This may be the longest chapter of anything I've ever written. It's certainly the longest action scene I've ever written. Hopefully everything is moderately coherent since I stayed up all night writing this. Let me know if you see any mistakes or anything. Anyway, onto the dork boyfriends.

The moment the buzzer sounded for us to begin, I stood no chance against Helmatier. She moved through the training room like a rabbit dashes through grass. There was no tracking her by sight with the obstacles between us, and even my ears failed to pick up her location. She dodged and dipped through the field, invisible.

If I stepped out of my cover, she would shoot me. I'd tried that strategy dozens of times, always failing within moments, so I held my position along with my breath. Kneeling behind the center of my cover, I waited for her to round either corner. I thought she wouldn't be fast enough to attack before me.

I was wrong.

In a flurry of blonde and blue, she swung around the edge of my cover. As I turned my gun toward her, a slash of her saber sent it clattering away before I could blink. Blood dripped to the floor – my blood. My hand stung with the burn of a fresh cut.

Strange. The practice sabers weren't sharp enough to do any real damage.

With my mind caught on my injury, I looked up to find a gleaming saber bearing down on me. I felt my eyes widen a fragment. That was not a practice saber.

Neither was the one that sliced the air between us, embedding itself in the block I used for cover. Helmatier's saber crashed into it with a metallic clatter before she could slice through my throat.

The excited gleam in her eye burned out, and she stepped back, lowering her blade. "You're too soft, Zero," she sighed. "It will be the death of you."

I looked the direction the intruding saber came from to find Warrius storming our way with murder in his eyes. He supervised a majority of our duels, especially mine. After most losses, he greeted me with a sigh and a pat on the head, but something always seemed to go wrong with Helmatier.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?" he spat as he tore his saber from the block. Helmatier didn't flinch under his rage. "I don't care what command says. If you keep trying to kill the other trainees, I will have you sent to a different assignment. I told you never to bring a real saber in here again!"

Helmatier crossed her arms, eyes as cool and blue as the seas on Earth. "If they can't win a match against me, they can't win against Harlock. Their life holds no worth if they can't finish the mission, so I'm simply weeding out those we don't need." She nodded to me as I wobbled my way to my feet. "Especially this one. He's useless to us."

Warrius' shoulders rose and fell as he breathed out a portion of his anger. "Believe what you will. You're not in charge. You have no authority over who lives or dies here. Gaia wants every one of you to make it to this mission alive, so you'd be wise to stop tempting me to end your life."

Helmatier's lips curled into that usual sadistic smile. The sea in her eyes swam with an oncoming storm. "Wouldn't that be fun? Perhaps you should learn not to tempt me as well."

"Go shower off," Warrius said, shaking his head. "You're done for today. We'll talk more on this later." His hand clamped down on the collar of my shirt as he turned. "Come on, Yama. Let's get your hand cleaned up."

I didn't have much of a choice with him dragging me from the room. Helmatier's eyes locked with mine before I could turn away, that same smile taunting me. "Your guard dog won't be around to take care of you forever, Yama," she called. "Then the real world will eat you alive."

"I'm going with you," I said as soon as the overhead display shut off. "I need to be there for this fight." Before Harlock could argue, I turned and started for the door.

"Yama." His voice held a warning as he started after me. "Who is this woman?"

"Should we have shot her ship down?" Kei asked. "We might still be able to."

I didn't answer either of them. I strode onto the lift, Harlock's steps rushing to meet me before the doors closed. "Who is she, Yama?" he asked again. "You have to tell me something. There still might be a way around another duel. Why are you so sure of this fight?" He stared me down, his eye burning with worry.

"Helmatier," I said. Though I kept my expression firm, I couldn't keep my heart from pounding in fear. I studied every inch of Harlock's face, every feature, every line. Maybe this would be the last time he would look at me. Maybe these would be my last moments with him alive. Maybe I could take his place in the fight.

Maybe.

I could die for him.

With the lift descending, I found myself tugging off my glove. My bare hand rose to his face. Now his eye bled with concern. "She was rank three among us," I continued as I traced his scar with the tips of my fingers. "She fights without mercy or pity. She fights dirty, whatever it takes to win, but I can't say she cheats."

Across his nose, over his cheekbone, down along the line of his jaw – I memorized as much of him as I could. "Gaia's second best swordsman," I whispered. "No assassin has a higher body count to their name."

