SlothChann and Jujulapetoch - thanks so much for your reviews. The are super motivational :)
Ok everyone, this is a long chapter. I felt bad leaving the last two chapters on cliffhangers so I was adamant about not leaving this one on a cliffhanger too...which is why this is pretty much the size of two chapters.
I really hope you enjoy it. I have been madly smashing it out as my course starts again next week so I will be extra busy :(
Happy Reading!
Blood, thick and metallic, slid down his throat as Zero's hand twisted in his hair, pulling his head backwards. Hei strained for air, coughing and gagging, more blood slipping back through his now broken nose causing him to choke. He wished he'd agreed to November's request of spending the night together. Wished he decided to forgo his Syndicate duties just for one evening. Wished he hadn't just tried to electrocute Zero. The fingers twisted more, yanking his head back further.
"Did you really think I wouldn't do my research? Did you really think I wouldn't be prepared?" Zero snarled, tightening his grip, a few strands of hair ripping from Hei's scalp. "I know what you are now."
An instant later, Zero released his grip leaving Hei gasping for breath, head collapsing forward in relief. So Zero knew he was a Contractor now, Hei's muddled brain supplied. But what was Zero hoping to achieve by drawing Amber out? Was Zero feeling betrayed also?
"Zero," Hei begun, choosing his words carefully lest the other man find another excuse to hurt him. "Amber betrayed the team. She betrayed all of us. I haven't seen her since Heaven's War..." He heard Zero walking slowly behind him, could feel Taisiya's intense stare from across the room. "We'd found the the Meteor Fragment, we were meant to return to the Syndicate with it. But she took it. Amber took it, and Bai with her. Carmine and I searched for them but then..." Zero's footsteps stopped. "I woke up half-way around the world in an Syndicate medical facility and-"
"You had the power of a Contractor and Carmine was human," Zero interrupted. "And Heaven's Gate was no longer accessible."
"Yes."
"Tell me, do you enjoy being a Contractor?" Zero rested his gloved hands over Hei's shoulders, lightly, in what could almost be misconstrued as a familiar, friendly gesture. "Or shall I rephrase that. Do you enjoy having the power of a Contractor without a price?" Hei remained silent. "It must be nice...to have such power without a thought to the consequences. Without a thought to the suffering it could cause."
"You know I suffered plenty," Hei bit out, his temper igniting like a flame touching fuel at Zero's casual, conversational tone.
"Yes, I suppose you thought you did. I could always smell your self-pity." Zero chuckled darkly. Hei's back tensed as Zero squeezed his shoulders. "And do you know who else did?"
Hei shook his head slowly, his temper rapidly diminishing replaced with honest confusion. No one had cared about how he felt. No one had given a single damn about him.
"Amber."
Hei tilted his head back slowly, looking over his shoulder at Zero. He winced as his broken rib protested at the movement. It felt like a knife in his side.
"She was always protective of you, did you know that? She knew how powerless you felt, she knew about your secret, growing resentment towards Bai. And she knew how much you hated yourself for helping to fulfill Carmine's payment."
"Amber is a Contractor, she doesn't care about anyone except herself-"
"You don't believe that. At least not anymore." Zero's hands left Hei's shoulders with a final squeeze, nails digging into his skin like teeth. "I've seen you with that MI6 Contractor, I've seen how much you care about him. The way you look at him. Frankly it's sickening to me."
Hei felt numb. How much danger had he been putting November in by just being around him...how long had Zero been watching him, watching them? How many times had Zero been close to tearing November's throat out? It unnerved Hei. Here he had been thinking only about himself and the danger being close to November put him himself in...he'd never really thought about the danger he might expose the other Contractor to. He felt foolish. He couldn't let on how much he cared about November...he didn't want to see November hurt because of him...he didn't think he could live with himself if something bad happened to the British Contractor. And Zero was the epitome of bad. He had to play it off as a tactic.
"I'm using my alias to get close to him," Hei said, voice level, praying his old trainer would believe him.
"You're a good actor, Hei," Zero said, "but you aren't that good. I know you care about him, even now you're trying to protect him, it's so obvious, I would say it's almost adorable. But fortunately for him, I really don't give a damn about what MI6 is up to these days. I want Amber and Amber is protective of you. That's why she took Carmines power, that's why she gave you power, and that's why Bai's gone."
Nausea was growing in Hei's stomach which had nothing to do with his current injuries and his head started to spin. There was no way Amber had done that...not for him...not because of him. He wasn't responsible for Bai's disappearance. He'd only ever lost control of himself once and he'd regretted it instantly, appalled with himself. He squeezed his eyes closed trying to push the memory of his own hand reaching down to wrap around his sister's throat while she slept peacefully in his arms.
"Hei...don't feel bad now," Zero said, voice far too light to imply any sympathy. "Amber causes suffering whether ever she goes, whether intentional or not. And I, we, just want to undo some of that suffering. You see, Amber, in her selfishness, in her obsessiveness, stripped others of the opportunity to choose for themselves whether they wished to remain Contractors when she slammed Heaven's Gate closed." Zero slipped back into Hei's view, walking to where Taisiya stood silently in the corner of the room. "You suffered so much at the hand of your Contractor sister. Won't you help Taisiya end her suffering too?"
"You're insane," Hei said, spitting the words at Zero. "Even if Heaven's Gate could turn Contractors human, what makes you think you will be able to make Amber tell you how she did it? Let alone capture her. She can manipulate time, you'll never hold her!"
Hei was starting to realize that his old trainer had become even more unstable in the years since Heaven's War. His theory of being able to turn Contractors human within the Heaven's Gate, his plan to capture Amber - it was madness. Hei himself had spent the last five years of his life trying to track down Amber. Hell, it had taken him five years to find Carmine again and he still had no more answers than he did when he woke up in the Syndicate medical facility.
