Helena started to regain consciousness when she smelled a familiar scent. Deborah? She thought, clutching the blanket. Wait... she was last at Deborah's grave… She didn't bring a blanket. Snapping her eyes open, Helena kicked the blanket off and jumped out of the bed.
Her eyes darted back and forth only to discover that she was alone. Calming down a bit, she reached into her shirt and revealed the pistol she kept hidden there. Obviously she hadn't been touched beyond carrying… but by who? And where was she?
Helena raised the pistol and kept her finger near the trigger. Approaching the open door, she checked the other side to make sure she wasn't being ambushed before stepping through the doorway and examining the living room. She walked to the center of the room and turned to get a wide sweep view. She stopped mid-turn when she saw Ada Wong sleeping on the couch.
Rage spilled over inside Helena as she pointed the pistol right at Ada's head. Memories of the woman shooting her sister with a crossbow filled her mind and drove her finger until it was touching the trigger. Now was her chance to avenge her sister.
Then another face flashed in her mind – Simmons. The man who was really responsible for her sister's death. He was dead, on the middle of a large spike.
But that didn't erase what Ada had done.
Helena had been so preoccupied with these thoughts that she hadn't even noticed that the woman she was debating to kill had moved and was now standing in front of her until there was a pressure on her hand and the gun was now pointed at Ada's heart. Ada had helped Helena put the gun on her own chest.
Helena half stared, half glared into her eyes to figure out what game she was playing at.
Ada merely smiled. "If you're going to shoot me, then shoot me." She released her grip so Helena had full control of the gun again.
"Do you want to die?" Helena snarled.
"Would it matter?" Ada shot back. "I told you, didn't I? 'You should put her down, if you have any sympathy for her.' I'm not going to take it back, and I'm not going to apologize." Her voice was unusually firm.
Helena tightened her grip on the trigger angrily. "Why did you bring me here?"
Ada only smiled amusedly again.
Gritting her teeth, Helena slowly lowered the gun, then stormed off toward the door. "I'm leaving." The words were cold.
"Suit yourself."
"I'm not going to thank you."
Ada shrugged unworriedly.
Helena opened the door and slammed it shut behind her.
"Well," Ada smirked. "Isn't she a handful?" She went into her now-vacant room and changed clothes, getting her things together before she, too, exited the house for her next job.
Helena looked as if someone just killed her cat she was so angry. Stupid Ada. With that stupid I-don't-give-a-shit attitude and carefree smile. Even when she could have been killed! It was infuriating! What would it take to get even one scared look from her?! What would it take to make her regret what she did for even a second?
After a long day of, well, basically trying to forget the day, Helena exited the café where she'd spent the last few hours. It was closing so she was forced to leave. She examined the shops on the darkened street that were all closing one by one. It was only 10: there had to be something open. She knew if she went home now, she'd never get a certain red-and-black-clad girl out of her head.
Which is exactly why, when a group of guys came by and invited her to go to a party with them, she didn't hesitate to accept. Normally she would never have agreed to this.
Helena walked like she was a child, just blindly following the men. She asked no questions, and tuned out their idle chat. She watched the ground mindlessly, as if in a trance by it.
When they turned a corner, she thought nothing of it. That is, until the men stopped. She instinctively stopped with them, but soon realized they were not on a street.
They were in an alley.
Since when did I get in front of them? She wondered as she spun on her heel. As she expected but dreaded, the group had spread out and was closing in on her, forcing her to back up until her back touched the wall.
Now that she was alert, Helena counted five. She absorbed every detail of her surroundings. There was nothing that could help her… but maybe she could help herself.
Moving faster than a cheetah, she seized her gun for the second time that day and pointed it at them. Satisfied when they came to a halt, she could feel her muscles relax.
Then panic flared in her once more as all five of them pulled out a knife. Helena would have felt confident about taking them out, but that was in the open. In this enclosed space, she was a sitting duck. If she shot one, the remaining four would converge on her.
