Started: March 26, 2001 
Finished: March 30, 2001

Disclaimer: Boys don't belong to me. But the story plot does! And the Angels,
and the past life characters, and everyone else. ^^;; But still, babysitting
the G-boys is fun... others should try it sometimes! *winces as crashing 
sounds are heard in the background* ....really!

1+2/2+1... used to be 1x2? AU, past lives, OOC, all that good stuff.
C & C very, very welcome. ^_^ I don't really respond to the small reviews, 
but I always write back if someone emails me!


Imminent Fate, part 15
Shamera
sitafire@hotmail.com

	Quatre looked out the window one more, about to give up with a sigh 
when he saw something moving at the end of the block. Blinking, he squinted
at the figures, then left the window-seat and flew down the stairs, pounding
his feet as loudly as he could on the steps to get everyone out. "They're 
back!"

	He saw Wufei poke his head out of his room curiously, eyes raised. 

	Quatre threw open the door to the room that he and Trowa shared and 
dragged the started boy from where he had been sitting, reading a novel. 

	"Heero and Duo are back," he offered as an explination and gave a 
shakey smile. "We still have to explain the situation to them..."

	Trowa gave a look at Quatre, and then nodded in consent, allowing the 
small Arabian boy to pull him into the kitchen. 

	There was a slight clutter as the two said pilots appeared in the 
kitchen, having taken the way back as Quatre had predicted. They had dropped
off a large, red-bound book onto the counter and were in the process of light
chatter. 

	Seeing Quatre with Trowa being dragged behind him stopped whatever 
conversation they were having. 

	"Hey, Q," Duo said cheerfully, "What's up?"

	Quatre gave a small smile in return and said nothing, extending his 
hand to show them the time key and also offering it to them. 

	Duo didn't react as badly as Quatre would have thought. 

	"Aww, man, Quatre, you actually accepted that stupid thing? I guess 
we're going to be going back after all, huh?"

	With that said, Duo reached over and took the time key from Quatre, 
examining it as he turned it over and over with his hands. He gave into his
interest and studied the key slowly, wondering what was so special about it
besides the fact that it looked very old. Actually, it looked like any other 
key that had seen. 

	There was nothing special as far as he could see. It was a key, with 
some grooves on the bottom to tell that it fitted in *something*, and and a 
hole on the top so it could be put into a keychain. Or something. The entire
thing was an ugly grey color, reminding Duo of some really dull iron that 
had been made back in the stoneage. The kind that was so dull you wonder how
it was ever made in the first place. 

	"I don't remember how Zechs talked us into it," Quatre admitted 
guiltily. "It was something about showing us the images and describing to 
us how souls die-" he turned a bit pale with saying that, "and the rate that
the deaths were occurring. I'm sorry about not consulting you two."

	Duo gave a secret smile. "That's alright, Quatre." He held up a finger
and slowly wagged it side to side. "But you might want to think about it 
before you jump head-first. That was what happened to me." The secret smile
was there again. "You might want to see some of the information that Heero
and I brought back that Zechs might not have told you about."

	"Information?" Quatre asked dumbly. 

	"Yeah. You know, like how to get back? Or where we're going, for that 
matter? If this is going to affect history and cause a time paradox?"

	Looking abashed, Quatre realized that he had jumped head-first into 
things and that he hadn't asked that at all. He had just felt the need to 
help and to stop these gruesome things that were happening like Zechs was 
describing them. "I didn't think about that..."

	Duo nodded. "I know. Kinda like me last time. But we have to figure
out what's going on before we can actually follow through with whatever 
we're going to be doing."

	"No need."

	All the boys in the room turned towards the voice of Wufei, who was 
standing in the hallway with a smirk on his face and his arms crossed. "I've
already asked about it."

	Wufei slantered into the room, looking smug and able to feel that way 
without the others interferring because he had a right to do so. "I was 
asking," he emphasized on 'asking', "Zechs about what the trip would do, and 
where we would go." 

	He gave a sympathetic look to Quatre, "Sometimes we can't see beyond 
trying to help. That's a good thing, and I almost feel ashamed for seeing 
nothing but the tactical efforts of this trip."

	Quatre gave an abashed smile. 

	"We won't be affecting history because we'll be going to the very end
of the ten years that never affected history. It's around the end of the 
high middle ages, but we won't see much affect on the town that we're going 
to. Basically, he's going to drop us off at the beginning of a battle." 
Wufei was scowling. "We can't interfere with the battle, but he said that 
no matter what we did, we wouldn't be able to change the outcome anyway. So 
if we wanted to, we might be able to try and help."

