While Wrapped in Darkness . . .

Darkness enveloped him as he fell into a deep pit of nothingness.

Quatre lay in a field of wildflowers staring at the clouds, trying to figure out if they looked more like a bunch of rabbits, or a pack of wild dogs. The pleasant aroma surrounded him and a gentle breeze ruffled his platinum blonde hair. The sun's golden rays beat down on his skin. A butterfly came fluttering by and landed on his nose. Quatre smiled and shooed it away. He sat up and looked around him. Miles and miles of flowers lay waving in the wind. There wasn't another person in sight. He picked a nearby daisy and ran his fingers over the petals. Quatre sighed, this place almost seemed lonely without someone to share it with.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" whispered a voice from behind him. Quatre spun around quickly and saw Dorothy standing behind him.

"Where did you come from?" Quatre questioned. He'd been sure that he was the only one there. Dorothy ignored his question and continued.

"It's almost a pity," She said, shaking her head in despair. "That Mr. Milliardo will be blowing up the Earth. It is the correct decision, but it is almost a shame to destroy such a beautiful place." She sat down next to Quatre, who was in a state of complete shock.

"This is Earth?" He thought to himself. "But how? How can did I come to be here?"

Dorothy continued talking though Quatre was only half listening. "Take a good look at it Quatre Raberba Winner, for it will be the last memory of Earth you will ever have." Dorothy began to giggle, and then she threw her head back and began to laugh.

Quatre looked over at her, but she had mysteriously disappeared, though her empty laugh still echoed through the valley.

~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Quatre gasped and clenched the daisy, or what he thought was the daisy. Quatre glanced down at his trembling hands and nearly cried out in horror. He was no longer holding the daisy, but a self-destruct controller, with his fingers ready to press the trigger. Hastily, he dropped the controller and stood up.

"What is happening to me?" He wondered. "Where am I?" Suddenly, as quickly as Dorothy had appeared, the world of peace dissolved away and all that remained was a devastating battlefield. Quatre cried in terror, as before his very eyes mobile doll suit after mobile doll suit was annihilated in a bloodthirsty battle.

"This must surely be the battle to save Earth," He thought to himself reassuringly as yet another suit was destroyed. But something was different, something that did not belong. And then it struck him. This was not the battle between the Earth and the Colonies in which he had been fighting for, this was a new battle, one in which he had never seen before. The suits were of an older model, and there were no Gundams in sight. Quatre took a step toward the suits, trying to get a better view, and his heart leapt into his throat. He was standing on absolutely nothing, being suspended by some unseen force. Quatre peered down at his feet and below them saw only stars.

"You may want to be more careful next time Mr. Winner," hissed a voice from behind him. Quatre once again spun around just to be greeting by Dorothy sly grin. "Don't something stupid like that again and you may not be suspended any longer." She strode forward and stood next to Quatre.

"Where, where am I?" He asked shakily.

"Why Mr. Winner, being a Gundam Pilot, I would think you would know your historic battles." She turned and gazed across at the battlefield. This is the first war that was fought by the colonies. I believe it is After Colony 185, or somewhere of that sort." She turned and looked at Quatre. "This Quatre Raberba Winner, this is my father's grave."

Quatre's breath became caught in his chest. He stared into the deep dark pools of Dorothy's eyes. At first glance, they were hard, lifeless and emotionless. But as he stared deeper into them, the softer and kinder they became. And then he understood, understood why Dorothy was as cold hearted as she was. Dorothy had once been a kind, normal girl, with hopes and dreams that exceeded even the vary stars. But after her father had died, she had masked her kindness, thinking it made her weak and insecure.

"Kindness is an obstacle Quatre," she whispered. "An obstacle that I don't need." Quatre broke away from her stare and gazed across the battlefield.

"Dorothy . . ." he began, but when he turned around, she had once again disappeared.

~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"What is happening to me?" Quatre continuously asked himself. "Where am I?" Swiftly the world around his dissolved away, just as it had in the valley, and Quatre found himself in the cockpit of one of the mobile dolls. Or outside it rather, he wasn't sure. All he was sure about was that it was a cockpit and that he could see everything that was happening inside of it, like it was a movie.

The cockpit gave a sudden lurch, and the man inside was thrown onto his control panel. All the circuitry began to go haywire as the man pulled himself up with some difficulty. He jiggled the controllers and nothing happened. The look on his face proved he was not happy.

"Blast it!" He shouted. "Base, this is Red Fox, come in base, I repeat, this is Red Fox. Do you read me? Over." He had a strong but caring voice that reminded Quatre of his own father.

"We read you Red Fox, loud and clear. What seems to be your problem?" A static picture of a man appeared on the screen.

"It seems that my suit has quit working on me. I'm going to need a pick up crew."

"Roger, we'll send the first flight unit that comes in." The man at the base reported. "You're just going to have to wait until then." And with that, the picture disappeared.

