Sperare: The Rising

by Hileigh007

“Just remember, Lucas, there’s a body bag out there with your name on it, and I’m doing up the zip. Everyday, you’ll wake up and ask yourself, is this the day? Because mark me, you will die by my hand. And anyone who gets in my way will be treated with th

1. Prologue

Title: Sperare: The Rising (Introduction)
Author name: Hileigh
Author email: link
Category: Gundam Wing
Sub Category: drama, angst, action/adventure, romance, humor, supernatural, mystery, suspense, sci-fi, fantasy...all of the above
Keywords: keywords are stupid. Keywordsdeath.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: When a world war threatens to tear the earth asunder, its up to seven unlikely heroes to keep everything from falling apart. But will they save mankind before they kill each other? Evil minions, love triangles, torture chambers, bats out of hell, cheeky grins, smarmy gits, and lots of estrangement. Oh, and no gundams, yet.
Chapter Summary: This isn't a chapter. Just setting the stage...

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on the Gundam Wing series and involves original characters and situations owned by Bandai. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. However, characters including but not limited to Raven, Stars, Lander, Kale, Cat, Corin, Kenji, Athens, Odin, Mac, Thais, Dyrin, Tnepres, Silo, Rapier, and Khan are copyright (c) Me, aka Hileigh. Other citations will be provided when needed.

Author's Note: I decided to go ahead and post the prologue…it should answer a few questions. ; Enjoy!

Prologue

He who fights monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.

And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

-Unknown.

The year is AC 221. The Earth Sphere as we know it no longer exists. In the year AC 217, a terrorist group known as Zodiac launched nuclear warheads and advanced weapons of mass destruction at the colonies and the major cities of Earth: London, Moscow, Beijing, Bombay, Quebec, and Los Angeles. The targeted nations retaliated without asking questions, and by the year AC 219, the world government and economy was no more. The former Earth Sphere, under the reestablished Sanc Kingdom, dissolved and split into two warring halves: Kanor and Fovuc.

The new world is full of struggles and tribulation. Warfare and its aftermath has wiped out most of the population between the ages of 45-80; the young and robust easily rise through the ranks to lead and defend the new countries, fighting with strength and compassion to do everything in their power to end the war.

Despite the total annihilation of everything familiar – cities, economy, natural resources, social structure – some things will always remain the same. One element will always hinder humanity – the heart of man. Men crave power, even in times of death, destruction, and mourning. And power corrupts all. Throughout the Earth, other wars emerge on the streets of the wounded cities, in the abandoned plains, and on the watchful halos that are the space colonies. Fights for the control that was lost with The Fall ensue; rival groups and unholy creatures of the night prowl the streets. Anyone can become a prey – and anyone can be a predator.

However, not all things have gotten worse. Many believe the damage done to the economy by The Fall was in fact a blessing. The value of the American dollar, Europe's Eurodollar, and Asia's yen did not change, though material possessions like stock and property crumbled. The age of industry, steel, machines, and technology was suddenly thrown back centuries. A sentiment of brotherhood and kindred spirits crossed class lines and swept the countries. But, as in all instances of unity, there comes a quiet suspicion, a seed of doubt that can shake the foundations of the strongest heart.

In addition to the turmoil of The Fall, another revolution arises. A secret can only be kept for so long, and time is rapidly dissipating, even more so as the wartime becomes more intense. In the year AC 205, nine years before The Fall, a select group of scientists began work on an extremely classified project – a project involving the fabric of the universe. Science and technology had reached such a level that anything was possible, a fact that turned into the world's greatest strength as well as its greatest weakness. By means of both atomic and temporal manipulation, the scientists created a rip in the Universal Plane of consciousness, opening the Spiritual Plane – and several others – to the Earth. For most, nothing happened. No change was wrought, and none knew of the incident. But for some, a select few with a certain preordained aptitude, a new world was opened, a world of supernatural and co-planar abilities. But with no one to guide them, the recipients of these powers have been proverbial guinea-pigs to whatever fate dealt them. Now, sixteen years have passed since the Rip, and the Empowered are becoming stronger…their powers are manifesting, and can no longer be ignored. However, they have no physical distinctions…for the few people who know of The Rip, targeting the ones affected is near impossible. Some are not even aware of their abilities. You could be one…so could I.

