I am Alpha and Omega By: Katy-did Sherwood Rating and Summary: I’m going to give it for now, a strong PG 17. This story is very much in conflict with some religious beliefs. (Such as my own). If you don’t like reading about the end of the world and such, don’t read this. As always with my stories, there’s quite a bit of angst. Real Summary: A silence has been seen by a young teen named Cricket Calloway. Can she warn the Gundam Boys in time for them to stop it? Can she keep herself distant enough from Heero to keep from falling for him? (Just building the suspense!) Once again, gentle readers, I am using the same five girls from Gundam Wing R. FYI, this story has absolutely nothing to do with Gundam Wing R. I’m doing a new one, darn it. As I said, yaoi fans, I am doing romance here. I am a big fan of Trowa and Quatre or Heero and Duo, or whatever relationships they are out there. Personally, I think Wufei and Milliardo Peacecraft should get together. But I’m writing straight romances for now. I can’t write guy-guy relationships, even though my best friend is gay. Anyways, on with the story! FLAMES WILL BE LAUGHED AT AND SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC "I am Alpha and Omega." Cricket Calloway pushed her reading glasses off. "I am the beginning and the end of time," she said quietly to herself. "Once at the beginning and now I am at the end, I have seen all. I know all and I hear everything. Alpha is the rising sun and Omega is the setting moon." "Cricket, what are you doing up so late?" Cricket turned to her friend, Alexandra Jackson. "Working, what’s it look like?" Cricket muttered, turning back to the e-mail she was about to send. "Don’t tell me you’re screwing up the gundams again," Alex murmured sarcastically. "Course I am," Cricket replied. "I love throwing them off." "Do you really want one of those kids to come down here and kill you?" "Not especially," Cricket replied, pulling her glasses back on. "But I’m not worried about that. They can’t kill their savior." "It’s been done." "True," Cricket replied. "But they have honor." Alex shook her head and left Cricket to work. Cricket continued typing until the e-mail read: Gundams, I am Alpha and Omega. I am the beginning and the end of time. Once at the beginning and now I am at the end, I have seen all, known all, heard everything. Alpha is the rising sun and Omega is the setting moon. The time to act is at hand for the wars are nearly over and peace will soon reign over. A silence is coming and I must warn you. There will be nothing you can do to stop it unless you start at Alpha and end at Omega. I am Alpha and Omega. I am the beginning and the end. I rise with the sun and set with the moon. I AM the sun and the moon. Your Saviors Satisfied with the e-mail, she clicked send and leaned back in her chair, stretching like a cat. "Cricket, you should go to bed soon," she heard another voice say. "What is this, get Cricket to go to sleep night?" Cricket grumbled, turning off her laptop. Eva Edwards rolled her eyes. "Yes it is," Eva replied. "We’ve got a hard day tomorrow. And it will be even harder when the e-mail you just sent about your dreams." Cricket only shrugged, not inclined to tell anyone about her dreams. She walked upstairs into her room, running her fingers through her short dark hair. Her violet eyes scanned her room quickly for intruders, and then she went to sleep. "I am Alpha and Omega," Heero Yuy said oddly. "What an odd e-mail." "What’s up, buddy?" Duo Maxwell asked, looking over Heero’s shoulder as he chewed on a sandwich. "Don’t eat over me," Heero muttered. "What a freaky e-mail," Duo said softly, leaning back up. "Who sent that?" "The people who have been helping us out a little for the past few months." "Any return address?" Trowa Barton asked curiously as he looked up from his game of chess with Quatre Winner. "This kid’s a computer whiz," Heero replied, typing quickly. "He has to be in order for him to block the address that good." "True," Chang Wufei mumbled, distracted as he practiced Kata. "I’m interested to know who these kids are," Trowa said, moving a piece. Duo shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. "For real," he said, his voice muffled from food. "Didn’t anyone tell you how rude it is to talk with your mouth full?" Quatre muttered, disgusted. Duo looked confused. "No," he replied. He gulped the last of his food down his throat. "Why?" Quatre shook his head, and moved his knight across the board. "Checkmate." Trowa surveyed the board quickly, and gently tipped his king over. Cricket walked towards the computer store to get more disks. The air was so cold around here, she thought to herself. Walking into the store, she purchased ten disks, and walked out, looking at her receipt. That was when she slammed into someone. Someone with a distinctly hard chest. She nearly fell backwards, but caught herself just in time. "Why don’t you watch where you’re going?" she snapped. Then she gasped. "Oh my god…Heero Yuy?" Heero looked at her, gave a customary glare, and kept walking. Four more boys walked by her. One boy was distinctly Chinese, with a tight black bun. "Chang Wufei?" she said softly. The boy glared at her, and kept walking. The next boy was chewing on a hay straw. His long brown hair was in a thick braid and his violet eyes were playful. His arms were crossed behind his head, and despite the cold, the sleeves of his preacher’s uniform were rolled up. "Duo Maxwell?" "Glad to meet ya," the boy said, patting her shoulder quickly. Another boy went past her. This boy had spiky brown hair and sad blue eyes. "Trowa Barton?" she gasped again. Trowa only glanced at her and kept walking. The last boy trailed behind. He looked like a little cherub with blond hair and wide green eyes. "Guys, wait up!" he called, running after them. "Hey, Trowa!" Cricket called as loud as she could. This made all four of them turn around. "You’re leaving Quatre behind!" Then Cricket turned and ran as fast as she could. "Who was that?" Heero asked lowly. "Hey, you!" Duo called after her quickly. She didn’t turn. "Want me to go after her?" Heero shook her head. "No. Probably just a friend of someone we know." The boys turned and kept walking down the street. Cricket met her friends at the other corner. "I just saw them!" "Who?" Kiki Evans asked, imitating Cricket’s mood. "Shut up before I kill you," Cricket snapped. "I just saw the gundams!" "About 5’2," Duo rattled off. "Very lithe with muscular shoulders. Short dark hair and intense indigo eyes. Probably about 113 pounds. Not very light at all, actually. Couldn’t have been more then fifteen or sixteen years old." Heero kept typing. "Had a birthmark of some sort on her neck." "How do you know so much about her?" Quatre asked, grinning. "I stopped to talk to her," Duo replied, shrugging. "I make it a point to talk to anyone who knows my name." "I don’t have too many matches for that description," Heero said. "Mainly because of the birthmark on her neck. Any other identifying marks?" "She had a small scar beneath her ear," Duo answered again. "Had to have been the right ear. That was the shoulder I grabbed." "Down to three matches," Trowa said softly, staring at the three pictures. "Duo, you saw her the most. Which one is her?" Duo glanced at the three pictures. "She had to have been some sort of computer whiz. She had about ten disks in her hand." "Two," Trowa answered. Duo glanced at the two driver licenses. One was a girl named Jane Hoyle. The other was a girl named Cricket Calloway. Quatre glanced at the name surprised. "Cricket Calloway," he repeated. "What a funny name." "Can’t tell," Duo replied. "I didn’t get a good look at her face." "She had five holes in one ear," Quatre mumbled. They looked at him. "She yelled at you for me, remember?" "Then this must be her," Trowa concluded, pointing to the girl named Cricket. "She has five holes in her ear. Jane Hoyle doesn’t have pierced ears." Heero deleted the license with Jane Hoyle on it. He started pulling up information on Cricket Calloway. "She’s staying at a safe house not far from here with four other girls," Trowa read off. "Their names are Kiki Evans, Alex Jackson, Eva Edwards, and Tony McCall. In addition to having cracked the codes only Heero can crack, she has a slight limp from where shrapnel shattered her knee." "What else?" Duo