"I think you'll find the right combination of drugs can affect a Contractor's ability to utilize their power quiet effectively." Zero's lip curled up, flashing his teeth as he smiled down at Hei. "And, as you would know from experience, it takes concentration on the part of a Contractor in order to use their power. Pump a Contractor full of enough drugs and you'll find they aren't so much of a threat anymore. Now, let's suppose I do capture Amber, let's suppose I keep her unconscious for an indeterminate amount of time, hook her up to cocktail of hallucinogens and sedatives. Let's suppose I remove a piece of her while she sleeps. Maybe a finger? A hand perhaps? And when she wakes confused, disoriented and horrified, I'll ask her a question. If she refuses to answer, and I expect she will, or if she manages to draw on her power, I'll send her back to sleep and I'll remove another piece. And another." Zero snapped his fingers together, a sharp click resounding throughout the room. "And another." Click. "And another." Click. "Until she begs for me to let her go. Because one thing Contractors and humans do have in common...is the will to survive."
Hei hated Amber. He despised her. But he wouldn't wish the long drawn out torture Zero had planned for her on anyone. It was abhorrent. Sickening.
"And how are you going to capture her in the first place?" Hei said, now unable to keep the anger out of his voice.
"Oh, now that part is quite easy. I'm going to use you of course." Zero beckoned to Taisiya who walked forward and passed a long metal object to Zero. "I've built up quite the following over the years since Heaven's War. You would be surprised just how desperate people are for an ideal to cling to when there is so much uncertainty in the world. What lengths people will go to to further their beliefs. What lies people will believe in their anguish. Surely even you have heard of the myriad of Gate Worshipping fanatics making themselves know around the world. You've seen them yourself, pawing at the barbed wire fencing surrounding the wall around Hell's Gate. They are lining up at the opportunity to capture the sacrilegious Contractor who denied them access to Heaven."
Zero placed the tip of the metal object on the underside of Hei's forearm, angling it so it rested between the two bones. Hei eyed the device in apprehension as Zero pressed his thumb to the top and the tip snapped forwards, breaking Hei's skin. Hei cried out in pain as a thick needle punctured his flesh. Zero yanked it from his arm handing it back to Taisiya.
"Tracking device," Zero, said coolly. "Amber doesn't have much time left. She won't be making any large leaps in the near future. And wherever she jumps to, Hei, I can guarantee you there will be someone nearby, someone waiting for her."
None of this made sense...Hei thought. Zero was selfish, manipulative...there was always an ulterior motive.
"You're not the altruistic type...you aren't drawing out Amber for Taisiya's sake, I don't believe it."
Zero leaned in close, his voice a whisper that only himself and Hei could hear.
"I don't need you to believe me, just them."
Zero stood up, straightening himself. "Taisiya, see if the testing chamber is ready."
Taisiya nodded, throwing one last unreadable look at Hei before she slipped out the door, closing it behind her.
"Did you ever think about why your team was sent to retrieve the Meteor Fragment during Heaven's War?" Zero spoke quietly.
Hei shook his head. Truthfully, he hadn't really cared. All he had really cared about was getting the item the Syndicate was so desperate to retrieve and to leave the Hell-scape with Bai and himself in one piece.
"The Meteor Fragment was intended to be used as a key component in a ploy to render the Gate-Particles in Heaven's Gate inert...effectively causing Heaven's Gate to cease to exist. And with it, all the Contractors."
Hei looked up at Zero, questioningly...he'd never heard anything of this before. Sure, he'd read theories on how the Gates came to appear and how they could potentially disappear. He'd even read a couple of articles on Gate Ethics which debated whether humans should be interfering with the them to begin with. But he'd never know that there had been an attempt, even a workable theory, to make the Gates disappear...to make Contractors disappear. It gave him chills thinking about it. What if it had succeeded during Heaven's War...would Bai, Carmine, and Amber have vanished before his very eyes? Would be have been left in a desolate war zone without any allies...and, his stomach churned, would the Syndicate have even bothered to extract him? Would he have been left for dead, alone, waiting for starvation or another human on the other side of the war to pick him off?
"But, I for one was never a fan of that outcome," Zero continued, pulling Hei back to the present. "Why should we get rid of such prominent assets? A new breed of people more, cunning, more ruthless than anything we have seen before." There was edge of wistfulness in Zero's voice. "Why should we deny ourselves the gift of Heaven's Gate...the gift of power without price. The gift Amber gave you."
Zero's predatory eyes locked on Hei's, tongue slipping out to wet his lips. Hei shivered. So that's what this was about. Zero, power hungry and insane, unhappy with the Syndicate wanting to destroy Contractors...people he likely thought more worthy to exist than mere humans...people he aspired to be like. And he was manipulating Taisiya into helping him, into carrying out his bidding for the promise of returning to being human. It was starting to make sense to Hei now. Mao had mentioned that the contractor he was after, KR-051, didn't have a payment. A powerhouse with no known Obeisance. But if Hei had to hazard a guess, he'd wager that it was just a myth. A myth like Moko's Blackbird. The burns that littered Taisiya's pale skin were her payment, a harsh payment, and Hei guessed that it was why she'd been at the hospital...but then...No, Hei thought, that doesn't make sense, KR-051 was active when I was questioning Taisiya for Kouno... Taisiya couldn't be KR-051.
"Why is she helping you? Why does she think you can end her suffering," Hei asked, confused. "...she's not a Contractor..."
