All Good Things Must Come to an End

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . . .

A.C. 202

'It's over.' It seemed like only yesterday when those words had been spoken; two years had come and gone in what seemed the blink of an eye. There had been survivors to the strange massacre and thankfully Trowa and Quatre had been among them. But none of them could answer the question of what had happened. Their memories, what was left of it, consisted of the last day they spent outside of the organization and would provide no answers. The survivors were sent back to their respective homes and the matter was dropped since none of them could remember anything of importance. After awhile, the problem was forgotten and pushed aside as a case of mass suicide the survivors traumatized to the point where they forgot everything or mostly everything about the organization.

Wufei sighed tiredly as he walked up the steps to Heero's apartment, the lights were on and that in the very least was a good sign. He reached up to knock on the door only to have it swing open on its own.

"Uncle Wufei!"

The sound of Ami's voice echoed in his ears as he looked down to see the small five year old standing in the doorway with a wide smile on her face. Her long brown hair had been cut short since the last time he'd seen her, her blue-purple eyes glowed happily as she stepped back to let him in. He wasn't used to being called 'Uncle' just yet, but seeing the way Ami smiled he couldn't help but allow it.

"Hello Ami, where's you father?" Wufei asked calmly.

"He's in the kitchen, is Auntie Sally and the baby with you?" Ami asked with a slight bounce in her step.

"Not tonight, I just came here to talk to you father maybe some other time?" Wufei replied as he stepped inside. Ami gave a slight nod before leaving the sound of her footsteps faded away until he heard the sound of her door closing. He'd never asked how she knew he was coming, or for that matter how she seemed to know when someone was at the door before they even knocked it was just one of those 'Ami' things that they'd never been able to explain. As he stepped into the kitchen he saw Heero sitting at the table with his laptop in front of him. If the Japanese man had noticed him then he gave no impression of it staring as he did at the screen.

"How long have you been at it tonight?" Wufei sighed as he took the seat across from Heero. Heero glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall and shrugged.

"About two hours . . . how's Sally and the baby?" Heero replied.

"They're fine, Jade is starting to teeth so Sally decided I should come here and check on you." Wufei replied leaning his elbows against the table.

"I don't suppose you're here to help?" Heero asked looking up at Wufei who gave him a dead look in return. "I guess not . . . why are you here then? Ami's in her room she's doing just fine."

"You cut her hair." Wufei replied calmly.

"She wanted it cut."

"Why?"

Heero didn't answer as he leaned back from the laptop to stare across the table at Wufei. The Chinese man knew the reason; he just didn't want to admit it even to himself.

"She looks more like her mother everyday . . . ." Wufei replied looking steadily at Heero.

"I noticed . . . . Did you come here to lecture or point out the obvious?" Heero sighed.

"I came here because the rest of us are worried about you and Ami." Wufei sighed rubbing the back of his neck. "How long are you going to keep this up?"

By 'this' Wufei meant Heero's obsessive search for a woman who obviously didn't want to be found. Duo's body was never recovered among the living or the dead on the day of the raid, and for two years Heero had obsessed over finding some clue as to her whereabouts. Even Wufei had to admit when Duo wanted to disappear . . . she disappeared. Heero sighed again running his fingers through his hair; at the very least he didn't look quite as bad as Wufei had suspected he might. The last time the Chinese man had come, Heero had grown a beard and his hair had been at least up to the man's shoulder. Now he looked semi-human as compared to the last time.

"I can't just give up. She's out there somewhere . . . I know she is!"

"Even if she is out there . . . why hasn't she contacted you? Did you ever think that maybe she just doesn't want to be foun-." Wufei's words were cut off at the sound of a loud 'You've got mail' beep coming from Heero's computer. "What is it?" The Chinese man frowned as he leaned forward to get a look at the screen.

Heero shrugged, he wasn't expecting any mail in fact he didn't even realize that he had a mail box. The sound of running feet caught his attention as Ami entered the kitchen with an excited look on her face.

"Open it! Open it!" She squealed in delight leaping onto Heero's lap to stare expectantly at the screen. Heero shrugged in Wufei's direction as he clicked on the blinking mailbox icon a moment later a video message popped up on screen. A weathered old woman sat with a smile on her face as she stared back at them.

"Hello Heero, I know that you don't know who I am and I'd rather keep it that way thank you very much. At this point I don't think it really matters if you know who I am or not, all that matters is that I can help you. I can help you find the one you're looking for, that is . . . if you're willing to find her after everything is done." A slight smile spread across the wrinkled face, "I do hope that you're the one she needs because right now . . . I'm at a loss as to what to do with her. Meet me tomorrow morning at the Moon Colony, the old OZ military base if you don't mind, or what's left of it. I'm certain you remember where it is . . . it wasn't that long ago that you boys blew it up after all. And Heero . . . don't be late, an old woman like me can't afford to remain out too long after all."

