Deadly Sins
by abyssal Chaos
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~ Prologue ~
Hide and Seek
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A full moon hangs suspended in the night sky, its luminescent glow lighting the ground below. Nine figures stand in a circle in the dark forest, their faces hidden by the shadows of the looming trees towering above them. A single sphere of silver light hovers in the air between them, casting flickering shadows onto the ground. After carefully scrutinizing each figure in the circle, the tallest one spoke.
"Envy, Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, and Wrath. I see that you have all received the messages that I have sent you. I trust that you have disposed of them properly?"
Another figure spoke up, the voice distinctly feminine. "Don't worry about it, Fatality. We got rid of the messages and the messengers, just like you asked. We're not amateurs, you know."
"Of course we have to worry about it! We might not be amateurs, but we have the top assassins in the world on our trail! One wrong move and we're dead. You're arrogance will get us all killed, Lust!" The angry voice belonged to another shrouded figure, her eyes flashing dangerously at the one called Lust.
"Oh, shut up, Wrath. She knows that we have to be careful. We've all had enough warnings; we don't need you to snap at us every day just because you can't get that damned stick out of your ass!" Another figure glowered at Wrath, and a glaring contest between the two ensued.
Another figure rolled her eyes, this one noticeably shorter than the rest. "And you call yourselves professionals. How the hell are you going to carry out this mission if you can't even keep from biting each other's heads off? Perhaps we made a mistake when deciding to entrust this with you. You obviously won't be able to handle it." At this comment, the two women turned to scowl at the smaller girl. The girl just gazed calmly back with unflinchingly cold violet eyes.
An exasperated sigh escaped the lips of yet another cloaked figure. She turned to the first figure, Fatality, eyes questioning. "Perhaps we should get down to business. You called my sisters and I to this meeting, but you have yet to tell us the purpose. What is this mission Deceit speaks of?"
Fatality's mouth turned upwards in a slight smile. "Ah, yes, my dear Envy. Straight to the point, as usual. I had meant to tell you of this mission later, but…" She sent a reproachful, though slightly amused, look at Deceit. "Since Deceit has already spoken, I suppose there is no reason to keep this from you any longer." Straightening, all evidence of mirth disappeared from Fatality's face.
"I have come with direct orders from the Lady Pandora. As you all know, the Cinq Kingdom has become quite a problem for us. Though it is a pacifist nation, Cinq has many spies posted throughout the Earth and the Colonies, always on the lookout for another threat of rebellion. They are beginning to suspect that another secret organization has been created. All of us have been treading on dangerous territory; as Wrath said, one wrong move and we're all dead. This threat must be eliminated, and quickly."
"So the Lady wants us to destroy Cinq."
Fatality turned to look at the owner of the new voice. Her gaze rested on a petite figure; the girl's cool, calculating gaze was fixed on her superior. "Not quite, Greed. It would take much more than a team of seven to take down a whole kingdom, professionals or not. Lady Pandora only wants you to weaken their defenses."
"Meaning…?" The new speaker was tall and lean, arms crossed across her chest as she leaned slightly against another figure.
Fatality carefully avoided the question. "You are to move immediately to Cinq. Aliases, I.Ds, and housing arrangements have already been prepared. You're leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
The last figure, who had chosen to stay silent until now, spoke up. "Fatality, don't avoid Sloth's question. What is it that we have to do?"
Deceit decided to answer. "Think of it as a game of hide-and-seek. You are to find and eliminate the key players in this game. Each of you are assigned to a different player. Sloth and Gluttony, you two are assigned to Relena Peacecraft, princess of Cinq. Greed, you are assigned to Quatre Raberba Winner, gundam pilot 04. Lust, you are assigned to Duo Maxwell, gundam pilot 02. Pride, you are assigned to Trowa Barton, gundam pilot 03. Wrath, you are assigned to Wufei Chang, gundam pilot 05. And Envy, you are assigned to Hiiro Yui, gundam pilot 01. The object to this game is simple. Catch, but don't be caught. Deceive, but don't be deceived. Destroy, but don't be destroyed. There are no rules, no limitations. Understood?"
The women stared incredulously at her, speechless. Envy found her voice first. "The gundam pilots? They're the most dangerous men in both the Earth and the Colonies! Are you sure our abilities are enough to destroy them?"
Deceit smirked. "We're positive. They might have been dangerous on the battlefield, but their training had deprived them of emotions. Now that they are trying to live normal lives, they have left their emotions unchecked. Remember, they are men, and you are women. That in itself is a disadvantage to them."
Fatality cut in. "You are the highest ranking assassins of the Daughters of Discord, the Sisterhood of Chaos. You are entrusted with the most dangerous and secretive of missions. This mission cannot be given to anyone else. If you do not succeed, the Sisterhood will be destroyed. Do you or do you not accept this mission?"
Lust snorted. "Have we ever turned down a mission before? Of course we accept!"
Fatality smiled. "Good. All the necessary information has already been delivered. You'll know what to do. And Envy?" She looked at the young woman before her. "Be careful. The Perfect Soldier is not so easily fooled."
"That will be all. You are dismissed." With that, Fatality disappeared.
Pride grinned. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go kick some pacifist ass!"
One by one, the Daughters of Discord disappeared. Only Deceit was left behind. Waving her hand at the forgotten sphere of light, it too faded away, leaving only a few sparkles in its place. In the sudden darkness, the silhouette of the small assassin could barely be seen. Her soft whisper echoed throughout the eerie silence of the forest.
"Let the games begin…"
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Weird, isn't it? You probably already noticed, but the seven members of the Daughters of Discord are named after the seven sins: Envy, Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Pride, and Lust. Fatality and Deceit are just names that popped into my head. Try guessing who each of the characters are! Hint: they're all women (well, obviously), and they're all from SM.
Review, please!