A/N: I was inspired while star-gazing myself. May be slightly OOC and a few spoilers involving names and first season ending, if you haven't watched it.
Fade
Summary: Because the present is hell, the future is uncertain, and the past fades away.
Stars fell continuously in an endless stream. The dark indigo sky lit with fallen stars that left such a sight to behold. Now if only he didn't know the real meaning of each fallen star…
"Is she still paying her price?" A quiet voice inquired on his left side. "It's lucky she has you at her side."
He said nothing, resuming his sight-seeing to the sky. She scoffed a little bit, a bit put off at his distant attitude.
"You should stop sulking, Hei." Her lime green hair took on an unnatural glimmer to it, making it a faint blue color. As she sat down next to him, he could only focus on the stars.
"You know these stars are fake, don't you?"
"…yes, I do." He answered with little emotion. Perhaps it was the killing he had done with his bare hands and a few steel wires at his disposal, but it just felt so…empty.
"If that's true, then tell me why you keep looking up at the stars." She tried picking apart the logic behind his actions. Her kind were a step above his own as far as these…powers they were granted, and their cold logic made it difficult to even try and talk semantics to.
Another star fell.
"She's one of those stars, you know." The woman said impassively. "She's just another soldier here, no matter her age. One day, that will be her star falling and-"
He threw a wire around her neck and pushed her down to the muddy ground. She didn't flinch at all. She simply laid there under him, eyes unwavering and watching him. As for him, he felt the anger of her insulting Bai slowly ebb away into nothing. Before a minute had passed, he took the time to unwind the wire from her neck and then sat back up.
"Well, that was forceful of you." She tentatively touched her neck to feel for any injury. Only the faintest of red marked her skin simply because he hadn't forcefully pulled the wire. It was simply a threat that was clear and concise with no words on his part.
"I wonder, why are you here?" She had continued talking despite the incident just a few moments ago. He kept his focus on the myriad of stars. "You're not like the rest of us. You're just a human. Even if you're her older brother," her slender finger pointed at the sleeping figure back in his arms, "It isn't an excuse to be here."
The number of falling light had decreased, signaling the end of a battle somewhere out there in the world. Hei looked down at his little sister, sleeping away the payment for the contract she had been given.
"I'm only asking because we're in the same cell unit. I don't want you to freeze up from regret and then die." She said with little emotion.
"I don't need to," Hei spoke quietly to himself. His body leaned forward slightly and suddenly, it felt like he had aged to an old man within that one second. "I already feel dead."
"Hei, tell me. Why do you stay at my side?" Bai's light sky-blue eyes sparkled with the flickering flames in the middle of the campsite. Amber went off to find a source of water and so, the two siblings were left alone. Hei had stirred the make-shift pot and Bai simply sat, looking up at the stars.
"Why do you want to know?" Hei asked. He crushed a pair of edible herbs and sprinkled it over the soup he had made.
Pai said nothing. She kept her eyes on the stars, continuous streaks of light that fell with grace. For the longest minute and a half, the silence was deafening to listen to. Only the flickers of fire made a sound.
"…119…120…" Bai mumbled under her voice. Hei pulled a ladle out and poured some of the soup into a bowl that he had packed. "121…122…123."
Hei placed a bowl next to her, in case she was hungry. He sat back down and picked up the spoon filled with the soup. Just as he put the spoon to his mouth, Bai spoke again.
"I don't want you to see me fall with those stars."
The sentence almost left him breathless. He froze with the spoon in his hands, not knowing what to do or say. She continued her star-gazing calmly as if she didn't just say that right now.
"Every time I need to make a payment, you always find me and catch me. Even if I'm no longer the same little sister you know, you still care for me." Hei put his bowl down. "Hei…no, that isn't even your real name. You changed everything so that you wouldn't leave me alone out here."
"Because I'm your brother-"
"That isn't a good enough reason." She argued back. "You don't need to kill anyone for my sake, so why put yourself with that burden?"
