Hey guys! So I've taken a temporary hiatus on my other story If I Ever Leave This World Alive to pour all my creativity into this one. Surprisingly, this story was completely unplanned and very spur-of-the-moment, see-where-my-writing-takes-me sort of thing, which for me is a downright miracle (I normally have to plan ridiculously far ahead and work out all the characters, etc, before I even think to begin writing.

For anyone who cares, this story has an interesting little origin. I don't know about the rest of you, but back in say 7th and 8th grade I had the idea for this story (which I actually kind of began to write, but looking back on the old word documents it was absolutely horrific, as all pre-high school writing tends to be). Now for this story I had worked out the entire plot and even had the beginning of the sequel all perfectly planned out, but of course I lost interest and left both behind in middle school. However, randomly, while stuck in traffic on the way home from school, I thought back to this idea of mine and realized just how much I really loved the idea of the sequel, but what a pain it would be to have write out the entire (boring) part one to get to it. But, suddenly, while watching some kid and his younger brother scream and hit each other in the car next to me, inspiration hit. Why not start with the sequel? And, thus, We Were Promised Jetpacks was born.

Enjoy!

We Were Promised Jetpacks

Roll Up Your Sleeves

Colony L4-M13009

Year 198 A.C

The artificial sun warmed his back as he strolled slowly between the rows of small buildings. All kinds of shops and cafés dotted the narrow lane, while apartments a floor above sat with their windows opened to the morning air.

He paused to avoid being hit by an oblivious kid absorbed with chasing after a little black dog. He was too absorbed in his own thoughts to even bother yelling at the kid to watch where he was going. He didn't have very far to go.

As he walked on, the people disappeared, and the noise and motion of the previous blocks quieted and slowed. The lane suddenly dived and twisted sharply. It was here that a lopsided building rested with a cross hanging crookedly over its door. White paint peeled off its walls in large chunks, and its once baby blue shutters, turned gray with age, hung awkwardly from their hinges. The building desperately attempted to follow the sharp angle of the street, but the effort simply caused it to look more like a circus' fun house parody of a church than the holy place itself.

He stood for a moment smiling at the pathetic, rundown little thing. It was so pitiful, it was endearing. He thrust his hands into his pocket, and approached the dilapidated church, rounding it slowly. He was in no hurry.

The narrow space alongside the building opened up to a long and narrow shockingly green field. Brick walls rose up at its edges, hiding it completely from sight from the main lane. It seemed so very out of place and far too large to be in such an urban area, but here it was, just as it had been two years ago when he had first found it and a year ago when he had returned. The consistency was oddly reassuring. The same shady tree stood proudly off in the farthest corner of the field. A tall, lanky figure stood resting under its shade.

"Duo!" a voice called out. Startled, he turned sharply to his left. A grin lit up his face.

"Yo, Quatre, my man! How's it going? Business booming?" he greeted the blonde warmly. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen the Arabian in person, but Hilde dragged him away from work every time the young entrepreneur made an appearance on television.

"Great, busy, but great. How's the shop?" Quatre inquired, coming to stop next to him.

"Hilde's been running me ragged, but what else is new? I was lucky to have escaped for today," he replied, rubbing the back of his head.

Their laughter faded gradually, and the two came to stand side by side in silence looking out on to the vibrant stretch of green.

"How long has he been here?" Duo asked, finally.

Quatre gave a little shrug. "He was here before I arrived." His voice betrayed his concern.

Duo gave his own grime smile. "Anyone else make an appearance?"

"Heero was here earlier and as was Wufei, but they both wandered off awhile ago."

"They never really were the type to sit down and reminisce," Duo laughed, beginning to make his way towards the far tree.

"Are any of us?" Quatre pointed out quietly. He gave a sigh before trailing after Duo.

If he didn't know better, Duo would have thought the lanky figure was some sort of statue. He stood ridiculously motionless against the bark, staring unblinkingly ahead. He nearly laughed at the thought of birds gathering around him.

"Hey, Trowa," he greeted brightly. The figure shifted to look up at him.

He gave a nod. "Hello Duo," he replied smoothly. His eyes flickered back down. Coming to stand beside him, Duo followed his gaze. After a few moments, he broke the stillness and marched forward to come to a crouch before the gray stone.

He lifted his hand and let his fingers drift over the engravings. The stone was icy to the touch despite the persistent sunlight.

Nicole Hawkins

181 A.C. – 196 A.C.

He tore his eyes away from the words. There, resting peacefully on the stone was an odd collage of, well, stuff. A large bouquet of assorted flowers of all different colors lay wrapped neatly in pink paper. It was obviously Quatre's. Nearby, a little round candle burned, its flame flickering lightly in the chill air. A small grin slipped onto his face. Wufei had definitely made an appearance. A tiny, plain yellow flower rested next to the candle. It looked ridiculously pathetic next to the pink bouquet. He grinned even wider. Its simplicity screamed Heero.

And lastly, sitting on top of the gray slab was a white lily and a shiny red apple.

Trowa.

He sighed deeply and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small wrench.

"Thought you might appreciate this after all the girly flowers," Duo whispered. He set the wrench down carefully next to the lily and patted the rock fondly.

