Shinigami no Musuko
****Disclaimer and other stuff****
I dont own half of the characters but i did make up the kids. This is a follow up to Be With You but if you didnt read it fear not! Everything gets explained in here.
****Enough of this! On with the story!****
The book lay open on the bed. A scrapebook filled with page after page of pictures and newspaper clippings of the Gundam pilots and the Colony war they'd fought in. Wedding anouncements for Wufei Chang and Sally Po. Lucrecia Noin and Zechs Marquis. Relena Peacecraft and Heero Yuy. A circus ticket from the Bloom Family Circus. And an old picture of Hilde Schbeiker and Duo Maxwell.
Quatre sighed and looked down at the boy asleep on the bed, his hand resting on the book, clutching the old cross necklace and a silver and gold cross ring on his middle finger.
"I don't know what to do with him." The 30 year old blonde whispered into the phone. He picked up the paper off the desk. 'EXPELLED' stamped on it. "I'm running out of schools that will accept him. What if this doesn't work? Then what?"
In the silence the hand clutched at the cross.
"But I have to think about 'If'. I know....He's just like Duo." Quatre closed the door.
"That's what worries me."
The handsome shaggy haired blonde walked through the park feeling out of place. A preppy looking senator's son in a skate park.
But he had his reasons.
The girls for one. Being Senator's son had publicity time so lots of people knew him.
"Oh wow! Its Maxwell Yuy!"
"Are you sure that's him?"
"Of course! Who else is that hott?"
"Wonder what he's doing here...."
Maxwell laughed to himself and kept walking.
"Oi, Max! You got girls all over you!"
"Figured I'd find you here," Maxwell grinned.
Trio Maxwell brushed back his dark shoulder length hair and frowned. "Where else should I be?"
Maxwell shrugged. "Oh I dunno. Home studying."
"....Q-sama put you up to this didn't he?"
"Him?! Study?!" A twelve year old chinese girl walked up with a look of question on her face. "You do realize this is Trio you are talking about, right, Max? Hey! Speaking of school! I hear you are changing again, Trio. Get kicked out?"
Trio got a mock pout on his face. "I'm crushed Meiran! Have you no faith in me?"
Chang Meiran frowned. "Is that a retoracle question?"
Maxwell pushed Meiran aside and smiled. "Meiran is sorry, Trio."
"I am?"
"So why are you changing school's again?" Max felt bad asking. Trio had been his best friend forever and yet...
Trio smirked. "I got kicked out, duh!"
Meiran rolled her eyes. "Can't wait to see you and Treize at the same school. You two get along so well everywhere else."
Trio watched her go wide eyed. "Treize?" he squeaked. "As in Treize Marquis?" There had been a long hate between the two that no one could pinpoint to an actual event.
Maxwell looked at Trio sideways. "Where did you think they went to school?"
Trio shrugged. "I dunno, but why there. Does Q-sama hate me that much?"
He sat alone in the room. Eyes blank, face expressionless. The TV rolled soundless pictures, always muted.
Quatre frowned. He never said anything, just sat there and stared out into nowhere, hoping evryone would just dissapear and leave him alone. Quatre sighed.
Some things didn't change.
He hoped Trio would not be one of them.
Trio studied the paper and checked the numbers again. He'd gotten good at figuring out how to find rooms and lockers after 20 some odd new schools.
He turned the lock and opened it.
Only to have it slammed shut before he could put anything in.
"Ah. Treize. Was wondering when you'd show up."
Treize Marquis, who looked more like his mother than his namesake, grinned. "Yo, Trio. So whadja do this time? Blow up a lab? Get into a fight? Date a teacher?"
Trio beamed. "You think i could date a teacher? Wow, do you have faith in me! And who says I wasn't too good for that school, huh?"
"Me. I say. You couldn't get a passing grade even if you did date a teacher. Unless maybe you hacked school files."
Trio opened his locker and tossed in what he didn't need. "And now you know why I got kicked out. Ja!" Trio ran down the hall towards Maxwell.
"Max. Homeroom." Trio held out the paper while the girls who positioned themselves around Maxwell studied him down their noses.
"Same as mine." Maxwell studied it a bit more. "In fact most of your classes are the same as mine." The two looked at each other.
"Q-sama."
The two laughed and walked off together. The girls mostly decided Maxwell was too good for Trio, but a few accepted him based on the fact that Maxwell did.
And Trio was a problem in other ways. Now that Maxwell had a 'real' friend he didn't need to accept the artifical ones who merely wanted to be seen with 'Maxwell Yuy'.
And by the time school ended Trio was very ready to be out of there and away from all the upperclass preps.
"Hey! Treize! Une! Meiran!" Trio ran after the three. They tended to hang together because they had all grown up on the Peacemillion II together where their parents, Chang Wufei and Sally and Zechs Marquis (or was it Milliardo Peacecraft?) and Lucrietzia, who was still affectianotly called Noin by the kids, worked. "Hey, what say we go to the arcade? I mean how often are we all together?"
"Too often," Meiran mumbled, but agreed anyway. "Why not? I have nothing else to do."
"I have to tell my dad first," Maxwell said. "And you have to tell Q-sama." He poked Trio in the side with the reminder.
Trio snorted indignantly, but headed in the direction of his home.
The Winner estate.
He pushed open the door and peered in. "Q-SAMA! I'M HOME! GOING TO THE ARCADE! BE BACK LATER!" And he was out the door.
Quatre looked around the doorframe. "Trio?" But he was gone. Quatre sighed. "They are too much alike. So elusive."
Trowa Bloom nodded knowingly. Quatre worried constantly about Trio.
He looked out the window and saw Maxwell running after Trio. Trio seemed to always be running away.