Zero leaned down, openly smirking a Hei. "No, she isn't. She's just a scared child who wishes her sister would return to normal."
November dragged a hand down his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Misaki," he said, exasperated, "this is not the conclusion I thought you would draw when I told you to trust your instincts." November shook his head and laughed softly under his breath. "Now let me make sure I have this absolutely correct, you believe Li, Li Shengshun, whom I have been dating for months now, is the ruthless Syndicate Contractor the Black Reaper?"
Misaki crossed her arms, feeling chastised by the MI6 agent. She needed him to take her seriously. "I've had my team cross reference places Li's worked against suspected assassinations carried out by the Black Reaper. November," Misaki sighed, taking a deep breath to release some of the tension forming between her shoulder blades, "there were a lot of coincidences."
"Misaki, don't you think I have analyzed BK-201's movements and activity as well? There has been no strong correlation between the star activity of BK-201 and any singular person. There are no coincidences between Li and BK-201, I would have found them."
"You haven't found them because you have only been looking at star activity, Jack." Misaki's hackles rose in irritation. November was speaking to her like some first year police officer who hadn't a clue what they were doing. It made her furious. "BK-201, unlike any other Contractor we have ever encountered, doesn't fully rely on his abilities in order to eliminate his targets. He's almost seems reluctant to use his powers and even when he does it's usually for a short period of time...so short that Astronomics barely has the opportunity to gain any data." Misaki was on a war path, she was going to make November see that he didn't know everything. "BK-201's choice of weapon is a double bladed knife. I know this because I have seen it myself, I've seen him use it. Now let's start correlating how many people, people who have been involved in someway or another with the Gates, have been killed by a similar knife. If you add that information in, along with BK-201's star activity, I can damn well tell you there is a correlation." Misaki sucked in a breath. She continued, "He doesn't rely on his powers, it's how he's managed to remain anonymous for so long."
Misaki's fingers were trembling as she finished talking. For a moment, all she could hear was her own harsh breathing as she waited for November to talk. The British Contractor's expression was unreadable as he studied her.
"Alright then," November began, recovering quickly. "Let's say that Li is the Black Reaper for argument's sake. Do you think Mr BK-201 enjoys long walks on the beach with his enemy?" November smirked. "Do you think he enjoys going to a nice dinner or drinks with his adversary? And," November's voice took on a husky tone, "do you think he enjoys sharing a bed with his opponent?"
Misaki glared at November. "What if he's trying to get close to you for information, what if he just wants to hide in plain sight?"
November shook his head, smiling. "I do not think that is the case at all. Not once has Li pressed me for information regarding MI6. And in the times that I have been fortunate enough to have him at my suite, Li has never been prone to snooping around. And you forget, Misaki...it took a great deal of, as you like to say, harassment, before I had the pleasure of Li's company willingly. If he wanted to hide in plain sight, don't you think he would have leapt at the opportunity to date me rather than trying to escape my advances?" November cocked an eyebrow as if begging Misaki to challenge him. "Honestly, I cannot think of a single logical reason that the Contractor the Black Reaper would be happily dating me."
"Maybe it's the same reason you are dating Li Shengshun," Misaki whispered...the thought coming to her as she remembered how confused she had been, how long it had taken to realize, to accept, that Contractors could have emotions, strong emotions, too. "Maybe it's as simple, and natural, logical, as feeling attracted to someone, caring about them. Loving them."
November opened his mouth to retort that that was as ridiculous as Li being the Black Reaper but a flicker of doubt crawled its way through his mind. Hadn't it originally been BK-201's own illogical actions that had helped November let go of attempting to live up to the sentiment that a Contractor should be a purely logical being. And...there was the other question that still irked him ever since his last interaction with the Syndicate Contractor...had the Black Reaper purposely pushed him out of the bullet's path?
"Jack," Misaki continued, worried by November's silence. "If Li isn't the Reaper then he's safe, cleaning the building over there. We won't be doing any harm by waiting out here observing."
November nodded slowly, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. November admitted it was possible Li was the Black Reaper...him along with a thousand other people, he told himself. Was it possible Li was the Reaper? Yes. Was is probable Li was the Reaper? No. Of course not, he knew Li, he trusted Li...yet he couldn't keep the uncertainty out of his voice. "And if Li is the Black Reaper? What then?"
Hei could feel the weight of the earpiece in his ear as he subtly flexed his muscles, trying to find any slack in his bindings. There was none, just like there was no sound coming from his earpiece. He knew that his team would have checked up on him by now and he also knew Zero wouldn't have been so careless as to leave him with a means of communicating with his team. Which meant one thing, he was too deep in the building for communications to reach him. He was on his own just like Huang had said.
He sucked in a breath, trying to puff out his chest to brace against the ropes pinning his upper arms to his sides. His rib flared in pain and he gasped, the sound loud in the almost empty room.
"That's not going to work, you know," Taisiya said from where she stood in front of him, her back leaning against the door. "And he'll be back soon."
Hei had thought he might have a least had a chance to escape with Zero now out of the room. He really did not want to be present for whatever the ex-Syndicate operative had planned for him down in the testing chamber - didn't want to know how exactly how he planned to use him to draw Amber out.
"Taisiya," Hei began, "Zero isn't going to help you or your sister. His only interest in you is the power your sister has. You've got to believe me, he's only interested in himself and he'll throw you away as soon as you are no longer useful to him. You're just a tool to him."
"He told me you would say that," Taisiya answered, her lips drawing back to reveal her canines, voice angry. "He found me, he took care of me, he helped me recover when my sister lost control of her powers," Taisiya said, turning her palms towards Hei, showing the marred undersides of her hands and forearms. "And he told me about you."