asked, stuffing another sandwich into his mouth. Quatre shook his head, disgusted. Wufei finished up his exercises, and went to look at the five girls that had been helping them. "Women?" Wufei asked, disgusted. "Gods…" "Kiki has a glass eye. She had optic cancer as a child and they had to remove an eye to save her life," Trowa continued. "Tony is a genius. Her IQ is 300 easy." Duo whistled softly. "That’s pretty damn smart. Eva Edwards I’ve heard of. She’s rumored to be a witch." "What about Alex Jackson?" Quatre asked, walking up behind Heero, who was getting rather annoyed at having four boys behind him. "Martial Arts," Trowa finished. "She holds the highest ranking possible, which would be a black belt. However, she has far surpassed that level in training." "So they all seem to be pretty weird in their own way," Duo concluded. "Well, it says Tony is an accomplished musician," Trowa read. "She finished at the top of her class." "Would you guys back up a bit?" Heero asked. "I’m used to tight confining spaces and everything, but you’re suffocating me." Eva Edwards, being the only accomplished cooker there, was at the stove when the doorbell rang. When she answered, she gasped. "Thanks, I’ll let myself in," Heero mumbled, pushing past her. "Where’s Cricket Calloway?" "Um…Cricket!" Eva shouted. Bouncing down the stairs came Kiki Evans. She stopped mid-step and fell flat on her face. She looked up to see Heero staring down at her. She got up, fixing her customary black braids. "Uh, Cricket!" Kiki called louder. "She’s coming already!" Alex Jackson yelled, sliding down the banister of the stairs on her feet. She landed on her feet right in front of Heero, who glared at her. "Oh, wow…" Now it was Alex who turned and screamed "CRICKET!" "Jeez, she’s coming," Tony muttered, walking down the stairs. "Hi, Heero." Not paying attention, she walked into the kitchen. "Smells good, Eva!" Then she backtracked into the first room. "Heero!" Tony turned. "CRICKET! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE NOW!" "What already?" Cricket snapped, coming down the stairs. That was when she saw Heero. "Hi, Heero." "Cricket, I’d like to speak with you if your friends are done squawking." As she walked towards him, Heero could distinctly see the limp Trowa had spoken of. He turned to Kiki. He noticed that one eye was darting about nervously while the other one was watering profusely. She left the room quickly to a bathroom. "Sure," Cricket replied, walking beside him. It was more obvious now her stride carried a limp too it as she walked beside someone who walked normally. "Wow…" Alex mumbled, watching as Cricket shut the door to the living room. Heero turned to Cricket. "I’m here in reference to the e-mail you sent me," Heero told her bluntly. "It didn’t scare me, but I’m wondering what you are talking about." "Please sit down," Cricket mumbled politely. "I’d rather stand." "Fine," Cricket said sharply. "The e-mail I sent you was of a dream I had." "And?" "It was rather scary coming from my own mind. I can’t say I’ve ever had dreams quite like this." "And?" "Well, how is your religion studies, Heero?" "I’m not the priest. You’d have to talk to Duo about that." "You know of the Apocalypse?" "I’m familiar with it." "It is coming upon us," Cricket said quietly, sitting down. He looked at her as she rubbed her knee. "Given the fact you found me, you know that my knee is not quite what it used to be. Rain is coming soon. Rain always gives my knee a spot of trouble." Heero sat down to make her feel more comfortable. "What are you speaking of. This apocalypse." "A deadly silence is coming," Cricket replied. "And it is not going to happen the way the book of Revelations says it is." "Then how will it happen?" "A silence will creep over the world. It will be like a plague, destroying everything in its path." "But if this is an apocalypse, then there’s nothing much I can do to stop it," Heero pointed out. "That’s God’s work." "It would’ve been easier if you had brought Duo over here," Cricket muttered. She reached into a drawer, and pulled out a bible. "Have you ever read the book of Revelations?" "Some parts." "Okay. Have you read about the seven signs?" "Of course." Cricket nodded. "Now we’re getting somewhere. That’s not how it’s going to happen. I’ve seen it several times now. To be frank with you, it’s terrifying." "I don’t doubt it." "Five chosen ones will have to die in order to save this planet. All together, there are ten chosen ones. One for each planet of the solar system I come from." "Are you telling me you’re from a different solar system?" "Yes. I come from the planet Renai," Cricket replied. "Hence the reason my name is so odd. There are ten chosen ones. Five will have to die in order to save this planet. But the other five will have to kill them." "Doesn’t leave much room for screw-ups, does it?" "No, it doesn’t." Cricket absently rubbed her knee as she set the bible down. "How will we know who these chosen ones are?" Cricket wrinkled her nose. "I’m not sure exactly. Vaguely, I recognize the evidence that these ten people are pure in mind, body, and soul. They are not stained yet with the blood of sin." "Then I have the comforting feeling of knowing I’m not a chosen one." "Of course not," Cricket replied. "But that also excludes me. I don’t know why exactly I’m having these dreams if I have nothing to do with it." "Perhaps someone has chosen you to find these ten people." Heero sighed, holding his chin in thought. "But what would your solar system have to do with it?" "We have much the same religion you do. We have a God, who created everything we know upon today." Heero nodded. "Our solar system is much like yours, but far more advanced. Each planet has inhabitants." "So why’d you leave?" "I was given a sign that I needed to come here." Heero nodded. "So why tell us that the Apocalypse is upon us if I can’t do anything about it?" "You’re the gundams," Cricket replied. "Somehow, I believe that if you were to recognize one with a pure soul, mind, body, and heart, you’d know it." Heero nodded again. "You possess far too much faith in myself, Cricket." "And you rely too much on what I know. I am not the only who has had these dreams." Heero looked up at her. "I believe you’ve had vague dreams of the end of the world, have you not?" "Sometimes. But when you blow up everything that comes across your path, it’s hard not to have those dreams." Cricket nodded. "I understand that. I need you to work with us on finding these ten chosen ones." "And if we don’t find them when the silence comes?" "They will reveal themselves at the silence," Cricket replied. This time, she walked over to the end of the room, limping on her knee. "Damn knee…" she muttered as she pulled at thick, leather bound book from her bag. She sat down beside Heero. "While I would prefer that your friends were here when I tell you this, that is not the way it is." She opened the book, and showed him a picture of ten, amazingly bright auras. "See this?" she asked, pointing to it. Heero nodded. "This is what will happen. The ten people will come together. The people bathed in cool colors are the ones to sacrifice. The ones in dark colors are the ones to be sacrificed." "So the ones in the cold colors are to sacrifice the ones in warm colors?" Cricket nodded. She turned the page. "These are the ten planets of my solar system." She pointed to each word as she read it. "Melinia, Serinay, Lithia, Sebring, Aria, Charnier, Renai, Krynn, Trinest, and Syria." Heero stumbled over the words. They were so foreign. "Each planet has their color. The first five, Melinia, Serinay, Lithia, Sebring, and Aria are the dark colors. Charnier, Renai, Krynn, Trinest, and Syria are the cool colors." "I see." "Unless these five," Cricket continued, pointing to the cool colors, "Sacrifice them," she pointed to the warm colors, "Then the world will end." "So they will appear when the time comes?" "Yes." "What if the cool colors can’t kill the dark colors?" "It is not their choice. Their bodies will act upon God’s will." "Hmm," Heero murmured. "Pretty freaky stuff." "Not as much freaky as it is scary and something we have to accomplish," Cricket replied, standing again as she struggled to ignore the intense pain in her knee. "But still, the question remains." "Yes?" "Why involve us?" Heero asked, closing the book and