"I'll try," the man grumbled. "But I can't make any promises." He took the weapon controllers and started to shoot down any suit that he could.

"They never sent that rescue flight unit. They left him to die."

It was Dorothy, and she was nearly in tears. "They knew that he had family that he needed to take care of, that he had me to take care of, but they still feed him to the dogs like a useless piece of meat. I used to think that the colonies only wanted peace. But after my father's death I see that all they've been wanting, no, needing is a war!" Tears ran down her face as she began to cry. "Why, why did they let him die? They knew that he couldn't survive for long. Why, why, why?" Her shoulders were now shaking as she began to sob.

Quatre now completely understood. Understood why Dorothy was so crazed about wars. It was not that she savored them or loved the changes that they brought about; it was that she felt it was her responsibility to show everyone how horrible wars really were. And her eyes, causing a war was the perfect way to do that.

"Dorothy, don't cry. You can't blame the colonies for what happened to your father, I know that for personal experience. And you can't go around ranting and raving about wars either. I think that you know just as well as I do that nothing good can come of fighting. So why not stop talking like that?" He moved toward her and tried to wipe away her tears, but she only pushed him away.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" she shouted. "My father died fighting in a beautiful war and I will do the same thing!" She pulled from behind her back two fencing swords and a helmet, which she placed on top of her head. She threw one of the swords at Quatre's feet and griped the other tightly in her own hand.

"Now Quatre Raberba Winner, you will fight for your beliefs. If you truly believe that wars and fighting accomplish nothing, then destroy me here and now.

"But Dorothy . . ." he began, but it was too late, for Dorothy was already plunging toward him. Quatre quickly raised his sword in self-defense, but he was too slow and it was promptly knocked out of his hand. "Dorothy, stop this! You hate wars just as much as I do, so why are you continuously supporting them. You're just like me Dorothy, you're a kind and caring person, but years of battles have made your heart turn cold. You can't stand your own kindness and that makes you sick. You want to take revenge for your father's death and I understand that, I really do, but nothing good is going to come if you start a war."

"Shut up!" She shouted, now becoming enraged. "I know just what I'm doing!" She removed her mask and Quatre could see that her eyes were red and swollen from crying. "My father was a brave soldier who died fighting for what he believed in. I will do the same, if it means involving the entire colonies and Earth!"
"Dorothy . . ." Quatre felt a deep ache swell within his chest, though it was not his own. He was sorry for Dorothy, and he wished more than anything to make her pain go away, but he was not going to allow her to continue to talk about wars as if they were some game to be played.

"Fight me Quatre Winner. And if you won't fight me, I will have to destroy you." Quatre stood up shakily, and faced Dorothy.

"No, I will not fight you Dorothy. You're to kind and caring to be involved in this battle. And I'm going to prove to you one way or another that you're wrong, even if it means that I have to die." Dorothy seemed a little surprised at this, but only for a moment.

"If that is your wish, than so be it!" And with that, she thrust he sword forward and stabbed Quatre in his left side.

Quatre's side began to throb and he could see Dorothy as she again began to weep. Darkness surrounded him as he fell into a deep pit of nothingness once again.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Quatre! Quatre are you alright?" A voice could be heard in the distance, yet it seemed to be coming closer. "Are you alright Quatre?" He recognized that voice, but he couldn't be sure of whom it was. "Quatre!" the voice shouted just a little bit louder. Now he knew that voice, he would know that voice anywhere.

"Trowa, is that you Trowa?" Quatre opened his eyes and there was Trowa, looking concerned and making sure that nothing was wrong. Unexpectedly a sharp pain shot up through Quatre's whole body. His hand rushed to his left side, the source of the pain, and found that a sharp point had punctured it. He pulled it away, sweaty and bloodstained.

"Was it only a dream, or did it really happen?" Quatre asked himself. He looked up and saw Dorothy standing in the center of the room, who looked as if about to cry. Then the memories came running back to him. He and the other Gundam pilots had infiltrated battleship Libra and he had wound up in the mobile doll control room where he had met Dorothy. There they had a fencing match, Dorothy fighting with the mobile doll system, and Quatre the bare human consciousness.

"Can you stand up Quatre?" Trowa asked in a concerned voice.

"Trowa, I want you to do me a favor and get Dorothy out of here." The pain in his left side was nearly too much for him to handle, and he could hardly breathe.

"I think that she can take care of herself. Right now we need to get you out of here." Trowa gave Quatre his shoulder and helped him stand.

"Yeah, I guess your right." Quatre grabbed his left side and peered across the room at Dorothy, who had now collapsed to her knees. "Dorothy, make it out of here alive." And with that, Trowa and Quatre left the room. Dorothy's sobs could be heard form inside the room.

"Don't worry Dorothy," Quatre told himself. "I'll help stop this war so that you may finally be able to live in a world without pain or suffering. I'll fight for you and for the memory of your father."