| OK, this is my first attempt at a fanfic, so please be kind ^_^;. This is the first in a series so it might be longer then some of the later ones that will follow. Have to set up the basics, ya know. If you have any comments or questions, any at all, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]. I may take some time to answer, but I will get back to you. I have only one request. If you're planning on sending me a vicious flame, label it first so I know what I'm getting into. I really do appreciate the feedback, even the nasty kind. Alternate universe fic (mostly of my own creation). Minor swearing is involved but nothing serious. Anger and angst abound. New characters will be introduced. The view will shift from character to character, so try not to get confused. Warning: not everyone gets equal time. So sue me, I'm partial to certain characters. You'll figure out who real fast. The characters may be slightly OOC. Sorry, I tried my best. Sentences in < ..... > indicate thoughts of the character in question. I would like to thank my sister, who acted as my sometimes co-writer and general editor ("What the hell does that mean?! Fix that RIGHT NOW!!!"). My thanks go out to all my friends: Jen H., Jen M., Val, Amanda, Amber, little Michele, and anyone else who wanted to know what I was writing instead of paying attention in class ("You're gonna fail, ya know.") or what I was wasting all my free time on ("Get a life! By the way, can I be in the story?"). Many of them are the basis for the new characters, so if they're reading this, absolutely no offense intended. After all, you DID ask to be included. --------------------------------------- Disclaimer: Gundam Wing or Shinkidousenki Gundam Wing is copyrighted and trademarked by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency and associated parties with all rights and privileges. The characters were used without permission for the purposes of entertainment only. This is not meant for sale or profit. Any characters not created by those listed above are mine and are hereby considered the sole property and copyright of the author. --------------------------------------- NOCTURNE OF SHADOWS: DARK BEGINNINGS PART 1 By Lady DarkAngel --------------------------------------- Heero Yuy glared at the enormous crowd surrounding him. He was irritated at the absolute lack of personal space these damn Americans displayed. Bad enough that they were loud, rude, annoying and utterly casual, oh no! They seemed compelled to form crushing masses wherever they go when there was plenty of space for everyone. He stared daggers at a giggling group of girls that rushed past and nearly shoved him into the fountain he was standing next to. Good thing he had left his gun behind; he was becoming seriously pissed. Looking around the rather tiny mall the mission had brought them to, Heero searched for Duo and the others. They had split up to better cover the mall and locate the target, a highly important OZ scientist with information they needed. Quatre had spotted him coming into this place on several occasions and they had all decided that tailing Lt. Ward was their best option. Heero nearly sighed as he looked again at the miserable place duty had brought him to. He'd seen war-torn colonies that were in better shape. Granted, being a colonist and solider left him rather critical about his surroundings, but this dump was the back-end of nowhere. <All the better to hide valuable data and personnel,> he thought. <Maybe not so worthless after all. It certainly IS the last place I would have looked for OZ's leading MS designer.> Lt. Ward was, according to their best information, working on a new design for a Mobile Suit made of gundamium and an experimental control system. If he was successful, then they'd have a new Gundam to face. The pilots' had been unsuccessful in locating the construction site or where the information was stored. This was their final option. Time was running out. Heero caught sight of Duo on the other side of the main area of the mall. He was standing by the food court, watching for the target. Duo had "a hunch that our guy's gonna want to snag somethin' before mall-crawlin' " or something like that and no one had really questioned him. After all, he was American and they weren't supposed to make sense to anyone not native to or fluent in the strange culture. Heero had neither the time nor inclination and accepted whatever Duo said as a foreign language that just superficially sounded like English. He gave Duo a poisonous glare when the later turned to see him. The Deathscythe pilot merely grinned and waved slightly. <Baka> was