The transmission ended so suddenly that Heero just stared at the screen for a while before shaking himself loose from its grip. She was alive . . . there was no doubt about it now, after two years of searching Duo was really alive! The feel of Ami's hand in his brought him back to reality as he looked down to see her staring at the screen almost as mesmerized as he had been. Even this slender glimmer of hope was worth seeking out, if it meant that they would see Duo again, if it meant that they could save her.

"I can tell by the look on your face that you're going aren't you?" Wufei's voice brought him back to reality real quick as he looked up to see the other man shaking his head slightly.

"I have to try . . . it's the only lead I've got." Heero answered calmly.

"You can't take Ami there with you." Wufei sighed rubbing the back of his neck. Things were beginning to get complicated and he did not like it when things got complicated. "Sally and I will watch her while you check this report out. I don't expect you to forget to at the very least check in after it's all done right? I don't want to have to worry about you."

"Wufei . . . ." Heero looked at Ami as if seeking permission and the small child offered him a quick hug before sliding off his lap and walking out of the room. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"I have a feeling." Wufei answered calmly, "But you owe me. If Duo's really alive, I'm leaving it up to you to bring her back alive . . . so that in the very least I can kill her for putting me through this hell."

Moon Colony, Former OZ Military Base

Black metal, warped by the explosion then frozen by the instant exposure to the freezing pressure of space seemed to make up the majority of the former military bunker. Heero's eyes scanned the empty halls pushing aside the floating debris as slowly and carefully as he could. In the recent years, they'd removed the bodies that had once been trapped beneath the debris pieces of their past lives frozen forever. The memory of being held in the prison cells two floors down was still fresh in his mind despite the years that stood between then and now. In the past he'd been held here as a prisoner of war, now . . . now was different.

"I didn't think you would come." The scratchy sound of the old woman's voice caught his attention as he floated into a small area of the base that was relatively intact. Heero turned to see someone in a space suit floating above him.

"You did say morning didn't you?" He replied calmly.

"Yes . . . I did say morning, although I didn't think you would be that punctual." A soft sigh, "She told me that you were always on time but I didn't believe it, what with you being a man and all . . . . I guess she won the bet this time around."

"Where's Duo?" The question was blunt, but he hadn't come here to chit-chat with someone he didn't even know.

"Impatient, that's the other thing she called you. But then I suppose all young people are impatient, she certainly was when she was younger." A soft chuckle, "Don't fret . . . I promised you answers and I'll give them soon enough."

Heero watched as she pushed off the ceiling and floated gently down beside him, reflexively he caught her in his arms and helped her to stop.

"Heh, I love space it doesn't show just how old I am Mr. Yuy." She laughed quietly as she let go of him. "But as you said, you're here to find Duo not some old lady in a space suit. Ah, to be young and foolish again . . . . Follow me if you please." She floated towards a small opening in the floor and disappeared from sight, after a moment Heero followed doubt beginning to form in his mind.

"Before this place was a military base it was a sight for scientific experiments, did you know that Mr. Yuy?" The old woman chuckled.

"It was meant to solve the problems of pregnancy in space; after the colonies were built a majority of children were born as test-tube babies. It was discovered that while in space females were affected differently then males and this caused a tremendous amount of stress which caused the death of countless fetuses. The problem was solved naturally after a few points of trial and error." Heero replied calmly.

"Trust in the human body to come up with a solution on its own." She remarked sarcastically coming to a stop in front of a sealed door, "It put an end to the research here, but not in time to stop the process."

Heero's eyes narrowed slightly as he floated to a stop beside her. He could see her face through the space suit, could see the weathered lines of age on her cheeks but most of all he could see the tears rolling down them.

"It had already begun you see . . . we'd lost a few in the process but eventually we were able to perfect it. Four growing babies, inside four of our lab mothers, each one of them a hope for a better future." A slight smile, "I was one of those lab mothers, you can't possibly understand the joy one goes through when life grows inside of you."

"What happened?" Heero asked.

"The project was . . . canceled, we were ordered to destroy all evidence of it ever having existed." A bitter chuckle, "Can you imagine? Just like that, and the babies weren't needed anymore and we were to be left with nothing. We couldn't let them do that . . . not after everything we'd sacrificed. So we staged the data, made it look like the fetuses had ceased to exist." She pulled for the pocket of her space suit a small card key.

"You see Mr. Yuy, in the process of creating these children . . . we as mothers had discovered something rather . . . amazing about our unborn children. They were very much aware of the world outside, and very much afraid of death, all except one . . . it was the strangest thing I'd ever felt before." She patted her belly as if experiencing that wonder all over again, "The baby inside of me accepted the concept of death, she wasn't afraid of it . . . not the way the others were, in fact she understood it better then I thought any child should."

"That baby . . . was . . . ."

"I named her Gen, but I believe that you know her as Duo."

