Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, the words to any songs by My Chemical Romance.

Melancholia

Prologue

Promise me that when I'm gone,

You'll kill my enemies

Colonel Une sat in one of the unused chairs at the back of the room; her chin was resting on the back of her hand, her elbow leaning on the window sill. Her dark hair was tied up in a tight bun upon the top of her head, she hadn't worn it like that in a while, it represented things that she wanted to forget, but she had to push her personal problems aside to deal with the bigger picture, and now was not the time for her to be a peace loving aristocrat. Her gaze was fixed steadily ahead of her, as she looked out of the closed window across the broken grey cement landscape past the shattered glass that littered the floor and to the blood red sun that had just emerged over the jagged horizon.

The dark red light spilled across the ground illuminating the dystopia before her for what it really was. A decrepit and derelict expanse of toppled pylons and tangled wires.

She sighed inaudibly, after the war everything had just fallen apart. She was a fool to think that the people of the unified nations could have kept the peace going long enough to see in the next generation. No such luck, the land before her was a prime example of the only thing that was left of the colonies and the earth. For a few months after the final conflict things had settled down, colonies had been built up and repaired, communications between everyone had been improved, healthcare and education had improved and all weapons had been destroyed. Even the gundams.

Her other hand clenched, her long fingers digging into the fabric of her black trousers and clutching the fabric in desperation. Her knuckles were white with the strain, and tiny tremors travelled up and down her uniformed frame.

Everything had gone wrong. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She sat back from the window ledge and let her hand drop back to her lap as she leaned her tired back against the wooden chair frame.

They had been too occupied with trying to keep the peace that everyone had failed to notice the meteor shower that had been heading straight towards a cluster of the colonies until it was almost too late. People had panicked and had incited riots; chaos had ensued with bitter dismissal.

They had tried to keep everything contained, but the panic spilled into the nearest colonies, and in turn passage and transportation to the earth and farther colonies were flooded with thousands of hysterical families and individuals. They just would not be subdued.

The damage you've inflicted,

Temporary wounds

Colonel Une's eyes dropped from the window to take in the dusty sight of the room. Around her medical supplies were spread about the tables, dirty bandages piled in one of the darker corners, containers emptied of all food were thrown about in a disordered fashion and broken telecommunications equipment was in an unordered heap on the farthest window gathering dust even as she sat there. To the front of the room what little forces they had left that were able to move were sprawled out trying to catch a few minutes of much needed sleep. It wouldn't be long until one of the angry mobs found their new hide away.

The chaos had spawned the creation of several groups and gangs, each vying for power and control, using the people's fear as a catalyst for their uprising. The gangs had grown in numbers rapidly and soon assignations and murders were being carried out in broad daylight. The police, the army…everyone had fallen in the wake of this new unbeatable power, mob mentality winning over sanity.

The preventers had become the focal point for mob attacks, old allegiances had been forgotten as new wars broke out and people destroyed everything that had been built up in the name of a new and better peace. Was nothing sacred anymore? There were times when she felt like screaming curses to the sky until her throat was raw and her lungs were empty of air, but what good would it do? Giving away her position would only get her killed.

Une swallowed the bile that suddenly rose up in her throat, she had been there to witness the down fall of so many young soldiers, and she had been there when all that could help them faded into the darkness. She had been there when Noin had died in Zechs' arms; she didn't think that Zechs could ever get over something that soul destroying no matter how long he had.

She had seen her lord Treize break down on the battlefield and beg Wufei to kill him, she had witnessed her love's fall from power, and she had witnessed his decline into solitude. She had seen the look of complete anguish upon Wufei's face when he heard the request, and she saw how he barely restrained his anger when he declined and fled from the battlefield.

Relena Dorlian had been assassinated a year and a half ago in her sleep and afterwards Heero had disappeared off the map, though Une suspected that it was because the mobs decided to frame Heero for her killing. Dorothy Catalina had been poisoned and died in a most horrific way while making a speech to try and calm down some of the more violent factions of the earth.

Quatre had suffered terribly at the hands of the mobs, a number of his sisters had been killed by a sneak attack on the Winner Empire and to survive he had had to drop out of existence altogether quickly and quietly. He knew better than anyone that there wasn't enough that he could do without his Gundam.

Trowa had, if rumours were correct, gone after Quatre to try and help him, but no one had heard anything about either of them. Duo had fled from the earth shortly afterwards and had slipped under the mobs nets. No one knew anything about any of them. It was as if they were never even born, and while they were gone the angered gangs were constantly looking for someone else to blame.

I'm coming back from the dead,

And I'll take you home with me

Une frowned and then clenched her eyes shut in anguish, the people that the world most needed, granted they weren't wanted by most, but they were needed had vanished without a trace.

The world and all who lived on her were dying slowly and nobody could see that. She had seen the headlines in the papers months ago about rape, the murders of innocents, arson attacks and stabbing, things were undoubtedly worse now.

Colonel Une was one of the last living people that was willing do try and do something about the terror and pain that had enveloped everybody. True she had limited equipment and an even more limited attack force, but she couldn't just lie back and do nothing. She would never have forgiven herself if she had done that, no she would fight. To the bitter end if necessary.

"Colonel Une?" spoke up a raspy voice from her right.

She slanted a glance in the direction of the speaker and nodded her head to show that she had heard, she turned slightly in her chair and pushed her glasses back up onto the bridge of her nose with her forefinger. "Yes?"

The soldier was young, though he looked much older that he should do at that age. He was only about thirteen and had been in her service since he was eleven, his head was shaved and he had a scar cutting right through his left eye blinding him. Had this been any other time she would have suspended him from duties until he had the skills necessary to fight without perfect sight. But she needed everyone she could get, no matter how young, no matter how old, no matter what sex. War would do that to a person though, it didn't care about the people, war only sought to please itself.

"The mobs are approaching fast; we'll have to move again."

Une felt a pang deep inside her chest as she heard the words, but she didn't let her soldier see what she was feeling inside. She had to be strong for them, "Okay. Get the others up. We leave as soon as possible."

The boy bowed and nodded, "Understood." He straightened and strode off to rouse the sleeping forms of his comrades.

Colonel Une turned back to the window as she heard the protesting yawns of her soldiers as they were pulled out of their dreams into the harsh reality. The red sun had lit everything up brightly, making it look as if everything had been bathed in blood.

"Treize…" she whispered to herself, the faces of the other pilots flashed through her mind, if they had any sense they would have gone far, far away from all this carnage into the farther reaches of space into the colonies that still possessed a small inch of pride and sanity, places that were untainted by human anger and fighting, "Wherever you are…" she murmured quietly as she lifted her chin and hardened her glare, "I hope you're doing better than I am."

I'm taking back the life you stole