I ran my finger over the soft ridge of his lower lip. If he died, or even if I did, I wanted to hold onto the memory of him like a perfect picture in my mind. He took my hand in his own and curled my fingers down. His lips and nose came to rest against my knuckles. It wasn't really a kiss, but I didn't care. It was perfect, and it was damning. If possible, I would have stopped time and stayed there with him forever, but the lift slowed to a stop.

"I'll fight until my last breath," he murmured against my skin as the doors opened. "Don't give up on me just yet." He released my hand and started toward the hangar. "I still don't think you should watch the fight," he called. "I was going to have the doctor do it instead, but come if you must. I won't stop you."

Of course, everyone on this ship was free to do as they pleased. Either he'd remembered that, or he knew he couldn't talk me out of this. I rushed after him until I reached his side, trying to lengthen my strides to match his. As I looked up at him, he stared straight ahead without fear or hesitation.

Even if I wasn't prepared for the upcoming duel, he was. I tried to remind myself of his strength and ability. Helmatier was a nightmare to me. Unlike the other trainees, she didn't treat our battles like training sessions. They were games of life or death, and she would hurt or kill me given the chance. Fighting her left me trembling, but Harlock was nothing like me. He could beat her. He could win.

Maybe.

I considered telling him dozens of things before we reached the hangar, but I said nothing in the end. The doors slid open to show Helmatier lounging on the nose of her fighter. Her legs were crossed, fingers laced behind her head. I had to keep myself from shooting her then.

"Finally," she said as we neared, though she didn't bother to look at us. With a roll, she slipped from the fighter and dropped to the ground. The heels of her boots cracked against the metal. She knelt to ease the force of the fall from her legs but righted herself to give a sweeping bow. "Harlock," she greeted, her tone as deceptively polite as always. "I am Helmatier. It's a pleasure."

He nodded once. "And you wish to duel me?"

"Absolutely." Her smile didn't match the cruel intent in her eyes, but maybe she didn't want it to. "As much as I'd enjoy that, though, it wouldn't quite be fair, would it? You're injured from past battles, both of you, so I'm willing to offer you a fairer playing field."

Though I knew not to trust her, I couldn't keep my thoughts from begging her to go on. If there was any way to give Harlock better odds, I would take it. Judging by the suspicion in his narrowed eye, he didn't feel the same way, but I would get him help whether he wanted it or not.

"What are you suggesting?" I asked.

Helmatier's brows twitched up for an instant as she looked my way, as though she hadn't realized I was there. "This whole honor system in duels seems rather unnecessary to me," she said with a flourish of her hand. "After all, Gaia isn't being honorable about this, but they never have been the sort. I just thought you might both like to duel me at once. I believe that would make this more reasonable."

"Yes!" I stumbled over myself in answering, desperate to accept before Harlock could refuse. "We'll do that!"

"Yama," Harlock said, low enough to keep her from hearing. "Wait a minute."

"I'm not letting you fight her alone if I can avoid it," I hissed. "There's no reason not to accept."

"By accepting, we're giving her the opportunity to kill us both at once. You really think this is the right choice?"

Helmatier smiled at us despite our whispered argument. She looked as calm as ever, no tension in her stance. Perhaps that was something to fear, but I had to take this chance for Harlock's sake. Even if it cost me my life, if I could shoot her just once, Harlock would be able to finish her.

I challenged Harlock with a glare that he didn't hesitate to return. "We'll face her together," I said. "It's for the best."

"Very well," he said loud enough for Helmatier to hear. He turned his disapproval to the triumphant smile on Helmatier's face. "But first, I would like to ask you some questions regarding this mission."

Helmatier hummed curiously, her head listing to the side. "I have been strictly forbidden from revealing matters of this mission to you or anyone else. But all the more reason to tell you." She shrugged. "That ought to rile the boys in the control room up. What would you like to know?"

This wasn't right. It was too easy. Even Harlock, who always kept a poker face around strangers, couldn't keep surprise from widening his eye. But he didn't understand Helmatier. She built her status on deception as well as death. There was no way she would hand over true information so easily. She had some sort of ulterior motive, and even if she did tell the truth, I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it.

For the moment, I kept my mouth shut. Speaking what was on my mind could give too much away, and judging by what she said, she wasn't the only one listening to our questions.

Harlock at least knew well enough to be suspicious. "Why are you so willing to hand over information when no one else would?" he asked.

