Silent Road
Prologue:
"...Once long ago there were great minds that worked in harmony with the metal ores borne from the very Earth itself. Even common people harnessed these powers, and there were plans to use these collective energies to launch a giant metal craft into the very void of space, crafting it to become a home for humans. The first colony!
"However, there were secrets hidden deep inside the machines. Before anything could be done, a lone scientist revealed what could hardly be fathomed! A force that destroyed the humans: mind, soul, and finally body. Only a few remained. "The great Pacifists, the Winner and Peacecraft families. An entire generation of orphans, some of which were employed but most of which banded together and roamed the Earth Sphere. And a few last scientists, who stood strong for the return of Machines in all their glory. None knew what would happen next. None remembered the Secret. And those who cannot remember history are those most bound to repeat it."
~ From the Book of Rebirth
*****
Quatre Raberba Winner growled softly as he stared up at the stars, not even trying to enjoy the feel of the grass under him. The sounds of the camp drifted to him on a slight breeze, and by the sounds of it nobody had reported him missing yet. Sometimes he hated being the heir of the second richest family in the world. In fact, it had been getting on his nerves much more frequently lately, which is why he had slipped out of the camp to steal a few moments to himself. He would be reprimanded when he returned, but it was worth it. With a sigh, the blonde struggled to his feet.
Panning out beyond the camp was a desolate savanna of a wasteland. His father had mentioned that this had once been a continent called Asia, one of the most prosperous nations in the world. Now, the only living things here were a few wanderers and the temporary Winner estate. It hurt; to think so many could be killed by something that no one completely understood.
A strangled moan, almost soft enough to be the wind, startled Quatre out of his thoughts. He turned; examining the rocky outcropping that surrounded the camp for a second before scrambling over a large boulder to investigate. Even a small ripping sound signifying the fate of his best shirt didn't daunt him as he slid over the top of the rock and tumbled gracelessly to the other side.
The blonde Arab had never seen so much fear as that reflected in the pair of emerald eyes staring at him from the ball of clothing huddled against the largest rock. Quatre started forward then stopped again, staring wide- eyed at the dark puddle spreading around the bundle.
"Hey! Are... are you all right?" inching forward, Quatre determined that the fluid was, in fact, blood. "We've got to get you some help! Come on, there's a good doctor in camp." Ignoring the other boy's vague protest, he somehow managed to haul the both of them back over the rocks and into camp without causing further injury to either of them, although his clothes wouldn't ever be wearable again.
*****
"That was one nasty bullet wound. You said you found him just outside camp Quat? Strange, wonder how he got there." Sally Po finished wrapping the now unconscious boy's arm and looked over at her young friend "You'd better change before your father see you." He nodded.
"He'll... be okay, right?"
"He'll be fine Quatre. Now shoo, I have work to do and this young man needs rest." Sally smiled as he scurried off. It was strange; a boy no older then sixteen, in the condition this one was in, couldn't have gotten very far on his own. And there were very few guns of any kind left anywhere. The only explanation was an assassin, and that was not a happy thought indeed.
*****
"Dad, he's hurt! This is the safest place for him right now! If he is willing to work, why shouldn't he?"
"He was shot, Quatre. We don't know why, or by whom. They're probably still in this area. He's a danger to you and the entire camp! I cannot allow him to stay," said the head of the Winner estate, his tone final. "You are dismissed."
"No." This one word caused Quatre's father to take a second look at his son. It was a word he had always expected him to say one day, but he had always hoped that that day would never come.
"You and your strays, Quatre. He can stay for a day or two, and I'll rethink my decision." He returned his son's nervous smile and turned back to his affairs. "After all, he can't be much worse than Maxwell..."
*****
Said Maxwell poked the tall youth curiously, "What're we gonna call him?" This comment only earned him two well-deserved glares.
"Duo, stop poking him. And I'm sure he already has a name," Quatre sighed. He had found Duo in an abandoned church when they were both very little. He had then been raised like many of the orphans were; the Winners clothed, fed, and educated him in return for his services. He was Quatre's best friend and personal servant.
"Well if he has a name, he should tell us!" Duo exclaimed. The taller boy remained silent, causing the braided American to duck his head in embarrassment. The boy hadn't said a word since he'd awoken in the med wing, and Quatre doubted he could. A name wandered through his mind.
"Trowa."
"What?"
"We should call him Trowa," a slight nod deemed this name acceptable, "My dad mentioned someone named Trowa once. Trowa... Barton. Or something like that. It's a good name."
"Whatever you say, Quat-man. As long as bang-boy over here agrees." One didn't have to be a psychic to see many glares in Duo's future.
*****
The planet was barely formed, it's flow of pulsing life both beautiful and intoxicating, the Heartbeat of Earth. Greens and blues flooded its surface, and species of miraculous variety thronged from the seas. Then there was one with the power to change the very fate of the great Garden of Eden. Man. Man and his intelligence.
*****
Quatre woke, shivering and sweating hot and cold at the same time. The nightmare had plagued him for as long as he could remember, nearly driving him insane more than once. Standing shakily, he half-walked half- stumbled to the door connecting his to Duo's. Fumbling with the doorknob a bit, the trembling blond all but fell into the small room now shared by his two friends. Duo, with his amazing ability to sense when something was wrong, was sprawled out on his bed snoring loudly. He was awoken, however, by a not-so-gentle prod from the ever alert Trowa.
"Snnner... Q-man? Oh. Nightmares again," Duo said, patting the bed beside him. Quatre obediently sat down, leaning against the long-haired boy. Trowa, with unusual sympathy, sat down on Quatre's other side. The blonde half-listened to his old friend's animated explanation of old nightmare, and let himself be lulled to sleep by the warmth and erratic breathing of another human.