When Maxwell finally caught up to Trio it was in front of his house. He collapsed in the kitchen. "I..~pant~ don't....see....~gasp~....why you....had....~pant~....to run." Maxwell let out a long breath and slumped lower in the chair.
"Don't slouch," Relena Yuy said patting her son lightly on his shoulders. Conditioned response. "So how was school?" The question was ment for Trio but she looked to both of them.
Everybody worries too much about my schooling, Trio thought, but he beamed despite. "Great! In fact, it was so good we're going to the arcade to celebrate."
"The arcade, hmm?" Heero Yuy stepped into the kitchen and put the glass in the sink.
Heero never said anything about what the two did, though he didn't approve of most of it. The skateboarding tricks that sent them both to the hospital, the science experiments that almost blew up the kitchen.
The arcade with the Gundam game.
Trio nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I mean how often do we have all five gundam pilots together?!"
Heero raised an eyebrow. "All 'five' gundam pilots?"
Trio nodded. "Mm-hm. I'm Deathscythe Hell, Max is Wing Zero, Meiran is Altron, Une is Sandrock, and Treize is Heavy Arms. All five."
Heero had never realized they all had favorite gundams, let alone gundams with meaning. It was almost flattering that his son used the Wing Zero, his gundam, but it was gundam none the less. The game that boasted "handleing just like the real thing!"
And it did.
Trio dragged Maxwell out the door before Heero could say anything more.
Heero laughed sadly. Trio reminded him exactly of Duo, smiling no matter what, and Heero often wondered what it would have been like if they hadn't fought in the war.
If they had grown up together.
The man shifted uneasily. The silent tv was almost as unnerving as his roommate. The news. Something about the space craft Peacemillion II.
He shifted again and turned up the volume on his TV.
Trio sighed and stepped out of the office and shot a glare over his shoulder. He hated the counsler. She was so sure she'd "get through" to him and get a major award or something. Trio was not about to let that happen.
No one would break him.
He opened his locker and grinned. He always hacked the counsler's files on himself an printed it up, hanging it inside his locker, oddly proud of it.
Student Name: Trio Maxwell
Age: 16
Grade: 11
Birthday: August 18th A.C. 200
Briefing on student:
Trio Maxwell is an incredibly gifted and talented student with an extrodinary IQ. He appears very happy, but is deeply troubled and rebelious. He was adopted at age 4 by Quatre Raberba Winner and has remained in Mr. Winner's care ever since. His father suffered from emotional issues and attempted suicide. It is unknown how his mother died.
Progress Made: None.
Trio smirked. "And lets keep it that way, huh."
The PA system crackled. "Would Meiran Chang, Treize Marquis, Une Marquis, Trio Maxwell, and Maxwell Yuy please report to the Dean's office."
Trio blinked. "We have a dean? Damn."
Then he noticed all eyes were on him. "What?"
In the hall the 5 met and Trio found out 'what'.
"What the hell did you do now, Trio." Treize, of course.
"Me?! I haven't been here long enough TO do anything!" He looked at the others trying to find one who believed him. Meiran scowled at him, Une looked ready to cry, and Maxwell looked apologetic. "I didn't do a thing and I'll prove it!"
He stomped off for the Dean's office.
"Um, Trio." Maxwell smirked. "This way."
"Right. Shut up, Treize."
The Dean's office was very elaborate and well furnished. Trio felt afraid to touch anything.
"I have some rather bad news," the dean, Mr. Wallace according to his nameplate, said. He looked up, but past the group. They turned to find Quatre and Trowa standing there.
I am dead meat. Trio's life flashed before him. If both of them were here that ment certain doom.
Quatre looked worried. Even worse.
But it wasn't about Trio for once.
"It seems the Peacemillion II has been taken over by space pirates. They want another war. Your parents are fine, but being held hostage so we cant retaliate." Quatre was quiet, softer than usual.
"Dad. Mom." Meiran's eyes were wide.
"It is understandable if you do not wish to attend school during this time," Mr. Wallace said. "And if you wish to stay with Mr. Winner, you may leave the dorms and do so. We are all praying for you."
Une's eyes brimed with tears. She cried about everything.
Trio sighed and looked at the computer. "Nothing. This report is going to suck."
He was still going to school. Meiran and Treize had tried but their concentration failed and they took thier work home. Une sat around crying mostly. Trio and Maxwell tried hard to get her mind off it, but it wasn't working. It had only been three days.
Une sniffed and watched Trio. He handled everything so well. She wished she could've been more like him.
He never knew his mother and his father stabbed himself with a knife when Trio was almost 3, but she had never seen Trio cry.
Not even when he and Maxwell broke nearly every bone in their bodies.
Trio smiled at Une. She looked so small. Smaller than usual. 10 instead of 14. "Ne, Une? You wanna come with me to the lab? It's got better access."
Une shrugged. Why not? It was better than staying here and doing nothing.
Maxwell slamed into Trio as they rounded the corner.
"Ow. watch where I'm going, bro!" Trio rubbed his scraped elbow.
"Sorry." Maxwell helped Trio up. "Nobody's home at my place. Still negotiating."
Trio nodded. "Une and I are going to the lab. I need better information for this report and Une's coming to protect me from the spooky things in Q-sama's old lab." Both Trio and Une in an attempt to be more Trio-like 'ooooh'ed to enforce the labs spookyness.
Maxwell rolled his eyes. "Maybe I'll come and make sure Trio doesn't try to make out with any female ghosts in there."
Trio grinned. "There's a female ghost in the lab? And how do you know this, Maxwell?"
Maxwell faultered and found himself speechlessly following Trio and Une to the lab.
The lab was humungous and old and well out of use, but it all ran. Trio had found this all out three years ago during a game of hide and seek when he accidentaly pushed a button and everything started up.
Treize and Merian were hanging around outside sparring. They both stopped when the three trooped past.
