya Aiba in the doorway. The dark-haired teenager barreled toward the bed and Treize stepped aside as Takaya seemed to collapse at his brother's side.

"Oh gods, Shinya."

Milliardo watched the boys, Takaya crawling onto the bed as the medical staff undid their patient's restraints so that Takaya could take an unresisting Shinya into his arms. "What did they do to you? What did they do?"

"We should leave them alone." Milliardo cleared his throat and looked pointedly at the doctors and nurses and then at Treize, who nodded briskly. They left the room single file, Milliardo the last to the door. "He was hysterical upon sedation, Aiba. Please press the call button, if he shows any signs of agitation."

His words were unheard as Takaya continued to fuss over his twin and Milliardo shut the door, shaking his head and resting his back against the frame to meet Treize's manic gaze.

The twenty-six year old vice-commander grinned, displaying even white teeth. "How long do you think it will take to train our soldiers for Jovian combat?"

Author's Note: And there it is. What's the verdict? Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Whichever you choose, let me know. Please review, and I hope to see you around for Chapter 1: The Astorian-Fanelian Draft. Take care!