The land of Kanor – made up of the former United States, South America, Canada, and possessing the loyalty of colonies 1, 2, and 4 – is dedicated to peace and returning the standard of life back to normalcy. Kanor advocates a strong policy of recovery and reform, picking up the broken pieces, fixing what they can, and moving on. Although millions of people migrated from all over the universe to Kanor after The Fall, the American values of life, liberty, and freedom remain preeminent. Though the central and state governmental powers collapsed, the many peoples remain proud, strong willed, and forever loyal – they will survive and triumph, and do what has to be done. They rally under the leadership of former official Zechs Marquise and former gundam pilots Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell. The capital 'Core City' of Kanor is the former city of Chicago, which also hosts the headquarters of the Kanori defense, the Intelligence Command (KIC).

Fovuc, consisting of the former entities throughout Eastern Europe and Asia, including Japan, has fallen under the unitary rule of Istvan Khan; he also claims the support of colonies 3 and 5. A dashing young politician, Khan is on the receiving end of massive support in Fovuc, and has built the massive 'Glass City', Glastadt, on the ruins of Berlin, Germany. He preaches a new, united world under his rule that will usher in a new era of life…only he wants to kill off the Kanori and establish a massive colonial dictatorship. The many peoples supporting him don't seem to realize that Khan's platform involves world domination, and the fact that he orchestrated The Fall is written off as happenstance. But even with all of his armies and elite society to back him, before Khan can destroy what is left of the world order and claim it for his own, he must make Kanor fall.

The Kanori, however, will not give up easily. They have organized alliance task forces of their best young freedom fighters to combat the Fovucian offensive, the most elite of which is Sperare – 'the hope'. Young and secret, the four members of Sperare are sacrificing their lives and working with all they are to stop Khan and expand the Kanori territory.

Galen 'Stars' Yuy leads the Sperare team. Nineteen-year-old son of Heero Yuy and Relena Peacecraft, Stars was one of the heirs apparent to the reestablished Sanc Kingdom until it was destroyed in the aftermath of The Fall. To protect him from the terrorists that killed his mother, the public was led to believe that he perished in the infamous raid of the Sanc Kingdom's Western European palace. Instead of using his rightful name, he is addressed by his task force call sign, Dante, at all times, a name that inspires awe and reverence among other task force members. The people who know his true identity can be counted on one hand. Stars' quiet, thoughtful, and self-contained disposition along with his depth and objectiveness make him the perfect leader. He is strictly fair, but without mercy. Capable, efficient, and strong, Stars excels in combat, and especially enjoys the art of swordplay.

Kale Peacecraft, at twenty-one, is the oldest member of Sperare. The only child of Zechs Marquise and Lucrezia Noin, Kale was raised with his cousins in the royalty of the Sanc Kingdom, though his father no longer claimed a title. Both extremely skilled and extremely arrogant, he is a masterful tactician with a razor sharp wit. Sporting a life-size superiority complex, Kale doesn't like to be beaten – it's a great show of respect that he does not object to Stars' leadership of Sperare. He is the sort of person who is always learning from every experience and constantly striving to better himself in combat, though he would never let on that he has anything to learn to those around him. Smooth, cunning, and hopelessly ruthless, Kale, with the rest of Sperare is one of the most hunted men on Earth. By law of protection and self-preservation, all of their identities are hidden from the public. Kale is simply known as Paris.

Ex-street racer Lander Maxwell is Sperare's demolitions expert. Despite the fact that he loves to blow things up and cause general chaos, his surprisingly clandestine nature has earned him the nickname of Merlin. Lander has a special affinity with cars, mechanics, and electronics, which he does not hesitate to use in reconnaissance. The 'trickster' of the group, he is always into something, and his never-say-die attitude never fails to cheer the others up. Having spent his childhood divided between the streets of Chicago and the streets of colony L2, Lander knows the workings of the inner city like no other. As the son of Duo Maxwell and Hilde Schbeiker, Lander was brought up knowing how to handle himself; as it stands, his only known weakness is powdered sugar.

