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The Last Sunrise

Segment 1:  Twilight

            In the thirtieth century of the Common Era, it is said that an invasion of a people from beyond the stars descended upon Earth.  With supreme technology, power, and a large population, it seemed that a global holocaust and a massacre of all of Earth's citizens was unavoidable.

            Then a young girl appeared.  Calling herself Serenity, she was armed with a crystal called the Ginzuishou, and supported by eight Senshi.  She challenged the leader of the invasion to a battle, and won.  The people from beyond the stars departed in fear, and the Earth was saved.

            As gratitude to the girl called Serenity, the people of Earth crowned her Queen, and an era of peace descended upon the planet.  The power of the Ginzuishou took root on Earth, and protected and preserved it's people.  The average life span was extended by centuries, and people no longer knew pestilence or disease.

            Neo-Queen Serenity married her lover, a man called Endymion, and gave birth to the Crown Princess of Neo-Earth, Princess Small Lady Serenity.  She chose the city of Tokyo as the global capital, and it became a place of irrefutable beauty.  The Royal Family and the eight Senshi made their home in the Crystal Palace of Crystal Tokyo, and governed the Earth for many centuries.

            But then came the Second Invasion.  The people from beyond the stars returned, this time with an even greater strength.  However, their invasion was unknown to the rulers of Neo-Earth, for they did not attack directly.  Rather, they inserted themselves amongst the population of the planet, and slowly began to organize a revolution against the Royal Family and the Senshi.

            The revolt was totally unexpected.  The Crystal Palace was destroyed and the rulers were sent into hiding.  Though the Senshi were capable of killing the revolutionaries, Serenity ordered them not to.  For though she had been betrayed, she still loved her planet and her people more than life itself.  Thus, she ordered that the Senshi disband and live as average citizens amidst the populace.  When the time was right, she would reassume her position as the queen and bring the peace back.  Reluctantly, they agreed, and dispersed themselves across the globe.

            Although the Ginzuishou had been saved from the destruction at the Crystal Palace, its effects on the people were lost.  Excluding the former rulers, the life-giving effects were totally obliterated from the people.  Life spans grew short again, and the people grew sick.  During Serenity's rule, the planet was governed as one nation, but no longer.  Countries reassumed their individual control over the citizens, and frequently declared war on each other.

            It was at this time space exploration, which had been researched minimally during Serenity's reign, began to take precedence over all else.  Soon, constructions of colonies began, and people began to live in space.  Thus ended the Common Era, and began the age After Colonization.

Serenity's reign became a legend, as did the existence of the Senshi and the people from beyond the stars. But both sides still waited, biding their time until control could be reestablished over the Earth and space…

            Sally Po rubbed her temples as she stared at the reports on her desk.  The stack was daunting, and would take several hours, if not days, to go through.  She glanced over at Wufei's desk in the corner of the office.  He too was burdened with a daunting tower of papers, but as usual, he said nothing and went about his work efficiently without complaint.

            Damn him for being so perfect she thought as the door opened.  A young intern stepped inside and saluted to her superiors.

            "Ms. Po, Mr. Chang," she addressed.

            Sally looked up at her.  "More paperwork for us, Kino?"

            The girl grinned and shook her head.  "No ma'am.  I just wanted you to know the Secretary of Defense is on line five.  He'd like to speak with you."

            "Thanks, Lita," Sally replied, picking up the phone.

            "It's nothing, Ms. Po," Lita replied, going back outside.

            "Sally Po, Department of Investigation, speaking," Sally replied.

            "Hi, Sally.  This is Roderick Bailey," the voice on the other end said.

            "Good afternoon, Secretary.  How can I help you?"

            "We've got a situation in Romania, Sally.  It would appear there's been a small, somewhat violent group formed there that's been causing a bit of trouble."

            "Somewhat violent, sir?"

            "Vandalism mostly.  They haven't attack people, but there was a great deal of damaged property found in three of the colonial embassies.  We're talking more than just spray paint as well.  Threatening messages were burned onto the walls of many of the rooms, several personal vehicles were destroyed, not to many several hundred thousand dollars worth of damage was done to the computer systems.  All of it seems to be related to prejudice against the colonies, which as I'm sure you know, has been treated very seriously since the war ten years ago.  Local police forces thought they could handle the problem themselves, but they're having some difficulty.  It seemed best to bring in the Preventors.  It's nothing pressing, but we'd still appreciate it if you'd send a person or two to Romania to check things out."

