A/N: edited 11/12/19 for corrections, spelling errors, and general incoherency I noticed. There's a few things I didn't get right regarding mixing up the Alliance (and apparently OZ's soldiers attack the church, so I need to fix that shit, too.)

Also, I mixed up the ages, so Duo is technically eight when the Maxwell massacre happens, not 7 like I assumed. It's okay, this is a work in progress.

also: alison's old birthday was October 8th and Duo's (here) is September 30, the day this fic was published. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Admit it, how many of you called Quatre QUA-trey before realizing it was actually pronounced KAT-re? I did so much and I'm embarrassed.

Most SI/OC stories go like this: said OC is reincarnated in fictional world, everyone instantly likes them, everything goes their way, they never suffer any wrongdoings, they're just OKAY with being reincarnated and nothing ever goes wrong.

This is not that kind of story. This is different, it's a much more realistic take on the whole thing.

Warning; it is a girl reborn as a boy, therefore there will be some transgender and gender questioning themes, so if you don't like it, don't read. Also, war, psychological trauma and other warnings apply. This is Gundam Wing after all, a dark world, at least in contrast to other anime like KHR and stuff, with power of friendship. I mean the pilots all try to fucking kill each other before they learn who they are and stuff.

Prologue: After Colony 195

The United Earth Sphere Alliance was the way of the world. The space colonies were beginning to fear that they would never achieve peace, at least not as long as groups like OZ and TUESA existed.

What people didn't know was that several scientists had defected from the OZ group in order to plot its downfall and the eventual freedom of the space colonies, in a bold move, they commandeered "Operation Meteor. In five different places on Earth, five different "shooting stars" came down from the sky.

All the populace knew was that they were "shooting stars that burned up in orbit", with no life forms aboard. That couldn't have been further from the truth.

In reality, the shooting stars made it to the Earth, and ejected their cargo: all five contained five specially trained child soldiers, who piloted deadly weapons known as "Gundams", (so called because they contained Gundanium in them) who were determined to save space from itself and restore order to the universe.

They were the Gundam pilots, to some they were heroes, and others they were enemies eternally.

Their names were-01, Heero Yuy, in the Wing Gundam, and later Wing Zero.

-03, Trowa Barton, in the Heavyarms Gundam.

-04, Quatre Raberba Winner, in the Sandrock Gundam.

-05, Wufei Chang, in the Nataku Gundam.

And one other-02-Duo Maxwell, the pilot of Gundam Deathscythe-and the 'hero' of this tale. In this story, Duo Maxwell is the main character, and as such, our narrator. However, what if someone from our world got to live as Duo? What would change? What wouldn't?

After all, in the art of war, there are no innocents left to be seen.

Mission One: Hello, Duo Maxwell!

I can't help but confess to it: I'm not a very patient person.

It's one of my biggest shortcomings, but hey, we all have our flaws. It's what makes life interesting, I suppose. That doesn't mean I'm still not bored, though, and doesn't change anything about my current predicament.

I sighed as I ran my hand through my brown hair, disinterested.

"They really are takin' a long time to come out, aren't they?" I said, idly fingering the controls of the machine that I was in. Who knew bein' out on the battlefield meant you had to sit like it was purgatory? Not that I really believe that stuff now-maybe I do, it's complicated, ok?

The machine made a noise, as though it were sentient.

A faint smile crossed my face. "Yeah, that's right, buddy. We'll be fightin' soon. You know, I never thought I'd enjoy this life outside of space. Especially with the whole "second chance at life" and stuff."

I know it doesn't know what I'm talking about, and I don't expect it to, really. Machines don't get higher concepts like that. But absolutely no one understands what I mean by that, and I intend it to be that way, ya know-

My thoughts were cut off, as the machine suddenly roared to life; as a warning flashed across its sensors. 'ENEMY DETECTED,' it read.

Well, my boredom is gone, time to go out and fight.