But as they were once again advancing, she had to do something. Taking her chances, she shot the middle one's hand, making him drop his knife and cradle his hand to his chest.
However, she didn't have time to celebrate. Her prediction had been correct. As the four closed the gap, she vainly attempted to shoot one more. She hit him, but there was no way for her to stop the last three that were upon her. The first one reached her and raised his knife up. Helena reflexively kicked him, but the man on her other side had done the same thing, and she could only squeeze her eyes shut and raise her arms to take the blow instead of her head.
A slicing sound was heard, and the smell of metallic blood filled the air.
But Helena hadn't felt a thing.
Opening her eyes, the figure that had appeared out of nowhere kicked the man that nearly stabbed her. He got straight back up, and the two that had been shot had finally caught up.
"So another one shows up at our doorstep?" A growl.
"These two are vicious." Another commented.
The figure didn't budge, instead she walked next to Helena and she was finally close enough for Helena to really look at her. It just had to be Ada of all people, didn't it?
"Sorry boys," her voice was as calm as ever. "But I don't have time to play with you right now." She pointed a silver gun, but… she was aiming up?
Helena didn't have time to react when an arm snaked around her waist, and Ada shot the gun. Suddenly they were both in the air and a moment later they landed on the roof next to them.
Of course… Helena had forgotten all about Ada's grappling hook.
Helena watched as Ada produced a—she squinted—incinerary grenade? Horrified, she moved to grab it, but Ada had already tossed it into the alley. There was a flash of light as flames burst out and licked at the ground below.
"Why'd you do that?! You didn't have to kill them! We already left them behind!"
She could now see Ada's face from the fires' illumination, and was enraged to find her smiling. She was about to wipe the smirk off her face until she spoke.
"You have no faith in me." Ada jerked her thumb to point at the alley, and Helena bent to look. The fire was only at the entrance, but it blocked the escape of the five men trapped inside.
Helena was going to comment on this, but when she looked over, an object slipped from Ada's hand and smacked the hard roof. Helena had just enough time to realize that it was a phone with 911 being called, before a foot came down and smashed it.
Ada twisted her heel to dig in and further shatter the smashed phone before meeting Helena's eyes.
"The police will come from the signal." Helena pointed out the obvious.
"And the men will be taken to jail. Alive." Ada finished.
Helena stared. She wasn't about to admit that it was an ingenious plan. Not to Ada.
Looking back down at the phone, Helena noticed something. A couple drops of blood. Realization slapped her. She instantaneously recalled the moment back at the alley when she had her eyes closed. She had smelled blood. If Ada had dropped in the alley, it would be difficult even for her to land safely and protect her in the same moment.
Protect her. "…" But it was true. That's exactly what Ada had done, as much as Helena hated it. And if Helena was correct, Ada had done the same thing she did and lifted her arm, took the knife blow, then kicked the guy. The former she had done while Helena's eyes were closed.
There was one way to find out. Helena looked back up at Ada, specifically her arm. Sure enough, there was a rip in her sleeve that she hadn't noticed before. She was sure to see blood if she had better light.
Helena walked past Ada and observed the street. She found her bearings of where they were since she hadn't been paying attention before. Her house was close by, but Ada's was farther. Helena sighed. She knew what she had to do, but she wasn't happy about it.
"Ready yet, Princess?" Ada teased.
Helena glared. "Yes, I am."
Ada joined her and aimed her grappling hook somewhere across the street, once again grabbing her waist. It couldn't be avoided.
When they landed, Helena couldn't help but notice that Ada had used her good arm holding her, and her bad one on her grappling gun. She had a sneaking suspicion that Ada did so in case her bad arm failed her, she wouldn't drop Helena.
"Where no—" Ada's question was cut off when Helena grabbed her good arm and led her in the desired direction.
Ada stared but followed anyways. It was a quiet trip until they arrived at a house. Ada suspected it was Helena's. Turns out she was right, because Helena unlocked the door and dragged her inside.
