Summary: What if a machine existed that could show you the life you would have lived if one key moment had never happened? The Gundam Boys find just such a creation and soon learn that everything happens for a reason…Mild Angst, Partial OOC
Author's Note: Well, this is the start of my next work. It's a little different but I think it'll come out good. Please feel free to review, I love getting feedback and I hope that everyone enjoys it!
What If
In a person's life, many events take place that are less than desirable. No one can understand this more than the five ex-Gundam pilots. Not many fifteen-year-olds are forced to live and fight in a war, but they did; Not many children are forced to watch death time and time again, but they did; And not many young people can experience all of that and still remain sane, but they did. It took a lot of work, but eventually the Gundam Boys were able to find new lives for themselves; lives that made them happy.
Duo Maxwell, once the pilot of Gundam Deathscythe and known to all as the God of Death, began working for a salvage company and put his talented hands to work. He rose quickly in the company and by the end of his first year found himself the manager of a small branch company on colony X-19998 in the L2 colony cluster.
Chang Wufei, once a biological attachment to the Gundam he called Nataku, began work with Sally Po and the Preventors. He was good at his work and soon became known as one of their best agents. During his first year he perfected his ability to disguise himself and his investigation skills had developed nicely. It wasn't long before he was able to claim his very own office on the fifth floor of Preventor Headquaters along with the title of Chief Investigator.
Trowa Barton, the famed pilot of Gundam Heavyarms, stayed with the circus for the company of his sister but eventually brought so much money to the craft that he found it becoming a very prominent career. Trowa's hardened exterior softened and soon he found himself doing private birthday parties along side his circus activities. He was soon the most known and most popular clown in all of the colonies and was quickly becoming known on Earth as well.
Quatre Raberba Winner, the caring pilot of Gundam Sandrock, took over Winner Enterprises; a company that created, salvaged and manufactured metal for construction of space stations and was once run by his father. His company grew steadily with Quatre's vast knowledge and wisdom and soon Quatre found himself expanding to even greater heights. His company bought out all of the mobile suit manufacturing companies and with the help of the Interplanetary Alliance, passed a law that said mobile suits will be constructed without weaponry and will only be used for construction.
Heero Yuy, the emotionless pilot of Wing Zero, left everything he had ever known and traveled across the globe looking for something that he could devote himself too. He passed through many cultures and many families looking for something that he could care about and after many years, he discovered the one thing he longed for was the one thing he left behind. After a three year journey, Heero returned to the Sanc Kingdom, which became the new Headquarters of the Interplanetary Alliance, and asked for a job. Heero was pronounced the new Vice-Foreign Minister of the Interplanetary Alliance due to the recommendation from the current Foreign Minister, Relena Darlian (Heero has yet to confess the truth of his return to anyone).
With everything that has happened to these young people, it's a miracle they've been able to find happiness at all; but it was not to last. Four years after the war between Earth and the Colonies ended a group of ex-OZ agents began a rebellion. They refused to believe that peace was the answer and were determined to finish the work OZ intended. They soon grew in strength and numbers and it wasn't long before another war broke out. If it was possible, this war was even worse than the first one. The streets were filled with death and chaos at all hours; people were forced to hide underground to escape the fires and explosions. Many people were killed in places they thought were safe, buried alive by their own houses.
The five ex-pilots tried in their own ways to stop the madness. Duo had taken it upon himself to sabotage as many weapon construction agencies as he could, hoping to weaken the new OZ. Unfortunately, they only saw his efforts as little more than an annoyance. Wufei had pulled every contact he knew in an effort to learn about plans before they were executed and stop them; and while every mission he launched was a success, there were a dozen others that occurred before he could catch wind of them. Trowa quit the circus and joined a small rebel force that made it their mission to destroy as many OZ bases as possible and just hope it would damage them. The new OZ always managed to bounce back and their bases seem to sprout up from no where whenever one was destroyed. Quatre and Heero took different routes to stop the war. Quatre's company provided all of the material needed to create OZ bases and was in turn allowed to hear certain plans. Quatre then sent anonymous tips to the Preventors and Trowa's rebel force hoping they could learn something. Heero had a similar tactic. He used his political power to gain access to OZ bases and headquarters to learn of their plans. Once he knew what they were after he would send in his own private team of bounty hunters and body guards to ruin the plans.
