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Dream Maker: Okay folks, standard yadda. I do not own Gundam Wing. *sniffs* I wish I did but I don't. The wonderful g-boys and girls belong to their respectable owners. I promise to return them, only slightly worse for the wear, when I through with them. And please don't sue….. *turns pockets inside out* We're poor broke folk!

Christa: well, don't feel like fighting with the pathetic writer right now so lets get to the story.

Dream Maker: Pathetic writer? Its humble writer you dim witted muse!

Christa: Just for that I'll make you humble you dinglehopper!

Dream Maker: Just try it you puny rat!

Christa: Rat?! Rat?!?!?!?!?!?!?! *charges and fights with Dream Maker unmercilesly* (who wins? Wait and find out!)

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~ Six Years Later ~

The g-boys and girls were sitting quietly in Quatre's house on L-4. It wasn't anything special, just a little get together for new years. A cheery fire was burning in the hearth as the wind whipped outside and the rain came down in sheets.

"Wow, its already been ten years since the war ended. That's scary. It seems like much less time." Duo said as he looked outside into the pouring rain.

"I know how you feel Duo. I was just remarking on that to Relena the other day. Hey, Kira, don't touch that!" Quatre called as Heero and Relena's four year old daughter crawled toward the fire grating. Trowa leapt up and scooped her up into his arms out of harms way.

"Now why don't you just come sit with Uncle Trowa for a while munchkin?" he said as he tickled her and she erupted with giggles.

"Uncle Quatre! Uncle Quatre, I'm tired now." Maya said as she tugged on Quatre's sleeve. Quatre smiled down at her and picked her up.

"Then lets go put you to bed shall we?"

"I want mommy to ready me a story." She said as she yawned. Sally got up with a tired sigh and took her daughter from Quatre and into one of the back rooms to sleep.

"I think that's a good idea for all of them. Duo said as he and Hilde both grabbed one of their twins that were fighting on the ground. "Mat, Danny, you know better." He scolded.

"What do you want to bet that their expecting us to heard them off to bed so they can swap manly stories?" Noin whispered to Relena who tried to stifle giggle with her hand.

"Well then we'd better hurry up. If they stay up too much later they'll sleep late and then we'll never get them to sleep tomorrow!"

"Come on you rascals! Time for bed!" Hilde called as she carried two of her three into the back bedroom. Another six were herded behind her by their mothers.

"Okay, now what?" Quatre asked as he looked around the room. No one seemed to know what to do because they didn't now where to start with a conversation.

"What the blazes?" Duo said as he stood from his chair by the window. He peered intently outside. Then he shook his head and sat back down.

"What's the matter Duo?" Trowa asked as he glanced outside. He didn't see anything but then again, he couldn't see more than ten feet out into the storm.

"Nothing. Well actually, this is going to sound stupid, but I could have sworn I saw a ghost." He said as he laughed nervously. Then there was a quiet knock at the door and the color drained a bit from his face. Quatre got up and went to answer it.

"Hello? May I help you?" He asked the figure who stood in the doorway. The figure stepped into the light and raised its face to him. Quatre took a step back in shock before he could choke out, "ALEX?!" Immediately five others were on their feet and at the door.

"Who is he?" Zechs asked as he was brought inside.

"He's the kid who died saving Relena six years ago!" Wufei said. Everyone was shocked.

"What's going on in here?" the girls asked as they re-entered the room. The caught sight of Alex and stood still.

"Where'd he come from?" Relena asked. Sally hurried off and returned with a fluffy town to dry the boy off. She moved closer to him to dry him but he took a step backward and looked wildly around, as if looking for an escape. Sally was baffled but she held the towel out to him and he took it.

"Thank you." He said quietly.

"What…. How…. When…. Why…….. where……" Quatre stuttered as he tried to come to grips with reality.

"I'm not a ghost Quatre, you have no need to worry about that."

"Where have you been all this time?" Wufei asked perplexed.

"Again I must tell you that that is irrelevant. Quatre, do you still have my things?"

"Well, yes. I couldn't seem to get rid of them."

"Good, that's what I'd hoped for. May I please have them so I can change?"

"Yeah, follow me." Quatre left with Alex following him. They reappeared a few minutes later. Alex had changed into dry clothes and looked more comfortable. But his wet hat dripped water every once in a while. Trowa took his coat from him and hung it by the fire to dry.

"Why are you here?" Heero asked flat out.

"You really have no tact for polite conversation before business do you Heero?" he said sarcastically.

"Not when it comes to you."

"I didn't expect that to change."

"Okay, hold it. What exactly is going on here?" Relena said.

"They never told you Relena?" Alex asked.

"Told me what? Who are you?"

"My name is Alex. But maybe it would be better if they left?" He looked to Quatre as he indicated the women in the room. "They can be filled in later. I don't want any distractions about when I say what I need to."

"More bad news?" Wufei asked half sarcastically, half fearfully.

"Trouble follows me wherever I go. Its something I cant escape."

"Okay, no one is throwing us out of here until we get some answers." Hilde said.

"You need to leave. Women get to hysterical." Alex said calmly.

"Just watch who you're talking about boy." Heero warned. "But you do need to leave. If its anything like last time we met, I don't want you here."

