To live to feel the earth in motion

I can see there's much hope in changing this world

But no one's listening

We've been living our lives so long in denial

Like whispers to the wind

Earthbound

We are shackled to the same ground

Our hope, one chance

Earthbound!

-Earthbound by Bury Tomorrow

Before the artificial sunlight on the colony brightened into daylight, DJ was up and out of bed. He checked his phone once more, pulling up the ad that the ESUN had plastered all over the Internet.

Wanted: Young adults willing to pilot Exo-suits!

DJ knew this was his ticket to Earth and to join the fight. Of course, he had to do a little- document altering- in order to pass the initial screening. He managed to modify his public citizen profile to make his age appear to be eighteen. DJ had learned a lot from his father, in spite of his mother's attempts to shield him from the Preventer work that his father frequently participated in. Besides, any military should be happy to have the son of a Gundam pilot in their ranks.

DJ packed a bag of clothes, trying to move through his room as quietly as possible. His mother was still asleep, as was the rest of the house. If he acted quickly, he'd be able to get out and be long gone before anyone realized it. Bag packed, he slung it over his shoulder and crept to the door. He eased it open, listening hard for any movement within the house. But he heard nothing. Pulling the door open further, he slipped into the hallway and padded lightly down the hall towards the back door of the house. He threw a glance over his shoulder, but no one had come from their room. DJ reached for the doorknob, unlocked it, and slipped through the door into the backyard of the house. He pulled the door closed behind him.

He was free.

DJ circled the house to the front and half-jogged down the sidewalk towards the temporary recruitment center, which was being housed at the L2 Government building. It was a short walk, but DJ hurried anyway, wanting to get in line and through their inspection before his mother realized he was gone.

As he walked, he fell in line with many others, who appeared to be only slightly older than himself, who were walking in the same direction. Young men and women with determination set in their faces marched towards the Government building. DJ blended right in.

DJ arrived at the Government building and immediately saw military uniforms everywhere. They were guarding the building and directing the recruits inside. DJ nodded to one as he passed. He tried to keep his gaze averted, to avoid anyone spending too much time looking at his face, and perhaps guessing him to be younger than his lie.

Several lines formed at a checkpoint. DJ joined one of the lines and waited, his bag becoming heavy hanging from his shoulder. A young woman stood in front of him. Her blonde hair was cropped short, and she was wearing jeans and a bomber jacket. When he caught sight of her profile, he thought she didn't look much older than himself.

The line crept forward until the woman in front of him reached the table at the front. Two military officers in green uniforms sat on the other side, two computers up in front of them.

"Name?"

"Abby Worth," she said. One of the officers typed something up on the computer, then looked up at her, a hard frown on his face.

"You're only seventeen. The age minimum is eighteen," he said. Abby threw up her hands.

"Please! You have to let me fight! My uncle died in the attacks on the ESUN," she cried.

"Sorry, miss, but you must get out of line and go home. Come back when you're eighteen."

"Please, sir!" He shook his head. DJ's hands grew clammy as he watched the scene, growing more and more worried about his own attempt. Sulking, Abby left the line. As she passed him, she glanced up and met his eyes. DJ knew what he was going to do on his way to Earth. He was going to change her profile for her.

He stepped up to the table.

"Duo Maxwell, Junior," he said. The man typed in his name into the system. DJ tried to hide his nervousness.

"Check out. Fill out this form," he said and handed over a tablet. DJ skimmed the document. It was some kind of agreement, but he didn't fully understand the language. He shrugged and signed his name at the bottom with his finger. He handed back the tablet.

"Go ahead and join the others in the waiting room. You'll be taken to the shuttle port to head to Earth."

"Thanks."

DJ walked past the table and into his future.

Heero sat in the command room of the Preventer headquarters, feeling useless. Sally and Wufei were already gathering candidates for the Exo-Suits, Duo was hacking, Quatre and Relena were locked away with Dorothy, and Trowa was helping at the clean-up site.

