Disclaimer: It wouldn't be called a fanfic if I own Gundam Wing right? Right.

If you were wondering where the hell are the pilots' children since you didn't get even a glimpse of them in the first chapter (and I told you that this fic will focus on them), well, wonder no more. From here on, all that you're going to read about would be them. I kinda got their names from their parents' names (kinda cheesy e?) and I made them a cross of their parents' most dominat qualities. Hope I made them familiar but not too similar, interesting and unique enough that you could like them. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com

One week earlier (L1 Colony)

It was a place for learning and anonymity, a place where surnames didn't matter and were non-existent. It was a place where you could just be yourself without the constraints of living in the shadows of how influential, famous or notorious your family was. The RECON Institute of Science and Technology was a haven for the intelligent and for those who wanted their identities not made public. And to 16 yr old Kai Dotre Winner, this was the perfect place for him. Having a well-known family name was bitch sometimes, as he and his friends could attest to. Well, most of them anyways. He was sure that Rhys Illiard Peacecraft and the Yuy twins knew how he felt. Deity Maxwell, Lee Fei Chang and Trion Barton didn't have the same problem with privacy as they had though their families were famous in their own way. The Maxwells were well known in the field of salvage business, the Changs were top Preventer officials, Trowa Barton was a famous circus performer and part-time Preventer agent while his wife, Midii, was a full time agent. But unlike them, his, Rhys, Jiiro and Reina's parents were well known in the world of politics and business. Quatre Raberba Winner was the head of the Colony delegates since AC 202 and also the CEO of the Winner Corporation while Dorothy Catalonia Winner was the Executive Vice President, the Peacecrafts were the Chief Representative of the Sanc Kingdom and were Earth delegates themselves, Relena Peacecraft Yuy was the ESUN President and former Vice Foreign Minister (also former Queen of the World) and Heero Yuy was the President's husband, head of Security and also the CEO of Quark Technologies, the largest computer company in the ESUN. It was a blessing that nobody knew that their fathers were the former Gundam pilots who saved the ESUN thrice before or else they would even be more famous.

Their parents found it necessary to tell them the whole story about the Gundams, the Eve Wars, the Marimeia incident and Operation Domino. They didn't have to really, for they had read about this stuff in history books. But it was different hearing the real story from its major players, knowing the how's, the why's and the little details that didn't get publicized. It was both fascinating and frightening, and they knew in their hearts that their parents made all those sacrifices so they wouldn't live in such a frightful place. Their parents wanted them to have a normal childhood, not having normal childhoods themselves. They wanted them to lead a better life than they had, to have the best of everything, to be happy. And they went out of their way to give these to them. Knowing their need for escape and anonymity, their parents enrolled them at RECON. He and his friends would forever be grateful to them for that. At RECON, he could simply be Kai and not the heir to the Winner Corporation. It was the same for the others. They could maintain their individuality, not being referred to as the son or daughter of someone famous who would also be famous someday.

Though both them and their parents knew that this anonymity was only temporary, they weren't bothered. What mattered to them was that they were all content in living their lives right this moment, managing to hide from the spotlight even for a short while. They had the rest of their lives to live up with the burden, responsibilities and expectations that came with their respective names. But now, they were happy just to be your typical, normal teenagers.

Kai just entered the school cafeteria, which looked more like a food court in a mall, when he spotted a blue-haired girl in a long braid and a girl with shoulder length chocolate brown hair standing in line by the Mexican food stall.

"Hey, Deity, Reina," he greeted as he joined the two 15-yr olds in their line.

"Kai!" Deity exclaimed, her violet eyes flashing. One would think that they hadn't seen each other for a long time. Or that that they didn't live in the same house. Well, that was expected from someone born from Duo and Hilde. Deity had been a bundle of energy from the day she was born.

"Hi, Kai," Reina greeted back, pulling a scrunchie from her jean pocket to tie her hair in a ponytail. She then stared at Kai's ash-blue eyes, his mother's eyes, when she remembered something. "I thought you're allergic to Mexican food. Why are you in line?"

Kai looked at Reina. He could always see his Aunt Relena in her, Reina resembling her in so many ways, except for the hair and intense Prussian blue eyes she inherited from her father. And if Reina looked a lot like Relena, her twin older brother, Jiiro, looked exactly like Heero. Though the twins were a little reserved and quiet around strangers, they were relaxed, warm and caring toward their family and friends. They smiled a lot too. But when pissed-off, they clearly manifest the evidence of them being the offspring of the Perfect Soldier. It was really funny, how they all turned out to be. They were all a cross of their parents' best qualities --- both physical and otherwise. It was a startling phenomenon.