The young teen sat pensively at his seat, his eyes already seeming incredibly tired over the past weeks of being here. Hei felt like an old man, aged and knowing the side of the world that no one should ever have to see. Bai watched him, silently waiting for his response.
"Bai." He leaned forward on his knees, looking at his sister with gloomy blue eyes. "I'm the Black Reaper, the human feared in this war. I don't belong here in this war because I'm a human?"
She sat there, thinking over his words. "Nothing's ever right in this world. I don't want you to be burdened with me."
"You're my little sister-"
"123 stars fell in ten minutes." She looked back up at the endless sky still filled with countless dots. "No matter your reputation, you're still human. You'll never be a star like the rest of us."
Hei's piercing stare had only grown in misery, holding in pain and sorrow. She already knew that was there, but it was one of the first times he had actually let his emotions show. The young teen stayed there, conflicted and saddened at his life decision. Bai focused on the bowl of soup beside her, noting the compassionate act of making food as a strange act.
"The food, protecting me, loving me…it's all because of me being related to you?" She stated, genuinely confused at the rationale behind it.
"…we lived through tough times when we were little. Parents were never there…we had to fend for ourselves. Out of that life, you're all I have left." Hei forced the words out of his mouth, the brutal truth making him feel ill. "I'll protect you not only because you're my sister, but…because I don't…"
He didn't finish. His mouth was drawn tight, now choosing to stay silent and continue eating in silence.
When Amber came back, the tension had been terribly dark and relentless. Hei had distanced himself and sat on top of a hill, away from the campsite. He spun a knife in his hands methodically, as if he had been doing it out of habit. Pai kept looking down at a small object in her hands.
When Amber peeked in her hands, she saw a small locket opened up with Pai and Hei smiling carefree and (dare she say it) happy.
It had been a fast hit. He barely dodged a small projectile and hid behind a tree. He could feel the air pressure change and he moved aside before the projectile pierced through the tree bark. He swung a wire up and pressed the button to head up before his enemy could figure out what was going on.
Hei stayed up in the branches, quietly assessing the situation. There was about fifteen, searching for the team. Their new member, Havoc, had left to deal with most of them, but about five of them stayed behind to deal with the rest of them. Amber played decoy to distract them while Bai delivered the attacks.
As much as he hated to admit it, he had been stuck with the most persistent and possibly the strongest out of the entire group. His enemy could utilize the items around his environment to shoot at an extremely fast speed, but it was only limited to things like twigs and rocks. Hei could only dodge and run because of the extensive power of this man.
He heard footsteps approaching his position and he immediately tensed up. He quietly pulled out a wire in his hands, ready to pull him in like he usually did. Just as he saw the head of his opponent, he threw the wire down only for it to be deflected back. Hei's eyes bulged out for a split second before he jumped aside to avoid a sharp branch heading straight for his chest. He rolled to the ground before realizing his mistake.
There were pebbles everywhere surrounding a pond.
He stayed there, not knowing what to do for a few moments. At that moment, the man stood behind him.
"The Black Reaper…I never thought I would be capturing you like this." The man wistfully spoke. "I heard that you were a strong opponent, but to think that you're a human…it's a rather interesting concept."
Hei quickly scanned his environment, looking for any advantage he could use while the man spoke. Though, the situation in itself was strange. Normally, they would shoot to kill. They didn't have any value in taunting the enemy.
"Well, it's been nice fighting you." He lifted pebbles and used it to surround Hei from all sides. "Let's hope your team is better."
Blood splattered all around. Hei tensed up, feeling the air leaving his lungs. He didn't see what exactly happened, but he could feel the blood staining his clothes and the vacuum pressure behind him to imagine what occurred behind him. The man's body slumped backwards, making a thud sound.
"Hei." A deep feminine voice called out. "Get up."
The teen soldier slowly turned around to see crimson hair and empty green eyes watching him. She drank out of a bottle, its contents dripping red. He frowned, not willing to note the disturbing fact of her remuneration. He stood up shakily, his legs still weak from the near death experience.
"Why did you let him trap you like that?" She wiped her mouth clean with her hand, smearing her face. "You could have turned around as soon as he started talking and killed him. I see the knife right there."