The war waged for three years without any sign of stopping before the five men began to loose hope. All of the emotions they had gained since the first war had vanished and all five found it again necessary to harden themselves in order to survive. All of the death had affected the men so heavily the first time around that none of them could stand the thought of having it happen again. Each of them had lost someone they loved during the first war and it had devastated them; they refused to let it happen again.
There was one place left on Earth that they knew was a safe haven. All communications were tapped now-days and they could not chance calling each other. Each of them hoped that if they return to this one spot, the others would soon follow. The place was an old safe house Quatre had provided during the war. The pilots had lived together in this house for months while they were staking out OZ bases. It was the only house that all five of them had lived in together at one time and it was the house that they all traveled too now. Without their knowledge, someone else also anticipated their arrival to that house and had already been living there for three months, waiting for them.
Howard stood on the porch and watched as the bright red mustang pulled up the drive. Duo Maxwell climbed out and smirked at the old man standing under the shade.
"Howard, that you?" He called.
Howard chuckled and nodded. "I was wondering how long it would take you to get here."
Duo approached and embraced his old friend. "What's that supposed to mean?" he grinned.
"It means you're late." He said and ushered Duo inside.
Sitting in the living room was Quatre, Wufei, Heero and Trowa. Duo laughed out loud when he saw them and shook his head.
"Guess great minds think alike, eh?" He teased and sat on the couch next to Heero.
Duo's humor had become even sharper and though no one would voice it, it showed that Duo had grown even more callous. The room was filled with a sullen attitude. Wufei, whose closest resemblance to a smile was a smirk that he dealt only his enemies didn't so much as acknowledge Duo's presence, even though he was pleased to see him. Trowa nodded his hello and, though he rarely spoke before, now didn't even make a sound. Quatre smiled politely but his eyes were empty and cold. Heero grunted his greeting and though he was very happy that Duo had arrived, he quickly stood up and walked to the corner to be alone.
Howard observed all of this and it made him sad. He watched these five when the war ended; he watched how their friendship had blossomed into something rare and special. To see them all so cold to each other now broke his heart.
Now I have to show them…He thought. He moved slowly into the room, his knees didn't work so well anymore, and smiled at them.
"Nice to have everyone back in the same room again." He chuckled.
The only smile in the room was Duo and it didn't meet his eyes. Howard sighed and shook his head. "Listen, it's obvious you all want to get started, so follow me."
"Follow you? What are you talking about, old man?" Wufei glared.
Howard smirked over his shoulder. "I've been expecting you. Come on now, I've got something to show you."
The five men exchanged puzzled glances before standing and following the old man down a set of creaking old stairs into the basement. The going was slow because Howard had to take each step very carefully and no one seemed inclined to complain or lend a hand so they simply followed. At the foot of the stairs, Howard brought them to a large computer with an old cracked screen. The computer was connected to several wires that wound their way across the room and connected themselves to five old recliner chairs. Heero raised a brow when he saw them and turned to Howard.
"What is going on here?"
Howard smiled and turned to them. "I told you. I want to show you something."
"Howard…" Trowa was inspecting one of the chairs. "Technology like this must have taken years to create." He turned to the old man. "How did you know we'd come here?"
Howard chuckled. "I knew that eventually, when things got bad enough, you five would come here. This is the only place you were able to be kids wasn't it?" He looked around the room. Small smiles had spread across five faces as they remembered their time in the house but they were quickly replaced with their emotionless masks again. Satisfied, Howard nodded. "I thought so." He turned to the machine and began flipping switches and pushing buttons. "This is my What If machine." He explained as the machine roared to life.
"A 'What If Machine'? What is that?" Wufei asked, watching Howard work.
"Well, it works in much the same way the Zero System did…" Heero shuttered in remembrance, "only this is much more powerful."
Quatre frowned. "What is it for? Why did you build it?"
Howard smiled. "For inspiration really. A little bit of hope in a dark place." He turned back to the five men. "I want you five to try it. I think it may help."
The room was silent. Duo crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. "What exactly is it? A weapon?"
Howard shook his head. "No. It's more of a…mind reading device."
"Mind reading?" Heero asked.
"Yes," Howard walked over to the closest recliner. "See, you lie in this chair and attach yourself to the machine, just like you would the Zero System, and the What If Machine will project you into the world of you're choosing according to you're thoughts."