Kai ran a hand through his blonde hair before replying, "Yup. I'm still allergic. I just went here to say hi." He then scanned the room. "I saw Rhys by the Italian side. See ya," he waved as he made his way through the throng of students buying lunch.

Rhys mentally sighed though his face was smiling at the girl who just commented how good he was at the soccer game last night. The 18-yr old stud was crowded by too many girls that he couldn't even manage to get in line to buy his lunch. Not that he minded being surrounded by girls that much, it would just be better to have another guy around. Usually, he was with his bestfriend, Miles, when they were swarmed by girls. But because Miles was absent, he had to endure the endeavor alone. The girls weren't to blame though. Rhys was as every inch as attractive as his father. He got Zechs' icy blue eyes and combined with chin-length blue hair, he was simply irresistible. He heaved a big sigh of relief when he saw Kai heading towards his direction. Kai was as much as a stud as himself (all five of them were though he and Kai were more approachable) and he was sure that some of the girls would drool over him instead.

Before the two guys could even greet each other, half of the girls exclaimed, "KAI!!!" then rushed to the blonde. Rhys suppressed a laugh as he saw his friend fend off the predatory females. Always the gentleman, Kai told them, "Ok, umm, I'll talk to you girls later. My buddy and I need to eat first." Giving them one last smile, he rushed to Rhys' side and practically dragged him to the counter to order their food. The girls bought their own food as well then followed the two outside the cafeteria. Rhys and Kai hurriedly headed to their 'spot', knowing the fact that the girls would leave them alone once they reached their group's table.

The two were relieved when they saw Deity, Reina, Jiiro, Trion, Lee Fei, Qintaro and Sean sitting at their table. "Bye Kai! Bye Rhys!" the girls called out in a sing-song voice as they sat down on their table a few feet away.

"You know, if you really want those girls to stop hounding you, do what Qintaro and Jiiro do to their admirers," Sean suggested as the two took their seats. "Give them a death glare."

Qintaro gave his cousin a death glare. "See what I mean? If I'm a girl, I would be scared out of my wits," the 15 yr-old redhead said, grinning.

"I don't think their glares were effective enough," Rhys stated, pointing at another table. A group of girls were staring dreamily at Jiiro and Qintaro.

"At least they just drool from afar."

"And what about you, Sean? What do you do to keep our admirers at bay?"

"Don't worry, Deity. Everyone in this school knew that you and Sean had this 'thing' going. Just like Qintaro and Reina," 14 yr-old Trion silently said. Though his blonde hair covered part of his face, making only one of his green eyes visible (he inherited his father's hairstyle much to Midii's dismay), everybody could see the mischief in them.

Reina and Deity turned deep red, Sean smirked and Qintaro just glared at Trion, though the corners of his mouth twitched up a bit.

"I don't have a 'thing' with him!" the two girls exclaimed at the same time.

"Yeah right," Lee Fei snorted. "Don't you ever wonder why nobody asks the two of you out on a date even if many guys here are attracted to you?" the 14 yr old asked, his brownish-black eyes staring intently at them.

"It's because we hang out with 11 guys?" Deity guessed.

"And they are all scared of you, especially Niichan?" Reina added. Jiiro gave her an odd look.

The raven haired boy rolled his eyes. "No, stupid onnas. They think that you two are already taken."

"Uh-oh. Lee is starting to sound like Uncle Wu," Jiiro commented.

"No I'm not! I don't rant about either Justice or Injustice and I don't think onnas are weak!" Everybody laughed at his outburst. Sean and Qintaro didn't know who they were talking about but the Chinese boy's reaction was so funny that they laughed anyways.

"Anyone who thinks that women are weak would immediately change his mind once he got to know Deity and Reina," Qintaro stated.

You're right. But wait 'til you see our mothers. Those women are really strong, Kai thought. "Speaking of 11 guys, why do our ranks slowly decreasing? Where's Miles, Rhys?"

"I don't know. I didn't see him in any of our classes today," Rhys replied. Then, they all turned to look at Qintaro. Miles, Dean (Trion's bestfriend), Colin (Lee's bestfriend) and Ren (Kai's bestfriend) were all family friends of his. "He's needed home," Qintaro answered simply.