"You didn't exactly ask Bainas, did you?" she asked through a laugh. "And Marina would never break a vow of silence, so I suppose you're referring to Zero. Regardless, my reason for telling you is that I have nothing to lose. I work for Gaia because it's fun, not because I care. I have no desire to hide their dirty secrets from the world. This will end with either both of you or me dead. There is no other outcome. Even if I win, I see no reason not to give you the answers you seek before you die. Besides." A slow, wicked grin spread across her lips. "I'm certain your reactions to the information will be entertaining enough."

I heard a soft huff of breath from Harlock as he crossed his arms, barring himself for whatever came next. "If that is your required payment, so be it. Tell me everything you know of this mission."

Her eyes rolled to their corners. "Such a broad request," she sighed. "I'll give you the short version. I'd rather we dueled sooner than later. Part of the reason for this mission, as you heard from Zero, is Gaia's disapproval of failure. They don't want anyone to know how much time, manpower, and money went into the initial assassination mission, only for little Yama to blow the whole thing up in their faces." Her shoulders bounced with a chuckle. I was certain I would have felt irritated if not for the anxiety rolling through my stomach.

"The public only saw a piece of Gaia's disgrace – their failure with Yama," she continued. "The other assassins were intended as backup upon the death of the first or second, however many it took to get the job done. But when your first assassin joins the ranks of the enemy, it is difficult to sneak another in undercover."

"I understand they were trained to kill me," Harlock said, "but sending all of you in like this is reckless. Gaia is wiping out some of their best."

Helmatier frowned as though he'd offended her. "Like I said, that was only a piece of their reasoning. The other issue was how some of their 'best' reacted to a fellow assassin switching sides, Zero especially."

My heart hammered from my chest to my fingertips, blood roaring in my ears. I didn't want to hear this. I couldn't be sure why, but part of me demanded I stop listening. Even so, I couldn't move or speak.

Helmatier merely shrugged. "How was he supposed to react when his precious nephew was swayed in such a way? He started questioning his orders more than Gaia was willing to put up with. Zero was one of the public's favorite generals. It would have been devastating for Gaia if he starting bringing these concerns of his to the people. Of course, if the villain Captain Harlock - or heaven-forbid Zero's own nephew - happened to kill him, the public would only find greater reason to listen to what Gaia has to say about you pirates."

The room felt like a furnace, or maybe I was heating up from the inside. I couldn't think. My hands trembled from the burning anger. "Yama," Harlock murmured. "Breathe."

I released a shaking breath as he spoke over me. "So they ordered him on this mission to silence him?"

"Or to kill one of you to prove his loyalty." Helmatier eyed me with interest. I was giving her the reaction she wanted, and that only made it more difficult to bottle my anger. She smiled once more as she continued, watching me like a cat taunting its prey. "Zero was the type of man to say no to such an order, even at the cost of his position, but he'd made Gaia very desperate. They took his wife and child hostage, demanding he take the mission in exchange for their lives."

Confusion didn't appear to be the reaction Helmatier wanted, but for all my anger, I couldn't work my way around such an issue with her story. "Warrius was…married?" I felt myself ask.

"Yes," she drawled. "It happened after you left. You know, that woman he was dating who looked like Marina. They had a child together too." Helmatier appeared to be growing bored with the topic of conversation, but now I had to hear more.

"I have a cousin?" I demanded. Warrius said something like that, that I wasn't the last one left. There were others. Maybe I would never meet them, but at least-

"Not anymore," Helmatier said. "I doubt Gaia would keep witnesses. Maybe they let the baby live, but the woman is gone by now for sure."

I couldn't breathe. My lungs were gone along with everything else. I felt like an empty husk standing there.

"What about the rest of the assassins?" Harlock's voice was more rushed than it ever should have been. He sounded desperate.

Helmatier curled a strand of her hair around her finger. "Oh, Marina and Bainas didn't need to be blackmailed. They just wanted to bring you down for their own reasons. Of course, Marina agreed to go first to damage your ship, and the order from there was based on who volunteered. I was supposed to be third, but you warped while I was already on the way to your position. Zero was sent in my stead."

"No," Harlock snapped. "The others, the other three – are they coming? Are they being blackmailed?"

"I don't care," she said. Her hand went to her saber. "I've talked enough. Maybe you'll find out if you live. Let's get to the duel."

Harlock inhaled sharply as he grabbed his saber. "If you insist," he said. Anger scratched through his voice. "Do you have any particular style or rules you'd like observed?"

Helmatier smiled as usual. "When I say go, we fight." She offered no salute, only slipping into a fighting stance.

"Yama," Harlock hissed. "Your gun."

