Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Wing characters (though a girl can dream, can't she?), and I am not making a profit out of this little story either.




Edge of Darkness

This is a story about a boy, and about his fate in a world of war between the Light and the Dark, between Good and Evil. Duo was his name...
As a little boy, he lost both of his parents when his village burned down, fortunately an old couple had taken him into their home to love and raise as their own son. His parents, who died in the fire, had left him without any memory of his past, except a dream he often had when he was young. Little did he know it would come back to haunt him...


~~~~*~~~~


Duo woke up from a nightmare, but this was not an ordinary nightmare. It was the same bad dream he had when he was little. Out of breath and warm, he got out of his bed, and was heading towards the door.

"Ugh... need some fresh air..."

He gently opened the door, and slowely walked out of the house, careful not to wake up his parents. And as he went into the darkness bits of his dream kept playing in his mind. 'That awful nightmare... why did it come back?' he mumbled as he unconsiously went through the woods.
Walking in the pitch black darkness his foot bumbed into a piece of wood, and made him stumble over it, so he fell down on the wet grass. He had twisted his ankle and was lying on the ground like a braided-violet-eyed-gorgeous-hunk[1] in distress. Suddenly he heard a voice saying; "Are you alright?". Duo stood up and asked in a low voice;

"w-who is there?"

... but no respons came

Feeling more secure about himself, he asked again, this time with more control over his voice;

"Who are you? I demand you to step forward so I can see you!"

And with those words said, a boy jumped down from the tree near Duo.
Duo, who was still in pain forgot all about his twisted ankle, and was staring at him. Though he couldn't see what the boy looked like through the darkness, he could certainly see his figure, and man, did this guy have a gorgeous body! Mm-hmm!

There was a silence.

Then the mysterious boy broke the silence by saying;

"Heero, Heero Yuy"

"Hmm--sorry, what?" Duo asked. He didn't pay attention to what the other boy was saying, because he was to busy staring at his body.

"I said my name is Heero Yuy, and I am your guardian"

"W-what? But...A guardian? I don't need a guard-- I- How do you know me? W-who sent you?" Duo had so many questions he wanted to ask, and well, he ended up asking them all at the same time. Ok, at least he tried, but he was interrupted by the mysterious boy.

"Hey, hey, calm down." Heero put his hands on Duo's shouldres to calm him down before he continued.

"Let me explain." and with a sigh he began his explonation.

"Duo, you are not who you think you are. Those nightmares you keep on having are not just a bad dream, but worse. They are premonitions."

"Premonitions? How can that be? And what do you mean 'you're not who you think you are'? Am I not Duo, Duo Maxwell? I don't understand..." Duo's voice was a bit shaky -why? He didn't know. Maybe it was because of the facts that he was standing in the darkness, far away from known teritory, talking to a madman who claimed to be his guardinan. Yeah, maybe that's it.

"Duo.." the boy's voice was soft and soothing. "You are the chosen one, you are --" his voice was getting lower, and then the last words came as a wisper "...the Dream Child."

It was like Duo's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened as he heard the last three words.

"H-how.. how can that be? Why, I'm just a normal boy living in the woods with my parents.... no, I think you've got the wrong guy..."

Heero's soft voice continued. "No, listen to me. The whole world's future lies in your hands. You have got to trust me."

Duo just stood there, still trying to digest the information Heero had given him. Forcing himself to pay attention, Heero continued.

"All the dreams you have a premonitions. You are the only one who can prevent these premonitions coming true... if you fail, evil will rule this world, and darkness will cover the skye..." Heero's voice was no longer soft and soothing, but rather dark and almost growling. "...No more sun, no more moon. No more life."

Duo was just standing there. Never before had he felt so alone. It was all up to him? It would all be his fault if he failed?... but what if he wasn't strong enough?

And as if Heero had read Duo's mind, he said; "I'll be fighting with you. I'll be with you every step on the way."

But still... Duo didn't know what to do. He was so confused.

~~~~*~~~~

The darkness of the night was starting to fade away, and rays of sunlight started popping through the clouds.

Duo and Heero had gone to the hut where Duo lived to gather up some of his belongings. Duo was packing. He was leaving his parents to go and rescue the world with the mysterious boy, Heero. And with understanding looks on his parents' face, Duo left -to never come back again.

They went deep into the woods, and stopped when they reached the place where they first met.

Seeing that the braided boy seemed sad, Heero wanted to cheer him up.

"The meadows over the hill are covered with gypsy flowers in full bloom..."

He looked once again at Duo, and took a deep breath.

"D-do you like flowers, Duo?"

He didn't pay much attention to what Heero said, and answered unconsciously

"Yes"

He nodded, and whistled, and from a hilltop a big black horse with a white star on his forhead came running towards Heero.

"Hey there Morningstar!" Heero said while hugging the horse. While he was busy cuddling with Morningstar, Duo was thinking about what would happen to this wonderful world if he didn't do anything.