slipping it on the glass coffee table. "I don’t understand this. If it’s your mission or destiny to do this, why involve the gundams?" Cricket shrugged. "You just seem like the type of people to recognize such a person." "I’m not your man. I told you already." Heero stood stiffly. "I’m not an emotional person, nor do I like to get my emotions involved. You need to speak with Duo." "Be that as it may, you are their leader, are you not?" Cricket rubbed her knee again and sat down. "We have no leader. We do as we please." "Which explains your unwillingness to help us," Cricket finished off. "No." "You have the power to save the world. You have some odd power within you that recognizes pure hearts. You’re attracted to them almost." Heero stood up, straightening his hair. "Miss Calloway, it’s been a pleasure. If you need to reach me, you obviously know where to find me." "And you obviously know where to find me." Heero left with that silent air as Cricket began typing up another e-mail, which read: Duo Maxwell, Your friend Heero has notified me that you are a religious person, known to some as Death himself. Since you are familiar with Death, I would like to request your presence as well as the other gundams at the safe house I am at to explain why I am sending you odd e-mails. The time to act is at hand. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Cricket Calloway, Alpha and Omega Cricket hit send and stretched. Then she rubbed her knee again. As if on cue, rain began beating down upon the windows. "Cricket, here’s some Advil," Tony said helpfully. Cricket held up a hand. "No thank you." She picked up her cane, and started making her way back to the room she and Heero had spoken in. "Apocalypse?" Duo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Heero, I know you’re suicidal sometimes, but aren’t you going a little overboard?" Heero glared at Duo, who was chewing on a hay straw. "No. I want to know about it." "Well, originally, the apocalypse was supposed to be signified by the Seven Signs and the four Horsemen." Heero nodded. "For my sake as well as the others, why do you ask?" "Talk to Cricket Calloway." Heero got up and left Duo in complete confusion. Cricket stared out the window. It had been raining and dreary all week since Heero’s visit. The leather bound book remained on the coffee table. Cricket had put a bandage around her knee to help the intense pain. Cricket picked up her cane, staring at it in disgust. She hobbled to the kitchen to make herself some hot cocoa. "Penny for your thoughts?" Cricket whirled around, dropping the coffee mug. It shattered near Duo Maxwell’s feet. "Duo!" "In the flesh," Duo said, hopping from his perch on the counter. "Heero told me about your tale of the Apocalypse." "I expected Heero to come back." "I know more about it then he does, Sister Spooky," Duo replied, his braid dripping with water. "Cricket, are you okay?" Kiki called. "She’s fine!" Duo called. "I’m fine!" Cricket called at the same time. The violin stopped playing as Tony came down the stairs, instrument still in hand. "What’s going on in here?" she asked, her fingers red from playing. Duo muttered beneath his breath. "Well, there goes my cover." He opened the door. "Guys, come on in." Four very wet young men stepped in. Tony dropped her bow and violin, both landing on the carpet, unharmed. "Jesus Christ!" she shouted. Kiki’s eyes simply widened. "So…to what do we owe the infamous visit from the gundams?" she asked flippantly, getting a broom to clean up the mess Cricket had made. "First off, where’s the rest of you?" Duo asked, standing with his "brothers", so to speak. "Eva and Alex went out to do the shopping for the next few days," Cricket mumbled as she painfully leaned down, bending her knees. She held the dustpan for Kiki. Kiki hopped up easily. Cricket slowly flattened her hand out on top of the counter and as gently as she could, used it for support as she stood up. Her knee gave out at that point. Heero rushed forward for no reason to catch her. "I’m fine!" she snapped. Heero seemed taken aback, but as the ‘perfect’ soldier; he never let his feelings show. "Just trying to help," Heero replied simply. Cricket glared at him. "What are you guys doing here? You already said you wouldn’t help us." "I never said that," Duo replied coolly. "Heero did." "He speaks for all of us is what you’re assuming," Trowa said softly. "Of course I am, you stupid shit," Cricket muttered irritably. "This way." She limped painfully, not using her cane. "Cricket, why aren’t you using your cane?" Kiki hissed as they walked toward the living room. "I show no weakness," Cricket said in a clearly audible voice. Tony slowly picked up her violin and bow, setting it on a table. She walked with the others. "We’re home!" Alex and Eva walked into the kitchen, never noticing the five boys staring at them. "You wouldn’t believe what happened!" Alex called, putting the milk away. "Some stupid bastard nearly ran in front of our car! He had the nerve to flip me off and call me a stupid woman who didn’t know how to drive!" "Alex," Cricket called. "That stupid bastard is standing right here." Alex poked her head from the kitchen, staring at Wufei. "You silly ass!" she yelped. "You nearly got yourself killed!" Wufei did not reply. Alex pulled Eva from the kitchen and they walked into the living room. Cricket picked up the leather bound book, her knee shaking quite visibly. "Why don’t we go through introductions?" Cricket asked, her voice laced with obvious pain. "My name is Cricket Calloway." "I’m Alex Jackson," a girl with short, cropped blond hair said as if she were bored. "Tony McCall." This voice was quiet, and came from a petite girl that had beautiful sandy blond hair and shocking green eyes. Quatre was absolutely smitten with her. "Eva Edwards." Trowa seemed to like this one. Eva had long black hair and intense dark eyes that reminded Trowa of his days as a Pierro. "Kiki Evans." This girl had a bubbly voice that reminded the G-boys of Duo. Her eyes were a bright, playful blue. She had long black hair that was in at least a hundred tiny braids. "Heero Yuy." "Duo Maxwell." "Trowa Barton." "Chang Wufei." He glared at Alex. "But you may call me Wufei." "Ching chang chong," Alex muttered sarcastically beneath her breath. Wufei glared at her. Alex glared defiantly back. "Okay, enough with that," Cricket snapped. "As you guys know, these are the gundam pilots of Wing Zero, Sandrock, Deathscythe, Heavyarms, and the last one I can’t remember." Wufei was about to say something, but Cricket kept talking. (AN: I don’t remember the gundam that Wufei operates. I didn’t do my research. Bear with me.) "Duo, you’re the religious boy. The Apocalypse has been seen by some people." "They claim it, Spooky." "My name is Cricket," she repeated. "As I was saying, some people have claimed to have seen the Apocalypse. However, they have always seen the Four Horsemen. I have not." Duo was about to open his mouth, but Heero grabbed his arm. "I have seen it as a deadly silence. A darkness of some type that will cover the planet, destroying everything in it’s path. This, however, can be prevented." Cricket opened the heavy book and set it down onto the table. She kneeled painfully, sitting on her feet. She opened it to the page that held the ten people. "As you can see, their faces are very faint. The pages are very old. This book has been in my family for years. No one was certain who the seer would be, but they knew it would be someone in my family. My family, however, is dead. The book was entrusted to me." She pointed to the writing beneath it. "This was written by my ancestor. "I am Alpha of Omega, the beginning of the end. I am the rising sun. If I say it, the sun will not rise and the moon will not set. I am the seer of all. I know, hear, and think everything. The end is upon us, and the time to act is at hand. Ten people can prevent this silence. The cool shall destroy the dark. Ten people, pure in mind, body, soul, and heart are the key." Cricket looked up. "These people are unknown to us, obviously. However, for ten people, there are ten planets. The planets are Melinia, Serinay, Lithia, Sebring, Aria, Charnier, Renai, Krynn, Trinest, and Syria." She looked around her. "Have I lost anyone?" "All of us," Duo replied, thinking hard. "Now, god strike me for saying this, but