all Heero could think of. --------------------------------------- Duo Maxwell cringed inside when the Wing Zero pilot gave him that icy stare he was so famous for. He was such a stiff-ass that he couldn't enjoy the fact that he was in a mall, with real people! No soldiers, Mobile Dolls, battles, running for their lives, no siree, not today! Duo was thrilled that even for just one day, he could pretend to be normal. Life was unexpectedly good to him lately and he planned to take FULL advantage of it. Duo smiled at the passersby and felt free for the first time in a long time. Sure, he had a mission.....very important.....failure not an option.....yadda yadda yadda. But honestly, he didn't care. Duo was completely in the moment and nothing was going to ruin it, not even that sourpuss Heero. WHAM! Duo was shocked to feel a solid impact come out of nowhere. Attack! The enemy had found him and now he was down! Duo braced for the next blow, the finishing one, but it never came. Opening his eyes, he was stunned to see the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his life. A girl, about his age, was untangling herself from him. The Deathscythe pilot stared dazedly at her as he tried to get back the wind that was knocked out of him. His terrorist training quickly created a mental file for later use. <5'8'' with very pale skin. Thin but strong-looking with an excellent fighters' physique. Silky light golden-brown hair in a mid-back length braid and wisps framing her face. Large, deep doe eyes that were a fascinating shade of gray, nearly silver.....> Duo shook his head hard to clear and distract himself from the image in front of him. He had to look away, not stare. Must not stare..... Didn't work. <Damn.> "Are you alright?", came a soft voice. He reluctantly looked back up and saw the goddess had jumped to her feet and was holding a slender hand out. She wanted to help him up. As he let her aid him in getting up, he noticed in the corner of his eye that Heero was coming towards them with a decidedly pissed-off look on his face. <Damn>, he thought again, <He's not gonna like this at all.> "I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I wasn't looking and..� well, I'm just klutzy. Sorry." The pretty lady had a blush in her cheeks that Duo found very appealing. Very pretty, indeed. <Uh oh, she's staring. Think quick! Response, need a response NOW!> "No problem." <Oh, come on! Is that the best you can do, Maxwell?> "I wasn't looking, either. Sorry." <OK, slightly better.> Duo could see Heero clearly now, even though the other pilot's progress was currently being impeded by heavy traffic flow. Better get rid of her now quick before the fanatical Wing Zero pilot gets here. He's liable to kill her just for making a scene and Duo found himself extremely reluctant to see such a delicate treasure get hurt. <Delicate treasure?! Where in the hell did you come up with that?! Stop mooning, Maxwell, and move it!!> She had bent over to pick up the few things that had fallen from her bag during the accident. He stooped over to help. A good 90% of them, he noticed, were books. And not cheap romances or teeny-bopper magazines, either. Oh no, these were the real deal. Heavy and quite probably intellectual in nature. Great, brains and beauty. "Here ya go," he said with a not-entirely-forced smile and cheerfulness. "All set. Nothing broken or ripped, I hope." "Thanks. No, it looks like everything's OK. I really am sorry. It's just that I'm extremely late to meet a friend who gets very�.. upset about that sort of thing." The girl kept her eyes down and Duo silently admired her outfit. Well-fitted stonewashed jeans with a nice rear view and a blue hooded-shirt with Japanese characters on the left side. As she leaned down to grab an errant book, a necklace came into view. Pendant, really. A character Duo was surprised he could understand. Makenki, Courageous Spirit. Interesting. She stood up and offered him yet another apologetic smile. She seemed to be waiting for something. His mind raced. It had been too long since he had interacted socially that he hadn't a clue what came next. "My name is Kelly. What's yours?" She had a slightly less confident look on her face now, like she was as unused to this sort of thing as Duo. <Duh!> He mentally slapped himself. She wanted his name! "My name's Duo," he said before he could stop himself. <Double damn. Great, now Heero's REALLY gonna want her dead!