Hey-o, and welcome to my Lil' World of Weirdness!!

I state for the record that I don't own Gundam Wing, or the wonderful characters that will be gracing this story. . . I do however lay claim to Ensign Saratone *again*, and I use him here purely as a replacement for your average Nameless OZ Minion. Other Characters I lay claim to are Faye Bloom, the wizened old man, Chang Xiao Fao Lan, and the Angels.

Let's just say . . . when my writer's block breaks, it's like a dam breaking . . . [shakes head slowly and winces]

Parings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3 . . .. Eh, heh, not that anyone reads up here, but I realised I'm giving away certain parts of my story with these!!

Okay, that's the legal stuff out the way!!

Please ENJOY AND PLEASE R&R!!! THANK YOU!!

Also, thanks to my beloved Bluegoo for her ever wonderful betareading, I thank her for the many hours that she has put in with me on this one, be it correcting my terrible grammar and spelling, or listening to me mumbling large chunks of it down the phone to her . . . You're great, Blue!! Even if you are Commander and Chief of the Apostrophe Gestapo . . . [ducks and runs off, screaming over shoulder] GO READ AND REVIEW HER STORIES!!

Thank you to Two-Mix for the lyrics, I don't own Just Communication!!

//Thinking//

"Speaking"

*Stress/Emphasis*

Writing/Dream sequence

Telepathic thoughts

:: Lyrics ::

~*~

For The Grace Of Knights And Angels

By Doctor Megalomania

Arch One: Bonds Made And Renewed

Part Ten: Revelations

The flight back to Earth was uneventful.

The former Gundam pilots were gathered at the front of the cabin, their newfound mothers and friends sat at the back. Master Fao and Master O, and Nataku were with them, and the small group at the front discussed their new problems, and the new information. As Wufei, Trowa, Quatre and Duo questioned from every angle, Heero typed it up on his laptop. 

The new information they had learnt from Wufei's master weighed heavily on them. The old man, Master Fao, had explained that the Changs had known for centuries, and if the other countries of Earth had kept up their side of the bargain and not forgotten their pasts in favour of the new technologies, they would have already known about it.

It was called the Rebalancing of the Chi.

There was no other way of describing but through ancient Chinese story, other methods having been lost, although as Fao told his story Rashid and the Maganac Corps soldiers began to chip in with folktales that had been past down to the Maganac Corps from the Magi. Quatre was surprised to learn that the Maganac Corps were actually the descendants of the Egyptian Pharaoh's personal guard, the Magi. They told stories of the ancient world orders, massive civilisations that were blessed with a curse. The five Knights of the Earth, the Five Angels of the Cosmos and the Deity of Darkness. They also told stories of primeval battles between the ancient folklore, which Master Fao referred to as the Rebalancing of the Chi.

The Rebalancing of the Chi was basically just that . . . a struggle between good and evil in the universe.

"Let me get this completely straight . . ." Duo closed an eye and held up his hand, "There's this dark chi shite right . . . and then there's the light chi stuff . . . and the light chi is a good thing right . . .?"

"Wrong. Chi must be balanced." Nataku made a motion with her hand, "Too much good chi will spoil and rot you . . . make you lazy and susceptible to dark chi. It must be a constant fight to balance the two . . ."

"Then what is this?" Duo frowned, "What's with the whole Earth is gonna be blown to kingdom come in a year's time?"

"That is universal balancing . . . humankind as a whole must be challenged . . ." Master Fao nodded, "They must be faced with the dark chi and overcome or be overcome by it . . ."

Duo rubbed his forehead, "this sounds complicated . . . who thinks this kind of shit up?!"

"Duo . . ." Sister Helen murmured disapprovingly, before she leant her own knowledge to the conversation, "There has always been a struggle between good and evil . . . and man has always been tested . . . only by resisting temptation, can man become stronger . . . can they move forward in life . . ."

Master Fao gripped his walking stick tightly, "Always have humans been tried . . . and now is the time of judgement . . . we must find the Five Angels, and ask for their help—

-- Throughout the ages, all civilisations have had variations of myths and tales of the Angels and of the Knights . . ."

The sunlight raced eagerly up the mountain face, and spilled over the edge into the prehistoric volcano crater.

"Since the dawn of time; the Angels have fought upon the side of the people . . . they are neutral of either side and it is the choice of the Knights to which way the Angels fight . . ."

The ancient rooftop glistened with the morning dew, the white doves pecking quietly at the dark green moss that had grown there. One took flight, and circled the six buildings.