aren’t you reading against the religion totally?" Cricket nodded. "I know it sounds just as bad as it is. The truth of the matter is, the end of the world is upon us, and you five guys seem to know your stuff. Pardon the phrasing and language, but you know your shit." Duo grinned, shaking his head. Wufei seemed appalled that a woman would use such language. Heero kept his customary glare. Trowa gave a small, semi-smile and Quatre blushed. "And to me, you seem to know when you meet someone that has these expectations." "How do you know what person goes to each planet?" Quatre asked. ‘When the end is there and the time for sacrificing is at hand, those people will glow. Their auras will shine with their true colors. The cool colors shall kill the dark colors," Cricket replied. "What if they don’t want to?" Duo pointed out. "You can’t make someone kill somebody." "That is true, yes," Cricket agreed. She glanced at Heero. "Heero had many of the same questions you did. However, these people have no choice. It doesn’t matter if they’re killing their brother or sister. They will act upon God’s will. ‘Tis simply a matter of finding out who these people are and letting them know that they are either doing to die to save the world or kill someone to save the world." "Doesn’t leave much choice for screw-ups, does it?" Heero repeated. Cricket rolled her dark eyes. "No, I’m afraid it doesn’t," Cricket replied. She struggled to stand, but finally just settled on the floor. Hating to look up at people, she glanced at the nine teens around her. "Now, I know my friends have always been with me on this. Heero, you’ve had some pretty vague dreams of this…apocalypse, so to speak. Are you with me on this?" Heero leaned back on the wall, holding his chin in thought. "I don’t speak for everyone. However, I’ll keep an eye out." He glared down at Cricket. "But that doesn’t mean I’m with you." "Of course not," Cricket muttered, laying her head on her chin. Duo suddenly shivered. "Now, I’m completely with you on this and everything, but do you have anything warm to drink?" Cricket grinned wryly. "I was fixing some hot cocoa when you frightened me." She turned to Kiki. "Kiki, will you go in the kitchen and make some for everyone?" Kiki nodded and got up easily. The other girls followed. Wufei and Alex went fighting all the way. Duo had followed Kiki in the first place. Trowa and Quatre glanced at each other. "Someone’s going to have break up that fight," Quatre finally muttered, disgusted. Trowa didn’t seem all that comfortable in a room alone with Heero and Cricket. He got up and left. Heero looked at Cricket as she struggled to stand. Her knee was a little swollen. Cricket breathed hard as she rested her hands flat on the table to lift herself. She looked at Heero, who was staring at her. "I’d prefer you not to stare at my weaknesses," she said lowly. "If you go straight through there, the kitchen’s right there. You can’t miss it." "Would you like some help?" Heero asked before he could stop himself. "Soldiers don’t need help," Cricket muttered, gently pulling her legs from under her. She straightened out her knee, biting her lip hard. "Soldiers know when they need help." "Be that as it may, I’ll get up eventually. This isn’t the first time it’s happened." Cricket pulled herself to sit on the edge of the coffee table, and then used the arm of the couch for support to stand. She had all of her weight on her right knee and arm. Her left knee still had a black bandage around it. "Are you sure?" Heero asked again. She looked at him. "A perfect soldier shows no feelings and trusts no one." She began using the couch for support to walk. "Resist or serve." Leaving that thought with Heero, she continued limping to the kitchen, using anything for support. She was the doorjamb before Heero finally snapped from his thoughtful daze. "I’m going to help you," he said, grabbed her arm before she could resist. "Like hell," she muttered. "If I were in a better state, I’d kick your ass." "You should have a doctor look at that knee." "And do what?" Heero didn’t reply, but laced her left arm around his shoulders. He put his arm around her waist, and they slowly started walking. He winced at her slight breathing changes whenever weight was put on her knee. Heero gently helped her to sit, touching her as if she would break. "I’m not a doll," Cricket muttered. "Now, I don’t know about that," Duo said, and then gulped down his hot chocolate. Wufei shook his head, disgusted at the American’s appetite. The Chinese boy sipped his chocolate politely. That’s when they noticed Alex wasn’t drinking any. The girls knew why, but Duo was very surprised. "Hot chocolate is almost as better as sex!" he said to Alex, who looked at him oddly. "American cliché. I wouldn’t know myself." Kiki and Tony blushed profusely. Trowa looked up, trying to decide whether to laugh or blush. Eva rubbed her face, trying to decide the same thing. "I’m allergic to chocolate," she replied, stirring her tea. "Oh my," Duo said softly. "I don’t think I could handle not having automatic energy refill." "Duo, I think the world would be a better place if you were allergic to caffeine," Kiki said as she drank her chocolate. "You know, that reminds me a Michael Jackson song…" Tony trailed off. She shook her head. "If you’ll excuse me," she said, bowing slightly. Then she walked out of the room. Alex nodded as well. "If you’ll uh…just sort of let me leave." She did something that looked like a cross between a bow and curtsey. "Seeing as how I can’t walk without help," Cricket muttered disdainfully. "I’m staying right here until my knee goes down." "Well, I have something else to do," Wufei muttered rudely. "Thank you for the chocolate," he finally replied for politely. Then he left. "I’ve got pranks to play," Duo replied. "Chocolate was delicious, Kiki. Hope to pull some pranks on you in the future." "Not if you want to keep your braid," Kiki replied, grabbing it and yanking hard. Duo’s head jerked back. "Ouch, don’t do that!" he snapped. "That actually hurts, you know." "Tell me about it," Kiki muttered. "Someone in this house always finds means to pull my braids to wake me up in the morning." Duo laughed, and they continued to talk on the way out of the kitchen. Eva and Trowa glanced at each other, and silently left the room. Quatre glanced nervously between Heero and Cricket. "I’m…uh…going to see how good Tony is on the violin," he muttered quickly. He bowed and left. Cricket didn’t make a move from her seat, doing what she had intended to do. She was waiting for her knee to go down. She twisted behind her, and slipped her cup into the sink. Heero was leaned against the wall, having already put his cup into the sink. "How’d it happen?" Cricket glared at him. "You’ve already read it. My knee got busted when the shrapnel hit it. I have no cartilage in my knee." "The swelling will go down quicker if you put ice on it." "Be that as it may, it usually goes down within an hour or so." Heero pulled a chair to him, straddling it backwards. "Why don’t you tell me how your knee really got hurt." Cricket glared at him, turning her seat around to face him. "I told you already. I belonged to OZ at one time. We were in the heat of battle, and my knee got shattered from some stray shrapnel. I took it right in the knee, trying to save my best friend. She died two days later when some bastard shot a cannon and took her head off." Heero looked up. "Yes. It took her head completely off. Needless to say, it was a closed coffin funeral." "What was her name?" "Do you insist on bringing up some of my most painful memories?" Heero’s clear blue eyes only looked at her for the answer. "Her name was Charlotte Wagner. (AN: This is the original Sebring. She’s a character in another story. As I said in Gundam Wing R, if you want this original story, e-mail me and I’ll send you what I have.) She and I enrolled in OZ when we were ten. We thought they were right at the time." Cricket absently played with her fingers. "They sent us into battle when we were thirteen. She was so faithful. I was the one beginning to doubt the cause of the fighting, but I fought along side her anyway. We were struggling in the battle, I’ll admit. Her gun was almost done reloading, so she wasn’t looking toward the battle. Someone fired a laser cannon, as they always do, and it