Alternate Gundam Wing Universe:

Gundam Apocalypse

by Maria Rocket

Chapter One

***

Up in the sky, there were no stars shining that night. Only a thin whisper of the moon, like a mischievious smile. What little light it gave, it shone brightly onto the woods below. Through the leafy branches, the moonlight reflected off of a black glossy surface.

The gundam Apocalypse was hidden there deep in the woods. No one had seen it arrive on Earth a few hours before. Now the giant metal monster seemed to sleep, for the time being. In it's shadow, the boy, Solo Maxwell, sat slumped over with his head tucked behind his drawn up knees and his folded arms. Only Apocalypse heard the small whimpering sounds coming from the sleeping pilot. When Solo woke up a few hours later, his face was wet.

It was always the same.

***

"Relena, you need to take Duo and leave for the coast. This is the first place that kid's going to look. He could already be out there," Heero's eyes shifted towards the windows. He appeared to have recovered from his earlier shock, but his skin was still pale.

"Heero, I'm not leaving you!"

Relena stood firm. After receiving the shocking transmission from the boy claiming to be Duo Maxwell's son, they had learned, via another wallmonitor that Heero hadn't destroyed, that the signal had come from somewhere in the L2 colonies. It was then estimated that by that time, he could possibly already be on the Earth, though no registered passenger in any spaceport had fit the given description. Heero had immediately ordered all the servants to leave the estate until further notice.

"Relena, he's right, it's too dangerous to for you or Duo to stay here," Quatre was sitting with little Duo. "You must go!"

Duo wasn't sure what was going on, but he could tell his parents and Quatre were distressed about something. He glanced between his mother and father with large confused eyes. "Why did everyone leave? Are we going on a trip?"

"Yes Duo," Heero didn't turn away from the window. "Everyone's gone on a little vacation. You and your mother are too, on the coast."

"Yay! I love the beach! I'm going to get my swimming trunks!" Duo hopped off the couch and ran out of the room.

"Duo!" Quatre quickly followed after him.

Relena watched Quatre chase after Duo for a moment. Then she turned and walked over to Heero's unmoving side. She leaned over so she could see his face. His eyes were closed.

"I can hear him out there, Relena. I can hear him."

His wife's face softened. "You can't keep blaming yourself. Duo wouldn't want you to." She took his arm and nestled against his side. "Duo died for peace. He was willing to give his life for it, like we all were. You had no choice. If you hadn't destroyed Libra, you both would have died in vain."

"Maybe." Heero didn't stir. He was still intent on something only he could hear. "But I was there. If I had known he was there, I could have saved him."

"Heero..."

"It doesn't matter. The fact is that I'm the one who killed him." Heero opened his shadowed eyes. "And if that really is Duo's own flesh and blood out there, I need to be here when he arrives."

"Heero!" Relena roughly turned Heero around and shook him by both arms. Her eyes were bright with fear. "Don't you even think it! You don't deserve to die!" She stared into his lost gaze. "Damn you! Think of your own son! Will he have to grow up without a father as well!?"

For the first time since Solo's message, Heero's eyes focused completely on Relena. His eyes and his entire face softened with emotion. Taking her hand to his lips, he kissed it tenderly. Then he slid his arms around her and pulled her close.

"I owe him something, Relena." Heero rested his head down against her shoulder. "I owe it to Duo as well. He wouldn't have wanted this for his son. Did you see Solo's eyes? He has nothing. Even if something should happen to me, at least our son would still have you, Quatre, and the others. It's because of me that Solo's alone." Holding her arms, he pulled away to look down at her. "Please understand."

"Guys, there's sirens going off!" Quatre ran back in carrying a squirming Duo under his arm.

"Sirens? But why...?" Relena frowned, trying to listen.

"Quatre, get them away from here." Heero ordered, listening to the noise he had been tracking becoming louder. "I'll contact you as soon as I can."