"There are Five Angels . . . They are the Angels of Death, of Mercy, and of Time, Of the Beasts and Of Warriors. No one knows what forms they take; it is only known that their spirits are kept within five weapons, the Weapons of the Earth's Knights. The Angels are said to be babbles of light, hooded monks . . . even that they are mirrors of the Knights . . ."

The dove landed on the central courtyard, and washed itself in a puddle that had gathered there. It hopped, titling its head as it heard the haunting songs. Five voices raised in union.

"Not much is known of the knights . . . just that they are chosen, and have always been destined to be the Earth's Knights . . . they are described to be closely connected to each other. The first Knights crafted the Weapons; the Angels in the crafts of magic guided them. With each new generation, the Weapons become better, stronger . . ."

In a flutter of snowy white feathers, the dove took flight, as five cloaked figures strode out from five of the blessed shrines.

"The Rebalancing happens every five thousand years."

A falconer's worn glove emerged from the deep sleeves of one cloaked figure. He murmured a few words, and the dove returned, perching contently on his outstretched arm.

"The Dark Chi races to the Earth. It will destroy the Earth as punishment; all of those who remain on its grounds will die there. The Dark Chi has no honour; it will do whatever it can to stop the Knights from reaching their complete training."

Master Fao nodded, "the Chang and the Long Family has always known that one of our two bloodlines will be a Knight of the Earth."

Duo blinked, "Surely you don't mean the Wu-man . . ."

Wufei was too stunned to reprimand Duo for the slip, even though Nataku snickered. She nodded, "It has always been . . . that's why our two families have been joined every hundred years . . . it is Chang Wufei . . . or Me, Long Meirin. One of us is the Knight."

Quatre thought for a moment, before quietly asking, "How do you know . . .?"

Nataku sat back, and glanced at Master Fao.

The old man closed his little eyes, and sighed deeply, "There are five angels . . ."

The falconer petted the dove, and reached into his pocket.

". . . there are five weapons . . ."

Sunlight filled the temples grounds, driving away all the shadow.

". . . and there are five Knights."

The cloaked figures tipped their heads back, and one dared to breach their silence, "Hmm . . . they are returning . . ."

:: Just wild beat communication

 While being pounded by rain
The hot thoughts never fades away
I want to let it circulate, in my body, tonight! ::

:: I held those damp shoulders trying to warm you up
Your trembling fingers wander, as if. . . what are they seeking?
In broken speech, tell me why you want this pain
You no longer seem so grown up --- as your pretences fade. . . ::

:: I want to protect this image of you . . .
Believing in the love that changes sorrow into strength . . . ::

Heero frowned deeply, "Are you suggesting we are the Knights . . .?"

Master Fao nodded, as Nataku leant forward, "It makes sense, don't you see? You have all been trained for this . . . your lives have always been lived up until this point . . . it was you five who piloted Gundam, the most powerful weapon . . . it was you five who fought . . . you five alone!"

"But why is there confusion whether you or Wufei are the fifth?" Trowa asked, a deep frown beginning to form, and a look of disbelief clear in his eyes. Nataku fell back again and sighed, "Because I was meant to be the pilot of ShenLong . . . but I died before it was complete . . . and yet . . . Wufei still succeeded . . ." She pressed a hand against Wufei's arm, "It could be either of us, Wufei or I . . ."

"And we have one final way of telling." Master O called from his seat, he gripped the wooden box in his hands tightly. "Ancient tales suggest the Changs were once powerful magicians. We have a relic that is supposed to tell us who is still capable of the old ways."

Wufei blinked and came out of his stupor, "I may have loved the tales when I was a child . . . I still have appreciation for them . . . but this is a myth . . ."

Nataku turned on him, and growled, "How can you even begin to doubt your heritage?!" She pointed at Fao, "He's used it, I've seen it work before!"

Quatre raised his hands, "Please calm down . . . this is a lot for us to believe . . . you are asking us to believe in a fairytale!!"

Master O stood, and opened the box; the red metal relic was the dragon's cuff from the Chang Shrine. "This is no myth . . ." he handed it to Master Fao, who slipped it onto Nataku's wrist. Master Fao nodded to Nataku, as she closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Her palm turned up.

"Indeed, this is no myth . . ." Fao nodded reverently, "We find out now, which is destined to be the Knight."

Heero blinked as the screen of his laptop buzzed, and the images warp, "What the . . .?" He looked up as the lights began to dim, and strength again. Glancing over, he stared as Nataku drew a breath, a light breeze from nowhere started to play with stray strands of her hair. Sister Helen gasped, "What's happening?!"

