Disclaimer: I never have and I never will own Gundam Wing. I'm not that fortunate. :P

Rating: PG-13 for the most part Pairings: Non-yaoi, see Raptures of Paradise and Phases of Memory for pairings. Surprises: Enough to make your head spin. ;P Genres: Sci-fi, drama, horror, some fluff, and other delightful things.

AN: A shout out to my beta Midii Une, Bryony, and everyone else who reviewed my fics. You're my cheerleading section! ^_^

Gundam Wing: Legend of the Dream Stalker Part I: AC 199 By Sailor Celaeno

There is an old wives' tale that insists that when nightmares haunt a person on one too many nights that the phenomenon is caused by a creature that feeds on dreams.

The monster stalks those with happy, beautiful fantasies and devours them until the victim is only left with endless nightmares. Some say this monster is a jealous spirit, out for revenge. Others say it just despises people and their happiness and steals their dreams out of pure spite.

This is the legend. the legend of the dream stalker.a monster haunting the night in order to cause misery.

But this is just a silly story, isn't it?

*****

So Hilde and Duo were off on their honeymoon in the Pacific. They were in Tahiti, enjoying sand, sun, and beautiful beaches. Quatre paid for the honeymoon as a present. The biggest surprise was when Sally revealed that she and Wufei were engaged. They had been engaged for nearly a month, but they didn't want to overshadow Hilde and Duo's big event. Dorothy was happy that there would be another wedding later that year. She secretly hoped that there would another engagement. Mariemaia was now 10 and another school year was over. She was lying down on the picnic blanket with young Liam Debinder-Pryde beside her. He was 6 and was moving from kindergarten to the first grade. They were staring up at the cirrus clouds floating by across the bluest sky that early summer. The Preventers were having a company outing so there were many other children around too. Mariemaia pointed at all the colorful and fantastically-shaped kites flying in the quiet wind. Liam watched Mariemaia and looked where she told him to look. She was a wonderful companion for a little boy wise beyond his years. "Quatre tried to talk to my father." "Your father? Why?" Mariemaia glanced over at the young boy beside her. "Because Father's Day is tomorrow." Mariemaia grew silent. She hadn't really given much thought to the holiday like the other children did. She had become acquainted with the holiday when she began attending school on Earth. The other students would often talk a great deal about what they were going to do with their fathers that Sunday. She wasn't as excited over it at all. That was because everyone she knew had a father. Treize was dead. All she did was go to the cemetery and leave red roses. They were beautiful flowers and she could almost feel her father nearby. Treize was there with her all the time. It always bothered Mariemaia that Treize had died without knowing that she ever existed. Would he have been at all interested in her, if he had known? She often wondered this when this June holiday came up. "Miss Mariemaia?" piped a little voice. Mariemaia recalled her companion. "I'm sorry Liam. I must have been daydreaming again. What were you saying?" "I was asking whether or not that there is a God?" Mariemaia was amazed at the question. "Why would you ask a question like that?" "Well, Mrs. Baines said there is one because that's who Mommy is with now," replied the young boy. He was watching the late spring breeze fly through the stalks of green grass. Mariemaia herself had never given a thought about whether there was a God or not. God was never an issue for the once would-be queen of the Earth. "I guess there must be one, Liam. People celebrate Christmas and all." "But. how do people know if there is one or not?" Liam was turning to her for faith. Mariemaia thought for a moment. "I guess that there is one because." she and turned to Liam. "Because. you believe with your whole heart that He exists. Yes, your mother is with Him. She loves you. always and forever." Something in her smile made him believe.

*****

Sally rushed to the hospital. "Preventer Water!" saluted a guard at the entrance. "Where's Doctor Reynolds?" "He's with the senator's daughter." Sally made her way to the patient's room. She couldn't understand what was happening. The twelfth one this week and still no explanation. Just what was happening?