"Where are you going?" Merian asked scowling.
"Nowhere." All three replied in unison. Nobody wanted them around, esspecially now when they were in bad moods.
This answer only managed to make them even more curious though and they took up following.
Trio sighed heavily but kept going. He needed this grade badly. Q-sama was not very pleasant with all this going on. He booted up the main computer and started calling up files.
"Whats that one?" Une pointed to a file.
Trio shrugged and humoured her by opening it. "Hmmm...." Trio frowned. "A classified file? Well well, Uncle Q-sama. What little secret is this?" Trio worked quickly, intruiged by this new locked file.
Une was worried now. She'd started this. What if they got in trouble? It would be her fault. She tugged at her platnium tresses nervously.
Trio grinned as he gained access to the file. "Bin-go!" he chirped. Then his eyes widened in shock. "Whoa...."
Maxwell leaned over Trio's other shoulder and blinked. "What the....Gundam?"
Treize and Meiran turned around and looked over their shoulders. "Gundam?"
Trio nodded dumbly. "Blueprints for the gundam. It must have been left from the war."
Maxwell frowned. "Q-sama made the Wing Zero here. Does the stuff still work to make another one?"
Trio laughed. "Of course it still works! You could make a whole fleet of Gundam!"
"A fleet....?" Treize moved beside Trio. "Of gundam....?"
Trio nodded. "Sure. With a little human interaction, this place practically makes gundam MS's on its own!"
Meiran moved closer, leaning forward. "But what about gundanium?"
Trio laughed. "Come on! This is Q-sama! By the time this place was ready for the gundanium you could have enough here for all five!"
Meiran and Treize grinned at each other. Une noticed but couldn't say a thing fast enough. Treize grabbed Trio, pulling him from the chair, and slammed him against the wall. Trio winced painfully.
"Then you are about to have the best report ever," Treize snarled. "You are going to make a gundam for me and a gundam for Meiran. You start now. Got it?"
Trio nodded slowly. Treize was upset about his parents and Q-sama did say to try to do whatever it took to keep from getting Treize mad.
He only hoped Q-sama didn't get too mad.
"Where's Trio?"
Quatre was slightly worried. He hadn't seen much of Trio or Maxwell lately. It was all too quiet.
"With Max." Meiran moved the knight chess peice as solemly as she'd answered Quatre.
"Well, do you know where Maxwell is?"
Two head shakes no.
Quatre sighed heavily. What were those two up to?
Trio walked towards the lab quite pleased. It had all taken less time than he'd thought. And with Max helping everything had gone smoother.
BAM!
Trio was pinned forcefully to the wall. "You've had plenty of time, punk. Q-sama's begining to notice somethings up."
Meiran stepped up beside Treize. "Lets see them, Trio. Now."
Trio made a face. "Well, I wasn't quite ready, but I suppose now is as good as any." Trio squirmed free of Treize's hold and straigtened his shirt. "Follow me," he said, leading off looking important.
Maxwell was already in the lab, but all the lights in the main area were off, and there wasn't a lot of noise. Certainly nothing that sounded like a gundam being built.
"What's going on, Trio?" Treize growled. "I thought you were making us gundams."
Trio looked up inocently. "Did I say that? No, I beleive that was your words." Trio pushed two buttons and two gundams lighted up.
The orange HeavyArms and the green Altron.
"I'm already done with the gundams." Trio informed them. "Its the weapons I haven't finished yet." Trio leveled a gun at Treize's head. "Anymore questions?"
Treize blinked. There was no guarentee that the gun worked, yet alone was loaded, but it was Trio and there was that small chance.
"Why do we *need* weapons?" Meiran growled. She wanted to fight and there wasn't a gun to her head.
Trio tossed the gun to the table and shrugged. "You don't I suposse but they did take your parents hostage so they obviously have weapons. Your choice. I'll be done in two days."
Treize fummed from being scared of Trio. "Then we'll take the gundams and get used to them."
"No." Trio shook his head firmly. "You do and they'll know there are gundams and it will all fall back to us. Do that and Q-sama'll never let us out. Besides, they handle like the game. I made sure of that by asking Papa H."
Treize and Meiran glowered at Trio's back. He had gotten back to work on the weapons. "You stay here and I'll likely not be done for three days...."
Needless to say they left.
Treize and Meiran didn't like it. Not at all. Trio had been in the lab forever. They didn't like being left out. Especially not when Une was let in on the secret.
The two were about ready to march into the lab and demand the gundams on the second day when Une appeared, handed them a message, and left. Treize unfolded it and frowned. '
'Meet in the hanger at 8 AM. ~Trio'
Another day of waiting.
Trio, Maxwell, and Une were not at breakfast that morning, but the cook informed Treize and Meiran they had already eaten. The two scarfed down their breakfast in record time and took off.
Quatre frowned. Something was up. Trio had been scarce, never a good sign, and Meiran, Treize, and even Une had been antsy and on edge as if expectant. This wouldn't end well, he could feel it.
Treize and Meiran stepped into the hanger and glared at the large leather chair at the desk. The back was to them, but they knew it was Trio.
The chair turned slowly around and Une looked at them wide eyed. "Oh....your late."
"8:05. Big deal. Where's the punk?" Treize snapped at his sister. No more waiting.
Meiran looked at Une. She looked so familiar, but not like herself. More like in a costume on halloween. Goggles on her head and the purple vest....like-
"I'm right here, Treize."
Both turned to Trio and Maxwell and Meiran suddenly knew. Trio was dressed in black leather. Black leather jacket with a red tech vest underneath, black leather pants, and the traditional black cap. Maxwell, preppy Maxwell, had obviously not been able to find a green tank top and had settled for a green tech vest and jeans.
"You....you look like....."
"Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, and Quatre Winner." Trio piped obviously proud. "Here."
