AN: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters

{-}

Duo followed his stoic companion. There were nearing the edge of the forest. The trees were gradually becoming smaller, and Duo could make out a lush, green field ahead of them. The two men had shared each other's company for a couple of hours. Duo had decided, although it was not to Heero's delight, that he would accompany Heero for a little while. It was nice to have someone to talk to, even if they weren't really listening.

They advanced a little further and soon they were out of the forest. Duo breathed in the cool spring air. The two young men walked across the field. All around them were wildflowers and rolling hills. It was a beautiful time of year, and Duo was enjoying himself. That is until he saw the shadow.

He stopped to stare at the figure which resided upon one of the green hills. Fear gripped Duo's heart. He watched as the dark shadow peered closely at him. It was a demon, a black figure with no human characteristics. It appeared to Duo whenever death was near. Death followed Duo often. The demon haunted his dreams.

Heero had suddenly noticed the sudden halt in his companions chattering. He turned around to look behind him, only to see the braided boy staring at the top of a hill. The look of fear was unquestionable, and Heero jogged over to his side to stare at the unknown foe.

"What is it?" asked Heero quietly.

"Shignami," replied Duo staring up at the hill.

Heero peered at him questioningly. Either the man was insane or he was telling the truth. By the look in Duo's eyes Heero felt he was telling the truth. Heero unsheathed his sword and took and step up the hill. But Duo put a hand out and grabbed him.

"Wait… he may be here for you," said Duo coldly.

The braided boy watched as the demon stared at him. Slowly, the shadowy figure lifted what appeared to be a hand. It pointed towards the west. Duo turned his head sharply in the direction the demon pointed. As he did, he saw smoke rising through the hills.

Duo looked back sharply at his foe, but the demon was gone. He looked at Heero with a sense of urgency. Heero, who was now staring at the smoke, nodded his head. The two men took off running as fast as they could towards the fire.

{-}

Wufei struck out with all his might against his attackers. They were coming at him left and right. He was outnumbered fifteen to one, but his pride told him to keep fighting, to fight even if there was no hope left. He raised his katana and brought down one more enemy. But his strength was beginning to fail him as more soldiers pursued him the minute.

Just when he was about to give up, Wufei heard a battle cry. Two figures jumped into the fray and began striking out against Wufei's enemies. Though puzzled, Wufei did not hesitate to seize the opportunity. He lashed out with a new found strength. Using all the skill he knew, he brought down his remaining attackers.

Wufei collapsed to his knees breathing heavily. The fight was over; he had been victorious after all. But as he looked around the village, his heart sank and gave way to despair. Nothing was left but ashes and dust. Bodies were scattered along the ground, blood stained the dirt and grass. With an angry cry Wufei slammed his fists on the ground. He breathed heavily and struggled to control his anger. But he quickly remembered he was not alone.

Wufei peered up at his new found allies. They were staring at him. Both were young, able men such as him. The first was a tall youth with his hair braided to his waist. He wore black clothing and his violet eyes sparkled. The other, was a young man with unruly brown hair. His Prussian blue eyes pierced through Wufei's own black ones, and the two stared at each other for quite some time.

Wufei slowly stood to his feet, never taking his eyes off the young men. He bowed at them, out of respect and thanks, and then proceeded to ask the necessary questions. He stood facing them with his arms crossed over his chest.

"May I ask who you are?"

The braided boy was the first to speak,

"Duo, Duo Maxwell. This is Heero Yuy," he said as he pointed to his companion. "We are here to help."

"Well," sniffed Wufei, "you should have been here sooner."

The oriental man turned away from the two young men to survey the destruction again. All was lost. The entire village had been destroyed. Wufei began to make his way back towards his home. He picked his way through the rubble. Gently he knelt beside his brother's body.

Heero and Duo followed him. They watched as the young man gently touched the body of a young boy who had fallen in the attack. Heero noticed the striking resemblance between the two. It was evident they were related.

Heero grabbed Duo's shirt and nodded for him to follow and leave the young man in peace to grieve for his kin. Heero then began to search through the ruined village for any survivors. Every once in a while, Heero would steal glances at the young man they had found, who was now sobbing over the loss of a loved one.