	"Aa." Duo still looked slightly disturbed.

	"I don't know what he was babbering about afterwards," Wufei grumbled, 
"But he said something about the 'proof not able to change what had 
happened'?"

	The other boys automatically stored that to the back of their heads. 
There were a few uncomfortable shuffles as they realized about what was 
going to happen- really going to happen. 

	"Do you know anything more?" Quatre asked.

	Wufei shook his head. "No. That was all that I got. Oh!" He smacked a 
fist into his hand, "We get back the same way we go. We're supposed to find a
book on that time, and somehow let the key figure out what time period it's 
about. The book goes with us, and we get back here the same way," he shrugged
and narrowed his eyes, "so we just have to figure out how to get back and 
it'll be the same way one the round trip."

	"You mean this book?" Duo pointed to the book that he had Heero had 
brought back. He sneaked a glance over to Heero and saw the other boy 
frowning over what Wufei had said. 

	"You mean that's a book on the time that we're going to?" Quatre asked. 
"Wasn't that time supposed to be forgotten by history?"

	"Are you sure that we get back the same way?" Heero blurted out to 
Wufei, ignoring Quatre's question. 

	Wufei looked to Heero. "Yes. If it isn't, he informed me that there 
are plenty of magical creatures there who will help us back. Like the Delos'
and their inability to *not* interfere when it comes to one touched by 
Elysian, those creatures have to help us get back if we so wanted them to."
He paused. "It's their duty."

	Duo blew out a breath through his hair and grinned. "Geez, Wufei, that 
sounds like you and your honor, doesn't it?"

	Wufei gave Duo a look. "This is serious, Maxwell. This is on account 
of us getting back. If we can't find a way to get back, we're going to be 
stuck there- with no one to fight to war for the colonys."

	Duo shut up. 

	"Yes, there will be a way to get back." Wufei informed Heero. "We 
can't live in that time because after the time limit, we *would* be causing
a time paradox and that's not allowed to happen."

	Heero nodded. "Aa. But the main point is the target. We have a target, 
I persume?"

	The boys looked around at each other before Duo spoke up, "How 'bout 
we find that Angel that was lost and tell him or her to go back? This is all 
because of that Angel, ne?" he cocked his head. "We go back, hopefully some 
time before the battle, and talk to those mythical creatures that Zechs was 
talking about, and then get them to help us. I'm sure that people would 
help if they only know what was happening."

	"Maybe. But there's still people who won't," Quatre warned.

	Duo faced Quatre, making a face. "You can't honestly say that. We're 
dealing with mythical creatures who have been taking care of children for 
about seven years."

	"...seven?" Trowa voiced, and they all, with the exception of Heero, 
looked over at Duo expectantly. 

	"Oh!" Duo snapped his fingers, one hand going up to rub the back of 
his head as he gave a nervous chuckle. "You haven't seen the book yet." he 
indicated to the red-bound book that rested on the table. "It's a book on the 
years that we'll be going to."

	He waited a moment, and only watched as Quatre hesitated, then picked 
up the heavy book, arms testing out the weight of the leather bound album. 
The others were quiet, and for a moment Duo wondered about what they were all
thinking about, knowing that they were about to go back in time. He knew that
he was trying *not* to think about it, but also knew that he *had* to. Time 
travelled boggled him, but he still needed to concentrate on the fact that 
they had a mission to focus on. 

	But maybe he should let the mission planning to Heero. 

	Naaah. Dear boy would get them all killed if he wasn't careful. As long
as the mission was fulfilled. 

	Which reminded him...

	"You know," Duo interupted the introspective silence, "The Docs haven't
sent us anything for the past few weeks. I'd have thought that they would 
have the thought that the perfect time to strike would be when OZ wasn't 
going to attack back."

	"I've been wondering that also," Wufei mused, eyeing the book in 
Quatre's hands. "But I haven't been able to contact them for a while. They're
as far aways as the war is as of the moment. But they'll be back once the 
truce is over."

	Duo winced. "Oh great, we're going to get more missions immediantly 
after we complete this one." He sighed. "We shouldn't have agreed to continue
as if nothing's happened after this...."

	"It was the only thing to agree to," Heero reminded him. 