            "Is Lady Une aware of this?"

            "Yes, I spoke to her earlier.  She suggested I bring the problem to you."

            "I see.  Well, I'll tell you what I can do.  If you can have a contact waiting at the Budapest spaceport in Hungary, I'll have someone on a shuttle there by tonight at the latest."

            "All right, I have just the person.  Her name is Anya Karikov.  She will be waiting at the spaceport at midnight tonight.  Have your person there by then."

            "Done."

            "Thank you for your help, Sally.  Good bye."

            "Good bye," she hung up the phone.

            "What is it?" Wufei asked without looking up from the reports.

            Sally took a drink of coffee from her mug.  "Vandal group in Romania.  I'll send one of the interns to have a look."

            Wufei stopped and looked at her.  "You think that's a good idea?"

            "Lita Kino is capable of handling this, I think.  I'll have her check in with you periodically, if you like," she answered.

            He shrugged.  "Whatever."

            Sally smiled slightly.  She enjoyed teasing her partner about the pretty brunette intern.  He didn't seem to like her, but Lita was never afraid to shoot him a flirtatious glance.  It was too bad Wufei wasn't interested in anything that didn't involve work.

            She pressed the speakerphone button and asked Lita to come into the office.  A few moments later, the tall young lady was standing in front of her desk.

            "Yes, Ms. Po?" she asked.

            "Lita, that call I just got from the secretary of defense was about a vandalism situation in Romania.  I'd like you to go check things out for us."

            Lita's emerald eyes sparkled with a light of ambition.  "I'd be happy to, ma'am."

            "Good.  This shouldn't take more than a day or two, so why don't you go home and grab a change of clothes, then report back here and take a shuttle to the Budapest spaceport.  I'll make arrangements for your docking and prepare the info we've received so far.  Your contact at the spaceport is named Anya Karikov.  Any questions?"

            "No, ma'am."

            "All right then, you're set.  Check in with Wufei every few hours though.  Just to be on the safe side," Sally finished.

            "Of course, Ms. Po.  I'd better get going then," Lita said, reaching for the door.

            "Don't be nervous, Kino.  This is just a routine check.  Your training should have you more than prepared in case something should go wrong," Sally said reassuringly.

            Lita smiled and saluted, her ponytail swaying slightly as she cocked her head.  "Right.  I'll check back with you in a bit!"

            With that, she headed out the door.

            Quatre Raberba Winner also sat at his desk rubbing his temples in pain as he eyed a daunting stack of reports on his desk.  It was remarkable how in only ten years the spirited young rebel soldier had morphed into a tired executive permanently imprisoned at a desk.  As head of the construction dynasty owned by his family, he knew it was a duty that had been placed on him even before his birth.  However, that didn't stop him from wistfully daydreaming about the dangerous, though less boring days of his youth.  Though he was technically a member of the Preventors, the most he'd had to do with the organization was the faithful financial support he'd provided to them through the years.  He occasionally heard from Wufei, and was sometimes visited by Duo and Trowa, but the contact had been minimal.  However, the Maganac continued to protect him (along with his aunt and the few sisters that still lived at home), and he was grateful for their company.

            The door to his study suddenly opened.

            "Yes?" Quatre asked, lifting his head.  His aunt Haruka stood in front of the desk, disdainfully eyeing the stack of papers.

            "Thought I ought to come check on you; make sure you're not overworking again," she answered, still not looking at him.  Quatre sighed.  He'd grown accustomed to Haruka's brusqueness through the years.  She wasn't his biological aunt, but a girlhood friend of his mother's who had visited him sporadically during his childhood, then moved in to "keep track of him" once he'd assumed his position as president of the Winner Corporation.

            "It's just a few letters from the colony's agricultural board; nothing to be worried about," he said, though he knew she didn't believe a word of it.

            Haruka's navy eyes studied his face hard.  It was amazing how she never seemed to age; she appeared in front of him now almost exactly as she had when he was nine.  Her hair was a little shorter, giving her an even more boyish appearance, but nonetheless, she was still very attractive.

            "If I weren't one hundred percent sure that you're one of the most dangerous men in the colonies, I'd accuse you of being walked on," she commented.

            "Haruka…"

            "I'm serious, Quatre.  Your father never had to do this much work.  I'm going to be frank.  You're a shrewd politician, but you aren't being nearly as intimidating as he was."