The simmering rage was back in Taisiya's voice, the same rage she had when she'd seen his face in the corridor.
"He told me how you don't want to find your sister. How you are glad that your sister is gone." Taisiya pulled her arms in close to her body, wrapping them around herself. "That you don't want Heaven's Gate to be opened. That you want it to remain inaccessible. So your sister remains trapped there."
Taisiya's words were a punch to the gut. It wasn't true. It wasn't true. Zero was just spinning lies, getting inside his head through Taisiya, making him doubt himself. He had to remember that.
"All those people," Taisiya continued, voice raspy. "All those people that were within a 1,500 kilometer radius of Heaven's Gate...they didn't disappear...they're trapped there. And we're going to save them, we're going to save them and we're going to make my sister human again."
Bound and strapped to a chair, in a sub-basement room which was impenetrable by radio communications, and held hostage by his insane ex-trainer, Hei didn't think he could possibly feel more helpless. The amount of lies that Zero had fed Taisiya, the complex web he'd weaved in order to gain her undying devotion made Hei despair. Zero had brainwashed her into a good little soldier who would loyally and willingly act out his every order. There was no way that Hei would be able to reason with her. She was too far gone. But as Taisiya continued to rant, Hei felt his lip tremble and small tremors rack his body as the seed of doubt burrowed its way into his mind. What if it was true? What if all this time Bai had been trapped, trapped in Heaven's Gate, wondering why her brother didn't come to rescue her like he'd always promised he would. What if she'd been waiting, losing hope after every day, every month, every year that passed? Unshed salty tears brewed in Hei's eyes, stinging them as he refused to let them fall. What if she thought he had purposely left her there without a backward glace, finally free of her. His throat tightened, fire burning through his veins as his thoughts turned from sadness to anger. Amber. He was going to find her, he was going to kill her.
The door opened again, Taisiya falling quiet as Zero stepped through.
"She's ready."
The cool metal of the blade pressed against the thin skin covering Hei's carotid artery, an ever present threat that if he tried to make a move he'd be left to bleed out on the floor. Zero pushed Hei forward down the darkened corridor, Taisiya leading the way. Hei's heart thudded in his chest, in time with his footfalls. It didn't take much imagination to guess what Zero was planning to do now - he was going to have KR-051 attack him, hoping that Amber would come rescue him from a Contractor he had no hope of defeating.
"You're crazy doing this at night," Hei said, the blade against his neck stinging his skin as he spoke. "Section Four and MI6 are waiting for KR-051 to make another appearance, they'll find you."
"No, they won't," Zero murmured softly from behind him. "This building has radiation shielding to contain a small nuclear explosion. By the time Astronomics manages to get even the correct street this will all be over. Face it, Hei, there's no one coming to help you. No Huang, no Mao, no Yin...no Section Four and certainly no MI6 agent."
Hei's legs started to wobble with each step. Zero was right. November wasn't expecting to hear from him until the morning and Huang knew he didn't have radio communications...he wouldn't think anything amiss for hours - hours too late. It was starting to dawn on Hei that he was likely going to die in this building, that his charred remains would likely be found the next day by the morning staff. That his unrecognizable corpse would be heaved into a body bag, slotted into the morgue awaiting identification. Never to be identified formally. All his records were fake, not even his dental records were true. His body would lay in that morgue forever unknown...or maybe November would put his disappearance and the unidentifiable to body together and come to the conclusion that he was dead. Would November mourn him? Would he be buried as Li Shengshun? Or would November take his ashes home?
He didn't want to die. He didn't want his life to be over. He had to fight, he had to find someway out. There had to be a way.
Zero pulled him into a stop. Hei focused, there was a dark steel bulkhead door before him. The testing chamber.
"Open it," Zero said, prodding Hei forward as Taisiya stepped aside.
Hei stepped forwards, his tight grip on the bulkhead handle belying his shaking nerves. He turned it, hand over hand, until he heard the dull clank of it unlocking, screeching as he pushed it open. Zero kicked his ankle and Hei stepped into the room. It was a large, circular room comprised of metal paneling, the rivets grimy with black dust. Pillars stretched from the floor to the ceiling haphazardly as if they'd quickly been assembled. A long window with thick glass sat in the wall a short distance from the door. And in the center of the room before him, a young woman waited. She turned to face him, her features sharp, skin pale, and eyes cold.
And she was almost identical to Taisiya except for her pristine, unmarred skin.
"Are...are you sure there's no other way to draw her out," Taisiya whispered and Hei turned slightly, stretching his neck to look at her. Taisiya had paused at the entrance to the room, her face slack and eyes wide, her body still.
"Taisiya," Zero cooed at her, from where he was pressed up against Hei's back. "Your sister loves you, she cares about you. She'll only use as much of her power as necessary. And I'll be here to look after you when it's done."
Taisiya nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek, curving under her jaw and falling onto her scarred neck. And, in a flash, the pieces snapped together.
I hacked into Section Four's database...they think KR-051 is a Binary Star...Mao had mentioned before the mission as he idly scratched his collar...Maybe that's why she has no payment.
Prior to the arrival of the Gates, Binary stars were in actual fact the most common type of star system even allowing the transfer of mass between the two stars...Hei's Astrophysics lecturer said as he paced the front of the class room...since then, we have observed no Binary systems, only singular stars.
Won't you help Taisiya end her suffering too...Zero purred.
A low hum resonated throughout the room.
"It's time to see how well I trained you, Hei," Zero said, pushing him towards the woman as a blue glow silhouetted her, red points igniting in her dark eyes. Zero strode towards the door as ear piercing shriek echoed throughout the room. Taisiya's knees buckled as she screamed, her skin red and peeling backwards from her arms as an invisible fire burned over her. She hit the ground, mouth opened wide in agony.