"Heero, why?" Relena asked.

"Because I'm afraid of what he as to say. Think of him as a messenger of death." All the girls quickly vacated the room when even Heero admitted he was scared.

"Now that that's over." Alex said. He was about to say something when Wufei cut him off.

"You haven't changed one bit."

"You expected my attitude to?"

"No, I mean you haven't gotten any older, or taller, or anything. You're exactly the same as you were last time we saw you."

"And you all are older, I know. How much time has passed?"

"Six years."

"Six? Oh god, I hadn't realized……." His voice faded away with the thought.

"How is this possible for you?" Trowa said. He was in as much shock as everyone else.

But Duo recovered first. "I bet he's an alien and he's here to suck our brains!" he joked.

"As good a guess as and Un--….. Duo. But no, I guess I should tell you that nothing is going to be the same since I'm here. So if you want it to stay the way it is, tell me now and I'll leave."

"Let me guess," Heero said. "There's a catch to this."

"If I leave you will all die, one by one. Your families will be slaughtered and all you know will become meaningless. But if I stay, people may die that you want alive. That is the price for the knowledge I have. The lives of some friends are the payment for the lives of your families."

"How do you know all this?" Quatre asked for he, like everyone else in the room, had no doubt whatsoever in his mind that Alex wasn't joking.

"Again, I must leave you with no answer, though I'm sure you will piece the puzzle together soon."

"If we guess right at how you know, will you tell us?"

"Yes, I will agree to that."

"When will the next attempt be?" Trowa asked.

"Yes, and on who?" Wufei chimed in.

"It will be at six o'clock tomorrow. The target will be…." He closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them. Everyone held their breath praying it wasn't them. Then he looked strait at Duo. "Hilde Maxwell." Duo closed his eyes for a moment. When he re-opened them his eyes were blazing. "Duo, you haven't lost her yet. As long as we're with her, she will live. I promise you that."

"How can you know? Huh? Do you even know what this feels like, being helpless like this when you've always been able to fight?!"

"Duo, I lost my mother nearly five years after I was borne. My father was so caught up in his grief that he started drinking and he drank away all the money we had. I ended up taking care of him and my older sister because neither of them could accept that she was gone. At sixteen my sister was a drug attic and one night when she was buying she was raped and she put a bullet in her brain. My father continued drinking, even more heavily than usual and eventually he pickled his liver and since we had to cover hospital expenses we lost our house so we lived on the street where he kept getting sick. My father got in a bar fight one night and got thrown in jail. When I bailed him out with what little money was left he got himself thrown right back in the same way. I had to leave him there for a week and when I got him out he was killed when we were on the way home in a drive by shooting. Now, tell me how helpless really feels. You have a chance to stop it all, I didn't."

Everyone stared at him in stunned silence. Duo just nodded. Alex looked down at his hands. "Look, I'm sorry for bursting out and complaining like that but I want you to know that I know how it feels." He got up and walked towards the door. " I'll be back tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" Heero asked. "I want to know where to find you if your calculations prove to be wrong."

"I don't know. Probably on the street. Really couldn't tell you."

"Then stay here with us." Quatre said quietly. "There's not a bed for you to sleep in, but there's some blankets and the floor. It'd be a heck of a lot warmer than out there."

"You're sure?" He asked as if no one ever paid him kindness.

"Why not?"

"You're doing us all a great favor, even if we're still curious as to where you get your information." Wufei said.

"It's the least we could do." Duo chimed in. Trowa nodded. Heero sat impassive in a chair. It was plain to see that he didn't want him there. Duo stood up and walked over to the kid and whispered something in his ear. Alex tried to keep a smile off his face but he couldn't.

"Okay, I accept. Good, come back over by the fire with us." He placed a hand on the kids side to guide him over to a chair but Alex let out a yelp and dropped to his knees clutching lightly at his side. Duo looked downright scared as he stood there.

Alex looked up and tried to smile through the pain masking his face. "I'll be fine Duo. Really I will." Duo looked at his hand and saw blood.

"What in the world?"

Zechs stood up and moved to help the kid up (yes, he's been silent all this time but he's just been listening.) but Alex moved away from him and stood on his own. "How'd this happen?" Zechs asked. He knew that not even Heero could mask his pain that well.

"I got shot."

"By who?"

"How should I know? You people couldn't even catch him." he muttered then immediately regretted it.

"When were you shot?" Wufei asked.

Alex hesitated but he said, "Six years ago."

"How could the wound not have healed? And why were you shot?" Zechs asked, completely bewildered.

"Because. You're time has no affect on me. I got shot protecting your sister, Zechs. I'm not from your time." He grimaced as he sat down and his side touched the back of the chair. "I bring you this information from the future."

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Dream Maker: Okay, how do you like?

Christa: This is two in one day. We've given up on the reviewers. They never review…. *sniffs*

Dream Maker: But here it is, I'm going to say read and review even though I know that no one will pay attention to it. Hey, Lady Star? You can review more than once…….. PLEAZE DO!!!!!! I need to now if something is bad!

Christa: oh, and, I won the fight!

Dream Maker: Did not! I did!

Christa: not so

Dream Maker: is to! (as you can see the fight continues.)

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