{-}

Quatre and Trowa became quick friends. It had been three days since the met, and Quatre was enjoying his stay with Trowa and his sister, Catherine. The siblings lived in a tiny cottage in a clearing inside the forest. Their home was quite busy. The two owned many animals and other gypsies often stopped by to speak with Catherine.

Catherine was like no women Quatre had ever met before. She was a beautiful woman, with curly red hair and green eyes, much like Trowa's. She wore the colorful garb of a gypsy, and walked barefoot nearly all the time. She was a free spirit and Quatre admired her strength. But, the most fascinating fact about Catherine was her ability to see into the future.

Inside her cottage, a small room was sectioned off from the rest of the house by a bright curtain. Each day, people from all over, gypsy or not, would travel to the cottage to speak with Catherine. She would guide them into the room and shut the curtain. She would sit upon lush pillows and motion for her guest to do the same.

Then, sitting on a small table was a crystal ball. Catherine would peer into the ball and while her guests asked her many questions, she would see the answers right before her very eyes! People would leave either very happy or very upset. Even when she did not have guest, Catherine would sit in the room and peer into the crystal for hours upon hours.

Quatre was not one to believe in such hocus pocus. He had been raised in a wealthy family, and his father had told him much about the ways of the world, especially of false magic and tricks. But something told Quatre that Catherine and Trowa were quite different.

Trowa had a very quite demeanor. It was often difficult to guess what the young man was thinking and feeling. Quatre often found himself quite drawn to the young man. Trowa would often walk in the woods. He pointed out things about nature that Quatre never would have thought of. His appreciation of the earth and all its living beings was astonishing. You could see the love Trowa possessed for the world by the way he spoke about it. You could see the affection he had when he touched a flower, tree, or animal. From what Quatre could tell; Trowa was quite content with his life. But from the sad look that often came into Trowa's green eyes, Quatre thought differently.

One day, Quatre decided to ask Catherine about Trowa's history, if there was any to tell. The young woman smiled sadly at him.

"Trowa is not my brother, at least, not my real one anyway."

"What do you mean?" asked Quatre.

Catherine smiled,

"He was found when he was nothing more than a baby, crawling around in the woods crying. My father found him and brought him home to us. My parents took him in and gave him the name Trowa. I was only five years old when he first came to us. But, I have always loved him as my brother. Trowa has none of this all his life, but he chose to stay with us because we became his family. After our parents died, Trowa and I have been together, doing the best we can to get by. So here we are."

Quatre nodded and smiled as the two young people watched Trowa practice throwing knives at a target. Catherine sighed then continued,

"Despite Trowa's happiness, I know he is longing to find out where he came from. I know he wishes to find who he really is. There is such sadness in his eyes at times…"

"I have seen it too," agreed Quatre.

"Lately, things have been worse than ever. I mean, with times the way they are. War will soon be upon us and all that we love will die. In his heart, Trowa wishes to stop all this. He wants to save the forest, his home, and his people. But, death is coming…I have seen it," she finished quietly.

Quatre looked at her sharply. She glanced at him with her green eyes.

"I know who you are Quatre Winner and I know what you will become. But, you can not reach your destiny on your own. You must have companionship. That is why I must ask you to take Trowa with you when you take your leave from us."

"But Trowa has no desire to fight!" exclaimed Quatre.

"You'd be surprised," smirked Catherine slightly as she watched her brother.

"Catherine, what do you mean by you know who I am?"

"It is something only time will tell," she replied quietly. "Come now, tomorrow you must take your leave to travel to Darlian's realm. I will speak to Trowa in a little while, although, I do not think I should even have to utter a word."

Catherine moved away and went back into the cottage. Quatre watched as Trowa kept practicing throwing his knives. He was to take his leave tomorrow. He had lingered too long in the company of the gypsies. Would Trowa consider leaving with him? Would he too fight under King Darlian? Quatre pondered this question for some time. Trowa's own wishes and emotions were buried in his soul. He did not speak of his feelings very often, but it was evident he was concerned about the future. Yes, thought Quatre sadly, he and Trowa did indeed have something in common: They were both in dire need of seeking their identity and they both wished to protect what they held dearest to their hearts. Yes, Trowa would fight.

{-}

Heero and Duo watched solemnly as Wufei stood over his brother's grave. The oriental man was silent as he looked at the mound of dirt. Anger and hurt filled his black eyes. His entire village had been wiped out in the attack. He alone was the sole survivor. But, he was not so sure if escaping alive was the best thing that had happened to him. He felt more alone than he ever had in his entire life. He had nothing now. There was no home, no crop, and no family.