> Looking casually over his shoulder, he could see the Japanese boy coming into the danger zone. He decided it would be best for all concerned if this ended quickly. Even if he really didn't want it to. "I have to go. I've got a friend waiting, too." He tried not to be bothered by the look of slight disappointment in her eyes. "See ya later." "Yes�later. Bye." She gave him an odd look, evaluating and questioning. Duo quickly found himself panicking. <What if�> She shook her head as if to banish the thoughts lurking there. An easy smile bright enough to light the room came and she turned to leave. He did too and practically ran to intercept Heero. He was DEFINITELY not happy. <Triple damn.> Duo then had the strangest feeling as he jogged to meet the Wing Zero pilot. It was a sure thing that he'd see her again. --------------------------------------- Trowa Barton stood near a trendy clothing store and waited patiently for the target. He knew that the store was in the middle of the most traveled thoroughfare in the mall. It was inevitable that Lt. Ward would come this way. The Heavyarms pilot laconically gazed at the crowd, thinking much along the same lines as Heero had earlier. <So unnecessary, all this pushing and shoving, especially the noise involved.> His eyes skipped across the mass of irritating Americans�and came to a screeching halt. There, in front of another clothes store, was a vision of loveliness. She was tall, maybe 5'6'' or 5'7''. Medium brown hair in a short becoming cut that framed her face quite nicely. Well-built with �ah�generous proportions. She wore khakis and a form-fitted, gray T-shirt and looked royally miffed. Trowa thought she looked especially cute like that. A very nice view, indeed�what was the phrase Duo used? <"Eye candy"> he thought. <How very..... appropriate.> He watched as the young girl paced, looked at her watch and paced even faster. <Ah, waiting for someone.> A particularly LATE someone, from the way she was acting. He pitied the person when they showed up. This did not appear to be the type of girl you keep waiting. < A shame. Maybe I should go keep her company. Wait a minute, what am I saying?! I don't have time for this, even if she is cute�> Trowa fought the urge to move. Suddenly, the object of his struggle let out a yell that could be heard clear across the way. "Where the HELL have you BEEN?!?" So, then errant date arrives at last. To his complete surprise, a panting girl came up and seemed to be offering sincere apologies. <A friend, then; a shopping partner.> The pilot gave the new arrival the once-over. Cute, but definitely not his type. The first girl was gesturing and venting her pent-up rage in a manner he found�attractive. He noted with interest that the second girl seemed to be taking it in stride. Obviously, she didn't fear for her safety, despite the extreme anger of her friend. He continued to wait and watch. This was very �entertaining. --------------------------------------- Wufei Chang stood crouched in the shadows of the parking garage of the poor excuse for a mall that this primitive town boasted. <Where's the justice in this?!> he wondered. The others got to be inside where it was warm, lit and odorless but he had to wait in the damn garage? Why did he get this assignment? Who were they to decide that this was the "best place for him, given his skills"?! What exactly did that mean, anyway?! < Not fair! Unjust! How DARE they! We are soldiers, dedicated to bringing about justice! How can they do this?! There should be�> Wufei stopped in mid-mental rant and went still. The object of their search, the elusive Lt. Ward, had just entered. The Shenlong pilot froze as he casually looked about. Concealed in the darkness, the Chinese pilot was sure he would not be spotted. Ward, not seeing anything unusual, proceeded to his vehicle. He quietly tailed the OZ agent to his car and shot a homing device form a special gun he carried. He smile grimly as it struck on the other's shoulder. Now they could track him. <Justice! At last!> Wufei went to get the others. --------------------------------------- Quatre was standing in the designated meeting spot when Wufei appeared with a smirk on his severe face. "Mission accomplished." "Good. I was setting tired of waiting here by myself." His job had been backup, a last ditch reserve to prevent mission failure. Left alone in the customer service center, he had been surreptitiously observing the security cameras on the off-chance that Lt. Ward would appear. He hadn't and Quatre had been extremely bored. "I tagged him. We can follow at any time." "Then we just need the others. Check-in time is in 10 minutes." Four minutes later, Trowa arrived with an unusual look on his face that quickly vanished when he spotted the two waiting pilots. If Quatre didn't know any better, he'd swear it was a smile. But Trowa didn't smile�at least, not so anyone could see. Something was up and the Sandrock pilot was extremely curious. He decided to risk investigation. <Who knows? It might be worth my while.