Trowa raised a brow. "But why call it a What If Machine?"
"Ahh, there's the beauty in it." Howard smiled and walked back over to the main machine. "Have you ever wondered what would have happen if something in you're past had never occurred? The death of a loved one, a career decision, maybe even a choice of mate?"
The others exchanged a glance.
"Well," Howard continued. "This machine can show you what life would have been like if that event had never occurred."
"I don't understand." Heero frowned and turned from the creation to Howard. "How will this help us?"
Howard smiled. "It just may give you the insights into you're character that you've been looking for. Or maybe even remind you of something you've given up."
The five friends exchanged glances of curiosity and concern. Heero crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. "Won't this damage the brain? The Zero System could hurt you if you didn't know how to control it."
Howard nodded. "Yes, that's true. But this is a more advanced system. Okay, let's take my daughter. She has always wanted to know what life would have been like if my wife never died. I put her in the machine and it put her into a deep sleep. In that sleep, her consciousness woke up into a world where her mother had not died. While in this dream world, you can still feel pain, eat food, grow tired and need sleep…it's just like the real world. The System acts according to you're experiences. People will behave according to you're memory of them whether you remember that person or not."
"So it's like virtual reality." Duo offered.
Howard nodded. "Yes. What do you say?"
"I don't know…" Wufei frowned and turned to Howard. "We have responsibilities. We can not simply go to sleep and not think of them."
Howard nodded. "Of course not. However, time in the dream world passes differently. You may think you've been there for days when in fact it's only been seconds. You can learn and see many things before you actually wake up."
More exchanged looks and an even deeper silence followed. The idea was intriguing but would it work? What if they became stuck in the dream world and were never able to wake up? Would it matter at this point? None of them wanted to life through another war. Perhaps the risk was worth it? Heero was the first to speak. He turned to Howard and sighed.
"I'll do it." He said.
Howard smiled and nodded. "I knew you would."
"Me too." Duo added. He walked forward. "But this better work." He glared.
"It will it will." Howard smiled.
"I'm in." Quatre stepped forward followed by a silent nod by Trowa and a grunt by Wufei.
"Wonderful!" Howard smiled. "Alright boys, just go ahead and lay down in those chairs and I'll start up the machine."
One last glance exchange and hey all moved towards a chair and climbed in. Howard attached the wired to their heads, arms and legs and flipped more switches and turned more knobs. When he stopped, the machine was humming loudly. He turned to them and smiled.
"Alright, this is how it works, you tell me a 'What If' and I'll input it into the computer. The five of you will be the only ones who know about the real world so you'll have to act casually. You must not tell anyone that they are part of the dream world, it is very important that you remain part of them and not the other way around. Understood?"
They nodded and suddenly they began to feel nervous.
"Great." Howard smiled and walked back to the computer. "Okay, tell me you're what if's…"
The room was silent while everyone thought. Wufei was the first to speak.
"I want to know what life would have been like if Meiran had never passed." His voice shook slightly at the prospect of seeing his wife again.
"Meiran…right…" Howard muttered while he typed it in.
"I want to know what would have happened if I never lost no body." Duo sighed. "The Maxwell's…Solo…what if they were alive?"
"Alive…" Howard muttered.
"What if I was never lost to my family?" Trowa added in a soft voice. It was something that had plagued him his whole life.
"Lost to family…."
"I…I want to know what I would be like if I didn't have to take over my father's business." Quatre's cheeks flushed slightly red at his comment. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy his work, but it was tiresome.
"And I…" Heero paused and took a deep breath. "I want to know what life would have been like if…if I had parents…if I had a normal life."
Duo opened his eyes and glanced over at Heero with a sad expression. The five of them knew that Heero had led the hardest life of them all; if anyone deserved this, it was him.
"Right….okay…." Howard muttered while he typed. "Okay…great! I got it." He turned to them and smiled. "Everyone ready?"
Mumbled affirmatives went around followed by deep breaths and slightly whitening knuckles.
"Right. Here we go!" Howard smiled and pushed a large red button.
The world began spinning for the five men and they had to close their eyes to keep from passing out. They're bodies felt stretched, as though they were passing through the atmosphere without inertia dampeners. It took everything they had to keep from shouting out. And suddenly, just as quickly as it came, the feeling was gone. But the question on all of their minds…did it work?