I blinked, removing the glaze from my eye. My mind was reeling, emotions mixing and warping before I could grasp one to hold onto, yet at the same time I felt empty. I knew I had to fight. Helmatier had to die. I closed my eye as I removed the clasp over my gun. If I wanted to be of any use, I needed to focus. I needed one thing to hold onto.

I would protect Harlock. I would fight with him, and he would make it out of this alive.

Though my left hand wouldn't be of much use in aiming, I could still pull a trigger. All I needed was one good shot. I would not fail because I couldn't let Gaia win.

For Harlock.

For Warrius.

"Go." The word seemed to hang in empty air. As I opened my eye, Helmatier and Harlock leapt forward. This put Harlock between me and my target. My only choice was to make a run for the side of them, keeping an arc between us so as not to end up in the crossfire.

Helmatier's strikes connected with speed and fury. Harlock remained defensive, his eye flashing to catch each blow. I could only imagine he was learning her style before he made a move of his own, unless he was giving me an opening to attack. Their blades clashing beat in a faster rhythm than my feet against the floor. Sparks flashed as Helmatier sliced her saber across his, a mad smirk on her face.

No matter how I ran, I couldn't seem to find her side. Helmatier's circling steps kept Harlock following her. Had my right hand been working, I would have felt comfortable with a shot over his shoulder, but with my left, I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't hit him. I fought down the urge to yell at him to stay put, my eye finding a fighter instead. Some elevation would do the trick. Putting the barrel of my gun between my teeth, I grabbed a rung on the ladder of the nearest fighter.

"Where do you think you're going?" Helmatier called.

I looked her way and Harlock looked mine, but Helmatier only had eyes for the prey in front of her. Though Harlock's attention was only gone for a glance, that was all she needed. The handle of her saber slammed into his gut. My scream was muffled by my gun as Harlock struggled to regain his defense. He tried to step back out of her range, but her blade flashed up.

From my position, I couldn't see what was happening. I could only see Harlock's back, but I knew he hadn't managed a block. No metallic clash rang through the air. Tactics be damned, I let go of the ladder to rip my gun from my teeth and ran his way. Even if she gutted me, if I was close enough, I could shoot her. I just needed Harlock safe and out of the way first.

"Helmatier!" I roared, raising my gun. I caught a flash of her grin as she dashed out from behind Harlock, giving me an opening.

My shot cut through her hair as it flowed out behind her. "You're making this too easy," she said. In a single leap, she brought herself close enough to lash her saber against my outstretched gun. It was the same move she used in training, one I should have known to avoid. Now even my good hand wasn't good. A fresh slice ate against my palm as my gun clattered across the floor. Defenseless, my body forced me to step back. My mind screamed at me to get away, but she sank to a crouch. Her foot shot out and swept under mine.

I heard Harlock yell my name before the floor met my back. It was just like the last duel. I heard Marina's advice ringing through my head once again, telling me to avoid remaining on my back. But before I could roll away, the heel of Helmatier's boot appeared in my shoulder.

My eye rolled back into my skull as she twisted her heel into the bullet wound. It felt like a knife, the warmth of fresh blood welling up. My shoulder pulsed with heat and pain. The cool tip of her saber against my neck was almost soothing in comparison.

"You two are such fools," Helmatier laughed. I forced my vision forward to find Harlock frozen in place a few paces away. His saber was raised halfway, his shoulders trembling. A bloody gash ran from his right hip to his left shoulder. Though his expression was screwed up in rage, his eye shone with fear.

Oh.

I was going to die in front of him like this without having done a damn thing. I would die on my back, pathetic and writhing.

"All this worrying about each other, protecting each other," Helmatier snarled, "and look what it's gotten you. It makes you weak."

I just wanted to shut her up. With her eyes on Harlock, I grabbed her heel and jerked myself into a roll. "Son of a bitch," she hissed, jamming her saber down as she struggled to find balance.

The tip of her blade was no longer pointed at my neck. It found my eye instead, or what was left of the right one at least. With my head turned to the side, the tip dug through my eyepatch, over the ridge of my nose and across my forehead. As the tip met the floor, the blade vibrated against the slice through my face. The pain there was sharp, but it couldn't compare to Helmatier's heel tearing from the hole in my shoulder.

A shudder tore through me, but I had no patience for my body's weakness. The moment I pushed myself upright, blood from the cut in my forehead poured into my eye. I saw through a thick film of red. Somewhere to my right, sabers clashed once again. I didn't care about how close I was to danger. I had to do something to help Harlock. Smearing the blood from my vision, I searched for my gun.