Hei looked down on the ground, but he didn't need to. He already saw the dagger, carelessly tossed aside when he was trying to deflect the projectiles. He could have grabbed it and rammed it into his chest. He knew that…but he still tensed up.
"You don't belong here." She bluntly told him as she turned around to head back to the campsite. "Out of all the outsiders here with powers, you're an outcast human thrown into the wrong world."
He stayed there, watching her receding back into the forest. After she left, he turned back around to see the body lay there. His arms and legs had been crushed by the destructive vacuum she had him locked in. His face had frozen in a look of intense agony and pain and the massive amounts of blood around him contrasted sharply with the still calm waters of the pond.
Another star fell that night. Hei wasn't sure if it was the man's star, but he knew that if things had been different, there would be a different body laying there on the ground. There would be one less star falling down.
"Do you want to leave?" Amber sat down beside him, her long hair shimmering in the water's reflection. Hei stayed on the stump, looking at the still water and its reflection of the sky. "You don't have to be here, you know. I could contact headquarters and they could pull you out."
The offer was tempting, but Hei was more curious about why she brought it up. It had been three months of fighting and she only decided to mention it now? Bai stayed with Havoc back in the campsite, keeping a vigilant watch.
"Why?" He asked tonelessly.
"It seems like you don't want to be here. If it wasn't for Bai, then you wouldn't be fighting like this."
He stayed silent, not wanting to voice his opinion of his role here. They both knew that his reputation was one of the few reasons why they were still kept alive.
"Bai can handle herself. If not, she wouldn't be here. So please…you don't need to kill anymore."
It sounded like she was pleading with him to leave, which sounded peculiar to Hei's ears. Her kind didn't show emotions beside killing glee and apathy. This…begging didn't suit the natural behavior.
"Why should I leave? I'm helping you guys fight."
"Because…because…" she drifted off, not knowing how to answer him. For once she was speechless. The reflection of the water told him all he needed to know.
She looked at his figure, saddened and painfully watching him.
"Bai, we need to move now." Hei shook her body, trying to wake her up. He knew that it wouldn't work, but sometimes he still thought that he could wake her up like normal.
Amber had reported back with information of an ambush happening in ten minutes and they needed to move. However, he couldn't carry Bai while using his wires to escape. Amber was packing up what little they carried with them and Havoc glanced around for sight of the enemy, waiting for them to show up.
"Hei, you need to carry her then." Amber told him while she packed a small blanket. "We don't have time for her to wake up. We need to move as quickly as we can before they get us."
He frowned before looking down at his little sister, her face showing a bit of happiness as she softly smiled in her sleep. He was upset at this turn of events, but he tried not to let it show. He had no choice but to run with her in his arms while running with the rest of them.
"They're coming." Havoc stated. "I can see them over the horizon and some of them are probably hiding in the trees."
"Ready to leave?" Amber carried the small pack over her shoulders before running into the cover of the trees. Hei was behind her with Havoc following up in the rear. As he quickly ran, he looked up and realized that he couldn't see the stars above him here. The trees covered it with their swaying branches, making a stealthy cover darker than black.
During that night, no stars fell that night because of the darkness that covered him.
"If I make a wish on a shooting star, it'll come true, right?" She curiously asked, her figure turned around to look back at her older brother. He had a soft smile on his face, a kind look in his eyes as he sat back down from looking through the telescope.
"Yeah, well that's what everyone says. You never know until you do it, you know?" He told her, encouraging her to make a wish.
"Oh, really? I have a lot of wishes!" She started counting them off with her fingers, happily telling him all of the ones he had.
"Well don't tell me!" He spun his finger around. "Tell the stars!"
"Okay, okay!" But instead of turning back around, she ran back to him and dug in the backpack they had packed with them. When she found what she wanted, she took him by surprise with a flash.
"There, I got my wish." She smiled at him before looking at the photo that had been developed. The picture held an image of a happy little boy with a calming smile and love in his eyes. His figure and shoulders were relaxed and calm.