When they heard Qintaro's words, they didn't pursue the topic any further. Family backgrounds were taboo subjects to them and throughout these years that they were friends with Qintaro and the rest, they hadn't talked about their respective families, except for the slight (and harmless) references they made, like the one about Lee becoming like his father. But it didn't matter. They didn't need to know where the other came from, what one's family was like or what one's surname really was. They genuinely liked what they saw in each other, that was reason enough for them to be good friends.

But that didn't mean that they weren't curious, especially now that their friends were disappearing one by one. Colin was the first one to be needed back home, next was Dean, then Ren and now Miles. If this trend would continue, Sean and Qintaro would definitely be the next ones to be summoned home.

The conversation in the table was then changed to the school dance that would be held next week when they heard a voice over the speakers. "Paging Jiiro and Qintaro. Jiiro and Qintaro. Please proceed to the computer lab. Thank you." Surnames were non-existent in the RECON Institute, everyone was addressed by their first names, even the teachers. If there were persons with similar names, the latter one who got there would be called by his second name. And if that still wouldn't do, his nickname would be used or the administrators would give him a nickname.

The two aforementioned 15 yr olds stood up to throw the remains of their lunch in the trash bin. "Bye guys. See you later," Jiiro called out. Qintaro gave them a small wave as the two headed to the Computer Department.

Qintaro made a sideways glance at his bestfriend then said, "Jiiro, I'm going to ask Reina to the dance."

"Are you asking my permission or are you just informing me of what you're planning to do?"

Qintaro shrugged. "A little of both, I guess."

"Hn. Reina is old enough to make her own decisions."

"Thanks. What about you? Who are you taking to the dance?" Qintaro asked.

"Rhys, Kai and I agreed last night to go stag. If we ask any of the girls here, they might get crazy ideas, giving more meaning to a simple gesture. We don't want to lead anybody on."

Qintaro couldn't stop a smile from forming on his lips. If someone else had heard Jiiro, they might have mistaken him for being cocky. But that wasn't the case. Jiiro was just stating a fact, like he always did. His bluntness and no-nonsense attitude were what Qintaro liked most about him. It was not everyday you meet a kindred spirit. And if it wasn't for Reina, he would do the same thing. Because in their present predicament (having so many girl admirers, none of which you were interested in) going stag was the most logical thing to do.

"Sean's going to ask Deity," Qintaro informed him.

"I thought as much."

"What about Trion and Lee?"

"They told me that they'll just stay at home. Dances are not their kind of thing," Jiiro answered, brushing his unruly hair with his fingers.

"It's not our kind of thing either."

"Well, you have someone whom you want to take to the dance and I have to go because I know Reina would go, with or without a date," Jiiro replied as he opened the door of the computer lab.

"Good, you're here," Professor Andre said. "I developed a new system and I want the two of you to test it. See if you'll be able to crack the code." He gestured for the boys to sit down.

"The work of computer geniuses are never done," Qintaro muttered under his breath.

Jiiro smiled, knowing very well that what his bestfriend just said wasn't entirely a joke. "Indeed," he agreed before starting to work on his terminal.

2 days before the attack (12 noon)

Reina was not feeling well that morning so she opted to just stay at home. She was watching TV and occasionally dozing off by the couch when she heard the doorbell. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see familiar dirty blonde hair in a ponytail and beautiful green eyes.

"Qintaro, why are you here? Didn't you go to school?"

"I did. I sneaked out just as the lunch bell rang to tell you something. Can I come in?"

"Sure." After closing the door, the two stood face to face. They were almost the same height, Qintaro just 3 inches taller, like her brother. "So? What's so important about the thing you're going to tell me that you have to sneak out for it?"

"I can't go to the dance with you."

Reina cocked an eyebrow. It was just like Qintaro to not beat around the bush. "And why may I ask?"

"I just received a call from my father. Sean and I have to go home. I don't know when we'll be back. "

Reina was somewhat relieved. It was better to know that your date canceled on you because of some family emergency than just plain changing his mind. But it still hurt. "Ok. I understand."

"I'm so sorry, Reina. I'll make it up to you somehow. I promise."

"Let's talk about that when you come back," she answered coolly. They stared at each other for a few heartbeats first before Reina said, "Goodbye, Qintaro."