He held out a green turtle neck to Treize and baggy white pants and a white coat to Meiran. "If we're gonna fight we might as well be authentic."
"We?" Treize raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean we?"
Trio stood by the console, Une and Maxwell on either side of him. He flipped the lights in the hanger on and five gundams loomed over them. "You aren't going alone. We're going with you."
Trio grinned and tossed them each a gun. He twirled his and slipped it into the waist off his pants. He let out a little squeak as cold metal touched his flesh and drew a sharp breath.
"Cold?" Treize sneered walking over to the HeavyArms II.
Trio shook his head and smiled.
Quatre put his head in his hands and sighed. So much to do. Too much at times.
And Trio was not helping. Esspecially not now, sneaking around. What was he planning?
A knock on the door followed by Trowa stepping in. "Quatre. We have a problem."
Quatre looked up wide eyed. What did Trio do now?
Trowa meerly flipped on the TV but Relena stormed in before anything could be heard from it.
"What the hell did you do with my son?!"
Quatre blinked, shocked. "Wha-what??!"
Relena slamed her hands on the table. "Where is Maxwell!! Dammit, Quatre! Don't play with me!"
Heero put a gentle but firm hand on Relena's shoulder. "Relena." he cautioned with schooled patience. "It doesn't look like Quatre knows."
"Knows what?" Quatre was thuroughly confused but the TV answered his question.
"There's no mistake, John. Its the gundams."
Quatre froze in shock. Gundams?
The lab. Of course! How could he have missed it? Treize and Meiran's restlessness. Une's calmness. And Trio's dissapearance.
"DAMMIT, TRIO!"
Trio snickered and flipped the link to the other gundams open and let the music play.
"What are you doing, Trio?"
"Putting the disc space to use. Background music, Max my man."
"Maxwell Yuy."
Trio stopped the disc immediantly.
"Dad?" Maxwell's voice faultered.
"What do you think you are doing." Heero's voice was tight and demanding. Trio smartly let Maxwell handle it. They didn't much approve of him anyway.
"We're going to try and rescue the Peacemillion II." Maxwell tried hard to sound sure of it, but his voice sounded choked.
"Home. Now." Relena sounded much worse than Heero. Trio could hear a choked sob from the Sandrock.
"What are they going to do to us?" Treize asked securing the link to the other gundams.
"Kill us," Maxwell muttered.
"But we are already out here," Meiran snarled. "I'm going."
"Me too," Treize said.
"Me three," Une's voice was soft but oddly controlled.
"I'm three," Trio said "Your the only one they can ground, Maxwell."
"I'm going," Maxwell said after a long moment of silence.
"Maxwell! Don't you dare!"
"Sorry, Mother. Don't be mad at Trio. It was my idea too."
"Maxwe-"
Maxwell cut the connection. "Let's go."
Trio looked out to space and frowned. Was this the right thing?
The first sign of life. The first sign he'd given he even existed anymore.
His roommate cowered as he leaned wide eyed over the bed, eyes focused only on the TV. The eyes narrowed and he let out an angry animal like growl and spun away.
"Sir!" The tall man came running in slightly out of breath. "We have a slight...problem."
The dark haired captain lowered the glass. "What kind of problem, Hunter?"
"W-well.....Gundam, sir. Five of them. Headed this way."
Captain Larson turned the small TV towards Hunter. "I am very aware of this, Hunter." He leaned back in the chair. "Two pilots are here. One is dead. This leaves only three people who can pilot a gundam. I don't think it is any of the originals at all."
"S-sir?"
Larson looked bored. "Send out the mobile suits, Hunter. Is it really that hard?"
"Hey! I worked hard on these!" Trio yelled slicing the beam scythe in a graceful arc taking out three MS.
Treize let loose a barage of bullets and missles into the attacking MS. "So what do we do once we get in, Trio?"
"Me? This was your idea, Treize. I just supply."
"WHAT?!" Une's voice was sharp and pitched. "You mean none of you idiots stopped to plan?!"
"Figures." Maxwell leveled the beam cannon at a concentration of MS and pulled the trigger.
Meiran let out a howl and shot out one of the Dragon arms. "Tag your it." The MS exploded much to her satisfaction. "Is it really that hard? We get in and get out!"
"And get killed." Maxwell's voice was monotone since the call from his parents. Trio understood it. Max was a good kid. Rarely did anything wrong or disobeyed them.
The perfect son.
"You know the Peacemillion better than me or Max so, Treize and Meiran take Max and free your parents. He can pick locks like nobodies business. I'll take Une and create a distraction."
"And how do we get in?"
"Watch and learn." Trio grinned a look of evil and charged the Deathscythe Hell II forward. "Shinigami no Musuko will take you DOWN!!!"
Relena glared ferociously at Trowa. Quatre had gotten a call that seemed at first to thrill him, but then he'd looked at Relena and the call seemed to take on a new horror. As soon as he'd hung up he had muttered apologies and run out the door before anyone could ask any questions.
Now Trowa was left alone with a fuming Relena and a just as angry Heero. Fortunatly Heero had better control of his emotions.
Please hurry back, Quatre.
"This place is going to need serious repairs when your done with it," Meiran grumbled over the com.
Trio nodded and hit the floor gracefully. He andd Une were the only ones in now. Meiran, Maxwell, Teize kept up the fight outside. The Sandrock II and Hell II had backed off looking like they were wounded but in all actuallity Trio and Une had stowed away on the Wing II and Maxwell had gotten close enough for the two to board.
The people on Peacemillion II obviously weren't many. Only a few had shown up to oppose their entrance. But then, they would have been around when the original pilots had been fighting. They may be scared.
And ith good reason. Maxwell looked every inch his father. All the way down to the expression on his face. Death was inevitable. Now or later, it would come.
