DISCLAIMER: I have no IDEA who keeps telling people that I own Gundam Wing but it's got to STOP!! I only own Quatre… OK ok…I don't own him either. This fic is AU (aren't they all?) well kinda AU, I think…It may contain happy couples, angry people, complete losties, lots of blonds, supernatural powers, a rabid bunny…OR it may NOT contain any of the above, I'm sorta winging it here. Stop reading the disclaimer and start reading the fic!!
THIS IS THE REVISED VERSION!
The Colours of Life
Prologue: The Start
By: J.B. Santiago
- Earth: Time Unknown –
It was getting worse. The wind snapped at Keioa's threadbare cloak. 'When had everything changed so much?' Keioa thought as she tried to control herself from shivering. Only weeks ago, she was celebrating at some ball, wearing exquisite clothes, eating the most succulent foods and surrounded by adoring admirers. Or maybe it was months ago? She really couldn't place time much these days. Ever since IT happened. The Darkness had come so quickly; the Elder's resistance too little, too late, wiping out most of the Greater Council. Keioa smiled bitterly, 'Stupid old fools. Becoming complacent, not even sensing the Darkness.' She trudged along the dark road. She couldn't talk, of course. Hadn't she become complacent as well? No matter. She would stop this darkness. Her smile turned into a smirk as she placed her hand on a huge granite rock situated on the side of the road. Keioa's hand glowed an intense red before the glowing red consumed her entirely. Then the light dissipated. Leaving nothing but an afterglow in the night, the wind still howling.
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- Earth: Real Time –
Paperwork. How much paper was needed to sign ONE peace treaty? Relena Darlian eyed the paperwork, trying to disappear it away with all her formidable willpower. The paperwork didn't even flinch. Relena placed both hands over her eyes and rubbed them vigorously.
"Don't do that, that'll just hurt your eyes more." A voice said from her side.
Relena smiled, she turned to look at the voice, using her hands now as a prop up for her chin. "I'll stop, when you start coming through the front door instead of my window, Heero."
Heero Yuy didn't change his emotionless expression as he walked up to Relena and offered his hand to her. "It's past two in the morning. You need to be home." He didn't wait for her to answer as he grabbed her hands with his and half dragged her towards the door. Relena was really too tired to complain and she liked it when he held her hands, his rough, callused hands rubbed against her soft, smooth ones. However, she was Relena Darlian and she wasn't about to be bossed about even if it was for her own good and it came from the person she loved the most.
"Heero! Let me just get some documents - " Relena stopped when Heero gave her his famous death glare. She smiled widely, leaned towards him and kissed him on the lips for a few seconds, momentarily shocking him enough to give Relena time to grab her suitcase and drag HIM towards the door. Heero stared at the honey-blond leading him towards the entrance of the office building. It had taken him three years to finally admit to her that he loved her and two years on she could still leave him light headed after a kiss. He would never be a very emotional person but when Relena was concerned he only needed one emotion – love.
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- Colony L2: Real Time –
"Hilde-babe! Where are you!?" yelled Duo Maxwell. He had searched everywhere in his house but he couldn't find his wife anywhere. 'Where is she? I have the best news!' His eyes beamed even more brightly as he imagined Hilde's surprised look when she heard his surprise. He looked out onto the backyard again, when he heard the front door bang loudly.
"Hilde! You home?!" Duo ran to the front door, almost knocking down the table in the hall.
"Help me out, will you!?" Hilde Maxwell (formerly Scheibker) said trying not to drop all the groceries. Duo took all the bags, much to the shock of Hilde, placed all of it on the kitchen table then led Hilde to the lounge room, making her sit on the sofa while he kneeled in front of her. Hilde's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her all too cute husband.
'Something's up,' she thought trying to figure out what it was. Then her mind clicked. 'He's going to miss our anniversary because of some Preventer mission!' Hilde was about to tell him to wipe that smile off his face and that he'd be sleeping on the couch for a whole year if wasn't there for their anniversary, when Duo beat her to it.
"Hilde-babe, I've just gotten you the best anniversary gift ever!" Duo started before taking in a deep breath then continuing, "From Monday to next month we will be spending our free time in the city of love, Paris! Where we will dine and see sights and make sweet love under the stars at the - " Duo continued to rattle of places in Paris where they would be…ummm…stargazing, but Hilde hadn't heard him. 'Ohmigod! He's taking me on vacation to PARIS!!! For our anniversary!!! He didn't forget!!! Oh how could I have doubted such a cute, adorable totally hot babe like him!' Hilde snapped out of her thoughts and started to smother Duo with kisses who, complied with her requests, but before saying between kisses, "Or we could just make sweet love here…"
Hilde stopped her advances and smacked him on the back of the head.