The last member of Sperare is Aurora 'Raven' Yuy, twin to Stars and daughter of Heero and Relena. She shares the anonymity of the others – after all, it is believed that Aurora Yuy died with her mother and brother in the palace fires of AC 217. Answering to the call sign 'Ariel', Raven is under the protectorate of not one, but three overprotective brothers who would do absolutely anything to ensure her safety. Raised as the only girl among boys, she is quite capable of just about anything, and can match each of the other members of Sperare in skill. Passionate, protective, and proud, Raven fights with every part of her being, harboring secrets and holding insurmountable pain that only drive her on. Though she still has a way of bringing peace and joy to all she touches, the once exuberant, life-loving girl has been affected greatly by The Fall and other events in kind. The death of her mother and her steadily increasing hyper-empathic abilities has given her a certain worldly outtake – an old soul looks through her chameleon eyes. Stars may lead Sperare in battle, but she leads them in heart, and therefore is the key to winning the war…if only all the odds weren't stacked against her.

Fovuc is also more than prepared to take extreme action against Kanor. Along with armies and special operations groups, Khan employs a number of elite factions and boasts the most advanced assassin league in the world, the Killer Angels.

The leader of the Fovucian forces is a ruthless young general named Alex Rapier. With all of Fovuc's resources at his fingertips, Rapier is one of the most powerful men in the political world as well as the underground. He commands every aspect of Khan's arsenal, and is the mastermind behind The Hive, the most advanced scientific lab on the planet, and the Council of Truth, the massive torture chambers that lie deep beneath Glastadt. Though he sits at Khan's right hand, Rapier is his own man, and does things for his own sick reasons, though no one can deny the utter blackness of his heart. Strong, smart, skillful, and handsome, he shows no mercy, and will never let a target go easily – especially not one as tempting as Sperare.

It's not easy being a woman, particularly when you're a member of the one and only Killer Angels. But eighteen year old Catriona Winner prides herself on her superior skill, and in her four years of service has risen as the top sniper in the most elite rank of the Killer Angels – Pegasus. Exuding the air of an untouchable, Cat excels at clean, quick murder, in the name of 'justice'. In the years since she ran away from her peace-loving family in the neutral entity of Switzerland, Cat has seen her share of demons in the employ of the ultra-exclusive Angels. Elegant, sassy, and better than you at just about everything, Cat believes whole-heartedly in the motives behind Fovuc. If every kill will lead to a better world, then so be it.

No operative in the history of Fovuc has ever risen in the ranks as fast as twenty-year-old Athens Tremale. As a Dragon in the Killer Angels, Athens works under Cat as her partner, however rumor has it that he's going to be moving up to Pegasus rank with her soon. Kind and reserved, Athens is the last person anyone would expect to be an expert warrior. Equipped with an un-earthly sense of understanding and an endless string of good advice, Athens gets along well with everyone, his only conflicts being with people who fall short in self-worth. His dark brown eyes have and untold depth, and there aren't many problems he can't solve amicably. He seems so apathetic sometimes, it's as if he knows things that others don't…or maybe he just holds a different sort of scarring from The Fall.

Fovuc bases its largest underground intelligence ring in the country of Japan, and on the streets of Tokyo, one man is always able to stay one step ahead of them. Kenji Sakamori, a twenty-year-old orphan, was a member of the Fovucian Tactical Information Retrieval Team until he left one day over personal conflicts. Now, back on the streets of his native Japan, he's back to what he did best as a child – theft. Kenji lives a double-identity as the revered Pagan, a thief of thieves with untold skill who never gets caught and is held in high regard in the dark Tokyo underworld. Though at night he walks the shadows, during the day he is back to being Kenji, the angry rebel with a 'let the world handle itself' attitude.

Twenty-two year old Corin Barton doesn't want anything to do with anyone. Though he's one of the highest ranking men in Fovuc, second only to Rapier, he works alone as the single best assassin on the planet. Known only as 'The Hunter', Corin is feared by the ordinary and extraordinary alike. With unmatched skills and a past that has earned him his own dark legend, he alone knows that he fights for the sake of the weak and an ending to the madness. Many would say he is not human – everyone recoils from the flat, ruthless expression in his eyes, the coldness lurking there. He certainly feels no remorse or regret or love, so they say – only hatred. Corin agrees. They all fear his very name. And so they should.

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