"Bye," he replied as he opened the door and went out of the house. Reina sighed upon closing the door. Her earlier illness was replaced by this sudden urge to smash something. She headed upstairs to the combat room.

Deity found Reina still doing combat exercises when she came home 2 1/2 hours later. "Want a sparring partner?"

Reina stopped and turned to regard her bestfriend. "Yeah. I know that you wanted to let off some steam too."

Deity snorted in response as she went to Reina and they started sparring.

"Where are the others?" Reina inquired, blocking Deity's attack and returning some of her own.

"At the kitchen. Eating," Deity answered, dodging. After a few minutes, she asked, "When do you think they'll return?"

"I don't know. I also have this weird feeling that they might not come back at all." Deity managed to nod at her, telling her that she felt the same. They continued battling.

The guys went upstairs after eating and found the two girls still engaged in combat. "Remind me not to cancel on them ever," Trion stated.

"I think we should do something fun ourselves. Let's play the combat simulation program Uncle Heero made for us," Lee suggested.

"Great idea!" Kai remarked.

"Yeah. I'm itching for a good fight too," Rhys added.

"Let's go then," Jiiro said. The five guys left the girls alone and headed to the game room.

At present

The seven of them stared with shock and horror at the TV screen. "Good afternoon to all. I am General Raidon Langley, the leader of the revolutionary group, Dais Rogue. As you have guessed by now, I have succeeded in overthrowing the present government. As a matter of fact, I have in my custody our beloved President. And being the victor, I now proclaim that Relena Peacecraft Yuy is no longer the President of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. I am." They saw Relena stood up from beside Raidon, her face calm and confident. They couldn't see it but following Relena's eyes, they were certain that guns were aimed at her.

"Kaasan," Reina whispered. Deity squeezed her hand, her violet eyes filled with the same worry as could be detected from Reina's voice. Kai, Rhys, Trion and Lee's faces hardened while Jiiro's face remained blank though his eyes were ablaze.

"As the new President, I'm going to make some changes. But that can wait. You'll be hearing from me again soon. That's all. Thank you." After Rhys turned off the TV, a tensed silence occupied the room. They were shocked and horrified when they saw the Gundams and the Tallgeese attacking the Presedential Palace.

"They said they were going on a vacation. They didn't tell me that they're going to overthrow the Congregation," Deity muttered.

"We're not yet sure if it really was them," Rhys countered.

"But there's a big possibility that it is them. Only our fathers knew where the Gundams were hidden. So it's either they're the ones piloting them or they gave their permission to Raidon to use the Gundams," Kai pointed out.

"You know how our fathers are. It's impossible that they would willingly pilot their Gundams to stage a coup against the Congregation or that they would willingly divulge the location of the Gundams," Lee told them.

"Maybe they were forced to do it. Raidon might have blackmailed them with something that was impossible for them to refuse," Trion voiced out.

"But Tousan was not with them. Nor was he with Kaasan when Raidon took over the Palace. Where is he, Niichan?" Reina asked.

"Knowing Tousan, I'm sure he went to get Wing Zero immediately after Kaasan told him that she's staying. He might be planning a counterattack as we speak," Jiiro answered, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"So, what do we do now?" Deity inquired, her fingers absentmindedly playing with her ring.

At the same time

"This is all my fault," Lady Une said in a sad voice as she turned off the monitor in their holding cell.

"No it isn't! It's Raidon's greed for power that caused all of this," Noin told her.

"Besides, you just did the only thing you could to save those you hold dear. Just like what Quatre and the others did for us," Dorothy added.

"I'm sorry, Mom. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gotten in this situation," Marimeia said.

Lady Une squeezed her hand. "Forget it. Noin's right. This is nobody's fault but Raidon's. Just take it easy, ok? Pray that by the time you go to labor, things are back to normal." Fortunately, that would be 4 months from now. Raidon wouldn't stay in power for that long, would he? Marimeia smiled and leaned against her husband, Toby. Both Toby and Marimeia worked for the Preventers.

"I don't want to sound like Wufei but that Raidon guy really doesn't have honor. Using us to blackmail the pilots to reveal the location of the Gundams is a weak thing to do. Injustice," Catherine said. Everyone laughed though they believed that Catherine was right.