"Hey! Only kidding!" Duo smiled charmingly again.
Hilde nodded then started kissing him again. "Good." And no more talking was done for a really long time after that.
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- Colony L3: Real Time –
"Hey, Trowa, we're going to do three shows on earth!" Catherine Bloom smiled at her brother. "You can catch up with some of your old friends there."
Trowa Barton wiped off the clown make up from his face. He threw the tissue in the wastebasket next to the dresser. His trailer was immaculately clean. He looked at his sister, "Yes. It will be good to see them again." He turned to go into his bedroom. "Good night, Cathie. Sleep well."
Catherine yawned and stretched her arms, " 'Night, Trowa, pleasant dreams, ok?" She smiled again at her brothers retreating form.
She made her way towards her trailer after Trowa had closed his bedroom. Trowa had become more open, after the wars but sometimes she wished he'd say a bit more. Catherine smiled, shaking her auburn hair round her. 'I need to stop worrying about my kid brother…He never was a kid…' Inside her trailer she tried to think of more positive thoughts but something in the back of her head kept nagging her.
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- Unknown Location: Real Time -
"The time is coming. We will take the keys and codes. We will unleash our master onto these pathetic people." A voice in a completely dark place hissed. Other voices were heard but none were cohesive.
"The time is near."
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- Colony L4: Real Time –
"Mr. Winner, this is your schedule for this month. You fly to Earth on Monday, for the Peace Unity Ball in Monaco, from there you have the Colony Summit Talks in Paris which will continue until Friday. In between you need to go to the ESUN Conference on Wednesday and you have to attend a private concert for the Children's Benefit and Ball on Thursday. Then - " Ms. Demas stopped when Mr Winner held out his palm.
"Just leave it on my table, Ms. Demas. Thank you for your help." Quatre Rebarba Winner smiled politely at his secretary, who placed the schedule on his table and asked if he needed anything else. "No, no, thank you, though." He smiled again and his secretary smiled back before closing the door behind her.
Quatre sighed. So much work to do. 'At least I'm going to Earth.' He thought. ''It would be good to see Relena and Heero again.' He knew Relena would be there for the Summit Talks and where ever Relena was Heero wasn't far behind. He smiled to himself when he thought of how happy Heero seemed now after finally getting him to admit his love for Relena. It hadn't been easy, but he had help…
Quatre reminisced about that time. Relena was at her customary ball for her birthday – her eighteenth - and had began to lose hope in Heero ever being able to return her feelings…Until someone had forcefully made Heero realise what he would lose if she lost hope in him. Heero had proposed to her that night, in front of the worldwide media. Relena, of course, said no, even though everyone knew she so desperately wanted to say yes.
Quatre chuckled remembering Heero's crestfallen face when she had said no, then it had lit up like the brightest star in the sky when she said they should date first. Now they had been engaged for a year and a half now, a wedding in a few more months. Quatre leaned forward to open one of the desk drawers. His platinum blond hair falling over his eyes as he searched through his drawer, finding what he was looking for, he closed the drawer and held out the picture frame. It contained a picture of all the Gundam pilots and Hilde, Relena, Catherine and Sally. They were wearing casual clothes and all had silly smiles on (except Heero, Trowa and Wufei). Quatre didn't look at the photo for long as he flipped it over to the back and opened the frame. Inside was another picture. Quatre looked at the face staring right back at him. The face that had convinced Heero to admit his feelings to Relena and millions of people around the world. The face that haunted his dreams.
The face of Dorothy Catalonia.
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- Space: Real Time –
"Ugh! I told you we were going the wrong way!" Sally Po let out an irritated sigh at her partner.
"If you hadn't taken so long, I wouldn't have been in a rush, onna!" Wufei Chang glared at his partner. 'This was all that stupid onna's fault!' He thought as he navigated the spacecraft through a meteor shower.
"If you had listened to me in the first place we wouldn't be in a meteor shower!" Sally's usually calm temperament evaporating quickly. 'He calls me onna one more time, I'll call him boy!' She looked at the map on the screen. "Were fifteen points off-course. Once you get out of this shower, take three points right. We'll only be a few minutes late if we do that. Lady Une wont mind too much." Sally read the message Une had sent them again. 'I hope.'
