The Mission: Prologue

By Akira Kinmoto

Releena tossed and turned in her bed. Sleep was a luxury she had been missing the past few nights. A reoccurring dream, no, A reoccurring nightmare kept invading her normally peaceful nights. The same nightmare every night…. It had to mean something, but she had no idea what. And if she didn't figure it out soon, she might go insane from not knowing.

"Where am I" Releena said, surprised at the sound of her own voice. She was standing outside of a church, light pouring out of the windows. If she had a little more composure, she would of thought the Church quite beautiful, with it's huge bell tower and stained glass windows. Not knowing why, she walked up to the heavy, wooden doors and pulled them open.

The room was bathed in ethereal golden candlelight. The pews were filled with people all looking at the front of the Church. As Releena walked towards the front she wondered why no noticed her. At the front of the Church Releena stood beside to a Priest and a little girl dressed in long white robes. She was only about 5 or 6, so young. The Priest motioned for the little girl to sit under the large cross at the very front of the church. Releena sat down next to her, so maybe she could find at least a clue as to what was going on.

"Oh Lord, Guide me from evil so I may walk in your light." The girl's voice was so innocent. From out of the corner of her eye, Releena saw a person walk in, but no footfall was heard. No one in the Church seemed to notice. A very grim looking man, he acted anxious, like he was waiting for something…

"So my heart will be pure, My soul free from sin." The girl continued. The man made a slight wave of his hand in the direction of the doorway, which Releena had left open. She looked at the door, terrified of what she saw.

"Oh my God…" Releena trailed off. A person, dressed in black, holding a crossbow, took aim at the praying child.

"May I follow close by you, your hand in mine." The girl continued, unknowing of the danger that rested behind her. Releena's heart raced as the archer readied his bow.

"Get out of here!" She yelled at the little girl. "You're going to get killed!" Releena reached out to grab the girl's arm and went straight through her. "What?!" Releena cried, confusion invading her heart.

"So I may serve you," The girl said. The archer shot the arrow. "No!" Releena screamed.

"Until that day." The little girl finished her prayer just as the

arrow struck her in the back. Chaos hit the church. Everyone ran away, leaving the little girl to die.

"No… No.." Releena trailed off. The little girl's white robes were stained red with blood. Her green eyes seemed to glitter and become glassy. Releena's eyes were torn away from the child to look around frantically for her killer but he was nowhere in sight.

"You can't die." Releena said through tears of grief. The little girl breathed her last breath alone and abandoned under the cross.

"No!" Releena yelled, flinging herself into a sitting position. "What happened?" She said, wiping the cold sweat off her forehead. She was back in her bed at the Cinq Kingdom.

"It was just a dream," She told herself, shakily walking to the bathroom. "That's all.. Just a crazy dream." She opened her bathroom mirror to reveal a medicine chest and grabbed a glass from it.

"Probably just from staying up too late." Releena said, filling her glass with water. She took a long drink. Setting the glass down, she shut the medicine chest.

"Help me." A young girl's voice cried out.

"What?!" Releena was terrified by the young girl's reflection in the mirror. " You're the girl from my dream…" Releena trailed off.

"Hurry, before it's too late!" The girl's voice was filled with urgency. Releena, suddenly realizing that if the girl had a reflection in the mirror, then she should be behind her. Turning around to face the girl, she gasped. Nothing was there.

Everyone at the Winner Estate was sleeping soundly, well, all except for a long, brown haired boy named Duo Maxwell. Like Releena, his sleep was also interrupted by a reoccurring dream. Though, his nightmare was slightly different…

"Huh?" A very confused Duo said. His surroundings were quite different then his peaceful room at the Winner Estate. It looked more like a hangar, it was full of Gundams. As he scanned the walls he saw.. No wait, that couldn't happen. There isn't two Duo Maxwell's…

"No way…" Duo trailed off. In the middle of the hanger stood a group of boys known to him as Heero, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei and.. himself?

Yes, the five Gundam pilots stood in a circle, apparently waiting for something. Duo was astounded. Dream Wufei tapped his foot impatiently.

"If this woman is going to attack, she had better do it soon!"

"Maybe she won't show up." Dream Quatre said with his usual, optimistic tone.

"She's targeted every Gundam Plant in this area, no doubt she'll come here." Dream Heero said in his usual, monotone voice. Dream Quatre's hopeful smile faded from his face. An unbearable silence washed over them, no one breathed. It was like all the life was sucked out of the hangar. She was here.

"What is going on here?" Duo's mind was racing. "Who is She?" This was becoming a bit too much for him to handle. Out of nowhere, the silence was broken. Broken by the sound of footsteps walking toward them. All eyes were focused on the point where the noise was coming from. The nameless footsteps suddenly emerged into the light. A girl, only about 15 or 16, stood there, her blonde hair flowing down her back. Her bright green eyes flashed with a wicked glare.

"Hmm.. Is this the best your world can come up with?" Her voice was like ice. "I've destroyed whole armies of your earth's best fighters and they have the nerve to send five mortal boys up against me? Ha!" "Why are you here?" Dream Trowa voice echoed through the hangar.

"Foolish mortals!" Her voice took on a deep, more forcing tone. "Your world will soon come to an end!"

"Why?!" Dream Quatre burst out, unable to take this girl's taunting.

"Your world will end because of the sins you have committed!" Her hellish smirk shifted into an angry scowl.

"What sins?!" Dream Wufei shouted angrily.

"You know full well what sins you have committed.." Her voice lowered to a wicked whisper. "And you'll be the first to die for them." An orange ball of energy appeared in her hand. She laughed evilly, her eyes sparkling with hate. The ball of energy flew at the pilots.

"No!" Duo screamed, but it was too late. His friends and himself were just blown away. He fell to his hands and knees, fighting back tears. He looked up and met his killers gaze. She was laughing.

"NO!" Duo yelled. He realized that he was back in his bed at the Winner Estate.

"What happened?" He thought. Duo looked out his open balcony window at all the stars. The same unbearable silence from his dream washed over him as the night wind ruffled his curtains. His pulse quickened.

"What is going on here?" He asked the stars. Something was coming. He could feel it.