"Now I can put it in here." She held out the locket that he had given her a few weeks ago. "I can keep it so that we'll always be happy even when we're sad!"
He took the camera from her and took the picture before she realized it. After the bright flash, she puffed out her cheeks.
"Hey, I wasn't ready!" The photo had already developed though and it looked so natural. Her eyes were closed as she had a toothy smile.
"Well, I think this should be on the other side." He gave her the photo. "That way, you can always be happy too."
Hei ran around the edges of the forest, swiftly moving to avoid the range of the gravity pull that one of his enemies had. He had no time to turn around and find where he was. He swung up and immediately threw another wire around his enemy's neck. As soon as he felt the wire connect, he pulled it down without remorse or thought. He closed his eyes as he heard the splutter of his mouth struggling for air.
Within ten seconds, it was over.
Bai stood in front of him calmly, watching him pull the wire. Hei didn't know that she was there until she spoke.
"I love you." She said after the deed was done. "I don't want you to be like this."
He stayed there holding the steel wire in his hand, still holding on and not knowing whether to let go or not. He was surprised at her sudden statement, but he also knew that this admission of love was not possible with…with contractors.
"I know…I know that you probably don't believe me." She said quietly, the emotion in her voice unclear and unfitting. "I asked you not to be there for me because I don't want you to see my star fall."
He didn't know where this was going, but he stayed quiet and waited for her to continue. She dug in her pocket for something during the pause, searching for something. When she pulled out a chain and dangled it in front of him, he recognized it immediately.
"But why would I think that? Even before everything changed, you always caught me before I fell." She opened the locket and two smiling faces stared at Hei's perpetual frown. "You always catch me now, right before I pay my price."
The chain twirled and spun, reflecting the light of the moon on Hei's leg. Bai didn't move, she stood still and watched his face for the emotions she had expected from him. Surprise at the admission, sorrow of his current lifestyle, and a wistful remembrance mixed into one complex look.
"You'll always catch me, right?"
"….yes." He slowly nodded at her, a faint smile fading in and replacing the persistent frown on his face. The stars sparkled above him and for once, he could only notice the stars that still shone in the night with all its brilliance.
"You've changed since I've met you." Amber leaned on his back, looking up. "You used to be brutal and emotionless like the rest of us. You seemed…angry, but now you're…this."
Hei stayed there, letting her push her weight on him. He simply relaxed in her presence, feeling like he had finally belonged somewhere in this sick and terrible world known as the South American war.
"Even if you still don't talk as much, you're calmer." Strands of her hair tickled Hei's neck as she moved off of him, now trying to stretch her arms. "You're easier to talk to. Bai also seems a lot happier, even if she never shows it."
"Is that so?" He said carefully, trying to figure out why she's talking so much about his emotions.
"Havoc even seems a little bit better, but she's always on guard so she doesn't count. I think you being here has actually…helped us." Amber hesitated at the end, sounding like she didn't want to admit it.
"I see." Hei quietly spoke. "I thought having no emotions and only logic helped you in the end."
"Yes, but most of us want to be happy. Most of us…just want to be like you, Hei."
The statement lingered in the air. Hei waited for her to speak again, but it was a long while before she gathered what words she wanted to say next.
"Logic is needed, but we still feel emotions too. They just don't overwhelm us. You though…everyone you've killed is something you regret." He flinched a bit at the mention of the killings he'd made since he started here. Amber continued, albeit more restrained. "Me…I still feel like the same. But perhaps…"
The sound of rustling twigs and leaves crackled in the air until Amber sat next to Hei, facing the same direction. Hei's face did not change, but he knew that this was heading somewhere where it shouldn't go.
"I've…done the impossible." A faint grin on her face told him all he needed to know. As she reached over to him, he stayed there with the same expression on his face.
"What makes you think this'll work?" He asked with a mixture of attempted apathy and curiosity. "What are you thinking?"
"I just…I don't know what I'm thinking, but I just want you to be happy." She glanced up at him and he noted the sparkle of amber eyes, shining brightly in the darkness. "We all do."
"…I see."