> "You look happy." Trowa stopped and gave him an indecipherable look, like always. There was absolutely nothing on his face or in his pose that gave him away but the Arab pilot just KNEW something had pleased the normally implacable Trowa. The suspectedly amused pilot merely tilted his head and raised one eyebrow. "What makes you say that?" "Not entirely sure but you do seem�intrigued by something. " Quatre hesitated, and then ventured timidly "Or is it someone?" No response. But, then again, he hadn't been expecting one. Three minutes passed and the gathered Gundam pilots were treated to the sight of an aggravated Heero hauling Duo by the arm and braid VERY roughly. Quatre winced. Duo must have done something BAD to make the Wing Zero pilot risk such an obvious move and call attention to them. Whatever it was, they were all in for the wrath of Heero now. <Thanks a lot, Duo.> Heero dropped the squawking Duo in front of the group and said in that flat monotone of his, "Well?" Wufei moved into view and stated, "All set. Tracker's working and ready to go." "Then let's go." They all moved to leave but then Quatre noticed Duo and Trowa staring at him. <No, wait, not at me�something behind me.> He quickly turned, expecting an attacker or something like that. But all he could see were two girls: an energetic knockout pulling a less-then-pleased beauty down the hall. Or was that what they were looking at? A short check and�yep, that's it. Quatre's gaze returned to the lovely pair and he frowned slightly. Could they be the cause of his friends' unusual behavior? He would have bet money on it. --------------------------------------- Heero couldn't believe it. The entire day had been a complete waste. First had been the barely productive mall trip with that incident with the attractive girl. Then they had spent a good three hours following the OZ scientist, only to lose him among the crowds downtown. Wufei's tracker had failed (or been discovered) and visual surveillance had been terminated. <Mission failure.> Heero's mind galled at the thought. Ward was 16, barely a year older then they were. But somehow, the child-genius had been drafted by and was now thoroughly dedicated to the former Alliance sect. Now, that kid would complete the damn MS and give OZ the advantage. And now this. "We need to go to school; it's as simple as that. We can't just wander the city during the day. We're five 15 year�olds. Someone will notice!" Heero glared acid at Quatre. The Arab had a point but the Wing Zero pilot refused to give in so easily. We'll only be here as long as it takes to stop Operation IceBlade. There's no need to 'do' anything." Quatre looked mad enough to burst a blood vessel but Trowa calmly laid a hand on the Sandrock pilot's shoulder and gave Heero one of his trademark mysterious looks. "What if it takes more then the few days you assume? Granted, we can ditch the 'normal' routine if necessary but we may have to stay here for a while. This Ward is very good." Wufei's face turned red and he whirled to confront Trowa. "Just what are you implying?!" he snarled. "Nothing personal but he HAS evaded us on every turn. All efforts have failed. We've already been in this city for six days now; that's way too long. We've been seen�" said the Heavyarms pilot as he gave Duo an unreadable glance. "The point is, we have to blend in. This mission may take some time." Quatre gave Heero an I-told-ya-so grin, which quickly faded at the ice glare he received in return. The previously quiet Duo (a miracle unto itself) then further amazed his teammates by offering an intelligent idea. "Ward maybe a top OZ scientist, but he's a secret one, too. I mean, he's still a kid. He's got a cover to maintain like we do. Why don't we find where he goes to school and register there? That way, we can at least keep an eye on his movements." Duo looked up to see four stunned faces looking dazedly at him. "What?" he said defensively. "It's a good idea. I have them occasionally, ya know. You don't have to act so surprised. I'm not a complete idiot." Heero shook of his shock. "You're right. Good idea. Let's find out where. The sooner, the better." --------------------------------------- They stood outside the Eternal Snows Academy, a private school for boys. It was half of the Mercy of Ice School, the other half being the all-girl Immaculate Academy. They shared a joint campus, separated by a large plaza and avenue with