took her head off. I wasn’t there for her. I was in the hospital, suffering from the stupid shrapnel. I saved her life only to have it taken." Heero drummed his fingers silently on the table. "Seems we’ve both seen our fair share of blood, if not more on your part." "Of course it’s been more on my part!" Cricket snapped. "We’re the last five. I killed my own sister, damn it!" She slammed her fist into the table. "Every day, I prayed for when my sins would come back to haunt me, begging to be repented. Back in Renai, if you killed someone, that was the punishment. You had to be killed. That was the just the way it was. I am just as fond as blowing up things as you are, but killing someone…I just can’t do it anymore. They called my sister a traitor and I had to kill her. I shot her in the head!" Cricket looked as if she were on the verge of tears. "And then in the head of battle, I lose three more of my friends." "What were their names?" "Charlotte Wagner, Jerry King, and Robin Louis." Heero nodded. "I know Robin Louis," he said softly. "Knew her, so to speak. I didn’t know she was dead." He silently drummed his fingers on the table. Cricket only glared at him. "Once I was out of the hospital, I was no longer able to fight, so I came to a safe house with my four remaining friends. That’s when the dreams started, and I began going through the book in my family." "Where are your parents?" "Dead." Heero didn’t ask how. He knew he had caused her enough pain already. "Perfect soldier I may be," Heero said carefully. "But I am sorry." Heero seemed to feel an odd, disjointed attachment to Cricket, who felt the same way. "I know how painful it is to bring up friends and family you have lost." "If you knew how painful it was, then you wouldn’t have asked me to bring it up." Heero now felt solely responsible for her pain. He mutely got up, and found a washcloth, putting ice in it. "Take off the bandage," he said softly. She didn’t move. "Then let me." He gently unsnapped the bandage around her knee, and as softly as he could, put the now cold washcloth on top of it. He was vaguely surprised at how inflamed it was and how much control she had to have ignored it for this long without crying or asking for help. "You remind me of myself. Too proud to ask for help and too weak to take it." Cricket glanced at him, breathing hard as the cold water ran down her leg. "I’m never weak." "That’s what we all say." He gently moved the ice around so it covered her knee. That’s when they heard a different melody playing. This one seemed rich and haunting. "That has to be Quatre," Heero said. "That’s a song he wrote." "It’s not Tony’s style," Cricket confirmed. Heero gently shifted the ice again as he looked up at her. "Feel better?" "Soldiers don’t need help." Heero grinned slightly. "Soldiers know when they need help." Cricket’s intense dark eyes softened, remembering their earlier rendezvous. A tear slipped down her cheek. "And they do cry." "Girls don’t cry." Heero brushed that tear away. "Soldiers do," Heero replied. Cricket turned away and painfully stood up. "So, where do we start?" "What do you mean?" Cricket replied, taking control of her knee again. "Where do we start looking for these so-called pure people?" "Well, me and the girls were going to go to a swing club tonight," Cricket replied, shrugging. "Most people who go to swing clubs don’t get drunk, believe it or not. Besides, it’s teen night. They don’t sell beer on teen night." "But your knee…" "I was hoping it wouldn’t be raining anymore by the time tonight arrived." "So why not go tomorrow?" "I don’t feel like making up five fake ID’s so we can get into a club." "Then I will. You can’t dance on your knee." With that, Heero left. "What did he mean he would?" Kiki asked late that night. Cricket’s knee was propped up as Tony looked over it. "He said he would make the ID’s for us," Cricket replied, shrugging. "And I suppose he could." "Just as long as he doesn’t make the mistake I did," Alex muttered, yawning. "For real," Kiki agreed. "You made us like forty-five years old and we had to bail." Eva was leaned against the wall. "If he’s intending on making our ID’s for us, then he’ll have to bring them back over here." "The swelling’s gone down," Tony said, backing away from Cricket’s knee. "The ice helped." Cricket gave a secretive smile. "Heero’s pretty smart when it comes to that. Just put some more ice on it, and it’ll be fine by tomorrow." "Guys," Cricket suddenly said. "Thanks for staying with me." Eva looked at her. "What do you mean?" "I mean," Cricket explained. "After the others passed, you stuck with me. I’m not the most pleasant person to be around." "Hey, don’t sweat it," Kiki replied, gently punching Cricket’s shoulder. "What happened at the battle can’t be helped. The others would’ve wanted us to stick together. I know they all would’ve." "I know," Cricket replied, twiddling her fingers. "It’s just…I miss Charlotte so much some times…" "I miss Jerry and Robin," Kiki replied. "It’s no fun playing pranks on people who get pissy about it." The girls laughed. "I was going to the cemetery tomorrow," Eva said softly. "Anyone coming with?" The girls all made a mute agreement and went to bed. Early the next morning, Cricket awoke to Heero standing over her. She gasped, backing into her bed. "Surprise." "Jesus, you scared me!" she snapped, sitting back up. "How’s your knee?" he asked. "Fine now," Cricket replied. "Ready and rearing to go." She stood up, straightening the flannel pajama bottoms she wore. "But you are too early. We’re busy for the first part of this morning." "Oh, I know you guys are going to see your other friends, this morning." Cricket didn’t ask how or why. She simply pulled on a pair of sneakers and went to brush out her hair. "Cricket, Duo was in my room this morning," Kiki shouted through the wall. "Don’t be so surprised, Kiki," Cricket shouted back. "They’re all here right now." "If you guys could just stick around here," Kiki finally said to Duo, who was following her around like a lost puppy, "That’d be great. We have to see some friends. Privately." Kiki finished up straightening the braids her hair was in and picked up her sneakers. She quickly put one on, and hopped around towards the door, trying to tie the other. "Kiki, you are truly child-like," Eva muttered, stooping to tie her own shoes. "That’s the very point of my existence," Kiki pointed out, her braids swinging. "You are truly childish," Tony reiterated. Kiki raised an eyebrow. "Child-like," Kiki argued. "There’s a fine line between childish and child-like." "I think you’ve crossed both," Duo said from Kiki’s room. "Well, we know what Kiki was doing last night," Alex said, coming out of her room. "Heero came by to drop of the ID’s," Duo replied, handing Tony five cards. "He already left, Duo," Cricket told him, walking towards her friends. "You’d better catch up with him." "Shit," Duo muttered, and then ran back into Kiki’s room. "Gullible," Cricket muttered. Then she turned to Heero. "Heero, you’d better catch up with Duo." That was when Heero kissed her nose quickly, and left. Cricket was blushing profusely. She shook the blush off as her friends giggled. "Come on guys, I’m driving." The drive to the cemetery was silent. Even Kiki wasn’t up with her usual chatter. The cemetery was covered in early morning mist that swirled around Cricket’s feet. She came to four graves. "Hey guys," she said softly. "We’re all here." She gently placed a daisy on each grave. "We just thought we’d check up on you and make sure you’re not making heaven hell." The girls laughed weakly as Cricket glanced at each inscription. The first one read: Creek Calloway-A life that was taken too early-AC189-195. The second read: Charlotte Wagner-An honorable soul that gave her life in battle-AC185-AC198. The third read: Jerry King-Life was full of laughter that died too soon-AC185-AC197. The last one read: Robin Louis-Too young to say good-bye, too old to say hello-AC185-200. "Jerry, Robin," Kiki said softly. "Just thought I would let you know that I put butterscotch in Eva’s hairbrush and toothpaste on Cricket’s pillow." Kiki could’ve sworn she’d heard Jerry and Robin laughing. Eva stopped at Charlotte’s grave. "Charlotte, we’re doing our true mission. I wish you had lived to do it with us." Alex was at Robin’s grave. "Robin, you don’t know how