*****

Une was ordered to personally determine what was going on. It began with one man. He had gone to bed and was in a coma the next morning. By the fifth victim, it became clear that something abnormal was happening. The media dubbed it "The Sleepers' Plague." Une thought they were being overdramatic, but Fiona Laramie, daughter of Senator Oswald J. Laramie, was the latest victim of this unknown condition. This was a call for Preventers to get involved. Une was waiting for Sally to report to her. In the meantime, Une went over the established facts of the case. First off, no pathogen had been detected. The people varied in size, gender, and race. Fiona Laramie was the youngest victim at age 14. These people had little in common other than the fact that they lived in the New York Metropolitan area. Une sighed. So far, there was nothing to work with. Nothing significant or unusual. "Une!" Sally called as she approached her superior. Une looked up. "Anything new?" Sally replied, "Yes and no." Sally made a "follow me" gesture. As they walked, Sally continued. "Miss Laramie shows signs just like the others. However." They stepped into another room. Sally showed Une MRI scans. "There seems to be unusually strong activity in Miss Laramie's brain just as we found in the others." She pointed to scans. There were various colors in the rainbow on the scans showing what part of the brain was active and by what degree. Sally pointed at the red/white regions on the scans. "Something has caused their bodies to shut down. However, they are still alive. They seem to be having intense dreams." "Dreams? You mean they're just asleep?" Sally nodded. "Unlike normal people, they simply aren't waking up. We've tried everything from loud noises to injecting stimulants. Nothing is working. Looks like they're not waking up until they're good and ready." "The senator won't accept the idea of his daughter being asleep indefinitely," was all Une said. "Believe me Une, I know. None of us likes this, but we can't do much about this. There's physically nothing wrong with them otherwise." Une frowned. "I'm not sure how the President or the public will handle this."

*****

"Joyce Bixby reporting live in front of Mount Sinai Hospital. It seems whoever and whatever is causing this outbreak of sleeping illness has struck again. The daughter of Senator OSwald J. Laramie has been admitted this evening. We will bring you any updates in her condition as they occur."

*****

"Hmph! With the way they talk, they make it sound it's some plague," huffed Wufei. Like his compatriots, he was getting pressure from the President to solve this current crisis. Predictable considering the fact that elections were next year. Trowa stared silently at the TV screen. Quatre was also watching, but he soon turned to Wufei. "For all we know this could be a plague. There are some crazy people out there doing things like this." Quatre sighed softly. "It's our job to find out what has happened." Heero soon entered the small conference room in the hospital. "I contacted Duo and Hilde. They'll be on the next flight out tomorrow morning." Quatre nodded. "I'm sure Duo wasn't happy." Quatre hadn't thought that Duo would have to cut his honeymoon short. "Hilde didn't seem happy either." Heero had an unsatisfied look on his face. "Something else, Yuy?" Wufei noted his comrade's countenance. "I talked to her tonight." They all knew exactly who he referred to. "You know, it's never her prerogative to tell us anything," Trowa said just glancing away from the screen. "I know, but it didn't hurt to try. Of course she didn't say much." "Predictable of that woman," grumbled Wufei. "Oddly enough. she said that Quatre would be able to figure it out." Quatre was startled. "What? Me?" He was very perplexed. "But. how?" Heero simply stared at the blond. "You could talk to them. You can reach them and find out anything." He watched the young telepath. "Nova said you can contact them through telepathy. You'd be able to do it." "But. I." Trowa put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We know you can do it. If you could fight Cass with your powers, you'll have no trouble with doing this." Quatre looked around the room at his comrades. He took a deep breath. "I'll do it."