"Heero!" Relena pleaded. Then she stopped, knowing it was of no use. She closed her eyes in defeat and shook her head. She looked back up. "Promise me you won't let yourself be killed."

Heero just turned his head to look at her. He was still listening. His face was nearly expressionless, but there was a softness in his eyes that Relena could easily read. He simply nodded once.

"Maybe I should stay and help," Quatre offered, setting Duo down next to Relena. "There's no telling--"

"Quatre, I'm trusting you to protect my family. Now go!" Heero turned and walked back towards the window.

Feeling for the first time that something was definitely not right, Duo stepped towards the window with a worried expression. "Daddy?"

Relena quickly scooped him up. "It's time to go, Duo. Just be still until I tell you." She ignored his questioning look as Quatre gently took her arm and led her away. She knew Heero was still watching the window even as they drove away.

***

Leaves were shaking on the trees lining the country roads. A steady tremor made its way across the forest, sending birds and animals in its wake screeching in panic. Those little creatures could barely be heard over the screaming of the emergency sirens.

Trees, barns, and several satellite towers were destroyed by what sounded like an invisible monster. Those who had seen the phenomenon first hand described it as an enraged storm that flew past in a great roaring wind, leaving destruction in its wake. Based on these reports, the emergency siren had been sounded, warning of what was assumed to be a freak tornado.

A freak tornado that was making a beeline straight for the home of the Peacecraft family. Yet as it approached, the storm slowly dissipated, until it was perfectly quiet again. Only those in the immediate area would have heard the heavy creak of metal, or seen the ground that crushed seemingly by itself just beyond the house.

Inside, Heero could hear it. Then there was a long silence. Part of Heero was so full of pent up nerves, that he wanted to rush outside to confront whatever was there. The more rational part of him made sure he remained firmly where he stood. The last thing he needed was to rush into a delicate situation. Besides, as he had expected, he soon heard footsteps in the house.

Footsteps that entered the room. When they fell silent, Heero heard a familiar metal click. With his hands tucked into his pockets, Heero calmly turned around. He was facing an equally calm boy who was aiming a small revolver at him. Despite the high emotion Heero had seen from him earlier, Solo now appeared completely detached. Except for the tiniest shaking of the hand holding the weapon towards Heero's head.

Although he did not show it, it was all Heero could do to keep himself from rushing over to embrace the boy. Solo was nearly the splitting image of Duo, right down to the long braid. For a moment, he felt as though he had his friend back, Duo's presence in the boy was so powerful. Yet there was something missing. The smiles and the laughter were nowhere to be found. There was no resilient joy or hope in those eyes. Only the shadows remained.

Heero's dark, blue steel eyes locked onto Solo's own icy blue eyes. "So, you're Solo?"

At the sound of Heero's voice, Solo's eyes suddenly fluttered as if he were just waking up. His eyes widened slightly and he stood up straighter. It was as if the voice had broken a spell. A touch of fear crossed his features momentarily, only to be replaced by an expression Heero interpreted as repressed anger.

"Yeah. And you're Heero Yuy."

Heero shrugged. "That's what they call me."

Solo lowered his weapon slightly. "Good enough."

"Are you going to kill me?"

There was a pause.

"Of course I'm going to kill you."

"Then what are you standing there for?"

"Don't worry, I won't make you wait too long." Solo's lips curled at the thought. "You'll be dead soon enough. And I mean to make you suffer, Yuy."

"Not a good idea," Heero closed his eyes. "Believe me, the longer you put something off, the less likely you are to follow it through."

"You don't know me."

"True." Heero opened his eyes and looked at him intently. "But I did know Duo Maxwell. He was my friend. And he was no older than you are now when he died. How can you claim to be his son?"

Solo felt uneasy. Heero was too calm for someone that knew they were going to die. He turned his head slightly, keeping his eye on him. Did he really think he could get into his head? Forget it, Yuy, he thought, I'm not afraid of you.