KR-051 was Taisiya's twin sister, her twin star.
And Taisiya was KR-051's payment.
Taisiya's sobs abruptly ended when the door to the room slammed closed leaving Hei and the Blackbird alone. She still hadn't moved and it was making Hei anxious. Hei assumed she was waiting for a signal from Zero to begin. Think, Hei, he thought to himself, what can I do, how can I get out of this? Hei conducted a mental check of the equipment he still had on him. Zero had only seen fit to take his double bladed knife from him. He still had his harness and grappling gear, his coat, and the small pocket knife he kept at his ankle. And he still had his Contractor abilities, he had never been more thankful to have them in this moment. Maybe, maybe if he could get close enough he could electrocute the Blackbird or go for a main artery with his pocket knife?
Hei waited. The Blackbird waited.
Hei caught movement in his peripheral vision. Zero was standing at the observation window, staring intently at him. Zero made a motion with his hand and suddenly the air in front of Hei had risen to a scorching heat.
Hei launched himself to the side as the air in front of him ignited in flame. He hit the floor, the fire a storm above him, the heat an open oven against his skin. He rolled behind a pillar, tucking his legs close as the fire rolled against his shield. There was sweat forming on his forehead. Hei wasn't sure if it was from nerves, the heat, or both.
And then, as if it never existed, the heat was gone. Hei chanced a glace from the safety of his hiding spot. He couldn't see the Blackbird...where was she?
There was a low hum behind him, like the buzzing of telegraph wires and Hei backed away from the pillar as it started to vibrate. In the blink of an eye, the pillar vanished in a haze of black dust, a pale hand shooting forwards, fingers stretched outwards. Hei scrambled to get his feet underneath himself. He pushed off the ground, throwing his weight backwards and into the air, the fingers stroking against the collar of his coat. His hands made contact with the floor and he pushed away once more, using the momentum to propel himself further away and onto his feet.
The blue glow of Synchrotron radiation faded from the Blackbird as Hei's back met the wall of the room with a thud.
The Blackbird's a matter manipulator...
Had she just torn every single atomic bond in the pillar apart?
Mao paused mid step, ears pricking up as he heard soft voices talking somewhere nearby. Huang had sent him off to the scout the perimeter of the building and honestly he had not expected to come across any other people. Ducking into the thick shrubbery to his left, Mao crept through the low branches, silently honing in on the voices. They sound familiar..., Mao thought.
He ducked his head down low, peering out through the foliage into a bitumen carpark. His feline eyes widened as they landed on a familiar red sports car. Oh no, Mao's mind raced, oh no, please don't let him be here.
Mao continued through the shrub, long limbs silently avoiding twigs and dry leaves. The voices were getting louder.
"Now let me make sure I have this absolutely correct, you believe Li, Li Shengshun, whom I have been dating for months now, is the ruthless Syndicate Contractor the Black Reaper?"
Mao's jaw dropped. He froze mid-step. That was November 11, the MI6 Contractor, who had just spoken. But what had he said...he'd been dating Li, he'd been dating Hei, for months? Hei had allowed November's advances to continue...? He'd thought that maybe Hei had been fooling around but he'd been confident that Hei would lose the MI6 agent quickly or that the MI6 agent would get bored. That didn't seem to be the case at all. What the hell was going on?
"I've had my team cross reference places Li's worked against suspected assassinations carried out by the Black Reaper. November, there were a lot of coincidences."
Dread prickled under Mao's fur causing his coat to bristle. That was the voice of the Section Four chief...the same Section Four chief who he had seen at Yin's tobacco store the other day. She had figured it out and she was onto Hei. Onto them.
Mao leapt from the bushes, paws hitting the bitumen and sprinting back the way he had come with all the speed his four limbs could muster. Stealth be dammed. He had to tell Huang that MI6 and Section Four were here. They had to get Hei out of there.
He had two plausible strategies. One: Try and wait out the Blackbird, hope that if he was able to keep circling around KR-051, dodging her attacks, that she would be forced to stop. Surely Taisiya could only take so much? But, as another pillar vanished before Hei's eyes, Hei realized that the Blackbird was using her power sparingly. She knew that she had to be economical. Two: Hei could charge her, hope that he was quick enough to electrocute her before she burned him alive. It would be difficult. The Blackbird wasn't vulnerable. She didn't have to stop to fulfill her payment.
Neither options were promising and Hei recognized, with growing acceptance, that he was fighting a losing battle.
She was honing in on him again. Hei forced himself to stand still. The Blackbird extended her hand toward him, a fireball igniting into existence in her palm like a star being born. Hei waited. Not yet, he thought. The molten ball grew, swirling like lava as KR-051's form became disconnected, ashy and translucent like dust. That must be how she protects herself from the blast, Hei thought, eyes narrowing as he waited.
With a flash, the fireball exploded outwards, expanding rapidly towards him in a wave of radiation. Hei dived forwards, hand flying to his carabineer. With a flick of his wrist, the wire shot upwards, wrapping around the top of a pillar. Kicking into the air as the hot wave of power reached him, he hung in mid-air of a moment, heat burning the soles of his shoes. With a hiss, the wire quickly retracted, pulling him higher into the air, to safety, with a jolt.
Hot air whipped his face, pasting his sweat dampened hair to his skull, as he whipped around the pillar, grip on the wire tight. Now! Hei disconnected the wire as he swung behind the Blackbird. Gravity pulled him rapidly towards the floor as the wire unclipped. He bent his knees bracing for impact with the ground. He slammed into the floor with a dull thud, wincing as the impact stung the soles of his feet, stifling a scream as his rib flared with white-hot pain. But he stayed upright.