Quatre felt a deep pull within his chest, as light began to gather in a very small point just above her hand. He heard his mother gasp aloud as well. "Master Quatre!" Rashid got to his feet, and ran over to Quatre as the blonde boy swayed slightly. The bear of a man growled, "What is she doing?!"

"So sensitive . . ." She whispered, her hood falling back slightly, "Wonderful . . . we will complete your training in no time . . ."

Quatre shook his head as Abdul, Auda and Ahmad went to tend to his mother, Rashid making his way over to the young blonde's side, "What . . ." Quatre murmured, his hand pressed again his chest, "What are you doing . . .?"

The girl's lips parted slightly, and her deep brown eyes slid open, she stared at her hand as a small flame began to burn brightly. The flame went from yellow to a blood red before disappearing altogether.

Nataku smiled gently, breathlessly, before she looked into Wufei's eyes, "Explain that, mister all-knowing geek . . ." She muttered, panting slightly, before she passed out with the strain.

The lights in the cabin returned to normal strength and Heero observed that his laptop was returning to normal. The pilot's voice cackled over the compartment, "Uh . . . we just registered a massive energy spike . . . what was that?"

Wufei cradled Nataku, as Master Fao quietly instructed Master O to removed the bracelet. "Interesting . . ." Instructor H swirled his moustache, "Very interesting . . ." he glanced from the red metal cuff to Quatre, and back again, "Will it work on the others?"

Master O shook his head, "Just the Changs and Longs. . ."

"Hmm . . ." Doctor J clacked his claw, "I'd love to scan the device . . ."

"Yes, find out what makes it tick . . ." Professor G hobbled closer. Duo shook his head in disbelief as Trowa touched Nataku's forehead, "She's warm . . ." He murmured, "it was a strain for her to do just that . . ."

Quatre kneaded his chest a little, "I felt it . . . I felt her draw the . . ." he shook his head, his blonde bands swishing quietly, "I don't even know what to call it . . ."

Wufei blinked as Master O grabbed his wrist, and started to fasten the red metal cuff to him, "What . . . what are you doing?!"

Master Fao frowned, "We must find out if you can best that . . . or at least get the thing to work for you . . ."

Wufei stared at it; it looked perfectly at home on his wrist. A sense of rightness rolled through him, but he . . . he frowned, he didn't believe this, didn't believe any of it . . .

"Try Wufei . . . imagine that you could do the same as her . . ." Master O urged. Wufei frowned deeper and stared at it, his voice working though he wasn't consciously aware of it as he whispered. "The time is not right . . ."

"Hmph . . . of course not . . ." Noted one of the hooded figures, she shifted, "He's not ready to believe yet . . ."

"What did you say?" Master Fao asked as Wufei mumbled something. The raven-haired former pilot seemed to stare at the cuff on his hand, and he was completely still, his breathing shallow as if he was in a trance.

"I said I don't believe this . . ." Wufei snapped out of it and glared at his elder, "I don't believe any of this . . ."

"Then . . ." Observed another, he waved his hand. "You must wait a little longer . . ."

The clasp on the bracelet glowed with a dim blood red light and snapped open, the dragon's cuff falling off Wufei's hand without aid. For a long moment, Master O and Master Fao stared at it, "Not yet . . ." murmured Master Fao, he looked in Wufei's fierce expression, as he turned away and tended to Nataku, "You are not ready yet."

Duo growled, "What are we supposed to do, if we are these Knights of the Earth?! If we're supposed to be so great, then why don't we know anything about it?!"

"Spirited . . . I like that . . ." She chuckled and looked over at her fellows, "We will be best suited."

 Heero shook his head at Master Fao's vague explanation; he disliked things that didn't make sense. He glanced at Doctor J who was studying the metal bracelet intensely, "And you believe in this as well?"

Doctor J paused in his inspection and handed the bracelet to G, he sat beside Heero and thought for a moment before answering. "I am a man of science . . . I don't believe in goblins or ghouls . . . but I do believe this. We . . ." he motioned himself and the other doctors, "were not just brought back from the dead to make your life a living hell again . . . look around you, most of the people on this shuttle are people who have been dead a lot longer than I have." He frowned and folded his hands in his lap, "I can only agree with this because I know what you are capable of . . . I can only agree with this because I know what I feel in my heart and what I have seen . . . you five may be the knights . . . or it may just be a pretty trick . . . I don't know . . . all I know is that I know what Master Fao and Master O are saying is true." He turned to look out the window, "Space is a cold place to die, Heero . . . but if you allow the Earth to fall before this Darkness . . . we will all be damned."