much I miss you for a foot race sometimes. No one was able to beat me except you. It’s not fun having everyone lose to you." She kissed her fingers and placed her fingers on the grave. Tony stood at Jerry’s grave. "Jerry, as much as I’ll regret this when Kiki does it, I miss having you telling me how literal I take things all the time. Somehow, I know you’re watching over Cricket’s sister up there. I also know you’re raising hell up there, but that was always your strong point." Cricket was kneeled at Creek’s grave. "Creek, for all time I will never forgive myself for you. Daily, I call myself a stupid fool for believing in OZ, and thinking they were right. But just as much each day, I wish you were alive. I know that you’re up there, watching down on me. That doesn’t help." Cricket stood up, staring solemnly at the name Creek Calloway. "I am Alpha of Omega. I am the beginning of the end." She looked to the sky, and kissed her hand, throwing the kiss to the sky. By now, everyone was fighting tears. They trudged back to the car. Cricket was again, behind the wheel. "Are you sure we should go along?" Duo asked, loosening his tie again. "After all, this is their mission, not ours." He turned away from the mirror. "Along with the fact I can’t dance a step." "Good, you don’t need to know," Trowa replied matter-of-factly. "Swing dancing looks plain ridiculous. Pretend like you’re crazy, and you should be fine." "We’ve been reduced to being Swing Kids," Wufei muttered. "What honor is there in that?" "There isn’t," Duo replied. He chucked Wufei’s shoulder. "Come on Wu-man! Have a little fun!" "Never heard of swing," Wufei muttered. "Heard it died a long time ago." "Look, Wufei," Heero said sharply. "I’m getting really tired of your "I art worthier then thou" attitude. I’d appreciate it if you’d drop it for one night and have some fun." Wufei looked completely shocked. He began to open his mouth. "Save the injustice speech," Heero interrupted to him. "I’m not up to your speeches tonight. Give them to me all you want tomorrow, but not tonight." Wufei still looked shocked. He closed his mouth, sitting down finally. The other three boys looked very shocked as well. Usually, Heero was very silent when it came to Wufei’s "I don’t want to do this" attitude. Heero grabbed his loose jacket, pulling it on. He picked up his hat, slipping it on quickly. "Wow…" Duo whistled softly. "You’re going to knock them dead…" Heero didn’t say anything. "Come on, guys. We were supposed to get them about five minutes ago." "I still don’t understand why we have to dance," Quatre muttered. "I can’t dance a step." "Quatre, shut up," Heero snapped. "Everyone is going to do something tonight whether it be the jitterbug or ballet. Understand?" "I can’t dance a step!" Kiki complained. Her braids even seemed to twitch in her irritation. "I took ballet for fifteen years and you want me to swing dance?" Cricket nodded. "Look, it’s not that hard. Pretend like you’re crazy and you can do it." "That shouldn’t be too hard," Eva mumbled. Kiki glared at her. "So what you’re saying," Kiki said slowly. "Is that after I’ve taken fifteen years of ballet, you want me to do some silly jitterbug? I went through bloody toes and dancing on sprained ankles!" "Enough with the "I’m feeling sorry for myself" speech, Kiki," Cricket replied. "You can dance better then any one of us. Feel lucky that you were dancing on a sprained ankle instead of dancing on a no-cartilage knee." Cricket silently got up and looked out the window. "The boys are late." Alex didn’t look happy at all. "I hate dresses." "Any girl that’s as tomboyish as you would," Cricket snapped. "Quit complaining. This is part of our mission. Where do nice people go?" "Dance clubs," Alex replied. "Well, that’s where we’re going," Cricket told her. "Stop complaining." She sighed, glancing at her watch. "They’re ten minutes late." "Good, they’re not coming," Alex muttered. "Good enough with out that stupid ass, Wufei." "Alex!" Cricket said sharply. "Sit down, shut up, and don’t move until they get here? Do you understand?" "Cricket…" "Do you understand?" Cricket repeated. Alex only nodded, glaring at the ground. "Thank you." A knock came on the door. Cricket opened it. "Hi, Heero. We’re ready if you are." Cricket picked up her keys. "Follow us." Cricket noticed that Heero’s friends looked just as reluctant as hers. "It’s so loud!" Tony said to Quatre. "How can you do anything here?" Her hands were placed tightly over her ears. "I know!" Quatre shouted back. "Tell me about it!" Quatre and Tony had their hands over their ears. Wufei and Alex were already in a heated argument. Trowa and Eva were silent. Kiki and Duo were already doing something that looked very silly, but somewhat normal for swing dancing. Heero and Cricket were scanning the floors. "You chauvinistic, pig-headed, dishonorable creep!" Alex suddenly screamed. "You frustrating female!" Wufei shouted right back. "You are an injustice to humanity!" "You’re a dishonor to humanity!" Wufei suddenly grabbed her and threw her onto the dance floor. "Care to dance, Alex?" Without waiting for the tomboy’s consent, he took her by the waist and yanked up. Her feet went into the air. The potential energy there was amazing. Wufei continued doing twists and turns to try and scare the living daylights out of her. Alex continued doing each twist and turn to frustrate him. "Who knew?" Cricket mumbled. "And all this time, Alex kept saying she couldn’t dance a step." "Wufei must’ve done some sort of dance class for that," Heero muttered, embarrassed. Trowa politely let his hand drift towards Eva, who politely took it. They walked onto the dance floor. "I’m not sure how to do half of this stuff," he admitted. "Me neither. Just act crazy." Tony and Quatre resolutely joined the dance floor. Cricket and Heero snagged a table to watch the people around them. Cricket pointed to a petite redhead. "Maybe her?" Heero shook his head. "No. She’s had more sex then I care to think about." "Hmm," Cricket murmured. A waitress came to their table. "Anything I can get you?" she asked. "Beer, wine…anything?" "No thanks, we don’t drink," Heero quickly replied, staring after her. "Slut…" he trailed off. Cricket watched as Alex did a full flip over Wufei’s head. "Jeez…" "I didn’t know Wufei was capable of having fun," Heero replied. They heard a sharp shriek. They turned to see Kiki being swung around by Duo. "Those two look like they’re high, stoned, drunk and having a sugar high." That was when Cricket heard something she had never heard before. "Do you hear that?" "What?" Heero replied. "Eva’s laughing," Cricket gasped. They looked at Eva and Trowa, who were laughing their heads off as they did something beyond ridiculous. "Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea," Heero muttered, pulling his hat low over his eyes. "Hey, sailor," Cricket said softly, flicking his hat up. "Care to dance?" "Your knee?" "Is fine," Cricket assured him. "Tony checked it out last night. I’ve had ice on it all night." "Okay then," Heero said uncertainly. The dance floor seemed less congested as Heero and Cricket stepped onto the floor. To the people around them, they looked like experienced swing dancers. Given that that was what they assumed, most of the people did clear off the floor. "Why did everyone go?" Cricket hissed as she turned to Heero. "Even the others went. There’s no one on the floor but us." Heero saw a man whispering to the jazz band seated on one side of the room. The lead trumpet player nodded. "I think they think we’re very good dancers," Heero mumbled. "Well, we can’t disappoint our crowd can we?" "No we can’t," Cricket replied, giving a devilish grin. The drummer of the jazz band beat out taps that were fast. "Ready?" Heero didn’t reply, and grabbed her waist. Cricket squealed as he lifted her into the air, her legs going up straight. "Man, Cricket was right in ballet with me," Kiki whistled softly. "After fifteen years of dance, we’re dancing like nuts." "You’ve never done modern dance?" Duo replied. "The cheerleaders at my school did." "Were you ever on cheerleading?" "Once," Kiki replied. Heero and Cricket were being un-watched by Kiki as she waited for the downbeat, and began doing dancing that Duo could only describe as "I want sex". "Very nice," Duo muttered. Imitating as many of the moves as he