            Quatre sighed.  Though Haruka never really cared for his father, she did respect him as a politician and had a habit of comparing him to his son.  Luckily, Quatre had become accustomed to it, but it did bother him on occasion.  Especially whenever Haruka told him that he had to be more intimidating.  Or more ambitious.  Or more threatening.

            "I'm sorry Haruka.  But I'd rather have extra paperwork than extra enemies.  At the moment, there's no one that really hates us.  I'd like to keep things between the Winner family and the rest of the colonies positive, or neutral at the very least."

            Haruka rolled her eyes.  "You should at least hire some help with the paperwork."

            Her nephew grinned slyly.  "Are you offering your assistance, Auntie?"

            She barked out a short laugh.  "Hell no.  Hire your own damn secretary."

            "I love you too, Auntie."

            "Stop calling me that."

            Quatre opened his mouth to say something more, when the phone rang.  Holding up a finger to Haruka, who rolled her eyes as if to say I told you so, he sat down and picked up the receiver.

            "Winner speaking," he replied.

            "Quatre," the voice on the other end greeted shortly.

            "Wufei?" Quatre's face brightened.  "It's been ages!  How've you been?"

            "Fine.  But this isn't a pleasure call," Wufei answered, serious as always.  "We need your help."

            "We?" he asked, shooting a glance at Haruka.

            "The Preventors.  There's been an incident with one of our interns.  She's a native of L4, so we thought the most prominent man on the colony should get involved," Wufei explained.  "It might be a good idea to have an ex-Gundam pilot along."

            Quatre's face fell slightly.  He was hoping the call wasn't a sign of yet another impending conflict.

            "Where do you need me and when do you need me there by?" he asked, his resolve firming.

            "Budapest, preferably in ten hours or less," Wufei answered.

            "Are the others coming too?"

            "Depends if they feel like heading off another war."

            With that he hung up.

            Haruka raised an eyebrow as Quatre set the phone down.  "Well?" she asked.

            "That was Chang Wufei.  The Preventors want me in Budapest," he answered.

            For one brief moment, Haruka's confident expression was shattered by a look of bewilderment and, or maybe it was just his imagination, fear.  "Why the hell do they want you to go to Budapest?"

            "Something happened to an intern who lived here on the colony.  I'm not sure what happened, but it didn't sound good.  Can you look after things for me here?" he asked.

            Haruka shook her head.  "No way.  Leave Althea in charge; she's good at the business aspect," she said, thinking of Quatre's sister.  "I think I'll go with you.  I've got a couple of friends on Earth I'd like to check in with anyways."

            If he hadn't been so preoccupied with Wufei's call, Quatre might have been intrigued by her last comment.  Though he'd known Haruka all his life, he knew very little about her, save for the fact that she had gone to school with his mother in the colonies.  The fact that she had friends on Earth revealed a bit about her past.

            However, there was no time to dwell on this, because he had to arrange for a transport to Earth as soon as physically possible.

            Duo Maxwell pulled his jacket closer around him as he walked down the busy streets of Budapest towards the luxurious Parliament Hotel.  It had been years since he'd had anything to do with the organization.  For the first couple of years after the war had ended, he had lived with Hilde and worked as a scrap dealer, handling a few intelligence missions as they came up.  Sadly, Hilde had been diagnosed with a severe form of cancer four years ago, and had died within twelve months.

            Life had changed for the happy-go-lucky man then.  He smiled less, spoke less, and didn't go outside very often.  After getting a small apartment in Buenos Aires, he took a job as a technician for a company that built shuttles.  His heart had healed from the loss of the woman he would've married, but his life was much more dull without the cute little germen girl he'd met during the darkest period of his life.

            But things became interesting again when he received a phone call from Chang Wufei asking him to come to Budapest to help with an operation that had gone awry when something happened to an intern that had been sent to deal with some hate crime vandalism going on at the colonial embassy in Romania.  So it was with a hurry to escape the cold wind and cold thoughts that Duo headed to the hotel.

            Upon entering the bright, cheerful lobby, he walked to the front desk.

            "Excuse me.  I'm Mr. Maxwell, here to meet a Ms. Sally Po in the presidential suite," he explained the teal-haired lady behind the desk.

            "Oh yes, she's expecting you.  Go on up.  Top floor, suite 9," she said with a smile.