Heero had already tried to find out if he could pilot the Exo-suit, but the message that came from Dorothy, likely backed by Une and Relena, was that Heero was not allowed. Much to Heero's annoyance, they were looking for younger kids, who were more agile and able to maneuver the suits. Heero disliked thinking of himself as being "old," when he really wasn't, but he certainly wasn't the fifteen-year-old soldier he'd once been.

Duo's phone began to ring. It vibrated on the surface of the computer console. Duo shook himself and picked up the phone, glancing at the screen.

"Uh oh," he mumbled. From where Heero sat, he could see that it was Hilde calling. That was usually not a good sign. Duo sighed and answered the call.

Hilde's voice came through loud and clear.

"DUO! DJ IS GONE!"

Duo flinched and blinked several times.

"What do you mean, he's gone?"

"He packed up his stuff, and he disappeared. Is he with you?" she demanded.

"Of course not," Duo said. "I wouldn't have done that without you knowing."

"Well then where did he go?"

"I have no idea, Hilde," Duo replied. Heero felt sympathy for Duo. He was trying his best and it never seemed to be good enough.

"Find him!"

"I will. I'll start right now," Duo said. The line went dead. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"Do you want help?" Heero asked. Duo opened his eyes and glanced at him.

"Please," he answered. Duo set his phone down.

"I'll find where he went," Heero offered, and Duo nodded. He turned back to his computer. Heero turned towards another computer and began to search for DJ's name in various records. It wasn't hard to find. Old hat, in fact, and when Heero saw what DJ had done, he felt a swell of pride for the kid, though Heero knew the poor guy was going to be in a lot of trouble.

"Duo," Heero said.

"Yeah?"

"He changed his age in his official record profile and he's now listed as a potential exo-suit pilot," Heero said. Duo pushed his chair across the floor to Heero's side and looked at the screen.

"That damn kid," Duo said, looking over his son's profile. "He learned from the best, ya know."

"Hilde isn't going to be happy," Heero said. Duo closed his eyes.

"I know. She's going to murder me, likely, so at least say something nice about me at my funeral."

"Sure," Heero said, allowing a small smile. With a deep breath, Duo picked up his phone once more and dialed Hilde. Heero rose and left the room, not wanting to hear how that conversation went.

Zechs arrived at the bunker with Noin in tow, looking worse for wear, but alive. Marina gently hugged her aunt, happy to see her alright. Milou and Naina hugged their mother, then broached the subject that the teenagers had been discussing for the past several hours.

"You must let us go!" Naina was saying. "We're old enough!"

Zechs and Noin frowned at their children. Marina stood nearby, watching, curious to see how the conversation would go.

"I forbid it," Zechs said.

"Come on, father! You both fought in the wars. Let us!" Milou argued.

Zechs crossed his arms over his chest.

"I just brought your mother home from the hospital, and you want to talk about going out and fighting?" he said. Milou and Naina lowered his chins to their chests in shame. Noin stepped forward and placed her hands on her children's shoulders.

"You are destined for so much more than dying on some battlefield," she said, in her attempt to smooth over the situation. They lifted their heads and nodded to their mother, but Marina knew that no matter what their parents said, they were going to try and join the fight.

"Besides," Zechs added, his arms still crossed, "you don't even know what you're fighting for. We don't know what these terrorists want."

Milou opened his mouth to reply, but seemed to think better of it. He shut his mouth.

In her pocket, Marina's phone buzzed. She pulled it out and checked. There was a text message from DJ Maxwell. She hadn't heard from him in a while, since his parents separated. Marina opened the message.

I'm on Earth!

Marina's eyebrows rose.

How did you get here? What are you doing?

The reply came quickly.

I joined the ESUN Armed Legion. I'm going to be an Exo-Suit pilot!

What? HOW? You're not 18.

I changed my profile to make me look old enough. Worked like a charm.

Marina glanced up and looked around. Everyone else was busy or distracted with other things.

Can you change mine?

Her stomach tensed. What would he say?

Sure. I can probably do that. Give me a day or so.

Marina suppressed the urge to cheer. She wished DJ luck, then stowed her phone in her pocket, trying not to smile. Now the problem would be getting out of the bunker so she could join the Armed Legion. There had to be a way.

A/N: Hope everyone is staying safe!

-SE