	"Doesn't mean I have to like it..." Duo muttered, then stretched. 
"Feel like getting this over with? Maybe we can go, fix the problem, and 
then come back with some time to spare... I mean, we'll tell Treize and 
Zechs that we finished this a week afterwards, 'kay? Then I might be able to
have a week to sleep."

	"The key, Duo?" Quatre asked. 

	"Eeh? What's that?"

	"The key." Quatre nodded to Duo's hand, where the long-haired boy still 
held the time key. Duo looked up and laughed nervously, putting down his 
arms and handing over the time key, which had been clutched in his left hand,
to Quatre. 

	"So we're going?" Quatre asked. He looked around the other boys. 
"There's no objections?" They shook their heads. "No objections to trying 
now, is there?" Again, they shook their heads. 

	"Now's a good as a time as any. We're not really sleepy, at the peak 
of our energy, not really hungry.... on second thought, maybe we *should* 
eat before we go." Duo considered this.

	"And if we throw up during the journey?" Heero asked him.

	"...Or maybe not." Duo amended. He grinned. "That means we go now? 
We're going to hop through time?"

	"I don't see why not if we can get this to work," Quatre said. He once
again looked around to confirm this. "We don't really need anything, do we?
Weapons? Food? Personal items? Paper?"

	"We're pilots." Wufei answered, voice slightly annoyed. "We don't have 
much for personal possession. And I'd be surprised if any one of us doesn't 
have weapons on ourselves at this moment." he raised an eyebrow at them, 
daring them to oppose. "Even if it might change history to see things like 
that...."

	To that, even Quatre looked a little sheepish. They all knew never to 
go or leave without weapons. Never knew when trouble might be lurking.... 
even if they did have a temporary truce with OZ... or Treize.

	"Cool." Duo stated. "Let's go." He leaned across the table as Quatre 
set down the book. "You guys can read that when we're there."

	Quatre didn't respond, but was holding the key in his hand, and looking 
at the book expectantly. Taking a shallow breath, he set the key into one of
the pages in the book, and looked at Wufei.

	"Is this it?" He asked softly.

	Wufei nodded. "That's what Zechs told me."

	"I keep thinking we're rushing things..." Quatre muttered, but still 
pressed the key into the book lightly as the metal... wavered in his hand. 

	He yelped and stepped back into Trowa, who clutched at the blonde's 
arm to make sure that he didn't fall.

	"Shit!" Duo cursed and also took a step back, having been leaning close
to see what was going to happen. He nearly stepped into Heero as his eyes 
stayed on the key, whose metal was melting into the page of the book. 

	Okay. So it was real. Shit. 

	*It was real.*

	Even Wufei looked alarmed as the metal melted and started to reflect 
the contents and words that had been on that page. There was a strange tilt
to the shine that reflected, as if there wasn't really something *right*. 
Not the kind of shine that was said in stories, but more of a muddy color, 
as if someone had spilled some sort of toxic coffee over the page. 

	Heck, over the whole book!

	"Is that *supposed* to do that?" Duo demanded, looking at Wufei. The 
said teenager in question on shook his head numbly, looking as confused as 
Duo felt. 

	"I don't know." Wufei said simply.

	"This is how it works?!" Quatre was near shouting. The muddled shine 
from the melted key was starting to get brighter, and there were shadows 
in the room due to the light that was caused by the book. 

	Suddenly, there was a bright flash, causing the pilots to cry out as  
their eyes were exposed to the brightness so suddenly. 

	Wufei dropped out the sight from the light, rolling to shield his eyes.
Trowa caught Quatre as the slight boy fell back from the shock of the 
intensity of the light. Heero tightened his grip on Duo as the latter cried 
out at the flash and buried his face in the former's neck.

	After the flash faded, the others were lucky enough that they hadn't 
recovered from the light enough so that they hadn't opened their eyes yet. 
They were spared the second flash as it came, but could feel the third flash 
of light even though they were turned away from the source. 

	The las thing that Duo remembered before the darkness overtook him was 
that Heero had him cradled tightly against the boy's neck, and that he had 
his arms around Heero as tightly as he could have managed. 

	But then it all blacked out.



End part 15.

Um... yeah, that was one big scene. ^o^=3 That took forever!!! Gomen, gomen!
With a whole bunch of reports, and school taking me away from the precious 
leisure time, I couldn't get on this story for more than a few minutes a day.
If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to keep the parts down to about 15-20kb 
were part. Isn't something to restrict the story- just something I wanted to 
try. Again, sorry for how long this took! Gomen!! *bow head* Please review!!
It'll help me write faster.