When the door was shut, Ada decided to be straightforward. "Why am I here? We both know I'm the last person you would want standing in your living room."
"Shut up and take off your shirt."
"…" Ada raised an eyebrow, half confused and half amused. Silence hung in the air.
Helena realized what she said had sounded like. She had been thinking of her arm but Ada had not. "N-not like that! Don't take it like that!"
Ada smirked. "And I thought I was being straightforward. I had no idea Helena."
"I said not like that!" Helena's face was red.
"Then how am I supposed to take it?" Ada cocked her head to the side, still smiling.
"I just—I meant your arm! Take it off so I can bandage it!"
"Wow, I didn't know you cared."
"I don't."
"Clearly." More silence.
"I'm getting the bandages." Helena walked swiftly away.
Ada stood for another moment before slowly lifting her hand and unbuttoning her shirt. Helena returned when she was on the last button.
Ada discarded the shirt and noticed the blood running down her arm. She lifted it in a way that it wouldn't drip and stain Helena's carpet.
Helena was looking anywhere and everywhere except for Ada. Of course this wouldn't work considering she had to bandage her. When she finally looked at her, she saw more blood than she had expected. She went back out to get a rag and wet it, then returned and went straight to work on her arm.
She grabbed it and started wiping all the blood off that was running down. Helena's eyes kept drifting slightly, until she stole a glance, exasperated with herself. Of course Ada would be wearing a black bra, she had black basically everything else. Helena made an effort to make sure her eyes didn't linger.
Once all the excess blood was cleansed, Helena used disinfectant wipes on it, then finally bandaged it. "I'll uh… get you a new shirt." She picked up the red shirt on the floor that was ripped and dotted with blood stains.
On her way to hunt for the shirt, she tossed the old one into the washer and started it.
Finally finding a shirt that she hoped would fit, Helena went to the living room. "I found a—" She stopped. Ada wasn't there.
Helena was fairly certain she would have heard the door opening, not to mention Ada was shirtless. She had to still be there.
The kitchen was empty, as was the bathroom. She had just left the laundry room and her own room.
That left only one room. Helena walked down the hall to Deborah's old room. The door was cracked and Helena peered inside. Ada was inside with her back to the door. She looked like she was holding something, and Helena strained to see what.
It was an old picture of her and Deborah. She doesn't have a right to touch it. Helena was about to burst in and snatch it from her, but Ada moved and put the picture back. "Re…ace…" Helena struggled to make out the whispered words, then it clicked at once. Rest in peace. That's what Ada had said. Helena stood frozen with her hand rested on the doorknob.
She wanted to see Ada's face. Her reaction when she said that. It was suddenly very important. She opened the door and Ada turned, but it was too late. Ada's normal, mild, almost sly expression was back in place.
They both stared for a few seconds.
"I got the shirt." Helena finally broke the silence, albeit with an obvious statement.
Ada smiled and held her hand out. "I can see that."
Helena stared at her face, at her smile. She extended her arm so Ada could take the shirt. Ada put it on, and luckily it fit.
"I'm washing your shirt. You can, uh… sleep here if you want. But only for tonight."
"Of course." Her words were placid.
"I'll be down the hall."
Ada smirked. "'If you need me'?"
"I didn't say that!"
"It was implied."
"Goodnight!" Helena left and slammed the door. She trudged down the hall into her own room and slammed that door as well. She tossed her shoes aside and didn't bother changing before falling into bed and rolling to stare at the ceiling.
I'm not going to apologize. A serious face. An alley. Fire. Blood. A secure arm holding her. 'Rest in peace.' A shot fired at Deborah.
Her thoughts swam in her mind, revolving around Ada. Helena just couldn't make sense of the woman. 'I'm not going to apologize.' Then 'Rest in peace.' She could practically hear Ada's voice. So what? She thought Rest in peace isn't an apology, she was right. So why couldn't she stop thinking about it?
Helena rolled over on her side and closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than to shut out the world and fall asleep.
Rest in peace.