Wufei mumbled something too low to be heard but followed Sally's instructions. Earth was now only 12 points away. They'd make it on time.
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- Paris, Earth - Real Time –
Her long platinum blond hair swayed behind her as she eyed the clothes before her in a Paris boutique. A sales lady came back with the dress she had gotten made.
"Madam, here is the dress you requested." The sales lady said speaking with a heavy French accent, showed the dress to the blond before placing it in a protective cover.
"How much?" She asked in perfect French, her lavender-grey eyes bore into the sales lady who gulped and gave her the price. The price was enough to feed a family of four for a week, but the blond just nodded and took out her chequebook. Signing her name on the cheque, she blew at the ink, before handing it over to the sales lady. Taking the dress, she sauntered outside and climbed into a golden Porsche (which was in an illegal parking space) and sped away.
The sales lady released the breath she was holding. She was new to this job and had met a whole heap of snobs but that woman…The way she held her self, she seemed so superior, so in control. The sales lady shuddered, that woman had seemed so cold. She looked at the signature on the cheque. D Catalonia.
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- Place Unknown - Time Unknown –
She could see them all talking, jabbering on like idiots. This wasn't going to help them. They needed a plan, a damn good plan. And she would give them the perfect plan. She looked at all the face there, all looking scared and pathetic. 'I'm going to save the world and no one's even going to know I did it.' She smirked before raising her arms in the air. Glowing red orbs began to dance in her hands. The red light stopped everyone from talking in the darkened room. They all stared at her. She stopped with the glowing trick and smirked again. "Good. Now that I have your attention, lets get down to business, shall we?" She sat on one of the chairs left vacant at the large round table in the middle of the room. "Right now, as you idiots - " this cause a few grumbles around the room, "act like chickens without their heads, the darkness continues to spread on Earth. We cannot hide forever in Joir. Without Earth free from the darkness then Joir ceases to exist." She paused, letting that thought sink into their thick heads. "The only way for humanity to survive this darkness is to make the ultimate sacrifice."
The room erupted in voices, most of them shouting never! She shook her blond hair out of her eyes and banged her fists onto the table. "Never!? Look around you! Joir is beginning to darken! It will reach here soon unless we stop it on Earth first. Don't be fools, the Elders thought they would be immune to the darkness; that our kind would be immune to the darkness. Fools! They forgot that THEY their core is human. What has that gotten them? DEATH! All of the Elders are dead! The Greater Council is in ruins and you idiots still think we can survive the Darkness?!" Her eyes blazed a dangerous red.
"You all know my sister is right." A voice said in the background. Keioa had teleported quietly and had watched her sister, Lavirea; get angrier with the remaining members of the Greater Council. She dimly wondered if this was all that were left of her kind. Probably.
Lavirea stared at her sister, her eyes becoming subdued, grateful for some assurance. "With the ultimate sacrifice we will be able to seal the Darkness away. If we lock it away it ill be unable to escape for the realignment is too long for it to be able to regenerate to ever escape again. Enough time for us to rebuild the world again."
"Rebuild? Again!? Ha! Without our power? I would rather die than be powerless!" A voice boomed from the other side of the room.
Lavirea glared darkly at Masem, her eyes glowing red again. "Maybe you should confer with your Council before you say such stupid things. We need all five powers working together for this to work."
"Together? We have never worked together before, how can you be so sure it will even work?" Masem glared back at her, his black eyes piercing.
Lavirea smiled, sweetly. "How do you think Joir was made? Through fairy dust?" Her smirk said everything – Do you really want to follow an idiot like Masem? The remaining council members started murmuring to their respective selves. Keioa smiled at Beijn, she had always liked the way his dark hair fell over his baby blue eyes, even at times like these she still had childish thoughts. Beijn gazed at her, smiling back slightly.
He walked towards the table, his blue-tinted clothes somehow shined in the darkened room. "I agree with the Red Council. There is no other way to deal with this darkness." He looked at the other Blue Council members. They conferred telepathically. It seemed to go one forever until Beijn blinked his eyes and stared at Lavirea. "The Blue Council supports you."
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Person who is writing this:
To all the people who read the original, I'm currently revising TCoL so there should be no silly spelling errors and such. There are also extra scenes added in everywhere so watch out for them! (I feel like a DVD with extra features! ^_^) To all the people who are reading this the first time, hope you enjoy it! R&R, C&C, flames and e-mail are all very welcome!!
OH!! And THANK YOU to ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED MY OTHER FICS, THANKS HEAPS!!!!!