She slid the key into a small slot at the side of the door and the lights flickered on much to Heero's amazement. The door slid open sluggishly before them as power coursed weakly though the room.

"OZ never could figure out how to open this door . . . I suppose I did make it hard for them so they simply cut the power leading to the room and forgot it even existed." She whispered as she stepped inside. "Well, don't be a nervous goose; I don't intend to leave the door open for you that long Mr. Yuy."

Heero shook his head as he stepped through the doorway, a slight tingling sensation spread through his body as he did and suddenly he wasn't floating anymore.

"I stabilized the gravity here, there's also fresh air flowing through those vents so you don't have to worry about oxygen." She replied.

Heero watched her unconvinced as she removed her helmet, a full head of chestnut brown mixed with strands of gray colored hair fell loose from the helmet. As she turned to face him he noticed that her eyes were a light purple in color, and that slight smile reminded him steadily of Duo as he slowly removed his helmet.

"Where are we?" He asked looking around at the well-lit room. A series of computer monitors crowded one area while a bunch of beds crowded the other side. It was obvious that someone had been living in the small confines for quite some time now.

"My sanctuary, this is the one part of the lab that OZ couldn't gain access to thanks to my efforts." A slight sigh as she settled into a chair located in the center of the room, "I don't suppose you want to know who I am?"

The thought had occurred to Heero, but after hearing her story he wasn't certain if he desired to really know.

"My name, Mr. Yuy is Jennifer."

"She's stubborn, prideful and a complete pain in the ass is who she is."

Heero turned at the sound of that voice, a pair of cobalt blue eyes glared back at him from behind a curtain of loose chestnut brown hair. Duo stepped out of a small room located on the left side, apparently it was a bathroom. Ignoring Heero's presence wasn't easy, but Duo would manage as she turned her angry gaze upon the old woman sitting before her.

"Why is he here?!"

"Now, now Gen . . . you shouldn't shout at an old lady, it's not proper."

"Proper?! I oughta ring your neck for bringing him here! I told you I don't want him here!"

"You're mouth said one thing and your heart says another." Jennifer sighed, "I can't believe this boy has been looking for you all this time and you still refuse to speak to him. Where did I go wrong as a mother?"

Duo's jaw tightened at the word, "Stop that . . . damn it couldn't you have waited a little longer to contact him?"

"You've kept this poor boy waiting for seven years; I don't see how much longer you intend to make him wait."

"How about forever?"

"And what about my grandchild? How long am I supposed to wait before I get to see Ami?"

Duo bit her lip at the name, tears formed in her eyes as she thought about the small angel she had so viciously pushed away. How could she look at Ami again without remembering the pain she'd caused her precious one?

"She misses you." The sound of Heero's voice broke through the confusion which surrounded her at that moment. Duo looked over at Heero brushing the tears from her eyes.

"She does?"

Heero reached into his suit to pull out a small photo from his shirt pocket and held it out for her to see.

"You cut her hair?" Duo whispered as she took the photo carefully in her hands.

"Well . . . actually she did that . . . the story is that she was playing barber with her dolls and it kind of went downhill from there." Heero fidgeted he'd never actually told anyone the truth of Ami's haircut, everyone had always assumed it was because Ami resembled Duo so much that it hurt. To be honest, Heero had asked the hair stylist if she could possibly force the hair to grow so that it would remain the same length. The woman had looked at Heero as if he had grown a second head.

A soft smile spread across Duo's face, "I was afraid she might do something like that when she was little so I kept the scissors far away from her."

"I tried that . . . she used the safety scissors I bought for her first day of school."

"School . . . how is she doing in school?" Duo whispered.

"Great, they'd let her skip two grades so she's in second right now." Heero shrugged slightly.

"That's great! That's really great, I knew she was smart."

"Sally and Wufei have a baby now, a little girl named Jade." Heero replied awkwardly.

"Really? I never believed Wufei would have a girl . . . I suppose it's a good start though, what about Trowa . . . and Quatre?"

"They're fine, no troubles so far as we know." Heero shrugged, "They can't remember anything that happened to them while they were captured."

"I told you that it would work out." A new voice interrupted the silence and Heero turned to see a red haired woman sitting up on one of the beds. Duo glared at the woman folding her arms across her chest. "Come now . . . are you really going to keep holding that grudge against me? Old habits die hard and I didn't want him to know I was here until you were certain of the truth."

"That's inexcusable Karen, you promised me not to do that anymore." Duo replied, "And the same goes to you as well Calypso! Stop hiding already and show yourself."

Heero blinked in surprise as a second woman appeared, also with dark red hair wearing a pair of glasses. He had heard the name but it was a bit too hard to believe.

"Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated Mr. Yuy." Calypso replied with a tired sigh.

I know that it's taken a while and I'd like to thank my readers for being paitient with my slowness. I hope you enjoy this latest enstallment of Truth!