A/N: This is THE very first Gundam Wing story that I ever wrote and quite frankly, I know, you'll probably hate me for this, it will be an epic. I mean if I have just past thirty chapters on paper *if you could see my sad, and much battered, notebooks, you'd understand* then I have a pretty good idea that this will be one of THOSE stories.
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Prologue - Out of the Ashes
Loud music blared out of the large silver stereo that sat on the shelf above the desk. And whirling around the room, in rumpled pajamas, a dark-haired girl danced to the beat, singing at the top of her lungs into her hairbrush. She was so wrapped up that she never noticed when her bedroom door was opened and the two people stood there watching with some amusement.
"Mercedes…what are you doing?"
She whipped around at the deep voice, sheep faced and beet red. "Um…getting ready for school?"
"Looks more like you're trying to be late again. Your father won't drive you this time young lady." the ginger-haired woman walked into the room. "Just get ready and come down for breakfast, all right?" she looked at her daughter and smiled. "Don't forget to brush your hair."
"Yes Mama." she said with a good-natured roll of her eyes. "Anything you want to put in Papa?" she peered over her mother to give the tall man in the doorway an arched eyebrow.
"We're having waffles." he gave her a smirk before he walked out and headed downstairs.
"Hurry up dear."
Mercedes glared at the door as her mother shut it and headed to her closet. 'Papa always does that to me. He always manages to get me out of my room on time, no matter what. Such a pain sometimes…' She grabbed a pair of jeans and a decent shirt, not wanting her mother to give her another lecture about dressing like a nice young lady. She dashed out of he room grabbing her school bag and flying into her seat at the kitchen table.
"Four minutes…not bad."
"Don't tease her so Jonathan. You haven't been a saint either."
"Speak for yourself Marie." he placed a plate of waffles down in front of Mercedes. "Your turn to cook tonight."
"What do you want?" she asked before taking her fork and attacking her plate.
"I'll…er…leave that up to you." Marie said as she sipped her coffee. "Must you eat like it's your last meal? Chew, then swallow."
"Wastes time." Mercedes said before she filled her mouth with the buttery, syrupy, food.
"She's hopeless."
"Aren't we one to talk Marie." Jonathan said as he sat down with a similar plate. "Come on Mer, you're gonna be late for school if you don't hurry."
"Yeah, I know." she said. There was another reason why she didn't want to go but that could wait for another day. 'The truth can wait until tonight. I'll tell them for sure tonight…tonight is the night…' She stuffed the rest of the waffles and ran to the door, sliding her feet into the beat up old sneakers on the shoe mat.
"You can't wear those shoes!" Marie said as she stood up.
"Yes I can. Bye Mama! Bye Papa! Have a good day!" she said before running out of the door.
Mercedes immediately stuck her headphones on, tuning out the rest of the world as she walked down the street towards her school. 'Math test first, dissection second, presentation third, lunch and then another presentation only on a short little Frenchman who nearly took over the world. I will be so glad once this day is done. I'll never have to see, hear or talk of Napoleon Bonaparte ever again.' She started humming along with the music, glad to have her presentation board in her hand. Odd, her hand felt rather light…
"Shit, my board!" she yanked her headphones off, trying to think where she could have possibly left it. "On top of my desk!" she smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand, cursing her forgetfulness. "Now I gotta walk back and get it. I really am gonna be late today."
She mumbled to herself, saying that she would never again decide to waste her time in the morning when she could be making sure that she had everything. The day was fairly quiet and peaceful, something she wasn't inclined to appreciate today in her current mood, so she slipped her headphones back on. It took her the usual fifteen minutes to walk back from her halfway journey, her house finally in sight. She looked up, feeling a large powerful vibration run through the earth that made her look up. All she saw was a dark shadow before the entire world burst apart with a bright orange color.
She couldn't move; it was as if the entire world seared apart and took her along for the ride. Her body went limp as things fell on her with bruising force. Trapped beneath stones of some sort, she could only see a faint patch of blue sky, now interrupted by the thunderous roar of gunfire and the silhouettes of mobile suits. 'Mobile suits…' She tried to force her injured body to move but found the weight on top to be immovable. The only thing she could feel was the slight breeze that came with the mechas passing, cold and fleeting, almost like an odd sort of finality.
"Mercedes!? Are you still in there? Hang on!"
She didn't say anything finding her vocal chords to scorched to move. The light blinded her eyes as the weight around her head was yanked away hurriedly. She gave a small cry as the bright sunlight flooded her irises, pain lancing through her head. All she knew next was the blissful darkness as it took hold of her relieving her from the intense light.
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