****Disclaimer and other stuff****
I dont own half of the characters but i did make up the kids. This is a follow up to Be With You but if you didnt read it fear not! Everything gets explained in here.
****Enough of this! On with the story!****
The book lay open on the bed. A scrapebook filled with page after page of pictures and newspaper clippings of the Gundam pilots and the Colony war they'd fought in. Wedding anouncements for Wufei Chang and Sally Po. Lucrecia Noin and Zechs Marquis. Relena Peacecraft and Heero Yuy. A circus ticket from the Bloom Family Circus. And an old picture of Hilde Schbeiker and Duo Maxwell.
Quatre sighed and looked down at the boy asleep on the bed, his hand resting on the book, clutching the old cross necklace and a silver and gold cross ring on his middle finger.
"I don't know what to do with him." The 30 year old blonde whispered into the phone. He picked up the paper off the desk. 'EXPELLED' stamped on it. "I'm running out of schools that will accept him. What if this doesn't work? Then what?"
In the silence the hand clutched at the cross.
"But I have to think about 'If'. I know....He's just like Duo." Quatre closed the door.
"That's what worries me."
The handsome shaggy haired blonde walked through the park feeling out of place. A preppy looking senator's son in a skate park.
But he had his reasons.
The girls for one. Being Senator's son had publicity time so lots of people knew him.
"Oh wow! Its Maxwell Yuy!"
"Are you sure that's him?"
"Of course! Who else is that hott?"
"Wonder what he's doing here...."
Maxwell laughed to himself and kept walking.
"Oi, Max! You got girls all over you!"
"Figured I'd find you here," Maxwell grinned.
Trio Maxwell brushed back his dark shoulder length hair and frowned. "Where else should I be?"
Maxwell shrugged. "Oh I dunno. Home studying."
"....Q-sama put you up to this didn't he?"
"Him?! Study?!" A twelve year old chinese girl walked up with a look of question on her face. "You do realize this is Trio you are talking about, right, Max? Hey! Speaking of school! I hear you are changing again, Trio. Get kicked out?"
Trio got a mock pout on his face. "I'm crushed Meiran! Have you no faith in me?"
Chang Meiran frowned. "Is that a retoracle question?"
Maxwell pushed Meiran aside and smiled. "Meiran is sorry, Trio."
"I am?"
"So why are you changing school's again?" Max felt bad asking. Trio had been his best friend forever and yet...
Trio smirked. "I got kicked out, duh!"
Meiran rolled her eyes. "Can't wait to see you and Treize at the same school. You two get along so well everywhere else."
Trio watched her go wide eyed. "Treize?" he squeaked. "As in Treize Marquis?" There had been a long hate between the two that no one could pinpoint to an actual event.
Maxwell looked at Trio sideways. "Where did you think they went to school?"
Trio shrugged. "I dunno, but why there. Does Q-sama hate me that much?"
He sat alone in the room. Eyes blank, face expressionless. The TV rolled soundless pictures, always muted.
Quatre frowned. He never said anything, just sat there and stared out into nowhere, hoping evryone would just dissapear and leave him alone. Quatre sighed.
Some things didn't change.
He hoped Trio would not be one of them.
Trio studied the paper and checked the numbers again. He'd gotten good at figuring out how to find rooms and lockers after 20 some odd new schools.
He turned the lock and opened it.
Only to have it slammed shut before he could put anything in.
"Ah. Treize. Was wondering when you'd show up."
Treize Marquis, who looked more like his mother than his namesake, grinned. "Yo, Trio. So whadja do this time? Blow up a lab? Get into a fight? Date a teacher?"
Trio beamed. "You think i could date a teacher? Wow, do you have faith in me! And who says I wasn't too good for that school, huh?"
"Me. I say. You couldn't get a passing grade even if you did date a teacher. Unless maybe you hacked school files."
Trio opened his locker and tossed in what he didn't need. "And now you know why I got kicked out. Ja!" Trio ran down the hall towards Maxwell.
"Max. Homeroom." Trio held out the paper while the girls who positioned themselves around Maxwell studied him down their noses.
"Same as mine." Maxwell studied it a bit more. "In fact most of your classes are the same as mine." The two looked at each other.
"Q-sama."
The two laughed and walked off together. The girls mostly decided Maxwell was too good for Trio, but a few accepted him based on the fact that Maxwell did.
And Trio was a problem in other ways. Now that Maxwell had a 'real' friend he didn't need to accept the artifical ones who merely wanted to be seen with 'Maxwell Yuy'.
And by the time school ended Trio was very ready to be out of there and away from all the upperclass preps.
"Hey! Treize! Une! Meiran!" Trio ran after the three. They tended to hang together because they had all grown up on the Peacemillion II together where their parents, Chang Wufei and Sally and Zechs Marquis (or was it Milliardo Peacecraft?) and Lucrietzia, who was still affectianotly called Noin by the kids, worked. "Hey, what say we go to the arcade? I mean how often are we all together?"
"Too often," Meiran mumbled, but agreed anyway. "Why not? I have nothing else to do."
"I have to tell my dad first," Maxwell said. "And you have to tell Q-sama." He poked Trio in the side with the reminder.
Trio snorted indignantly, but headed in the direction of his home.
The Winner estate.
He pushed open the door and peered in. "Q-SAMA! I'M HOME! GOING TO THE ARCADE! BE BACK LATER!" And he was out the door.
Quatre looked around the doorframe. "Trio?" But he was gone. Quatre sighed. "They are too much alike. So elusive."
Trowa Bloom nodded knowingly. Quatre worried constantly about Trio.
He looked out the window and saw Maxwell running after Trio. Trio seemed to always be running away.