She was turning to face him and Hei realized with dread that he had landed too far away. He wouldn't be able to close the distance between them in time. He wouldn't be able to touch her, he wouldn't be able to use his powers on her. He'd screwed up and there was no one to save him now. Synchrotron radiation enveloped the woman before him. His breath caught in his throat. He'd disconnected his wire - he couldn't grapple away. The fear was lead in his veins. It was over.
"You don't know what its like to have to hurt your sibling," the Blackbird whispered at him, her eyes glowing red.
Hei closed his eyes. No, he didn't, but maybe Bai had.
The temperature was increasing, hot air burning his lips. I'm so sorry, Bai, he thought.
Then Hei was surrounded by a blazing storm of burning air. A firestorm. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. His skin peeling, his flesh cooking on his bones. He opened his mouth to scream, fire burning down his throat before the words could leave it. Blinding light pierced his eyes as he squeezed them closed against the onslaught of heat.
And in that moment, as his nerves disintegrated, leaving him unfeeling. As his vocal chords melted leaving him unable to speak. As the all encompassing hellfire left him unable to see. Everything was so bright, so pure, so white.
Time. It was such a funny thing to her. The way it moved and flowed. The way it wrapped around her fingers like a flowing stream, her hand changing its course with the slightest movement. Cool on her finger tips.
She reached into her pocket, her fingers touching cold, smooth glass. She pulled it out, raising it to meet her eyes. The Meteor Fragment. Another funny thing, another mystery.
It was temperamental, she decided. Unlike the grace of time, the Meteor Fragment was erratic - moving in space and time, a pebble skipping over the water's surface. But she was beginning to understand it. The harder she threw it, the further it went.
And she had thrown it hard at Heaven's Gate. So hard, that it had slipped through Heaven and into Hell. It had taken her five years to find it.
She took a step forward, her hand closing over Hei's as his skin rippled, rebuilding as time ticked backwards. She hated seeing him like this, hated seeing him hurt. She pressed a kiss to his skin as it once more became smooth.
In three weeks, PANDORA would be on high alert, scrambling as its defenses were breached as the Evening Primrose descended, plucking the Meteor Shard from their grasp, disappearing into the night without a trace. She would lose comrades then, friends. They would die for her cause. She would mourn them when she had time. But there was no time she could give them. She had so little left.
But for Hei, for him, she would give everything. She smiled as he slowly opened his midnight blue eyes as time slowly rewound.
She knew that Zero was after her. She had been warned.
She slipped the Meteor Fragment into Hei's pocket. It had a habit of disappearing after use. But that was alright. Because time was a funny thing after all and she knew where the Meteor Fragment would end up.
Just like she knew that she couldn't help Hei get out of this.
Because, there was only one Contractor that could.
She just needed to wake up.
Misaki flinched as her phone started ringing. She grabbed it, turning it over in her hand, reading the Caller ID. Kanami...
She hadn't even raised the phone to her ear when Kanami begun talking quickly.
"Misaki!" Kanami yelled into her ear. "Where are you?! Saitou refused to tell me."
Misaki saw November raise an eyebrow at her. She turned away from him, nestling her phone between her shoulder and hand in an effort to stop Kanami's loud voice from travelling.
"Kanami." Misaki admonished her friend in hushed tones. "Keep it down, I'm doing covert surveillance."
"KR-051 is active, Misaki."
"What, where?" Misaki said, her voice no longer hushed. November walked over to her, coming to a stop beside her. There was confusion in his light blue eyes, seeking an explanation to Misaki's sudden outburst. Misaki rapidly tapped the volume up, bringing the phone down between herself and November so the other could hear the conversation.
"She's somewhere in the Oarai district. But we've having trouble triangulating her position. I don't know why but we can't get a fix on her."
"Can't get a fix of whom?" November said, speaking up.
"Is that November?" Kanami asked. "Thank God you're there. It's KR-051. Astronomics has been detecting increasing activity for past 10 minutes. Is July with you, maybe he can try and search for her?"
November nodded walking over to where his car was parked. Misaki watched as the British Contractor gently shook July awake, quietly explaining the situation. July nodded once, silently stepping out from the red car and pressing his small hand to the passenger side widow.
"Kanami...November and I are in Oarai...we've haven't heard or seen anything and there has been radio silence from the local law enforcement. If KR-051 is that active don't you think we should have seen something by now?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line as Kanami thought. "She could be underground...or in a building with radiation shielding. Somehow we aren't detecting her subsequent Synchrotron radiation."
Misaki's heart stopped as the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. "Kanami," Misaki breathed, "November and I are outside the JAEA Nuclear Research building...and Li is in there."
Everything was white.
Hei slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the brilliant light that cascaded around him. He could see the Blackbird in front of him. Could see her dusty translucent form, wispy like smoke crawling through a room. But he could see more, he could see every molecule, every atom, that comprised the Blackbird - could see them disconnected. The wave of radiation hurtling towards him appeared in slow motion, each nuclei being forced into another, the resulting energy breaking free.
He wanted to run, to get away from the oncoming heatwave that would surely burn him alive. But he couldn't move, couldn't take a single step, he was rooted to the spot. An arm raised before him and it took him a moment to realize it was his own. He stared down at it as the familiar blue glow of Synchrotron radiation enveloped the limb. This couldn't be happening, he wasn't doing this.
There was something crawling its way up his throat, twisting around his tongue, and Hei realized with horror that he was speaking.
"The only way your sibling will be free..."