Before he knew what had happened, Heero dragged him up on Morningstar's back. Then, feeling the horse's muscles moving rhythmically beneath him, he realised that they were flying across the dark meadow. The wind took his breath away, and he buried his face in the horse's mane with the absurd thought that he was more like a shootingstar than Morningstar.

The meadows were bathed in sunlight, pink and purple coulds drifted peacefully across the sky. The hollow was buried in pale purple and steam swayed in the breeze, creating such a beauty that Duo felt a pang of sorrow.

Feeling the pain, he clutched his chest in an attempt to ease the pain. Heero noticed that Duo wasn't alright. He went off the horse, and stood in front of Duo, looking into those beautiful violet eyes.

"Are you alright?"

A smile appeared on Duo's face.

"Ya'know -those were the first words you said me?"

"Hn."

Heero knew something was wrong.

"Duo... why are you sad?"

Duo glanced at him before turningaway to hide the teardrop that was slowly sliding down his cheek.

"I just could never imagine a world in complete darkness..."

Heero stroke his fingers over Duo's cheek, wiping away the tear.

"I know."

Two simple words, yet they meant so much for Duo. He no longer felt the loneliness that had haunted him all these years -these days, despite that Heero was with him. It wasn't until those two words were said that he didn't feel alone anymore.

And he was grateful for it. So, he got of Morningstar's back and stood next to Heero. Violet eyes meeting dark blue ones, Duo took a step forward, and took the other boy in an embrace. And there they were -just standing there -hugging each other.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere a big dragon appeared. It had red glowing eyes, dark green and black scales all over it's body, claws bigger than Duo himself -the monster was huge!

"Duo! Hurry! Follow me!"

Heero shouted to him, but he was so afraid that he couldn't move. He just stood there as he watched the dragon coming closer. It was like everything went in slowmotion. He wanted to move his body, but he couldn't.

The monster was huge and hideous -yet beautiful.

Duo finally came out of it when he felt someone grabbing his arm. It was Heero [2]
He pulled Duo up on Morningstar's back, and fled from the dragon.

"What the Hell is that?!" Duo screamed, feeling his behind getting sore from riding the horse.

"Beats! Evil beast from the dark force!" a monotone answer.

The horse ran and ran, but no matter how fast it ran they could still hear the monsters heavy steps getting closer.

Heero held his arms protectivly around Duo's waist.

Suddenly the horse stopped running, and Heero jumped off the horse and closed his eyes.

"What the Hell are you doing?! This is not the time to pray!" Duo cried in desperation. Feeling his whole body tremble with fear, Duo tighten his grip around the horse's neck, and whispered to himself "Oh man, he is *so* going to get us killed!"

Despite the fear he felt, Duo kept his eyes locked on Heero all the time. That was when he realised something -Heero was beautiful. His hair was a nice shade of dark brown, gorgeous eyes hiding behind spikes of his bangs. His skin was golden, and his lips were so -so -kissable. But what Duo found most attractive about the boy were his eyes. Dark Blue orbs -the window to his soul. Though they were lovely, they aslo seemed -lonely.

Heero suddenly opened his eyes, and a flame appeared in his hands.

"What the..?!" but before Duo could say the whole sentence, Heero spoke interrupted.

"You, the Dream Child are the only one who can control the Death Flame. It is the only weapon we have against this evil force. Take it Duo! Take it!

Duo hesitated for a while, but whens he saw that the dragon was right behind him, he automaticly threw it through the air, aiming at the beast. As soon as the flame touched the monster, it burst into flames. All that was left was black dust floating to the ground and an awful smell.

Duo felt dizzy, and as he fainted Heero caught him before he hit the ground.

When Duo woke up the next day he was surrounded by many people.

"How did I get here... and w-who are you?" he asked the people. But before thgey could answer they were pushed aside, and in front of him stood Heero. "Heero!" He cried out with happiness in his voice. Heero bent own and embraced her. The people, Duo's servants, went out to let them speak in private.

"W-where am I? And how did I get here?" he had so many questions in his mind.

Heero answered "We are now in teh care of the light, where you can rest before going back to battle--" Duo interrupted adn was no longer speaking calmly to him.'

"Back to battle? B-but I thought we vanquished the monster--"

Heero shock his head and a smile came upon his face for a brief moment before his face turned seriouse.

"... no, that was only one of the many beasts of teh dark force, but together we can overcome this powerful force, and our world will live in harmony once again...."

~~~~*~~~~

Duo had discovered, and accepted his fate in life; to be the demon-slayer, the protector of the Death Flame, and being the Dream Child. Together with Heero, there is a chance for survival after all...

~~~~*Owari*~~~~



[1]Sorry, I couldn't help myself, Duo is just so damn gorgeous! Don't you agree?
[2]Well duh!

Ok, I know it probably sounds ridicolous, but hey, I was watching 'Xena'. Can you blame me? (Yeah, you probably can) Anyhoo -this may sound like the beginnig to a series, but let me tell you; I'm not sure if I have the brains to it. Maybe, if I people really like it, and if I find someone to help me write it. But just maybe.