When Maxwell finally caught up to Trio it was in front of his house. He collapsed in the kitchen. "I..~pant~ don't....see....~gasp~....why you....had....~pant~....to run." Maxwell let out a long breath and slumped lower in the chair.
"Don't slouch," Relena Yuy said patting her son lightly on his shoulders. Conditioned response. "So how was school?" The question was ment for Trio but she looked to both of them.
Everybody worries too much about my schooling, Trio thought, but he beamed despite. "Great! In fact, it was so good we're going to the arcade to celebrate."
"The arcade, hmm?" Heero Yuy stepped into the kitchen and put the glass in the sink.
Heero never said anything about what the two did, though he didn't approve of most of it. The skateboarding tricks that sent them both to the hospital, the science experiments that almost blew up the kitchen.
The arcade with the Gundam game.
Trio nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I mean how often do we have all five gundam pilots together?!"
Heero raised an eyebrow. "All 'five' gundam pilots?"
Trio nodded. "Mm-hm. I'm Deathscythe Hell, Max is Wing Zero, Meiran is Altron, Une is Sandrock, and Treize is Heavy Arms. All five."
Heero had never realized they all had favorite gundams, let alone gundams with meaning. It was almost flattering that his son used the Wing Zero, his gundam, but it was gundam none the less. The game that boasted "handleing just like the real thing!"
And it did.
Trio dragged Maxwell out the door before Heero could say anything more.
Heero laughed sadly. Trio reminded him exactly of Duo, smiling no matter what, and Heero often wondered what it would have been like if they hadn't fought in the war.
If they had grown up together.
The man shifted uneasily. The silent tv was almost as unnerving as his roommate. The news. Something about the space craft Peacemillion II.
He shifted again and turned up the volume on his TV.
Trio sighed and stepped out of the office and shot a glare over his shoulder. He hated the counsler. She was so sure she'd "get through" to him and get a major award or something. Trio was not about to let that happen.
No one would break him.
He opened his locker and grinned. He always hacked the counsler's files on himself an printed it up, hanging it inside his locker, oddly proud of it.
Student Name: Trio Maxwell
Age: 16
Grade: 11
Birthday: August 18th A.C. 200
Briefing on student:
Trio Maxwell is an incredibly gifted and talented student with an extrodinary IQ. He appears very happy, but is deeply troubled and rebelious. He was adopted at age 4 by Quatre Raberba Winner and has remained in Mr. Winner's care ever since. His father suffered from emotional issues and attempted suicide. It is unknown how his mother died.
Progress Made: None.
Trio smirked. "And lets keep it that way, huh."
The PA system crackled. "Would Meiran Chang, Treize Marquis, Une Marquis, Trio Maxwell, and Maxwell Yuy please report to the Dean's office."
Trio blinked. "We have a dean? Damn."
Then he noticed all eyes were on him. "What?"
In the hall the 5 met and Trio found out 'what'.
"What the hell did you do now, Trio." Treize, of course.
"Me?! I haven't been here long enough TO do anything!" He looked at the others trying to find one who believed him. Meiran scowled at him, Une looked ready to cry, and Maxwell looked apologetic. "I didn't do a thing and I'll prove it!"
He stomped off for the Dean's office.
"Um, Trio." Maxwell smirked. "This way."
"Right. Shut up, Treize."
The Dean's office was very elaborate and well furnished. Trio felt afraid to touch anything.
"I have some rather bad news," the dean, Mr. Wallace according to his nameplate, said. He looked up, but past the group. They turned to find Quatre and Trowa standing there.
I am dead meat. Trio's life flashed before him. If both of them were here that ment certain doom.
Quatre looked worried. Even worse.
But it wasn't about Trio for once.
"It seems the Peacemillion II has been taken over by space pirates. They want another war. Your parents are fine, but being held hostage so we cant retaliate." Quatre was quiet, softer than usual.
"Dad. Mom." Meiran's eyes were wide.
"It is understandable if you do not wish to attend school during this time," Mr. Wallace said. "And if you wish to stay with Mr. Winner, you may leave the dorms and do so. We are all praying for you."
Une's eyes brimed with tears. She cried about everything.
Trio sighed and looked at the computer. "Nothing. This report is going to suck."
He was still going to school. Meiran and Treize had tried but their concentration failed and they took thier work home. Une sat around crying mostly. Trio and Maxwell tried hard to get her mind off it, but it wasn't working. It had only been three days.
Une sniffed and watched Trio. He handled everything so well. She wished she could've been more like him.
He never knew his mother and his father stabbed himself with a knife when Trio was almost 3, but she had never seen Trio cry.
Not even when he and Maxwell broke nearly every bone in their bodies.
Trio smiled at Une. She looked so small. Smaller than usual. 10 instead of 14. "Ne, Une? You wanna come with me to the lab? It's got better access."
Une shrugged. Why not? It was better than staying here and doing nothing.
Maxwell slamed into Trio as they rounded the corner.
"Ow. watch where I'm going, bro!" Trio rubbed his scraped elbow.
"Sorry." Maxwell helped Trio up. "Nobody's home at my place. Still negotiating."
Trio nodded. "Une and I are going to the lab. I need better information for this report and Une's coming to protect me from the spooky things in Q-sama's old lab." Both Trio and Une in an attempt to be more Trio-like 'ooooh'ed to enforce the labs spookyness.
Maxwell rolled his eyes. "Maybe I'll come and make sure Trio doesn't try to make out with any female ghosts in there."
Trio grinned. "There's a female ghost in the lab? And how do you know this, Maxwell?"
Maxwell faultered and found himself speechlessly following Trio and Une to the lab.
The lab was humungous and old and well out of use, but it all ran. Trio had found this all out three years ago during a game of hide and seek when he accidentaly pushed a button and everything started up.
Treize and Merian were hanging around outside sparring. They both stopped when the three trooped past.