"Sure looks like the lions and tigers have come out of their cages to play. I hope they're ready to take us on," I purred, pressing a control, as the machine roared to life and stealthily crept up behind the easily seen prey.

"Halt! Identify yourself!" Aw, I'd almost feel sorry for them, if they weren't fond of controlling so many people and spilling their blood. Not that I feel sorry for them.

Bah, so boring.

I whirled around to face them, as the cloaking device did its handiwork. Within seconds, a tall black and white monster towered above them, its optics glowing bright green like a cat's eyes at night.

Instantly, a green beam of light formed in the machine's arms; a scythe of death, that Deathscythe-my Deathscythe-held in its hands. I couldn't help but taunt them, even though they couldn't hear me.

"Oh, boy, don't ya know what you've just done? You've broken the rule here! We're supposed to be secret, after all!"

"IT'S A GUNDA-" Was all the stupid prey had time to say before I slashed right through their cockpits at once, causing a loud explosion, and killing the occupant, obviously.

"That's right! Ya really should've run away. I hate killing such unnecessary fodder, it's such a waste of time to me," I grumbled. Well, that's what the Shingami gets, I suppose. Every now and again, ya wind up getting the time wasters, and sometimes, you get someone interesting to fight.

What had been that game I'd played in my old life called where you battled people-Pokemon? This reminded me of it and I couldn't help but sigh at the nostalgia. I missed those little critters. Too bad it didn't exist here.

Suddenly, someone new was behind me. I couldn't catch up fast enough to react in time.

"Duo!" A new voice cried out.

Suddenly, another tall black-and-white Gundam appeared to aid me.

It was Sandrock.

A cheery blond waved out the window at me, with such a bright smile that unicorns could bathe in his radiance.

That's Quatre Winner, you can't mistake anyone else for him. He's the most innocent guy you could ever meet. Yeah, he's a Gundam pilot.

I'm a Gundam pilot, too.

If you're reading this, ya probably know we're all evil people, that's what they all tell you.

That's a convenient lie.

The government here wants ya to believe that everything OZ says and does is okay, when it isn't.

Well, let me just begin by telling you about myself.

Yes, I'm Duo Maxwell; the God of Death.

Perhaps you've heard of me; seeing as I pilot Deathscythe, and bring death to others. That's what I do now. What do I mean when I say now?

As I sit there, talking to my friends and annoy the hell out of Hee-chan, (as I always do) lemme tell ya a secret; they say that the God of Death cannot die; if that's the case, then I'm a case of someone who came back from the dead as someone else entirely!

I guess I'm an immortal, then. So the name kind of fits, a little bit.

But a long time ago, I didn't even live in this world, in the world of Gundam Wing, believe it or not-wait, world? How can I, a fictional character, be aware that this world is supposed to be a fictitious one?

Well, it's kinda...really is cheating in a sense, but I existed in the real world, probably like you, a while ago, in my past life, in an Earth that wasn't ravaged by war and Gundams and OZ being a freaking asshole.

I could never live without mobile suits, to be honest. I've grown too fond of them.

Back then, I'd had a loving family, friends-before it was all ripped away from me sooner than you can say I'm gonna kill you-yeah, I had to make that pun. If ya want to know the most ironic part of it all, it's that I was a girl back then.

I know what yer all gonna say-Duo Maxwell's so girly, but he's clearly a guy, how could he have ever been a girl? Well, it's the truth, I swear it on Deathscythe. I used to be a chick in my past life, at least.

Let me tell you how my story became the way it is today-after all, no one will ever read this diary of mine-Hee-chan won't have any interest and will just think it's "Maxwell being his weird self", Wufei will think it's another "Crazy Maxwell thing", as I am known for, and Trowa will be too busy boning Quatre to really care.

That's right, they're an official couple, not that I really care. I saw that back in the day when I was a mere reader of the 3x4 ships online.

And as for me and Hee-chan?

That's a secret for another day.