            He nodded to her and smiled slightly.  "Thanks," he answered, and crossed the lobby into the elevator.  He pressed the button for the twelfth floor and leaned back against the wall.  Then, somewhere around the seventh floor, a figure in a black ski mask entered the elevator.  He, (Duo assumed it was a he, but the figure had a very slight build and could've been a skinny girl), closed the door and waited for the elevator to resume its ascent.  Between the ninth and tenth floors, he suddenly looked over.

            "Duo Maxwell?" the voice was low and didn't say much for the gender.

            He slowly turned his head.  "Yeah?"

            The lips revealed through the ski mask smiled and the figure slammed its hand against the emergency stop button.  "I've been sent to kill you.  Say goodbye."

            Before Duo knew what was happening, there was a knife slashing towards his face.  But his street sharpened reflexes were still strong.  His forearm flew up and knocked his attackers wrist so hard the knife went flying.  Wishing he had a gun, he dove for the knife and managed to grab the handle.  Then he looked in the blade, and realized he'd made a deadly mistake; he'd turned his back on the figure.

            Quickly, he turned the blade down and clenched his teeth as he felt a blow from either the foot or hand land in the middle of his lower back.  At the last second, he rolled away, saving his spinal cord from snapping.  This had caught his opponent by surprise, and after quickly springing to his feet he slammed the figure's head against the wall of the elevator.  A groan emitted from his adversary's mouth as it slunk to the floor.

            Duo stretched triumphantly.  "Still got it.  And now to see who our villain is…"

            He reached down and pulled off the mask.  The face was young, very young.  The person could not be more than twelve years old, and only just barely that.  Strawberry blond hair was cut short, and there was a large red bump forming on the side of the head.  But still, the gender could not be determined.

            Narrowing his eyes, Duo stowed the knife in his pocket and opened the escape hatch.    He climbed up the cables to the next landing, then opened the doors.  He was relieved to find no one around as he casually shut the doors, walked down the hallways to the stairs, and climbed the remaining two floors.

            He knocked on the door of Suite 9, and was answered by a tall young man with sandy blond hair and sapphire eyes.  The man raised an eyebrow.

            "Can I help you?" he asked.

            "Yeah, I'm here to see Sally and Wufei," Duo answered.

            The man opened his mouth to say something but was pushed aside by a shorter, blonder man whose eyes were a brighter shade of blue.

            "Duo!" he cried.

            "Hey Quatre!  Hey man, what's up?" Duo asked, shaking Quatre's hand firmly.  His friend had hardly changed through all the years.

            Quatre smiled.  Duo was the same old Duo.  They had all been saddened to learn of Hilde's death, but it was good to see that the braided American pilot was recovering personality-wise.

            "You'll have to excuse Haruka.  She's not the greatest at making a warm welcome," he said, smiling at his aunt.

            "She?" Duo blinked, looking back at the young man, or rather, woman, who had greeted him.

            Haruka smirked slightly.  "Well, that should be about everyone.  I'm going out for a bit.  I'll see you later, Quatre."

            With that, she headed out the door and disappeared down the hall.

            Quatre and Duo proceeded into the living room where Wufei and Sally were waiting.  Also with them was the quiet auburn haired man known as Trowa Barton.  The three all looked up when the two men entered, but Sally was the only one to stand up and say hello.  Wufei just rolled his eyes at Duo and Trowa nodded and rested his face against his clasped hands.

            Duo looked around.  "Nice little reunion we've got going on here.  Who're we still waiting for?"

            "Lady Une," Wufei answered, checking his watch.  "She's late."

            "She's a busy lady," he shrugged.  "So wait…is Heero coming?"

           "He's here," Trowa answered, glancing towards a door near the windows.  Sure enough, as if on cue, Heero Yuy walked through the door.

            "Hey, long time no see!" Duo grinned, slapping his friend on the back.

            Heero shot his signature death glare as usual, and as usual, Duo ignored it.

            "Quite a little reunion we've got here," Sally commented.  "Too bad we couldn't get Zechs, Noin, and Relena."

            "This isn't exactly the best time to be looking back on fond memories," Wufei said sarcastically.

            Sally smirked.  "Glad you found them 'fond'."

            At that moment the door opened.

            "Finally," Wufei said, standing up.  "What took you so long L-"

            He stopped.

            It was not Lady Une that had walked through the door.