Duo shuddered as he looked around the remnants of the village. The marauders had very room left for mercy. Nearly everything had been destroyed. Duo and Heero had spent the entire afternoon digging graves for the dead. Now, an entire field, that had once been full of corn, was filled with burial mounds. The tiny village was no more, and Duo shuddered as he saw the demon smiling at him from the corner of his eye.

The sun was setting rapidly. The night would soon be upon them. Heero stood grimly as he watched the man named Wufei Chang. He was mourning the death of his brother, Li. Heero watched as the young man took out a knife. Heero started forward fearing he was going to take his own life, but stopped when Wufei sit the palm of his hand and sprinkled the blood over the grave. Heero heard him say a blessing in an unknown language. Then Wufei stood and took a final look.

"I swear to you brother, I swear justice will be served."

Wufei turned around to face Heero and Duo. He bowed to them to express his gratitude for their hospitality.

"I am sorry for your loss," stated Duo with his head bowed.

Wufei only nodded as he looked back at Li's grave.

Heero, was looking at the bodies of the soldiers who h ad attacked the village.

"They follow the way of the War Lord," he stated coldly.

"Yes," replied Wufei. "Lord Treize's tyranny has gone too far! For too long he has been killing the innocent and burning villages. Wherever his hand points, death follows. Soon all the land will be in despair. But I, for one, will not go down without a fight!"

The black haired man stomped off angrily. Duo and Heero followed him.

"Where do you think you are going?" asked Duo.

"That is none of your concern," replied Wufei coldly.

Wufei continued his trek across a field. He was grateful of the men's help, but he did not need anyone. He would destroy Treize if it was the last thing he would do. Murderous thoughts ran through the young man's head. He did not even hear the horseman ride up next to him until they had nearly collided.

The horse reared and Wufei stumbled back. He fell to the ground, but quickly recovered. Flashing out his katana, Wufei prepared to take on the horseman. He raised the blade and was about to strike when a strong arm grabbed onto his own. Wufei glanced back to see Heero, holding his right arm in a death grip.

"You should choose more wisely when deciding upon your enemies," stated the horseman. The cloaked figure climbed down from his steed. He threw off his hood. Martin the Wizard nodded his head in appreciation towards Heero.

"Thank you, my boy. It certainly would have been quite unpleasant if he had decided to strike me."

"How did you find me?" asked Heero.

"To be honest," started the wizard, "I didn't." Martin peered over Heero's shoulder towards the rising smoke stacks, where the tiny village had once stood. The wizard shook his head sadly.

"I had feared as much," he stated quietly. "I could feel their pain; very unfortunate indeed."

"Unfortunate?" exclaimed Wufei. He face boiled over with rage. "My brother is dead and my entire village has been destroyed! All you can say is how unfortunate the situation is? Choose your words more carefully next time old man!"

He released himself from Heero's grip and began to stomp away. The wizard watched the boy closely. Perhaps this was the answer.

"Killing yourself will do you no good," stated the wizard. "Treize will surely win."

"There will be justice!" cried Wufei.

"Yes," continued the wizard, "but it will not be found, not alone. You can not take on the world by yourself. You know that as well as I."

Wufei spun around sharply, "What do you suggest I do?"

"My first suggestion is to cool that temper of yours!" exclaimed the wizard, "It will get you nowhere! My second suggestion is that you make a plan, some sort of strategy that will get you through the night. It is clear that you have nothing left. Without taking care of yourself, you will not get very far."

Wufei was about to reply, but instead he looked down at the ground shamefully. The old man was right. He had nothing left and no where to go.

"That's more like it," said the wizard. "Now, Heero, who is your other companion?"

"Duo Maxwell," said the long haired boy, himself. "I met with Heero only a little while ago. You see…"

"That is all very well, but I have no time for long discussions. That will all come soon enough. Right now, we must be off. You shall all stay with me tonight. We must make haste. Before long, more soldiers will be coming this way, looking for a missing war band."

With that, Martin swung into the saddle. He turned his horse and motioned for the young men to follow him. Heero and Duo took off while Wufei reluctantly followed after stealing one last look at the place he used to call home.

AN: Please email me with comments! Email: Wildrose1404earthlink.net