"Where are you going?" Merian asked scowling.
"Nowhere." All three replied in unison. Nobody wanted them around, esspecially now when they were in bad moods.
This answer only managed to make them even more curious though and they took up following.
Trio sighed heavily but kept going. He needed this grade badly. Q-sama was not very pleasant with all this going on. He booted up the main computer and started calling up files.
"Whats that one?" Une pointed to a file.
Trio shrugged and humoured her by opening it. "Hmmm...." Trio frowned. "A classified file? Well well, Uncle Q-sama. What little secret is this?" Trio worked quickly, intruiged by this new locked file.
Une was worried now. She'd started this. What if they got in trouble? It would be her fault. She tugged at her platnium tresses nervously.
Trio grinned as he gained access to the file. "Bin-go!" he chirped. Then his eyes widened in shock. "Whoa...."
Maxwell leaned over Trio's other shoulder and blinked. "What the....Gundam?"
Treize and Meiran turned around and looked over their shoulders. "Gundam?"
Trio nodded dumbly. "Blueprints for the gundam. It must have been left from the war."
Maxwell frowned. "Q-sama made the Wing Zero here. Does the stuff still work to make another one?"
Trio laughed. "Of course it still works! You could make a whole fleet of Gundam!"
"A fleet....?" Treize moved beside Trio. "Of gundam....?"
Trio nodded. "Sure. With a little human interaction, this place practically makes gundam MS's on its own!"
Meiran moved closer, leaning forward. "But what about gundanium?"
Trio laughed. "Come on! This is Q-sama! By the time this place was ready for the gundanium you could have enough here for all five!"
Meiran and Treize grinned at each other. Une noticed but couldn't say a thing fast enough. Treize grabbed Trio, pulling him from the chair, and slammed him against the wall. Trio winced painfully.
"Then you are about to have the best report ever," Treize snarled. "You are going to make a gundam for me and a gundam for Meiran. You start now. Got it?"
Trio nodded slowly. Treize was upset about his parents and Q-sama did say to try to do whatever it took to keep from getting Treize mad.
He only hoped Q-sama didn't get too mad.
"Where's Trio?"
Quatre was slightly worried. He hadn't seen much of Trio or Maxwell lately. It was all too quiet.
"With Max." Meiran moved the knight chess peice as solemly as she'd answered Quatre.
"Well, do you know where Maxwell is?"
Two head shakes no.
Quatre sighed heavily. What were those two up to?
Trio walked towards the lab quite pleased. It had all taken less time than he'd thought. And with Max helping everything had gone smoother.
BAM!
Trio was pinned forcefully to the wall. "You've had plenty of time, punk. Q-sama's begining to notice somethings up."
Meiran stepped up beside Treize. "Lets see them, Trio. Now."
Trio made a face. "Well, I wasn't quite ready, but I suppose now is as good as any." Trio squirmed free of Treize's hold and straigtened his shirt. "Follow me," he said, leading off looking important.
Maxwell was already in the lab, but all the lights in the main area were off, and there wasn't a lot of noise. Certainly nothing that sounded like a gundam being built.
"What's going on, Trio?" Treize growled. "I thought you were making us gundams."
Trio looked up inocently. "Did I say that? No, I beleive that was your words." Trio pushed two buttons and two gundams lighted up.
The orange HeavyArms and the green Altron.
"I'm already done with the gundams." Trio informed them. "Its the weapons I haven't finished yet." Trio leveled a gun at Treize's head. "Anymore questions?"
Treize blinked. There was no guarentee that the gun worked, yet alone was loaded, but it was Trio and there was that small chance.
"Why do we *need* weapons?" Meiran growled. She wanted to fight and there wasn't a gun to her head.
Trio tossed the gun to the table and shrugged. "You don't I suposse but they did take your parents hostage so they obviously have weapons. Your choice. I'll be done in two days."
Treize fummed from being scared of Trio. "Then we'll take the gundams and get used to them."
"No." Trio shook his head firmly. "You do and they'll know there are gundams and it will all fall back to us. Do that and Q-sama'll never let us out. Besides, they handle like the game. I made sure of that by asking Papa H."
Treize and Meiran glowered at Trio's back. He had gotten back to work on the weapons. "You stay here and I'll likely not be done for three days...."
Needless to say they left.
Treize and Meiran didn't like it. Not at all. Trio had been in the lab forever. They didn't like being left out. Especially not when Une was let in on the secret.
The two were about ready to march into the lab and demand the gundams on the second day when Une appeared, handed them a message, and left. Treize unfolded it and frowned. '
'Meet in the hanger at 8 AM. ~Trio'
Another day of waiting.
Trio, Maxwell, and Une were not at breakfast that morning, but the cook informed Treize and Meiran they had already eaten. The two scarfed down their breakfast in record time and took off.
Quatre frowned. Something was up. Trio had been scarce, never a good sign, and Meiran, Treize, and even Une had been antsy and on edge as if expectant. This wouldn't end well, he could feel it.
Treize and Meiran stepped into the hanger and glared at the large leather chair at the desk. The back was to them, but they knew it was Trio.
The chair turned slowly around and Une looked at them wide eyed. "Oh....your late."
"8:05. Big deal. Where's the punk?" Treize snapped at his sister. No more waiting.
Meiran looked at Une. She looked so familiar, but not like herself. More like in a costume on halloween. Goggles on her head and the purple vest....like-
"I'm right here, Treize."
Both turned to Trio and Maxwell and Meiran suddenly knew. Trio was dressed in black leather. Black leather jacket with a red tech vest underneath, black leather pants, and the traditional black cap. Maxwell, preppy Maxwell, had obviously not been able to find a green tank top and had settled for a green tech vest and jeans.
"You....you look like....."
"Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, and Quatre Winner." Trio piped obviously proud. "Here."