an enormous clock tower in middle. They had discovered the target had registered as Nicolas Ward. The pilots, having previously hacked into the school's computer system and planted falsified identification, were all set to pick up the lost trail. They had arranged it so one or more of them were in Ward's classes at all times. In addition, they had shifts planned to follow the OZ scientist everywhere after school ended. He wasn't going to escape this time. The large clock began to chime and students started pouring into the open courtyard. Time for classes to start. Quatre and Wufei went off one way; they had World History first. Duo broke into a sprint, as his beginning class was the farthest away. Pre-calculus was the most boring but also one of the few courses offered that was co-ed. Hence the distance, as it was held in the building at the far end of the avenue that was shared by both academies for that purpose. Heero merely waited, for it was his turn to follow Ward to their class, Advanced Physics. Trowa wandered towards his destination in no particular hurry. The professor of Chemistry was notoriously absentminded and students rarely, if ever, bothered to show up on time. Within minutes, the courtyard had filled and emptied, save for a few stragglers and a prodigy being tailed. --------------------------------------- Trowa leisurely walked down the path leading to the building were Chemistry was being held. He could have been on time but since his classmates never were, he didn't want to appear inconspicuous. His languid gaze slowly encompassed the vacant plaza.....or nearly vacant. Someone was approaching him at top speed. Trowa gave them a longer glance. Recognition set in; it was the girl from the mall! He couldn't believe it. What were the odds that of all the schools in the area she had to attend the one next door?! The beautiful girl was racing towards him.....no, probably to the building behind him. Late for class, most likely. He watched as she attempted to leap over a small stone fence and landed wrong. Books and papers went flying everywhere. Before he knew what was happening, Trowa had crossed the distance between them and was kneeling beside her. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, yeah. My own fault, I guess. Never can make that jump in a hurry but I always try anyway." Her voice was low-pitched but loud, with a slight edge in it. He liked it immediately. As he helped her stand up, she muttered, "Thanks. No better way to introduce yourself then landing at somebody's feet like a spaz." Trowa chuckled, an extremely rare occurrence, made even more unusual by the fact that it was caused by a complete stranger. Simply put, Trowa Barton did not laugh. If he did, it was for those that he held most dear, like his fellow pilots. He wasn't generous with his laughs or smiles (unlike Quatre or Duo), nor was he cold or considered them a waste of time (like Heero or Wufei). Only to those who had proved themselves deserving would the Heavyarms pilot grace with a visual sign of amusement. How this girl evoked it so easily, so fast was COMPLETELY beyond him. <Can't think this way. This is a temporary mission. I can't get involved.....or even think about it.....> She stood up, oblivious to the bizarre reaction (at least for him) she had caused and started picking up her stuff. As she bent over, he heard her mutter, "Man, and I yelled at Kelly for being a klutz. Serves me right. I asked for it." Trowa began to aid the girl in gathering her things. Unable to take the silence, he ventured, "What's your name?" "Taylor. Taylor Katherine West. And what's yours?" "Trowa Barton. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She smiled and said, "Same here. Always a pleasure." He blinked as her name finally hit him. "West? As in the fabulously wealthy noble family West? The ones who own most of the businesses around here?" "Here and around the world. In outer space, too. But it's no biggie." Taking a measuring look at him she smirked and said, "Lemme guess, you're goin' to Old Man Chalmers' class, right?" Confused by the impressive information he had just received in such a causal manner and the sudden change of topics, all Trowa could mange was, "How did you know?" "You're late as hell and don't seem to give a damn. That means you're either a slacker or in Chalmers'." She tilted her head and speculated, "You don't look like a slacker." "Right on all counts. No one else was on time so I decided that I shouldn't be, either." "Ahhh, new boy. Figures." She let out an irritated snort. "And what's wrong with being the new boy?", Trowa inquired with a lifted eyebrow. "Oh, nothing bad! That's not what I meant!" Cue the red cheeks, dropped eyes and stutter. "I meant that of all the people to embarrass myself in front of, it had to be the one who doesn't know me any better!" "Don't worry. I rarely rely on flukes to give me the true impressions of the things that hold my interest." This seemed to please Taylor immensely. She no longer looked down. Her eyes brightened considerably. Trowa silently admired them. Such a rich shade of chocolate and so very deep. A lovely pair of eyes..... <Stop it, Barton. This is NOT productive.