Prologue:
"...Once long ago there were great minds that worked in harmony with the metal ores borne from the very Earth itself. Even common people harnessed these powers, and there were plans to use these collective energies to launch a giant metal craft into the very void of space, crafting it to become a home for humans. The first colony!
"However, there were secrets hidden deep inside the machines. Before anything could be done, a lone scientist revealed what could hardly be fathomed! A force that destroyed the humans: mind, soul, and finally body. Only a few remained. "The great Pacifists, the Winner and Peacecraft families. An entire generation of orphans, some of which were employed but most of which banded together and roamed the Earth Sphere. And a few last scientists, who stood strong for the return of Machines in all their glory. None knew what would happen next. None remembered the Secret. And those who cannot remember history are those most bound to repeat it."
~ From the Book of Rebirth
*****
Quatre Raberba Winner growled softly as he stared up at the stars, not even trying to enjoy the feel of the grass under him. The sounds of the camp drifted to him on a slight breeze, and by the sounds of it nobody had reported him missing yet. Sometimes he hated being the heir of the second richest family in the world. In fact, it had been getting on his nerves much more frequently lately, which is why he had slipped out of the camp to steal a few moments to himself. He would be reprimanded when he returned, but it was worth it. With a sigh, the blonde struggled to his feet.
Panning out beyond the camp was a desolate savanna of a wasteland. His father had mentioned that this had once been a continent called Asia, one of the most prosperous nations in the world. Now, the only living things here were a few wanderers and the temporary Winner estate. It hurt; to think so many could be killed by something that no one completely understood.
A strangled moan, almost soft enough to be the wind, startled Quatre out of his thoughts. He turned; examining the rocky outcropping that surrounded the camp for a second before scrambling over a large boulder to investigate. Even a small ripping sound signifying the fate of his best shirt didn't daunt him as he slid over the top of the rock and tumbled gracelessly to the other side.
The blonde Arab had never seen so much fear as that reflected in the pair of emerald eyes staring at him from the ball of clothing huddled against the largest rock. Quatre started forward then stopped again, staring wide- eyed at the dark puddle spreading around the bundle.
"Hey! Are... are you all right?" inching forward, Quatre determined that the fluid was, in fact, blood. "We've got to get you some help! Come on, there's a good doctor in camp." Ignoring the other boy's vague protest, he somehow managed to haul the both of them back over the rocks and into camp without causing further injury to either of them, although his clothes wouldn't ever be wearable again.
*****
"That was one nasty bullet wound. You said you found him just outside camp Quat? Strange, wonder how he got there." Sally Po finished wrapping the now unconscious boy's arm and looked over at her young friend "You'd better change before your father see you." He nodded.
"He'll... be okay, right?"
"He'll be fine Quatre. Now shoo, I have work to do and this young man needs rest." Sally smiled as he scurried off. It was strange; a boy no older then sixteen, in the condition this one was in, couldn't have gotten very far on his own. And there were very few guns of any kind left anywhere. The only explanation was an assassin, and that was not a happy thought indeed.
*****
"Dad, he's hurt! This is the safest place for him right now! If he is willing to work, why shouldn't he?"
"He was shot, Quatre. We don't know why, or by whom. They're probably still in this area. He's a danger to you and the entire camp! I cannot allow him to stay," said the head of the Winner estate, his tone final. "You are dismissed."
"No." This one word caused Quatre's father to take a second look at his son. It was a word he had always expected him to say one day, but he had always hoped that that day would never come.
"You and your strays, Quatre. He can stay for a day or two, and I'll rethink my decision." He returned his son's nervous smile and turned back to his affairs. "After all, he can't be much worse than Maxwell..."
*****
Said Maxwell poked the tall youth curiously, "What're we gonna call him?" This comment only earned him two well-deserved glares.
"Duo, stop poking him. And I'm sure he already has a name," Quatre sighed. He had found Duo in an abandoned church when they were both very little. He had then been raised like many of the orphans were; the Winners clothed, fed, and educated him in return for his services. He was Quatre's best friend and personal servant.
"Well if he has a name, he should tell us!" Duo exclaimed. The taller boy remained silent, causing the braided American to duck his head in embarrassment. The boy hadn't said a word since he'd awoken in the med wing, and Quatre doubted he could. A name wandered through his mind.
"Trowa."
"What?"
"We should call him Trowa," a slight nod deemed this name acceptable, "My dad mentioned someone named Trowa once. Trowa... Barton. Or something like that. It's a good name."
"Whatever you say, Quat-man. As long as bang-boy over here agrees." One didn't have to be a psychic to see many glares in Duo's future.
*****
The planet was barely formed, it's flow of pulsing life both beautiful and intoxicating, the Heartbeat of Earth. Greens and blues flooded its surface, and species of miraculous variety thronged from the seas. Then there was one with the power to change the very fate of the great Garden of Eden. Man. Man and his intelligence.
*****
Quatre woke, shivering and sweating hot and cold at the same time. The nightmare had plagued him for as long as he could remember, nearly driving him insane more than once. Standing shakily, he half-walked half- stumbled to the door connecting his to Duo's. Fumbling with the doorknob a bit, the trembling blond all but fell into the small room now shared by his two friends. Duo, with his amazing ability to sense when something was wrong, was sprawled out on his bed snoring loudly. He was awoken, however, by a not-so-gentle prod from the ever alert Trowa.
"Snnner... Q-man? Oh. Nightmares again," Duo said, patting the bed beside him. Quatre obediently sat down, leaning against the long-haired boy. Trowa, with unusual sympathy, sat down on Quatre's other side. The blonde half-listened to his old friend's animated explanation of old nightmare, and let himself be lulled to sleep by the warmth and erratic breathing of another human.