His palm opened, fingers stretching outwards into the heatwave. He tried close his hand, tried to pull his arm back towards himself to protect it but he couldn't. Hei watched, panicked, as his own fingers breached KR-051's radiation. He tried to squeeze his eyes closed against the burn he expected to feel, not wanting to see his hand melt away from his arm. But nothing happened. His hand curled into a fist, nails biting into his skin, and like a star being pulled into a black hole, the radiation shrank backwards, pulling back to Blackbird as she once more became solid.
Hei locked eyes with the her for a second, his own fear and confusion reflected in KR-051's dark eyes.
"...is if you die."
The color drained from November's already pale face at Misaki's words.
Li was in the building and so was KR-051.
November's hand closed around July's wrist as he turned to sprint towards the building.
"November, wait!" Misaki called after him as she and Matsumoto struggled with their Kevlar vests, grabbing ammunition and rifles from the car. "Jack, wait! We've called for backup, they'll be here soon."
He turned to look at Misaki. He could tell she was scared, could tell she was desperate for him to wait for backup, to wait so that they could all go in together. And if it were any other person in that building then November would have agreed with her. But this wasn't any other person, this was Li and he was in danger. No, there was nothing that Chief Kirihara could say to him to make him wait another second.
He cast Misaki one last quick smile and pulled July with him, racing towards the building.
Hei ran.
He sprinted through the corridors of the building, heart pounding in his chest, adrenaline flowing through his veins. He didn't know that had just happened.
He grabbed the railing to the staircase, using it to pull himself around the corner, taking the stairs two at a time. His calf muscles burned as he ran up the stairs, his feet wobbled as exhaustion started to washout the adrenaline.
He couldn't get the image out of his head. The acid tang of bile was rising in his throat as the images of the Blackbird melting flashed before his eyes. The scent of hair and skin burning. The vision of flesh being eaten away by flame exposing the white of bone.
His knee buckled as his body trembled at the memory. He fell to his knees, the pain an after thought at the back of his mind as he doubled over and threw up on the floor. Slowly he stood up, using the wall to support himself. He wasn't too far way from the exit. He was going to get out of here. The door came into view in a blur. He smacked his hands into it, taking a deep breath of relief as the cool night air rushed over him. It was blessedly cold after the heat he'd experienced in the testing chamber.
A whine and crackle sounded in his ear causing his already frayed nerves to jump.
"-Hei-Hei! Can you hear me?" Huang's frantic voice rose over the static of the earpiece.
Hei nodded, the motion causing his head to throb, saying a quick 'yes' - he didn't think he could manage much more.
"Get out of there! Section Four is here and that MI6 Contractor is headed your way."
The adrenaline erupted in Hei's veins once more and he swore under his breath. The new threat made Hei's foggy mind focus once more, his training stronger than his exhaustion.
"Huang," he said, his voice stronger than he felt. "I'm going to leave my gear by the East entrance. I'm injured and if November 11 catches up to me I can at least try and pass off that I'm the cleaner." Hei ripped his coat off his shoulders, unclipping his harness and dropping it to the ground. He paused when he got to the pocket knife strapped to his ankle...there was something he was forgetting.
The tracking device, Hei remembered with a start. He grabbed the pocket knife and ripped his sleeve up his arm. Without a pause, he pressed the tip of the knife against the red mark where the tracking device had been implanted. The pain was sharp, searing, as he pressed in it further. Blood flowed down his forearm and he gasped as he twisted the blade between muscle and tendon searching for the device.
"Hei! What's going on?" Huang asked, the worry in his voice apparent even over the crackling of the earpice.
"I'm fine." Hei bit out through clenched teeth, biting the side of his tongue against the pain. There! He got it, drawing the small black, blood coated chip out of this arm with the tip of the blade. Hei flicked it onto the ground, dropping onto a knee and piercing it with his knife. Zero was never getting anywhere near him ever again. Never.
"Hei!" Mao's voice squawked over the earpiece this time. "You've got to get out there buddy, November 11 is headed your way!"
"Roger."
November sprinted towards the building. He wanted to run faster, he could run faster, but July's little legs just couldn't keep up. He'd tried to let go of the Doll's hand before but July wouldn't have any of it and the Doll's grip was surprisingly firm. November settled for encouraging July to keep going.
They made it to the side of the building, November pressing both of them up against the rough concrete. He listened. It was silent save for the rustle of leaves in the night wind. November crouched down, ducking to look around the corner of the building. It was clear and he thought he could see an entrance.
He went to step around the corner, intent on getting into the building, getting to Li. He'd been trying fruitlessly to call Li's phone as he rushed towards the building. But each call rang out, unanswered. November tried to console himself, he knew that Li didn't like to have his phone on him at work. Li had probably put it on silent or left it at home. He was going to be fine. Li was going to be ok. November was going to find him.
But November couldn't stop the doubt plaguing his mind.
Hei could hear footsteps coming towards him. They were echoing off the concrete walls of the building, bouncing back at him making it difficult to tell where they were coming from. Mao had said that November 11 was coming his way, could he have caught up that fast already? Hei didn't think so...but then November was fast and Hei himself wasn't exactly in the best condition. He increased his pace, sprinting around the corner of the building.
It hit him immediately, a shock like plunging into freezing cold water. At first, it felt like someone had punched him under the ribs, pushing all the oxygen from his lungs. But then the pain came, an excruciating stinging followed by a wet warmth trickling down his side.
Hei skidded to a stop starting down at his own double bladed knife that was imbedded under his ribs.
His eyes followed the visible length of the blade, down to the handle and the pale, scarred hand that held it. He looked up into Taisiya's hate filled eyes...then she ripped the blade from his body.