> He reached for a binder.....and froze. It had burst open upon impact and spilled its contents across the ground. They appeared to be pictures and sketches, mostly doodles that, while pretty, were unassuming. Except for a few. His eyes were fixated on a sketch on blue graph paper that looked VERY professional. His breath caught in his throat as he reached for the extremely detailed picture with a nearly-trembling hand. Trowa blinked, hoping his eyes had deceived him. They hadn't. It was a design spec for a Gundam. And not just any Gundam. Oh no, this baby was loaded to the gills with weapons and special features. He only had a short glance but that was all he needed to confirm that this was the real deal. The sketch he held in his hand was a blueprint for a new Gundam of immense destructive power. "Cool, huh? Drew it myself." Trowa turned and stared pure icy death at her. If he had been armed..... She didn't seem to notice as she went on, blindly ignoring the doom in front of her. " 'Course it has to be good. Damn picky smart-ass won't accept anything less then perfection. I swear, honestly, it's just an IDEA, ya know? It's not like the stupid thing's real or ever gonna get built or somethin'! It's just an IDEA!" She went over and picked up the binder. There were more Mobile Suit sketches, but no more Gundams that he could see. She continued to talk as he stuffed them into order. He listened and helped. <This could be important.....she might know something.....about Ward and the Gundam.....she certainly looks guilty.....> "Boy, let me tell ya. Geniuses can be such pains in the -- Oh, thank you. Have to be more careful, these things are supposedly worth more then my own life! If she ever finds out I dropped them like this, she'd kick my butt clear to the colonies!" Trowa blinked at something she said. "SHE?!" Taylor brushed some errant strands out of her line of sight and sighed. "My best friend. Don't get me wrong �she's the best and I mean that�but she really does live up to her nickname." "And that would be?" Trowa prodded, having the sudden and unpleasant feeling that they had made a terrible mistake. She smiled and winked at him. "Why, Baka-sama, of course! Don't tell me you don't know about her?" "No. As I said before, I'm new." "Well then! That's one oversight that has to be corrected! Nobody goes to long without mentioning or running into Baka-sama. Teacher's pet, super genius, cute-but-doesn't-know-and/or-care, etc. These are her designs, ya know." "Really�", Trowa frowned. <Not good. Mission in danger. Obviously, our information is wrong. Ward isn't the target. This 'Baka-sama' is.> He needed more information now in order to correct and save the mission. "Tell ya what, since you're headed for Chalmers', why don't you just skip and come with me? I'm headed to the library to do more research." Her face wrinkled in disgust. "Damn perfectionist. Always insisting I draw it to the 'proper specifications'. Don't know who she thinks she's talking to. I'm the reason she's here in the first place! Excuse my sarcasm, but I hate scientists and pushy brainiacs! Don't really know how 'multiple G-force balancing something-or-other' works and don't really care! I HATE it when she tries to explain! It's just so BORING!!! I could use some help though�" She smiled impishly at him. Trowa forced what he hoped was a smile back. "I'd love to." Ordinarily, he'd never risk his cover like this but his instincts were screaming and his doubts were high. They began to walk to the library. "Actually, Taylor, maybe you can help me. I have a few questions�" TO BE CONTINUED��. --------------------------------------- OK, so what do you think? This is going to be at least 4 parts long. I hope to have them finished soon. As you can see, the Gundam boys have found themselves in a difficult situation. Time is running out and they don't know who their real enemies are. All I will say is that things are not as they appear and everyone is going to suffer soon. Hope to see you in Part 2 of Dark Beginnings! ^_^ --------------------------------------- |