The ten seconds of quiet had dragged on into eternity, waiting for them to finish their moment. When Amber stood up and turned back to the campsite, the tension had split and melted away. There was only the serenity of the scenery before him and the dazzling glow of stars above him.
As he pondered over the conversation that had just occurred, he never noticed the woman walking away with tears.
He had been told that each star resembled lives of former humans that had now passed into a new species: the contractors. He had been told that each one he eliminated would help secure the future for people, for humans. He had been told that he would fight until it was over.
"The syndicate is just using us, Hei." Bai quietly stated to the young teen next to him. She had finished her payment and now lay on the ground, watching Hei move about. "In the end, we're disposable to them. If any of us die, they won't spare a thought for us and send out new operatives."
Hei kept quiet, mulling over the goals of the syndicate in his head. He had already reached that conclusion a long time ago, but to hear it from Bai was…a reality check more than anything else.
"I look at these stars and I think…there goes another precious life." Her strong azure gaze glanced at the sky above. "I look at it differently now. Every time I see the stars…I think to myself, what am I doing? Why am I killing and destroying the very thing I love?"
He sighed dejectedly, tiredly. "I thought contractors don't love."
"Well then, I'm an exception." She pointed out with a smile on her face. "After all, I love my brother too."
The smile on her face seemed almost natural again, like it wasn't being forced. It was like she was back to being normal. He watched her fiddle with the old locket in her hands.
"If I love you, then doesn't this prove that wrong?"
"I guess." Hei answered honestly. He didn't know what to say, but he definitely understood that she had changed for the better.
"Don't you think these stars are beautiful?" She raised a finger to point at the sky. "You used to love stargazing when we were younger."
"I…did." Hei was hesitant in replying, confused at the mention of his past hobby. The telescope he used was a piece of junk he found in a garage. Once he had found it, he never wanted to part from it again. "It's gone now though."
Bai frowned, the statement affecting her more than it should. "What? The telescope you used or your love for stars?"
Hei sat quietly, pondering what to say next. He saw the signature lime green and crimson colors approaching the pair over the horizon. Bai realized this as well and impatiently waited for him to talk. Just as the two girls were in range, he finally answered, his reply a faint sound that was swept along with the blow of the wind.
"Both."
Havoc sat beside him, keeping watch while Bai and Amber slept in. The silence between the two had existed since she saved him from that contractor all that time ago. Since then, the time had multiplied the effect of the silence to the point where it seemed natural not to even talk. The two usually communicated through Bai or Amber and they never bothered to question this fact.
Multiple stars fell in the inky darkness above them.
"Why do you do it?" Havoc's rough voice drew Hei's attention to her. "No one's worth fighting and dying for. Why do you do it?"
The question had been asked and suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. The pensive silence had transformed into something unrecognizable and he didn't know where it was going. She still had a blank expression on her face, the same one that he could acknowledge. Her viridian eyes dully looked on, her posture a tense body. There was nothing that signaled anything different.
"Well?" Havoc watched on apathetically. "We contractors don't have emotional ties, we don't have any sort of attachments other than self-preservation. What makes you think you can trust her words?"
If it was any other time, he would have done what he did to Amber and violently threaten her with his signature choice of weapon. Three things stopped him from moving. Firstly, he didn't want to wake up the others with a quarrel that was sure to end badly. Secondly, Havoc's powers of high pressure vacuums were efficient and brutal. He didn't want to face that sort of power. But the final reason was the vital decision.
He simply didn't know what to say.
"People…contractors…they're all alike." She said bitterly, as if this was the truth that she had reached a long time. "They only care about themselves. The difference is that humans try to pretend that they don't."
"You're wrong-"
"Then prove it to me. Do you trust Pai with everything?"
The pressure in the room was intense, as if Havoc had released her power upon him. The dark silence seemed to press down upon them.
Hei gave her words some serious thought. He saw a star distantly fade away into nonexistence. After seeing that one tiny light disappear, he had his answer.
"Yes, I do."
"How?"
"It goes on a level no one will ever understand." He managed to complete his thoughts into some sort of words.