He didn't know how long he sat there, squatting and staring down at the gray stone, but, abruptly, he found himself standing. He lifted his arms in a stretch.

"So, I'm starving. Who votes we take a lunch break?" He declared, grinning back at Trowa and Quatre.

.:::.

.:::.

They made their way back onto the street after a large lunch in one of the quaint restaurants that lined the street, all on Quatre of course. He had insisted, and Duo hadn't bothered to stop him.

"So I'm guessing Catherine hasn't gotten sick of your sorry ass yet and kicked you out, then, huh?" Duo joked.

Trowa raised an eyebrow at him.

Quatre stepped in. "Duo, that's a horrible thing to say! Catherine would never kick Trowa out," he defended.

"Oh come on Q-man, it was just a joke," he tried to reassure the blonde.

"Yeah, but still...."

"Actually, I'm moving out next week," Trowa deadpanned. He continued on, outwardly oblivious to the fact the other two had stopped in their tracks.

"Wait, hold up," Duo called sprinting after him. "What do you mean you're moving out? I thought after the circus had finally settled in L3 that you and Catherine had found that kick ass apartment. Why would you be leaving that set up?"

"Trowa," Quatre began, hesitantly, "you and Catherine aren't having any problems are you?"

Duo became worried for a second that maybe the girl actually had kicked the stoic boy out.

Trowa, however, sidestepped the question. "Catherine has a boyfriend."

That was definitely the answer neither expected.

Duo floundered for a bit, trying to come up with a response that didn't sound too creepy, while Quatre clapped Trowa on the back.

"That's great, Trowa. I'm so happy Catherine finally found someone," he declared, sincerely. "Is it very serious?"

Trowa shrugged his shoulders. He was asking the wrong person.

"Well, he's a good guy, right?"

Trowa nodded.

"He's a doctor," he elaborated, as if it explained everything.

"Catherine is very lucky then," Quatre confirmed. Trowa nodded again.

"So, you're moving out to give them some more privacy, then?" Duo asked, suggestively, waggling his eyebrows.

Trowa sent him a sharp look, meanwhile Quatre rounded on him, oblivious to the insinuations.

"Of course he's giving them more privacy! They'll need it if they're relationship is getting serious." Quatre nodded his head, convincingly.

Duo let out a loud, barking laugh. He gave Quatre a hearty pat on the back. "Ah, I really have missed you, Q-man."

Quatre just looked lost. "Wait, what did I say?"

Duo just let out another laugh, as Trowa looked away to hide his upturned lips.

Abruptly, the peace of the street was broken by a loud raucous coming from down the street behind them.

"What the hell is that?" Duo asked, turning back to face the street they had just come down.

"STOP! THIEF! Someone stop that boy!" a voice screamed.

A figure darted around the corner at the end of the lane. Black cap pulled low over his face, the boy charged directly towards them.

"Stop him!"

The boy made an attempt to force his way right through the group, shoving Quatre out of his way before darting between the next two.

He was stopped abruptly for a moment. Duo had caught onto the hood of his jacket and jerked him backwards, but in one fluid motion, the boy thrust himself down and back, slipping his tiny frame easily out of the baggy jacket.

"Oh, no you don't," Duo exclaimed crouching and sweeping a leg under the kid's feet. Like hell some punk was gonna one up him. The boy slammed onto his back and lay motionless, the wind knocked out of him. Before he was able to pull another cutesy stunt, Duo landed a firm foot on the boy's chest.

"You got some smooth moves, kid, and I think those guys back there are just dying to hear all about them," Duo jeered down at him. "It wasn't very nice of you to shove my friend there Quatre, either. That definitely didn't earn you any brownie points."

Quatre sighed audibly, "Duo, I'm fine."

"Q-man, you're killing my bad ass intimidation speech!" he whined, taking his attention off the boy for a moment.

The distraction was enough. The boy shoved the foot off and rolled to the right. Jumping to his feet, he made to take off again, but was this time stopped by an iron hold on his arm.

Duo watched as the jolt sent the boy sprawling backwards, knocking into Trowa, while the force of the impact sent whatever the boy had been carrying skittering down the street. His black hat tumbled off, landing at Duo's feet.

"I see your reflexes aren't as rusty as mine, Trowa," Duo commented, smirking, "Good thing too, because this punk's really starting to tick me off."

Duo glanced down the street at the approaching wave of policemen. "Hang on for just a second, Trowa. This kid has practically the entire colony after his ass. Wonder what a punk like him could have possible done to-Trowa?"

Duo had never seen his friend look so obviously shocked. His face looked ghostly pale, and his green eyes were the widest he had ever seen them.

"Eh, Trowa, man, what's up?"

He followed his gaze.

The arm he had grabbed hold of wasn't really an arm-well it was, but it certainly wasn't human. The afternoon sun reflected brightly off the metal arm. The technology for such prosthetic limbs was still being perfected, but the kid had shown this to be anything but you're run of the mill useless attachment. The kids' little maneuverings had made that fact blindingly obvious. Where the hell did a street rat like him get his hands on tech like that?