could, Kiki and Duo joined the dance floor again. The crowd was surprised when the jazz band switched tunes quickly as they noticed the new couple on the dance floor. "A couple of cheerleaders," the drummer muttered. "Fast rap!" he yelled. Kiki and Duo actually did pretty well. They left the dance floor. That was when Eva and Trowa felt themselves being pushed onto the floor. Eva did the first thing that came to her mind. She started tapping her feet on the hard floor. Trowa stared at her, amazed at how many taps she did. That was when she gestured to Trowa. The drummer blinked his eyes. "Not again…" he muttered. "Singin’ in the rain!" When Trowa and Eva had finished their ‘session’, Tony and Quatre were pushed onto the dance floor. Both Wufei and Alex were growing nervous. Tony did the first thing that came to mind. "Care to tango?" "Takes two!" the drummer yelled again. Quatre and Tony did some impressive tangos. Wufei knew what was coming. Knowing they couldn’t do the swing dancing again, he started his kata exercises. Alex caught on quickly. "What kind of shit are they doing?" the bass player yelped. "I don’t know!" the drummer muttered, dismayed. "We’re doing impromptu!" He started playing a quick beat. "Trumpets first, down the line!" Alex and Wufei kept up the kata exercises as quickly as they could. They much resembled Charlie’s Angels. "Please tell me that’s it!" the drummer yelled over his set as they finished up. More couples came on, doing the swing stuff again. "Finally, stuff we know." "There aren’t any pure people here," Cricket muttered as they left. "They couldn’t have been more then fifteen," the drummer muttered as he started playing jazz again. "Those kids have got some moves." "Cricket, I didn’t know you had it in you," Kiki laughed as they walked towards the cars. "Swing dancing!" "You weren’t doing swing dancing," Cricket pointed out. "You and Duo were doing the hanky-panky, from what it looked like." Kiki laughed. "I taught him some cheerleading moves." Cricket looked over to Tony and Quatre. "You two looked like you were having sex with how close you two were." Tony and Quatre blushed profusely. Then she looked at Eva and Trowa. "You two…I don’t know what the hell you were doing, but it looked cool." That was when her gaze fell on Alex and Wufei, who were obviously too detained to notice. "Gross! Find a room," Kiki muttered. Alex held up a finger as she continued her tonsil-hockey with Wufei. "S’not so gross," Duo replied, creeping up on Kiki. "Duo, don’t you…mmph!" Duo dipped Kiki down low and kissed her deeply. Trowa politely pulled Eva over. "May I kiss your hand?" Eva blushed, holding up her delicate hand. Trowa kissed it softly. That was when Eva grabbed his neck and kissed him. "Oh my word…" Tony trailed off, turning around from three kissing couples. Cricket and Heero groaned. Tony and Quatre were mumbling "oh my god" over and over again as they blushed with their eyes tightly covered with their hands. Heero looked troubled. Or, at least, to Cricket he did. His eyes seemed moody as he glanced over the three happy couples, the embarrassed couple, and to Cricket. "Gods…" he mumbled, turning away. "We’re the ones…" Cricket didn’t hear what he had said, but only gently grabbed his shoulder. "Heero, what’s wrong?" she asked. "Nothing," Heero replied. "Just a bad feeling." Cricket bought his story, but Quatre didn’t. "A matter of time…" Heero whispered softly, staring at the screen of his laptop. "Given that Cricket’s from Renai…she’ll live." "Heero?" Heero turned to the doorway to see Quatre standing there. "What?" "I’d like to speak with you." Heero turned off his laptop as Quatre stepped in, carrying Cricket’s book. "About?" "About the way you acted tonight." "I had fun." "No, that’s not it," Quatre replied, sitting down in front of Heero. "I’m talking about the look of horror you got in your eyes." "I wasn’t scared." "It wasn’t necessarily fright. It was more of a fear of knowing something was going to happen." Quatre sighed, opening the book. "I’ve scanned this picture into the computer." "And?" "Notice how old the pages are." Quatre brushed his fingers over the picture of the ten chosen ones. "Also the fact the faces are unintelligible because of the way it’s colored and the way the pages of bled." "So?" "It wasn’t very easy for me to want to fix this page. Especially after knowing what you know now." Quatre leaned over to Heero’s laptop, opening a picture file. Heero stared at it, his suspicions confirmed. "I already knew this." "But you didn’t know what planet everyone belonged to." Quatre’s hand drifted to the cool colors. "These people will live, and these…" His fingers drifted over the dark colors. "These will not." Cricket walked down the stairs, wishing she hadn’t gone dancing last night. Now her knee hurt with an intense pain. The sky was overcast and gray. The clouds carried a sickly pea green to them and a cold, dry wind blew. "Must be why my knee’s hurting," Cricket muttered, sitting down at the table. She stared out the window, shivers running down her spine. That was when she noticed the note attached to Tony’s violin. It was from Quatre. Cricket frowned, and saw her book lying on the counter top. She opened it, and a letter from Heero came out. The letter said: Cricket, Alpha of Omega. The beginning of the end. Be prepared. Quatre and I are unable to explain. A mission came in that we can’t leave alone. We will be back later tonight with the others. If anything happens before then, you know how to reach me. Cricket…if anything does happen, please remember that I do love you even if I haven’t shown it. Heero Yuy Cricket frowned, her stomach suddenly queasy. Something wasn’t right about today. Her eyes drifted down to the book, seeing a computer image of the page of chosen ones. It had been fixed up and lightened so that the faces could be seen. Cricket’s hand drifted to her mouth. She picked up the picture, and then crumpled it up hard. She threw it into the trashcan, pasted on her usual glare, and poured herself a bowl of cereal. Heero felt sweat dripping into his eyes as he fired another shot, destroying around ten more mobile dolls. "Damn bastards," he muttered, sitting back. "Heero, you doing okay?" Duo asked. "You sound tired." "I’m not tired," Heero replied, sitting back up, wiping the sweat from his brow. "How many more?" "There were roughly three hundred dolls when we came up. Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei were able to a hundred. I got fifty. Heero, you got a hundred alone, and that’s enough to say you’re either tired or upset." "No," Heero replied, smirking slightly. "So that leaves fifty." "A hundred plus fifty plus a hundred equals…" Duo paused a moment. "Two-fifty. Yeah, we’ve got fifty more left." "Let’s go." Heero’s gundam shot through the sky towards the last bunch of mobile dolls, which were making a sorry attempt at retreat. "Sorry boys, but the gundams are back in town," Duo said with a laugh as he pulled up his death scythe. "Man, anyone ever thought about putting a radio or something in these gundams?" "Duo, you talk too much for us to enjoy having music up here," Quatre replied. Within another hour, the last fifty mobiles were destroyed. By the time they’d landed back on earth, Heero felt queasy enough to puke. He glanced at his watch, which read 11:56 p.m. "That’s odd…" Duo mumbled. "Sun should’ve set by now." The pea green sky was almost frightening. Thunder rumbled angrily in the distance. That was when Heero took off running. "Heero, where are you going?" Quatre yelled, running after him. "Guys, hold up!" Duo yelled, running after them. "What are they up to now?" Trowa muttered, taking off. "What is it with you guys today?" Wufei muttered, and then he ran after his friends. "Cricket?" Kiki asked softly, walking towards Cricket, who had been reading the book all day. Cricket looked up. "Yes?" "Today’s the day, isn’t it?" "I can’t say." Cricket shut the book, taking off her reading glasses. "I’m not of liberty to say when God decides to do this." Kiki sat down beside her. "It is, isn’t it?" Cricket didn’t reply. "And we’re the ones." "When did you figure this out?" "Cricket, don’t brush it off. I know." She held up the crumpled picture. "We’re the ones. Today is it." That was when the rain started. A heavy downpour that beat against the windows