"…I see." Havoc seemed to be confused with the answer as she turned back around. At that moment, Hei had a realization as he watched Havoc stand up from her seat.
Havoc walked six steps forward before the blue glow of the synchrotron radiation covered her body and suddenly, he felt the earth shaking below his feet. The pure sadism and anger almost reminded him of himself when he fought out in a battle. And he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to be that way.
Hei stayed behind to watch the campsite while Bai and Amber took a break and showered in a nearby stream. Havoc had been called away to do a mission that required only her. As he looked up at the stars, he had drifting and various thoughts of his life, about the stars, and so much more.
"Each star is like someone's guardian," he explained to an eager girl, his sister, waiting for him to finish. "Each one protects the people in this world, but especially at night."
"Why?" She asked, the confusion and curiosity getting the best of her.
"At night, that's where you can't see. That's where the monsters and all the evil in the world can come out and get you. Each star tries hard to protect you so that nothing happens to you? He glanced up at the endless sky. "Somewhere above us, two stars are watching over us now."
His sister looked up in awe, imagining her guardian star watching her at this moment.
"What happens when it's cloudy or raining though?" She spoke her thoughts out loud while watching the star. It took him a few moments to gather his thoughts before he could explain it properly.
"Well, even if we lose the sky, the stars will always be there. It's behind something, but it's always above us."
She almost dropped her mouth in awe at the thought. He smiled to himself, knowing that he did a good job at explaining the beauty of stars. That night, they slept under the stars so that his sister could enjoy the sight above her.
Dull eyes came back into focus. His body jerked as if he had been thrown back into the present. Hei sat back up and looked around. No one was around, but he was still cautious of everything in this war zone. The memory had messed with his awareness more than he thought because his words were persistent and kept replaying in his head.
As he saw the moonlight hide behind a cloud, an unexplainable chill went through his body.
Amber stayed at his side during this particular attack, playing bait while Hei dealt the final attacks. She ran across, trying to attract attention from the enemies. Her long hair trailed behind her, a sign of her presence if anything. People trailed after her, trying to end her life. A hydrokinetic contractor threw bursts of water at her and a woman focusing some sort of invisible force fields chased her, the others already dead either from Bai's charged assaults or Hei's strategy.
Just as Hei tied a wire to one of his knives, Amber fell on her knees. The combination of force fields and currents of water stopped her from running anywhere else.
"Where's your team?" The woman asked off-handedly. It seemed like she didn't really care about this, but it was something she had to do. "We have an objective to complete."
Hei couldn't move. He felt torn between cutting his losses and leave her or…saving her. Just as he was ready to throw the knife, the man utilizing a shield of water turned in Hei's general direction.
"Is someone there?" His baritone voice almost rumbled the tense atmosphere. Hei couldn't see it, but he could almost imagine Amber's shock at finding out where he was located. The woman noted this.
"Ah, is one of your teammates over there?" She shifted and Hei could feel bursts of wind from where the fields tried to smash each piece of cover the trees had. "No matter. If my fields can't find him, then my partner's will."
As if on cue, sizzling water made contact with Hei's skin and burned. He didn't make a sound, instead trying to contain his pain. The strong winds were getting closer and the water had almost increased. What was Amber doing? She was a contractor, wasn't she? She needs to use her powers now. As the danger crept closer, Hei was forced to move. He clenched the knife in his hands and was ready to fight.
As soon as he jumped down, the two contractors lay on the floor, dead and surrounded by a widening circle of blood. Standing over them was Amber, her hands holding a blood-stained dagger. Her eyes had finished glowing red and were returning to their deep yellow color. Her face was strained, as if she didn't want Hei here to see her.
"What…did you do?" Hei didn't know what to say. One moment, he was about to be ready to fight and then the next, two powerful and dangerous contractors were…dead.
"I told you, didn't I?" Her voice was a pitch higher than normal and the clothes she normally wore didn't cling to her figure like it should. "I can't use my powers as sparingly."