Ardy, Cathy's husband, silently studied everyone in the room, realizing the fact that he was the odd one out. He didn't exactly know what was going on. He didn't know anything about his brother-in-law and his friends being the famed yet mysterious Gundam Pilots before. Toby might not know that certain fact either but he was certain that Toby knew much more than him since he was a Preventer agent. It all made perfect sense now. He liked these people and throughout all these years, they had been good friends, almost like family. But he noticed something different about them, as if they were not just your average group of people. Now he knew. And though he and his family were dragged into this mess, he didn't regret being associated with them. In fact, he was proud to call them his friends, his family.

"I just hope that they'll make Relena stay with us. She'll be safer here," Hilde voiced out.

"She'll be safer if she escaped with Heero. But being as stubborn and as dedicated as Relena is, she had to stay and be captured by Raidon. I'm sure Raidon is going to use her against Heero just like what he did to us," Midii told them.

"He might have won the day but the battle is far from over. Heero will make sure of that," Sally said confidently.

Noin, Sally, Hilde, Dorothy and Midii then looked at each other, knowing too well what Heero would resort to doing to regain the ESUN back from Raidon. It was something that they thought had chances of happening but dreaded just the same. If only they could stop this from happening, if only there were other alternatives left, if only they could trade places with them but that was not the case.

"They'll be in good hands. Heero will take good care of them, I'm sure of it," Hilde said. The other 4 nodded their agreement. At least they weren't captured with them and whatever happens the 4 mothers knew that those 7 had more chances of survival than the rest of them being held by Raidon. That was the only consolation they had.

Zechs turned off the TV in their room. "That bastard! If he hurts Relena, I swear to God I'm going to kill him!"

"If we get out of here, I'm going to kill that weakling too," Wufei stated.

"Who do you think were piloting our Gundams?" Quatre asked.

"Raidon must have trained soldiers for the sole purpose of piloting the Gundams. I admit that they're pretty good," Trowa said.

"But still not as good as us," Duo remarked. "Well, we still had one chance. It is far from over."

"Yeah. Heero is still out there. And knowing him and my sister, I'm pretty certain that Heero asked Relena to escape with him and she must have fed him with her 'I-have-to-stay-because-I-have-a-responsibility-to the-people' crap," Zechs commented.

"But Raidon was right. Even with all of Heero's skills, he couldn't possibly defeat 5 Gundams, the Tallgeese and a whole army single-handedly. Especially that new suit, Stygma," Trowa pointed out.

"Stygma was patterned after the Epyon and we all know that the Epyon is a match to Wing Zero, if you don't take into account the twin buster rifle. Epyon was designed to be a dueling suit, that's why it only had melee weapons. But adding that cross rifle attached at its back changed that purpose. Stygma is definitely a match to the Wing Zero, point per point," Zechs told them.

Wufei smirked inspite of everything that was just said. "Maxwell wasn't exactly saying the truth when he said that there's only one Gundam pilot still on the lose. Wing Zero isn't the only Gundam not in Raidon's possession either."

Quatre sighed. "True. If the circumstances were different, we have nothing to worry about. There are two suits and two exceptional pilots in existence who could right everything that has gone wrong in the ESUN. But that's not the case. So Heero have to resort to that thing we thought might happen but wished that wouldn't."

"He needs their help. The whole ESUN needs their help. There's no other choice," Duo stated, staring at the ring on his finger. It was the same exact ring his daughter had.

Here's the Family tree in case I got u confused:

1. Zechs and Noin -- Rhys (18), Zeke (13)
2. Quatre and Dorothy -- Kai (16), Deirdre (10)
3. Heero and Relena -- Jiiro and Reina (15)
4. Duo and Hilde -- Deity (15), Dylan (12), Haley (8)
5. Trowa and Midii -- Trion (14)
6. Wufei and Sally -- Lee Fei (14), Mitzi (12)
7. Ardy and Catherine -- Carrie (14)

The twins were the direct result of what Heero and Relena did in The way you love me (so their birthmonth is September). If u can also remember, Hilde got pregnant first (she was 1-2 months along the way then) so Deity is 1-2 months older than the Yuy twins. I'm not being nasty, I just want to establish the importance (or the connection) of that fic to this. Just so u know :)

A side node about Marimeia: I didn't put her in a wheelchair since it was my belief that she only used the wheelchair because she was still recovering from her bullet wound then. She's perfectly healthy in this fic.

You also might wonder why there are too many repetitions of the same idea at the last part. Well, I'm just trying to show that all of them knew each other very well. They could easily guess what the one did and the other's response to that.