Heero frowned deeply, "I don't know what—"

"Then think of it as a mission." Doctor J turned his attention back to Heero, "Think of it like this . . . that you must find the Weapons of Earth's Knights or disprove everything . . . it can be that simple . . . follow the game until you come out at the centre of the maze or out the other side . . ."

Heero frowned deeper, and thought about it. "Mission . . ." his brow cleared, "Mission accepted."

"He's responsible, and logical." Muttered the first, he nodded, "Just the perfect soldier."

"Bullshit."

Duo flopped back into his seat and looked up as Sister Helen held his hand, "This is just so much bull . . ." he growled, "I don't believe it."

"You believe I am who I say I am." Helen stared at him, her blue eyes concerned, she squeezed his hand, "Is it much more of a leap of faith to believe this?"

He sighed, and looked at the stars, "I . . . I don't know . . ." his shoulders dropped, "I wish I had some way of proving this . . ."

Wufei touched his long missed wife's soft hair, as he did the day she died, //could this be true?// He wondered, then shook his head, it wasn't possible. Yet, as Sister Helen implied, they were willing to accept that these people were who they said they were . . . they had stepped onto a colony, one which had been destroyed four years ago. He had shaken hands with a man he had killed himself, and now he was cradling the head of his dead wife in his lap. He bit his lip, was it so much a leap of faith to believe them?

Quatre leant back, and blinked as firm hands rubbed his shoulders. Trowa leant over and murmured into his ear, "Are you all right?"

The blonde nodded slowly, "It's a lot to take in . . . Trowa, are we capable of magic?"

Trowa was silent, before he answered quietly, "I don't know . . . I'm not going to make up my mind until I see further evidence . . ."

"Good choice, an open mind is always easier to train . . ." The quietest of the hooded beings murmured. The dove tilted its head again and cooed, he lifted a finger and stroked its head before he tied the small message to its ankle, "Patience is truly a virtue . . ."

:: Just wild beat communication
Don't be afraid of anything . . .
Because no one's going to take away the shared feelings of now, our youth
Just wild beat communication
While being pounded by rain
The hot thoughts never fades away
I want to let it circulate, in my body, tonight! ::

 :: Until the faraway dawn, I want to spend the night nestled close to you
We can lose everything else, as long as we don't lose gentleness. . .
From words, through kisses --- we feel each other's heartbeats
Drawing passion near --- for an instant, for an eternity. . . ::

:: Painfully, violently, I want to focus on this . . .
In this tearful situation, only you are precious . . . ::


Trowa lifted his head, and looked at Master Fao.

"If you want us to even begin to try and be these Knights of Earth . . ."

He glanced at each of his friends, making sure he was talking for all of them. Heero nodded clearly, Wufei met his gaze and gave a sharp nod, Duo hesitated, biting his lip and glanced at Helen before he consented. Trowa dipped his gaze to Quatre, he could only see the back of the blonde boy's head, and knew he was asking his Space Heart for guidance. The blonde head dipped once uncertainly, before dipping again with more conviction.

Trowa nodded, and stared at Master Fao with his dead jade eyes.

". . . tells us where we find the angels . . ."

The falconer pulled his arm back, and whispered a few words to the dove.

The four others turned to him, and stared, the sunlight casting their shadows long and towards the centre of the courtyard.

Master Fao smiled, "I know nothing of the angels and their whereabouts . . ."

He threw his arm forward, and the white dove took flight, its eyes glowed green for a second as the Falconer murmured again. The white dove's wings suddenly expanded, its claws becoming razor sharp, it changed from a dove to a hawk in a second.

". . . but what I do know . . ."

The five tipped their heads back as their messenger bird flew out of their compound. Spreading its wings, and a few white loose feathers ripped away from it as it gained speed and shot over the rim of the long dead volcano.

". . . is that when the time comes . . . the angels will find *you*."

:: Just wild beat communication
Don't surrender anything
Because, if we both understand each other,
we'll be able to fight as one
Just wild beat communication
Don't let go of love
This overflowing, hot face will tell you
its deepest secrets, tonight! ::

:: Just wild beat communication
Don't be afraid of anything. . .
Because no one's going to take away the shared feelings of now, our youth
Just wild beat communication
While being pounded by rain
The hot thoughts never fades away
I want to let it circulate, in my body, tonight! ::

Arch One: Bonds Made And Renewed

End

«Love, let me protect thee.

I give my sword, my heart, my life.»

To Be Continued . . .

Arch Two: Magic Stirring, Training Begins