Amber walked past him, a few inches shorter than him and walked back to camp. Her hands still dripped red from the attack. Hei stayed, trying to absorb the information.
Beyond the veil of the trees, Amber took out a cloth necklace.
"Hei, are you okay?" Bai asked, trying to insert some form of comfort into her voice.
Hei didn't answer. He signaled for the cup of water beside him and Bai complied, bringing the cup over and tipping it slowly into his mouth. Amber sat next to her, mixing together a concoction of herbs that had a pungent smell. Havoc stayed far away from the group, watching over them.
"Hei," Amber spoke up, "How are you feeling today?"
Hei chose not to answer again, his silence telling what she needed to know. She chuckled as she blended the herbs together.
"You're such a ruthless killer that I forget you're human sometimes."
Bai watched Hei's face, knowing that he didn't want to hear of his acts. He laid there, slightly stiff and his face pulled taut with tension.
"Amber, are you done?" The young girl asked, and Hei could see that she didn't want to hear what else she had to say. "We need to cure him as fast as we can."
"Don't worry." Amber added in a cup of water. "I won't let anything happen to him."
It was silent then, the sound of clattering tools and Hei's coughing the only things interrupting. Hei laid there, wondering what the woman was thinking of at this moment. She couldn't have actually….
Hei didn't continue that thought, for fear that something bad would come out of it.
"Hei, me and Amber have a separate mission to complete." Bai told him as she packed her clothes. "Havoc has to come with us as well, so we'll be apart."
"No." Hei's deep voice had authority and a hint of desperation in it. "You're not going."
"We have no choice. This is something that the syndicate believes you can't do."
"Forget about them." Hei noted the rage tinting his words, but he didn't care. "Whoever said that the syndicate can split us up like this?"
"The moment we signed up with them," Amber interrupted calmly, "We had no choice but to listen. You may not understand, but self-preservation comes first to contractors."
Hei glared fiercely at Amber, her words ringing unclearly in his head. He glanced at Bai, but all he could see were the cold and distant look of unfamiliar azure eyes.
"Bai…please. You don't have to go."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry."
She stood up and followed Amber. Hei could only watch as his little sister left. The despair, the pain, the denial...the culmination of so many months here had finally broken his restraint. He could feel a tear drip down his face as he watched a star fall in unison.
Hei didn't stay for long, instead opting to follow the general direction of the pair. He found bodies, their faces scrunched up in eternal pain. He followed those as well, a sign of his sister's abilities with electricity.
Soon, he was inside Heaven's Gate, the location of the war and hell itself.
Confused at his location, he looked around. Rubble, debris, and countless bodies littered the scenic pool of water. In the middle, he saw a familiar girl holding a small disk and releasing a synchrotron radiation glow.
"Bai!" He reached for her, trying to stop her from doing it. Before she could turn around in acknowledgement, a burst of light emerged, engulfing everything around them.
The next night, the South American war ended abruptly with an explosion that wiped away 15,000 kilometers of land surrounding Heaven's Gate and the gate itself.
Hei felt groggy, as if he had a hangover. As he lifted his hand, shocks ran through his body. Confused, he endured the pain and tried looking around. There were no more bodies, no more blood, no more water.
"Where's…where's Xing?" He whispered to himself. He shakily stood up to his feet. "Where's...Amber? Where's Carmine? Where's-"
The rustling sounds of emptiness blew through his ears, coldly telling him nothing. His body felt like needles had fused with every ligament and bone and muscle. It was a marionette now, the strings coming from his blind determination to figure everything out.
"Where…where is she?"
The stars fell continuously in an endless stream, and all Hei could think of when he noticed was that the sky looked like it was crying. It mourned the loss of every star and person. Unfortunately, it was only after losing a personal star, the guardian of his life that he could notice. The locket had gone with her as well, crushing any sort of happiness he had left into nothing.
The currents of electricity ran through his veins as he ran with a cat. He summoned explosive amounts of electricity so that he could send waves of it to his enemy. After the attack, Hei opened his hands and looked at them hard.
He found a piece of Xing, Bai, his sister. Now he just needed to find the rest of her.