**Disclaimer: I do not own Zankyou no Terror or any of the characters in the anime. The title of the story is a lyric from the song "Von" by Yoko Kanno.**

Í Eilífri Hring (In an Eternal Circle)

Chapter I : Black Aura

The trio stood in a circle, taking in the surroundings of the abandoned and broken arcade that was now their new home.

"Well, we can play all the games we want. It's pretty good, isn't it?" The first was the boy with a smile so warm it burned.

"You know who's fault this is, right?" Then there was the boy with a heart of ice.

His gaze was accusing and her eyes fell downcast. The last was the girl in the shadows. Lisa peered at the floor, desperately wishing that the darkness would rise up and swallow her whole. "Mine..." Twelve leaned precariously over the railing upstairs, perhaps only a centimeter from toppling over. He observed the scene below him.

"I'm sorry."

Nine left without a response. The room took on a sudden chill, Twelve watched Lisa's aura turn black. They remained long after Lisa had left. Twelve with his back propped up against the arcade machine and Nine sitting down on a stool across from him. "Huh?" Twelve's tone was confused. "You still want to use the atomic bomb?"

"It's not just me. Have you forgotten we are in this together?"

"I didn't mean it like that Nine. I just thought that we would just..."

"If only we had taken Five into consideration, but with this we still have a fighting chance." Nine remarked, referring to Five's anarchist methods. She had framed them, now the entire world was against them. She was on their side, but she just couldn't control herself. She often took matters into her own hands just to bloody them senselessly. This was because she was too much of a flight risk. Nine had gambled too much, in using her for their plan. In the end, she had burned them.

Twelve's frown remained concealed within the dark room. He was concerned for Nine. His best friend's mind was sick, just like their former friend Five. An atomic bomb would not lead to acceptance from the rest of the world. Even though it would be deliberately detonated in space as a means of inducing an electromagnetic pulse, the world would still think that it was an attempt of mass-genocide. They would write off the bomb's explosion in space instead of on earth as a technological malfunction, an incredible stroke of luck, perhaps even an act of God for the ones that still believed in the existence of a miracle. They would not thank Nine for wiping out technology just so he could show them the beautiful things in life that we have long forgotten. Things like how the pure, unadulterated night sky used to look before its contamination from the quotidian, artificiality of man. He would only be a heretic before their eyes. They would hunt him down, with hatred in their hearts and murder on their minds.

"Her appearance only means for us to accelerate the execution of our plan."

"I see."

Nine could see right through Twelve. His charcoal eyes bore up through black rimmed glasses at Twelve's ash brown ones. "What's wrong?" The advice that Nine had given Twelve rang in his head. Don't get attached. "Nothing." Twelve lied without missing a beat, suddenly standing up. "Hey, Nine..."

"Hm?"

Twelve couldn't look Nine in the eye. "I was thinking... Maybe we should stop doing this..."

"Stop doing this?" Nine repeated in disbelief.

"If we continue on like this, we'll probably..." Neither boy said it, but the word hung heavily in the air between the two. Die.

"Are you scared?"

Fear. Huh, is that what this was?

"Is it because of Lisa?" Nine's tone accusing. "Twelve, think back. Where did we come from?"

Twelve's mind traveled back down the dreary, concrete halls of the facility they grew up in. His memory flashed to the barbed wire fence outside the facility that had been at least three meters high. He and along with the other children had been standing in a line, being assigned their numbers. Depending, on what number they gave them determined how many times the nurses would have to inject a child per day. A nameless nurse, had wordlessly squeezed Twelve's shoulder as he watched Twenty-Six violently convulsing on the grass outside of the facility. When his eyes became glassy and blood ran out of his ears and mouth, only then did he still.

"There's something we have to do."

Nine's cold voice brought Twelve back to reality. "Do you plan on forgetting that place?" Nine changed tactics noticing his lack of effect on Twelve. "One wrong step, and Lisa would've been killed by that bomb on the airplane." Nine's words were sharp enough to cut through stone. They cut straight to Twelve's heart.

"We shouldn't involve her in this anymore."

"That might be true..." Twelve began. "But I love her."

"Don't be a fool, Twelve. You don't know what love is."

Neither do you, Nine. None of us do. Twelve thought coldly as he got up and left.

Twelve noticed a paper taped to the hallway wall as he exited the arcade.

Sorry for always causing you trouble. Goodbye.

Lisa

A couple blocks away, walked Lisa Mishima. She hadn't packed much. In her purse, was her cell phone, a change of clothes, about a weeks worth of instant noodles and a thermos. Lisa realized that in her haste she had forgotten to pack a blanket. She wasn't even wearing a sweater, Lisa angrily admonished herself noticing her pale yellow tee. So stupid! This is the second time I've run away and I still can't do anything right! Lisa ran blindly through the Tokyo streets, tears stinging her eyes. She was only a burden to Nine and she didn't deserve Twelve's kindness. Suddenly, Lisa's sneaker caught on something and she flew crashing down.

"Ugh..."

A dark trail of blood trickled down Lisa's leg staining the top of her knee-highs red. This wouldn't have happened if she had grabbed Twelve's sweatpants instead of wearing this stupid skirt she had. "Nice panties baby!" A drunken male hooted. "Sunflowers, who would have guessed? Can I deflower you?" Another laughed, staggering away. Lisa's cheeks flared. She tried to get up, but a surge of pain shot up her leg causing her to lose her balance. Someone grabbed her arm, helping her up midst her fall.

"I'm sorry Miss, I didn't mean to trip you." The last thing Lisa could recall was a cloth being stuffed over her mouth... then darkness.

Twelve rushed out of the building, his motorcycle helmet in hand and backpack in the other. In one swift move he jumped onto his motorcycle, slinging the helmet over his head. The yellow on his face shield was clashing with Twelve's own orange waves of color. He could never wear a translucent face shield, the peoples' colors around him would distract him too much. He was not like Nine, he broke under pressure. The yellow distorted the colors around him dulling the glare of their overwhelming radiance. All of the colors in the spectrum always seemed to want to take something from another. Reds screamed to be the center of attention, blues leeched off intimacy and greens always had to get even. Yellows waited patiently for recognition, but pale yellow, a much rarer shade never once demand anything. Yellow kept him calm... like Lisa.