Holstering his weapon somewhere hidden within his jacket, Solo fell back onto one of the couches, daring Heero with his eyes to try something. Heero didn't move, however, so Solo crossed his arms and his legs as nonchalant as possible. "How dare you..." He growled beneath his breath, but not low enough to escape Heero's ear. "You've made my life hell...you've been directly and indirectly responsible for all the misery in my life...and you would try to steal my very identity away too?" He glared. "My mother's name was Hilde Schbeiker. As she told it, she and my father met and fell in love within the year before he died. In that amount of time, I'm not sure how serious they were ever able to get, but seems it was serious enough to result in me." He tugged a bit on his jacket lapels. "My mother didn't find out until she was hospitalized during the battle between the Libra and the Peacemillion. By that time, my father was out in battle again, and as you very well know, he didn't come back. ...He never knew about me."

Heero remembered Hilde. A rather small girl with blue eyes and very short black hair. The most he had seen of her was when she'd been taken onboard the Peacemillion injured from getting caught up in the battle. Duo had brought her aboard, with the darkest look that Heero had ever seen in the eyes of the self proclaimed God of Death. Though it was only noted briefly. After Duo had told him that Hilde had sighted Relena onboard Libra, Heero's thoughts had quickly become preoccupied with his own concerns.

"I have nothing to claim but my own face," Solo murmured, his eyes wandering curiously towards a large photograph just beyond Heero. Within the frame, five young boys sat on a bench. Some looked uncomfortable and reluctant, but his own eyes settled on the one with the large violet eyes mugging for the camera. The one with the long brown braid who had an arm playfully tight around the neck of another who could be none other than a younger Heero Yuy.

Heero knew what Solo was looking at. He had stared at it many times himself over the years. Solo suddenly seemed very distant, and Heero could see the loneliness in his face clearer than before. "It's okay. I believe you. If I had known, I would have been there for you and your mother."

"Mother..." Solo's face tightened. "She's been dead for nearly six years now. Times were hard after the war. She worked so hard trying to raise me on her own...so hard. One day, she simply didn't get up anymore." His face dropped to the floor. "Nothing I did would wake her up. So I ran."

Heero's fists clenched. Duo, he raged silently, couldn't you have let me know somehow? Couldn't you have prevented all this tragedy from happening? Why didn't you let me protect your own loved ones? ...Or is this your justice...working through your boy? Heero noticed Solo's harsh gaze on him again as he stood and walked away from the couch.

"It doesn't matter whether you would have been there or not. My father would still be dead, and my mother still would have died. And I'd still be here to kill you." Solo whispered.

Heero stepped forward a few steps. He stared at him intently, searching his eyes in such a way that it made Solo step back uneasily. "Will killing me really make it better? Is that what you were born for?"

Solo parted his lips momentarily, but couldn't seem to summon the words for some reason. He just bit his lip angrily.

"I don't think so." Heero finally spoke after a long silence. He turned away and stopped before the photo Solo had been looking at. He glanced up at it. "This is wrong. Duo wouldn't want us to be enemies. Look inside yourself. You're far closer to his spirit than I am. What is he telling you?"

Solo paused. At the moment, he wasn't sure what he was feeling. Part of him desperately wanted someone to confide in, and clearly this man had been close to his father. Close enough to kill him... And all the pain of his life came surging back. He shook his head angrily. How had Heero managed to get so far beneath his skin!? "Shut up!" He spat. "Stop trying to mess with my mind! You have no idea what it is to live on the streets alone, wondering if that night will be your last! You can't imagine what I've been through all these years!"

"Can't I?" Heero turned on him coldly. "Solo, I can't bring your father back, as much as I've wanted to. I couldn't have known about you then, but I do now. If you'd let me, I'd like to bring you into my family." He stepped back slightly. "But if killing me is the only way to bring peace to you and your father, then do it now. If my death is the only thing that will bring you peace, then do not delay." A part of him flinched at his words. He prayed Relena would forgive him, but he knew his soul would never rest if he never gave rest to Duo's own.