hard. The thunder crashed loudly, the lightening seeming to light up the entire house. The door flung open, but not from the wind. Heero stepped in, dripping wet. He hugged Cricket tightly, kissing her like there was no tomorrow. "I’m glad you’re back safely," she said softly, running her hand down his jaw, not caring that now she was wet too. Kiki stood up and mutely hugged Duo. "Duo, I’m scared…" Duo looked down at her, and gave her braids a playful tug. "One of Cricket’s favorite phrases, and I quote her directly." Kiki raised an eyebrow. "I am Alpha and Omega." That was when Kiki noticed Duo’s eyes were glowing a faint reddish color. Tears filled her eyes. Kiki more then knew what planet she was from. Red was the color of Aria, one of the five inner planets. Red was a dark color. "I am ready to accept my destiny." "Duo, don’t…" Trowa saw Eva sauntering down the stairs in her usual gracefulness. She didn’t seem to notice Trowa. When she’d reached the bottom of the stairs, she hugged him fiercely. "Miss me?" he asked softly, kissing her hair. "More then you’ll know." Quatre walked towards the violin music he heard. When he opened the door, he noticed Tony’s fingers glowing a soft yellow. "Tony?" he said softly. Tony turned, her chin bruised from so many years of playing the violin. She hadn’t bothered to cover it up today. "Quatre?" Quatre made his way to Tony, hugging her gently. She put down her violin, and pressed her fingers into his shoulders. They linked hands and went downstairs with the rest of the group. Wufei looked at Alex. "You are truly a frustrating woman. Beautiful, but frustrating." "And you are truly a pig-headed male. A drop dead cute male, but pig-headed nonetheless," Alex replied with a smile. She hugged him tightly. "You know our destiny, is that true?" "Of course." Cricket looked at her friends. The thunder rumbled loudly. It was near time. In the houses of many families, children were hiding beneath covers to block out the lightening. Many children had their hands covering their ears to drown out the loud rumbles of thunder. A great deal of families was linked in prayer. Another number of families was already dead. Down the street, ten lone teens made his or her way to the church, where surprisingly no one had gone. They sensed that many people knew that this was the beginning of the end. Many things ran through Cricket’s head that she wanted to say, but she couldn’t find her voice to say them. The minute they had stepped into the church, ten bright beams of light shot through the sky. "Mommy!" a small girl cried, staring out the window. "Mommy, look!" The child’s mother glanced out the window. "Oh my…" Cricket put the book down onto the floor, the pages flipping open. The ten separated into five. Five dark auras stood on one side across from five cool auras. Duo, being the strong catholic, looked at them all. "God shall wipe away their tears, and there shall be no more death, nor sorry, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away." Cricket knew the words from the book, even though she had never memorized them. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. My family has appointed me. I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. So saith me that the world might be saved if the vision is fulfilled." The gleams in the teens’ eyes that marked them as their respected person had now disappeared. It was like someone else was controlling his or her actions. "I am ready to accept my destiny," Duo said again. He kissed the cross around his neck, letting it hit the ground. "God shall take away the sorrows and the tears, for the former things have passed away." Cricket’s hand drifted to the gun she kept around her waist. Heero’s gun was already drawn. Kiki’s hand drifted to the gun around her ankle and lifted it. Trowa was already aiming. Eva drew her gun from its holster, aiming it with dead accuracy. The thunder seemed to crash louder. The windows of the church busted, and the wind whipped around them. The bright auras intensified. The wind grew stronger, but the teens held their ground. "God sacrifice these children so that the world may live," Cricket said, her gun fired. Four shots followed shortly after and the world for the cool colors went black. Cricket knew when she woke that sorrow would be there. She knew that five of them were dead. She also knew that another would be joining them soon. When Heero woke, he knew the tears would be there. He knew the pain and sorrow of losing friends would be there. When Eva woke, she knew she would cry. The tears would stream down her face harder then the now soft rain outside. When Trowa woke, he knew that the suffering would start. He knew that three of his friends were dead and that another friend would soon join them. When Kiki woke, she had the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong, yet the world had been saved. Duo, Quatre, Tony, Wufei, and Alex wouldn’t be waking up. The aiming had been dead on accuracy. "Those died so the world may be saved," Cricket whispered softly, already beginning to cry as she sat up, her gun falling from her hand. Kiki looked at her friends, and then to Duo, was lying motionlessly on the floor. She crawled over to him meekly, brushing aside his brown hair. The braid she had yanked so many times was across his chest. She picked up the cross he had dropped, kissing it softly. And before anyone could stop her, another gunshot sounded. Cricket whirled, and saw Kiki’s motionless body over Duo’s, a trickle of blood dripping down her face. Cricket wasn’t at all surprised that it had happened, but it hurt nonetheless. She buried herself into Heero’s arms. That was when she felt the warm wetness of her neck. Heero was crying. Trowa and Eva were in a deep embrace, trying to push away the pain and sorrow of losing six people. The world went on as if nothing had ever happened that day. Four teens, however, mourned the loss of six friends. The six graves were in a row in a distant cemetery. Next to these six graves were Jerry King, Robin Louis, Charlotte Wagner, and Creek Calloway. The next six, fresh graves read Chang Wufei, Alexandra Jackson, Duo Maxwell, Kiki Evans, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Antonia McCall. Cricket stared at the fresh graves in pain. All of them were so young… "They wouldn’t want us to be sad," Heero said softly. Cricket nodded, tears still running down her face. As she looked up, she could’ve sworn she’d seen her six friends plus the four that had passed on. When they didn’t disappear, Cricket tugged on Heero’s jacket. "Heero…" she whispered. "Look…" Heero’s mouth dropped. "Oh my gods…" He swallowed hard. It still hurt to even think of his friends. Now he was seeing them. "Tell me I’m not dreaming…" "Eva…" Cricket stuttered out. "Trowa…" Trowa and Eva turned, and they too, looked shocked. Their friends smiled at them knowingly, as if they were saying their last good-byes. "Charlotte!" Cricket yelled. "Charlotte, please, don’t go!" Cricket burst into tears all over again as a filmy girl with long brown hair walked towards her. The girl slipped a finger over her lips. "Charlotte…please…say anything, just don’t say good-bye!" Charlotte didn’t speak, but only gave Cricket a knowing smile. She backed away. Cricket felt faint. A little girl with short, dark hair kissed Cricket on the cheek. "I forgive you," a small voice whispered. Cricket made the move to throw her arms around her eight-year-old sister, but her arms only came around herself. "Crick-key," Heero said softly, helping her up. "They came back to say good-bye." "Please…say anything…" Cricket whimpered. "But please, make them say hello, not good-bye." "Cricket, it’s time to go," Heero stated softly. He led her away from the fresh graves with Eva and Trowa walked behind them. As Heero walked towards the car, he would’ve sworn he’d seen six sets of footprints beside them. Questions, comments, flames, compliments: katy_did_14@yahoo.com This is an angsty story, yes. If you didn’t like it, please don’t flame me bad. Reviews are more then welcome. Now at the end of the story, a PG 16 would’ve been better. But it did conflict with a lot of beliefs, Duo being among those. If you want the original story of Cricket Calloway, please e-mail me at timmer@hci.net I will be more then happy to give what’s written. Ja ne, minna-san!