But that wasn't end to the punk's bizarreness. His other arm wasn't much better. His right hand tried desperately to pry Trowa's hand from his metal arm in vain. The hand and exposed arm was crisscrossed with scars, the skin disfigured and blotchy from what must have been horrible burns.

So, he had to admit, he was beginning to feel a tiny ounce of remorse for roughing the kid up so much. He knew firsthand what is was like to be alone on the streets, fighting to survive. Though, he remembered the hoards of police descending on them. The kid definitely had stolen more than just a loaf of bread.

He glanced up at the boy's face, and his breath caught in his throat. He felt as if he had just been punched in the gut. For a panicked moment, he believed he would never breathe again.

Messy, fiery red hair spilled over the white face. Grey eyes blazed angrily behind a sea of freckles.

And, just like that, they were gone, racing off down the street, stopping only to scoop up whatever had been dropped.

Trowa had let go.

But Duo didn't stop to register that.

It was her.

He didn't think of the implications, the fact that it was impossible, that it defied the laws of nature, or that he could have even been possibly mistaken.

He took off at a sprint.

.:::.

.:::.

"For the last time, I'm not making this up! It was her!" Duo yelled, kicking a nearby soda can in frustration.

The artificial sun had gone down less than an hour before, and the five ex-pilots stood behind the rundown church in the colonies' twilight.

Heero and Wufei had literally run into Duo, who had been racing crazily through the streets shouting at the top of his lungs. They had barely managed to calm the nearly hysterical teen down enough to drag him back to the cemetery, where they had met up with Quatre and Trowa.

"Duo," Quatre interjected, concernedly, "we don't think you're making it up. It's just that sometimes eyes play tricks on us. When we want to see something so badly, well, sometimes our eyes see what they want to see. We had just come from the cemetery, it's understandable that-"

"That's not it!" Duo cried out, shrugging off Quatre's comforting hand, "This wasn't wishful thinking! This was her! She was standing right there! Quatre, you were there! You had to have seen her!"

"Look, Duo, I didn't get a real good look, whoever it was took off pretty fast and-"

"You had to have seen her! It was obvious!"

"I saw the red hair, yes, but a lot of people have red hair Duo, it's not terribly uncommon…"

"Yeah, well name one other person you know with red hair!" He demanded, moving towards the blonde.

Heero stepped forward.

"Duo, stop."

He rounded on him. "No, I will not just stop!"

"Duo, we were all there two years ago," Heero continued, firmly. "She self-destructed the carrier from inside. Traces of Phoenix were found among the rubble. The mobile suit was completely destroyed with her inside it. She died two years ago."

Duo looked about ready to punch something. His teeth ground in frustration. He rounded on Trowa, who hadn't spoken a word since the incident.

"Trowa, man, you saw her too! You recognized her! That's why you let go, right?" Duo insisted.

His steely emerald gaze didn't move from the lone tree in the far corner of the field.

"Trowa, you know it was her." Duo was practically begging now.

The lanky boy pushed off from the wall and began slowly making his way between the rows of markers.

"Trowa!" Duo called out, "don't try to convince yourself otherwise!"

"Leave him alone, fool," Wufei barked.

"Shut up, China-Boy. I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand," Duo growled out, carelessly.

Wufei pushed angrily off the wall.

"You'll regret that comment," he snarled, making a grab for the braided boy.

Quatre forced his way between them.

"Please, everyone just calm down. There is no reason for us to be fighting each other," Quatre begged. "It's been a long day, and we're all a little edgy. I have an apartment I stay in when I come to L4 for business. You all are welcome to stay there tonight, and then we can sort this all out tomorrow morning."

Duo huffed, "There's nothing to sort out. She's alive, end of story. And, if none of you will believe me, then I'll find her myself." He disappeared around the church.

Wufei sneered at his retreating back.

Quatre sighed deeply. He turned to the other two ex-pilots. "The invitation is still open," he said with a grim smile. They nodded. "I'll go grab Trowa, and we'll all head over."

Quatre approached the brunette cautiously. He wasn't certain just how much the ex-gundam pilot had been affected by the day's events.

"Trowa?"

He didn't move, but Quatre knew he was listening. He moved to stand next to him and joined him in staring down at the dismal grave.

The blonde gathered his courage. "What did you see?"

Quatre turned to watch his expression carefully. Trowa's brows knitted together, as if the image in his mind and the image before him weren't reconcilable.

Time passed, and the sky above them grew darker.

"I don't know," he declared, finally.

And with that simple statement, Trowa shoved his hands in his pockets and headed back towards the two waiting figures in the distance.

Quatre walked his retreat sadly. He did not deserve to have all of the pain of two years ago be brought up again. It wasn't fair, not for someone like Trowa, someone who had already dealt with so much suffering.

Quatre looked down at the grave.

"If you're dead, please, I ask that you stay dead."

And with those words, he followed after Trowa.

So, I hope this wasn't a complete flop, feel free to review on what you think of it, or simply drill me with questions, whichever strikes your fancy. Anyway, updates should be pretty frequent with this story considering I have about three other chapters already written, so check back soon!