I've started thinking of myself more as a male, but that still doesn't make it awkward at times, especially when I get mistaken for a female for the umpteenth time. Guys can wear long hair, too, ya know!

Well, how about tellin' ya more about my past life?

In my past life, my name was Alison, with one L, and not two, though many people thought it was two Ls. Let's just say my mom liked to be different and name me with just one L.

I had a mother, a father who wasn't around much, and a little sister who I cherished very much. I went to school and had an ordinary life, I suppose.

I don't really remember that much more, because my memories of that life are becoming harder to think about. As they should. I do miss that old life of mine.

Truth be told, there is a reason I stopped thinking about it-because this life has become something amazing for me, something I'll do anything for, anything to protect. Well, my attitude wasn't always that way when it began.

Ah, when. Lemme answer the thing yer most curious about: of all people, how the hell did a girl like me wind up becoming Duo Maxwell, and not some ninja in the land of Naruto?

Fate's a picky one, I guess, and as ya can guess, it began when I died.

I was only around sixteen at the time it happened.

Another irrelevant detail, but I'd been a natural blond in my past life, and had blue eyes.

When I had been Alison, I had been a fan of Gundam Wing, which caused the boys at school to tease me, saying that only boys should be into it, don't ya love how tolerant people can be?

My favorite character was Heero, but I'd always had a strong attachment to Duo.

Anyway, I felt like I could always sympathize with the characters in Gundam Wing the series just felt "special" to me and gave me strange emotions that no other show did.

I never tried to explain this to anyone because they would have found me crazy, but sometimes I wished that universe in particular was real.

I lived a fractured life because my parents split up when I was little, so it was just me, my mother and my little sister.

I do think about my little sister, but that's all in the past.

I'm a live in the present kind of person. Maybe that's why I'm not too stressed out over my having died.

The funny thing is, death can come claim you at any time.

It's kinda scary, the way that death came to take me.

Well, for starters, I had just finished school for the day.

My mom had picked me up from school, with my little sister in the backseat, getting my seat belt on in the car.

I was discussing my day with my mother, as my sister interrupted us. She's like Mariemaia, now that I think about it, minus the destructive tendencies.

I was just a brat then, now that I think about it.

"Alison, look at this manga picture I drew for you!" My little sister cried, holding out a badly sketched picture of Duo from Gundam Wing. "It's Duo!"

Ah, it was fun getting my sibling into anime.

I looked at it and smiled. "Yes, I see. I like him a lot."

My mom had worked a long time to protect us. She was very kind and caring. I still really miss her. She was a good mom. Here's where it gets weird.

A random, big black truck turned onto the street and headed toward us. Mom screamed and tried to press on the brakes. However, the truck crashed right into my side, not my little sister's or my mom's.

All I really remember is the sight of the truck, the bright golden headlights coming closer and closer to us, and then I felt nothing and saw nothing except blackness.

Then, I recall being attached to a hospital bed, and having to say goodbye to my family as I died.

Damned car accident, stealing me away when I was only sixteen freaking years old.

I can recall waking up as a baby, too and being puzzled.

I could move again and see things.

My hands were tiny, I was an...infant?

A woman I'd never seen before was talking in a language I didn't know.

It didn't take me long to figure out that I was reborn and a baby again, much to my irritation.

What place we were in, I had no idea.

It was an advanced society, too. There were computers, and televisions, stuff much outside my realm of experience.

Everything felt so off, though. I wasn't allowed to really play outside much, and my new parents frequently shoved me aside in favor of doing experiments. These parents were shit at their jobs.

My new parents were frequently busy and uninterested in me, which obviously caused a lot of hurt in me, although seeing as I had another lifetime of experiences going through me, I was more focused on my internal turmoil of leaving my family behind.

It's not like my new mom didn't take care of me, she did, but with the most indifference.

I don't even...remember my real name or whatever it was they called me. They didn't do it much, so I just thought I was still "Alison", just wherever this is.