After watching him suspiciously for a moment, Solo reached into his jacket. He withdrew his revolver and aimed it at Heero's chest. He was right. If he didn't do it now, he might not get another chance. His finger tightened on the trigger. Heero only watched him calmly. Finally, Solo cried out within, finally, this will all be ended... Just as he heard the click of the trigger, his blue eyes were suddenly caught once again by the identical dark violet ones behind Heero...

With the roar of the gun, Heero went flying back into the window, shattering it into a million shards of light. Pain wrenched through him as his body was thrown hard onto the stone pavement outside the house. Within moments, he staggered to his feet, bruised and slicked with blood and glass. Heero clenched his shot shoulder with his hand, trying to stop the blood from flowing through it. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to have a bullet wound... It hurt like hell. But he would live. Strange, he thought, I could have sworn he was aiming for my chest... Heero flung his head up and looked back through what remained of the window.

Solo was gone. Heero closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Solo..."

***

"What the hell happened back there!?" Solo screamed at himself as the Apocalypse spun away into the sky. He hadn't expected Heero to cause him so much emotional confusion. Heero was supposed to be a cold, evil bastard he could just blow away. He wasn't supposed to be someone that cared that much.

Solo braced himself and flew Apocalypse straight in the direction of the road he had seen on his way there. Heero had to die. He couldn't afford to be weak. The good thing was that now he could do things right. He had been too hasty. If Heero was truly to suffer, he would have to do things more carefully. And he decided that he wouldn't go near Heero again until it really was time for him to die.

"You won't mess with my head again, Yuy. Now I'm going to make you pay for that as well." He took a deep breath, and a state of calm came over him. He was almost serene as gundam Apocalypse finally came in view of the coast.

***

Heero had been pacing, despite his injuries. It was now nightfall, and he still had no word from Quatre or Relena. He had tried contacting them, but there had been no response. It made him nervous. His hands clenched and unclenched nervously, hating the feeling of doing nothing. He wanted to run out and find Solo, but he didn't dare go anywhere until receiving word that his family was safe.

He didn't even want to think about the large indentations he'd found during his search of the property. Two huge marks in the ground that simply screamed mobile suit. It confirmed the suspiciously familiar noise he had heard before Solo had arrived. He was just surprised Solo hadn't simply destroyed the house where it stood. Or, maybe he wasn't. Heero turned his eyes once more to the photo on the wall.

"Just full of surprises, aren't you, Duo. Now, care to explain what all of this is really about?"

The smiling face in the photo kept his silence.

Then the wallmonitor beyond Heero flashed to life. Heero was there in an instant. He wasn't ready for what he saw.

Quatre, dirty and bleeding, had one hand on the monitor to support himself. His large aquamarine eyes were filled with tears. "H-Heero..." he gasped, barely able to look him in the face.

Fear rushed through Heero's senses. "Quatre! What happened? Where's Relena and Duo!?"

"Relena's here in the hospital, but she's going to be fine. But..."

"Where's Duo!?"

Quatre's eyes squeezed tightly shut. "Solo's got some kind of gundam, Heero. We didn't even see it until it had ripped the car apart. We were all thrown...I-I couldn't reach him in time..." Tears streamed down his cheeks as a sob escaped his lips.

"He took him, Heero. He's got Duo."

------------------

(author's notes:

Actually, my artistic dabbling stuffs. ^^;

This is a handdrawn pic of little Duo -

http://www.stas.net/purplestudio/duoyuy.jpg

Hehehe...okay, so I kinda cheated on this one. ^^;

It's just a computer altered pic of Duo, but

other than the smile, it gives ya a feel for Solo -

http://www.stas.net/purplestudio/solo.jpg

Well, hope ya liked this whole bit overall! ^^; )