"Careless!" Helmatier barked. I heard a sickening crunch, like the splintering of bone. My heart felt like it was bleeding in my chest, a gaping hole torn through it. But I couldn't look back. I had to get my gun.

I spotted it to my left and launched myself that way by pushing off my toes and practically tackling it. My palm stung against my strangling hold against it. I raised it blindly, blood filling my eye again. My right shoulder seemed to have a mind of its own, jerking my arm into fits as I forced my right hand up to wipe the blood away.

The fight in front of me continued as it had started. Helmatier didn't give Harlock a moment's rest with her brutal assault, and he was forced into defensive tactics. It was easy to see what had broken, as even from my skewed angle I could tell his nose was crooked. Blood spilled from it, running in a steady stream over his lips.

My hand refused to hold still enough for a clean shot. Trying to steady it with my right arm only made things worse. "Harlock!" I yelled. "Move!"

He did, launching himself out of the way, but so did Helmatier. I tried to follow her with my aim, but the shot flew harmlessly away to the fighter behind her. "Still haven't learned a thing," she taunted as I shot off a reckless slew of blasts. She danced away from them and closer to me.

Like a pan on a stove top, my gun burned through my glove until the inevitable slapped me in the face. The trigger jammed against me. The gun overheated. It would cool down, but not before Helmatier could stab me through the chest.

On my knees, I had little hope of dodging, but I'd be damned if I would sit there and let myself die. She rushed toward me as she realized her chance, but she was forced to bring up her saber before she was in range. Harlock's blade bit against hers, his stance wide open as he stood between us. That idiot was protecting me again, and he was going to get himself killed.

"I'm fine!" I yelled, jumping to my feet. "Get out of there!"

Before I could finish the order, Helmatier's foot came up and cracked against his kneecap. He stumbled back a step, his leg bucking out from under him. He managed to keep himself from going down, but we all knew he had no chance of keeping up with her now.

Helmatier glanced between each of us with a smile on her face. "Pathetic," she sighed. "And here I was hoping for a good fight."

My gun's trigger still resisted me. I could only hope she felt like rambling a bit longer.

"I hate stooping to the level of fighters like you," Harlock growled. His voice was crunched like his nose. "Such low tricks have no place in a duel, but you've given me no reason to respect you."

"Are you stalling?" she asked. "How shameful. Well, I've made up my mind then."

She spun on me, ready to cut me down. I could have moved, but I found myself staring at Harlock through that haze of red. He seemed to move before her, and his reach surpassed hers.

I wanted Helmatier dead. I did, but I couldn't say I was happy to see her end. Harlock grabbed a fistful of her hair, jerking her back toward him. She and I saw the tip of Harlock's saber against her eye, but the blood in mine mercifully hid the rest as I glanced away.

I heard a body fall to the floor, but I didn't dare look up. My breaths stuttered in and out of my throat. Nausea hit me like a wall, the scent of blood overwhelming around me. A cold sweat built across my skin.

"Yama," Harlock said.

A laugh trilled from my lips at the sound of his voice. "God, we need to get your nose fixed," I twittered.

His hobbled steps neared me, and I realized his knee had to be broken. I let the blood stay in my eye, not wanting to see the damage covering him, not wanting to see Helmatier with a saber through her head. I kept my eye shut tight and hid from the reality around me.

I could feel Harlock standing in front me, his presence like a shadow. "Yama," he whispered. "Breathe." His hand shook as it settled on my cheek. He brushed the blood away with his thumb, barely seeming to touch my sticking lashes.

I didn't want to breathe. I wanted to let lightheadedness overtake me, but I forced air through my lungs for him. Opening my stinging eye, I looked up to his face. His nose was smashed and crooked, and blood coated his mouth. Still, it was the same face I memorized minutes before, though surely that was hours ago.

"We're alive," I said. I felt as though I'd just realized it. We made it but not unscathed. I hadn't done a thing to protect him. I only got in the way, and he paid the price for it. All those wounds were my fault.

He leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine. I couldn't mind the sting from my cut. I had him close, and that was all that mattered. "Yes, Yama," he said. "Hang in there. We're going to be alright."

I wanted to believe him. Sure, all his wounds would heal along with mine. This was the end. We would be alright.

Maybe.

So spoilers I guess if you didn't see my last author's note, but the current plan is to set this to an M rating when the next chapter is posted. It's funny to me that both my ongoing fics at the moment are set to have smut chapters next. We'll see if I chicken out though.

And as always, thanks to my reviewers. You're all real sweet and my favorites. Make sure to do something nice for yourself today.