I also found out that my gender had been changed, which came as quite a shock.

For some reason, going to the bathroom like I normally did hurt. I looked down, confused, and toddler me suddenly received quite a shock that day-I discovered I had a new body part that hadn't been there before. Somehow, I now had the organ of the opposite sex.

It never once had occurred to me that when I'd be reborn, I'd be reborn as a boy.I just assumed that I'd be...a girl, like usual. I didn't know God liked being a fucking dick.

Yes, now I was a male. Fortunately, for me, I accepted it relatively quickly. I've never really been bad at adapting.

My parents always talked about things like OZ, mobile suits...and I quickly learned this new language. It was like English, but not quite. It was more like Esperanto, or a blend of languages. Let it be said, it was hard to drop many American expressions from my world.

At an early age, I figured out that these parents were incompetent. They hardly called me by name, had no interest in what I did, and no fucking preschool. Wow, I mostly just sat around in the house while they did their thing.

My parents showed their true colors one day, however-the day that changed everything. There were some explosions and I saw a fire start up in our house.

I ran to my parents for help, feeling for once like the scared five-year old I actually was, only for them to ignore me, collect their things, and push me out the door and tell me they were leaving forever.

They never came back, douchebags. It was obvious I couldn't be there anymore, so I lived on the streets from then on for around several years.

I'd learned that the name of this place we were in was called L2.

I'd heard a lot of talk about "space" and "suits" and wondered if I was in a Star Trek universe. I hadn't seen the kooky outfits, yet.

Eventually, I joined a gang of youths that stole things. Great fun, being poor and on the streets. Definitely not something I was used to.

The eldest was a boy named Solo and for some reason, he insisted on calling me Duo. At first, I thought it was just a really lame pun. I also thought his name was Solo because he liked Star Wars, but no one seemed to understand what I meant, so I dropped it. Still, I really liked hanging out with them. It was nice to have a family for once, although my thoughts often moved back to my past, wondering what my mom and sister were doing now without me.

He still called me Duo, and I got used to it, even though part of me kept screaming that my name was Alison. Even though Alison is a name for a guy, it was obvious that wasn't my new name. I didn't even remember what my parents had called me to begin with, so whatever.

It wasn't until the day I ran into my destiny head-on that I actually realized just who I was now, where I was, and what was going on.

I'd tried to pickpocket someone, that someone being a nun.

She grabbed my little hand; I tried to run away, but her grip was fierce.

"Let go of me!" I cried.

"You're a fast one," she chuckled. "Are you an orphan with no home?"

What gave you an indication of that, the fact that I'm a child running around without parents?

"You seem like a fiery one, boy," She said, patting my head, causing me to pout.

Physically seven or not, I refused to be treated as a child.

Unfortunately, the nun didn't see it that way, as she led me into an orphanage filled with lots of wailing children. Oh boy, children. I got along so well with them. Not.

I recalled when I was actually seven, I'd gotten sent to the principal's office for punching a boy in the face after he'd insulted me.

I hated children. This was not going to end well.

But hey, at least I didn't have to get periods anymore.

"This is Father Maxwell," She said before pointing to the priest. "This is Duo here, little Duo would like to join our family."

"Pleasure to meet you, Duo," He said, shaking my hand.

Wait, Father Maxwell? So, this wasn't a coffee house?

Maxwell Church?

My heart started pounding faster in my chest. Oh fuck, it was so obvious, why had I been so in denial about it?

"Duo, your braid is rather undone, let me fix it."

As Sister Helen fixed my hair, I stared into a mirror and my suspicions were confirmed.

My hair was now longer, uh...dirtier, and dark brown in color. My eyes were now a violet.

I was...Duo Maxwell?

If that was right, then this was...Gundam Wing?

Oh shit.

My little fist hit the mirror as I let out a single curse word.

"FUCK!"

That earned me a spanking.

Someone up there hates me.