He held out a green turtle neck to Treize and baggy white pants and a white coat to Meiran. "If we're gonna fight we might as well be authentic."
"We?" Treize raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean we?"
Trio stood by the console, Une and Maxwell on either side of him. He flipped the lights in the hanger on and five gundams loomed over them. "You aren't going alone. We're going with you."
Trio grinned and tossed them each a gun. He twirled his and slipped it into the waist off his pants. He let out a little squeak as cold metal touched his flesh and drew a sharp breath.
"Cold?" Treize sneered walking over to the HeavyArms II.
Trio shook his head and smiled.
Quatre put his head in his hands and sighed. So much to do. Too much at times.
And Trio was not helping. Esspecially not now, sneaking around. What was he planning?
A knock on the door followed by Trowa stepping in. "Quatre. We have a problem."
Quatre looked up wide eyed. What did Trio do now?
Trowa meerly flipped on the TV but Relena stormed in before anything could be heard from it.
"What the hell did you do with my son?!"
Quatre blinked, shocked. "Wha-what??!"
Relena slamed her hands on the table. "Where is Maxwell!! Dammit, Quatre! Don't play with me!"
Heero put a gentle but firm hand on Relena's shoulder. "Relena." he cautioned with schooled patience. "It doesn't look like Quatre knows."
"Knows what?" Quatre was thuroughly confused but the TV answered his question.
"There's no mistake, John. Its the gundams."
Quatre froze in shock. Gundams?
The lab. Of course! How could he have missed it? Treize and Meiran's restlessness. Une's calmness. And Trio's dissapearance.
"DAMMIT, TRIO!"
Trio snickered and flipped the link to the other gundams open and let the music play.
"What are you doing, Trio?"
"Putting the disc space to use. Background music, Max my man."
"Maxwell Yuy."
Trio stopped the disc immediantly.
"Dad?" Maxwell's voice faultered.
"What do you think you are doing." Heero's voice was tight and demanding. Trio smartly let Maxwell handle it. They didn't much approve of him anyway.
"We're going to try and rescue the Peacemillion II." Maxwell tried hard to sound sure of it, but his voice sounded choked.
"Home. Now." Relena sounded much worse than Heero. Trio could hear a choked sob from the Sandrock.
"What are they going to do to us?" Treize asked securing the link to the other gundams.
"Kill us," Maxwell muttered.
"But we are already out here," Meiran snarled. "I'm going."
"Me too," Treize said.
"Me three," Une's voice was soft but oddly controlled.
"I'm three," Trio said "Your the only one they can ground, Maxwell."
"I'm going," Maxwell said after a long moment of silence.
"Maxwell! Don't you dare!"
"Sorry, Mother. Don't be mad at Trio. It was my idea too."
"Maxwe-"
Maxwell cut the connection. "Let's go."
Trio looked out to space and frowned. Was this the right thing?
The first sign of life. The first sign he'd given he even existed anymore.
His roommate cowered as he leaned wide eyed over the bed, eyes focused only on the TV. The eyes narrowed and he let out an angry animal like growl and spun away.
"Sir!" The tall man came running in slightly out of breath. "We have a slight...problem."
The dark haired captain lowered the glass. "What kind of problem, Hunter?"
"W-well.....Gundam, sir. Five of them. Headed this way."
Captain Larson turned the small TV towards Hunter. "I am very aware of this, Hunter." He leaned back in the chair. "Two pilots are here. One is dead. This leaves only three people who can pilot a gundam. I don't think it is any of the originals at all."
"S-sir?"
Larson looked bored. "Send out the mobile suits, Hunter. Is it really that hard?"
"Hey! I worked hard on these!" Trio yelled slicing the beam scythe in a graceful arc taking out three MS.
Treize let loose a barage of bullets and missles into the attacking MS. "So what do we do once we get in, Trio?"
"Me? This was your idea, Treize. I just supply."
"WHAT?!" Une's voice was sharp and pitched. "You mean none of you idiots stopped to plan?!"
"Figures." Maxwell leveled the beam cannon at a concentration of MS and pulled the trigger.
Meiran let out a howl and shot out one of the Dragon arms. "Tag your it." The MS exploded much to her satisfaction. "Is it really that hard? We get in and get out!"
"And get killed." Maxwell's voice was monotone since the call from his parents. Trio understood it. Max was a good kid. Rarely did anything wrong or disobeyed them.
The perfect son.
"You know the Peacemillion better than me or Max so, Treize and Meiran take Max and free your parents. He can pick locks like nobodies business. I'll take Une and create a distraction."
"And how do we get in?"
"Watch and learn." Trio grinned a look of evil and charged the Deathscythe Hell II forward. "Shinigami no Musuko will take you DOWN!!!"
Relena glared ferociously at Trowa. Quatre had gotten a call that seemed at first to thrill him, but then he'd looked at Relena and the call seemed to take on a new horror. As soon as he'd hung up he had muttered apologies and run out the door before anyone could ask any questions.
Now Trowa was left alone with a fuming Relena and a just as angry Heero. Fortunatly Heero had better control of his emotions.
Please hurry back, Quatre.
"This place is going to need serious repairs when your done with it," Meiran grumbled over the com.
Trio nodded and hit the floor gracefully. He andd Une were the only ones in now. Meiran, Maxwell, Teize kept up the fight outside. The Sandrock II and Hell II had backed off looking like they were wounded but in all actuallity Trio and Une had stowed away on the Wing II and Maxwell had gotten close enough for the two to board.
The people on Peacemillion II obviously weren't many. Only a few had shown up to oppose their entrance. But then, they would have been around when the original pilots had been fighting. They may be scared.
And ith good reason. Maxwell looked every inch his father. All the way down to the expression on his face. Death was inevitable. Now or later, it would come.