*****

"So this is your place Midii," she said to herself. She pushed the apartment door open. There was only darkness there. She ran her left hand along the wall, trying to find the light switch. After a short moment she found it. With a soft click the light turned on. She could see that she wasn't a big decorator. That made perfect sense since her spy work would probably take her away from "home" quite often. She had to be honest with herself. She didn't belong anywhere. Could her past make anything easier on her? No it wouldn't. Midii Une's life wasn't so great. "Can't I just be someone else?" she asked herself. "No. You have to be Midii again. That's who you are." She walked around the living room. The boots she wore click-clacked as she walked on the wooden floor boards. She ran a hand through her hair. Eventually the strawberry blond disappeared revealing the familiar golden blond. As her hair grew to its normal length it had become amazingly wavy. She liked the look. She felt very beautiful. Now that was something different, she had been feeling pretty damn ugly searching all over the Earth Sphere trying to out as much about her past. Now she was in her apartment in Paris. She had money in the bank. However her fairly modest apartment was paid by a benefactor. It seems that her friend Esmeralda had left her a small inheritance. It entailed that Midii's place in Paris would be paid for until she left it behind permanently. Midii was grateful for this last gift from her late friend. It would make it easier for her until she figured things out. Midii walked over to some picture frames on a large bookcase. She picked up a picture and a younger version of herself was smiling with three young boys and an older man. She realized it was her father and brothers. Another picture caught her attention. It was a sketched drawing of a familiar face. "Trowa." she murmured the name. She could remember the sensation of his body so very close to her. The warmth of him being so very close to her own. There was a calming lull in his voice. There was a strong feeling about that man. "Trowa." she murmured that name again. Midii noticed a large binder nearby. She opened it and was shocked to find more sketches of him. Midii's hands trembled as she stared at those sketches. He had such deep green eyes. She wanted to drown in them and be forever a part of those wonderfully enigmatic eyes. Midii blushed as stared at sketches of Trowa's shirtless figure. He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Midii's face became a stronger crimson. "Am I in love. with Trowa?" Her mind became a huge whirl of thought and activity. "Midii and I have a relationship that isn't like any other. We're halves of each other. We are always bound together. Chaos and misery brought us together. Nothing else will split us." Midii shook her head. A sudden thought occurred to her. "A bath." she mumbled to herself. She pulled off her boots and walked to the bathroom without a second thought. She had a vague recollection of where the bathroom was. She walked towards another room. There was a small hallway and on her left was the bathroom. She felt along the wall for the light switch. A small click and the lights came on. Just like the living room, it wasn't fancily decorated. It had all the necessities and had a simple color scheme, blue and white. The fluffy bathroom mats felt wonderful underneath her feet. She over to the bathtub/shower. In the corner, there were bottles: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and. "Bubble bath." Midii had the largest grin on her face in weeks, she hadn't have much cause to smile in recent weeks. She immediately turned on the water. She tested for steaming, hot water. She poured a capful of solution into the water. Bubbles soon formed in the water. Midii stood up and took off her clothes. The sudden desire for a bubble bath came to her in flash of thought. The tub soon filled and she stepped into the inviting water. She sat comfortably in the tub. The scents of flowers and berries fired her olfactory nerves. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wander and think of nothing else but the warm. body leaning close to her. "What?" Midii was jolted into opening her eyes. Did she just think about.? Midii blushed silently and tried to push the thought away from him. She closed her eyes and tried to focus. The heat and steam made the wonderful scent of. after shave stronger. Midii's eyes popped open again. "What?!" She couldn't understand it. Was she going to keep thinking of those hauntingly, deep green eyes? Would the sensations of him being so close to her always be just beyond her every conscious thought? "No, they won't." Midii sighed the bubbles floated around her. "I love Trowa. I have always loved him, and I'll die with it in me."

*****

Hilde watched Duo stare out the window of the plane. He had an anxious look on his face. She knew he had every reason to be worried. She looked at the beautiful bracelet on her wrist. She had a sad smile as she looked at the small gold bracelet. "Duo?" "Hm?" Duo turned to his wife. "It'll be a long flight. Why don't you try to get some sleep?" Duo said nothing, but the look on his face said everything he couldn't or didn't want to say. "I can't sleep. I'm too worried." Hilde put a hand on shoulder. "Fiona wouldn't want you getting ill just because you didn't try to rest. You'll be useless if you get too tired." Duo nodded his head and leaned back in his seat. Hilde stroked his hair as he tried to doze off. Hilde decided to catch some Z's as well. She didn't get much sleep last night since Heero contacted the newlyweds last night. Heero wanted to tell them himself rather than have them find out in the morning papers. Maybe. just maybe. when they got home, everything might make some sense.

Next Time: Can Quatre really figure out what's going on? How are Hilde and Duo connected to Fiona Laramie, the sentator's daughter? And just where is this patient introduced in "Phases of Memory?"