Hei screamed, collapsing to his knees in agony as his own bloody weapon clattered to the ground beside him.
"You killed her." Taisiya whispered above him.
Hei watched her, shrouded in the darkness, her tears flowing, sniffles echoing in the cold night.
"You killed my sister," Taisiya screams. Her blistering skin shining, red and raw. She must be in pain too...
Hei fell to his side and the ground didn't feel as hard as it should. I'm losing a lot of blood, he thought absently, as it spilled into the dirt beside him.
He looked up at Taisiya, her jaw is set, resolute, as the tears continue to fall from her eyes. Was she going to watch him die? Hei wanted to laugh. He'd managed to live though Heaven's War, managed to fight the Blackbird and win somehow. And now he was going to die by his own knife at the hands of a human. Life could be so cruel.
He was vaguely aware of Taisiya moving, walking away from him as someone called her name.
Good, Hei thought. Maybe now I can finally rest.
Yin froze. Something had happened, something had happened to Hei. The voices of her team, of her friends were screaming in her ear. Hei was hurt and it was bad. Huang was calling an ambulance...but he wouldn't help Hei...couldn't help Hei. Section Four was close and Huang couldn't risk exposing himself. And Mao, Mao couldn't help, his paws were too small, too tiny, to stop the blood pouring out of Hei. And Yin...Yin was at the tobacco store, her feet dipped in a small bath of water. She couldn't help Hei, none of her friends could help Hei. Yin wanted to scream, wanted to throw the water aside, wanted to rip the boxes of cigarettes from the shelves in a fit of rage. But she didn't know how. Just like she didn't know how she couldn't help Hei.
Help me.
Yin raised her head as the memory passed though her mind. The boy in the glass had asked her for help, he had come to her for help.
So maybe she could ask him.
"Huang!" Mao screamed though the communications line. "Call an ambulance!"
Mao could hear Huang swearing, the click of a phone snapping open, and the faint sound of ringing.
God...it looked bad to Mao. Hei collapsed on the ground, blood steadily flowing out of him. He had never seen the feared Black Reaper like this before. It gave him chills.
Mao jumped down from his hiding spot as he watched the woman who had stabbed Hei walking away into the night without a backwards glace. Mao shivered...who was she? Why did she have Hei's knife? But that could wait, Hei needed them.
"Hei," Mao called softly, "can you hear me?"
There was a low groan as Hei's unfocussed eyes landed on him.
"Hei, Huang's calling an ambulance. It will be ok, but you've got to remove your earpiece."
Hei's eyes slipped closed and Mao feared he had finally succumbed to his injuries. Oh no, oh no you don't, Mao lurched forwards, cringing as his paws landed in Hei's cooling blood. His claws swung out scratching Hei's temple. The was a gasp from the Contractor and Mao felt relieved as Hei opened his eyes once more.
"Hei, you need to get rid of the earpiece. People are coming to help you."
Mao thought Hei hadn't heard him and was preparing to claw Hei once more when there was a barely perceptible nod. Slowly, and with great effort, every move deliberate, Hei raised his hand, plucking the earpiece from his ear. He dropped it immediately, his arm slapping back onto the ground with a nauseating thud.
Good, Mao thought. The dropped his head, picking up the earpiece with his canines, trying no to think about the metallic taste of in his mouth of blood, Hei's blood, covering the device.
"Mao." Yin's monotone voice crackled against Mao's ear. "November 11 is coming."
Hang in there, Hei, Mao prayed, disappearing back into the shadows.
November was about to make a dash for the entrance when an insistent tugging on his sleeve caught his attention. Looking over his shoulder, he found himself staring into July's almost frantic eyes. The Doll was pointing behind them, tugging on November's sleeve, willing November to listen to him.
November wanted to shake July off, wanted to take no notice of him and make a dash for the entrance of the building. But he knew better than to ignore July.
"What is it?" November asked, his voice clipped as he tried to swallow his anxiety.
July jabbed his finger at something on the ground behind them. November leaned around, not seeing anything except the filthy covering of a drain.
"The girl in the water," July said. "The girl in the water," July repeated himself. "She says Li's hurt."
Hei closed his eyes. It felt like it was only for a second but when he opened them again Taisiya was gone and there was someone kneeling over him. Hei turned his head weakly to look at the person whispering soothing words he couldn't understand. There was a white sleeve blocking his view as well. He tried to get up, to get a better look at the person, but there was pain flaring in his side now and his body went limp. Worried pale blue eyes hovered over him.
What is Nick doing here? Hei thought sluggishly.
The face above him was speaking, calling someone, and Hei strained to listen to it. The blue eyes looked so distressed. Who was Li? Why did Nick keep yelling out for Li?
Were they still at PANDORA? Had something happened to one of the other students? Hei tried to open his mouth to talk, to ask Nick what was going on, but his tongue wouldn't cooperate. And he was so tired. He couldn't help Nick if he was this tired, maybe it would be ok if he closed his eyes just for a second.
The person with the white sleeve screamed at him again and Hei's eyes fluttered open once more. Nick's accent was all wrong he noticed. It was from a English speaking background but it wasn't American...it was British. And it all came flooding back to Hei.
It was November 11 above him, frantically calling Li's name.
But who was Li?
Darkness was forming at the edges of his vision now, unconsciousness begging him to surrender to pain free sleep.
Oh, that's right, Hei thought, as he finally slipped into the darkness. I'm Li.
He wasn't prepared for it when July and he rounded the corner. He faltered, staggering to a stop. He had dealt with so much in his lifetime. He'd supported his mother through her grief when his father never returned. He'd watched her slowly kill herself with every cigarette as she tried to cope. He'd trudged on, alone, making the funeral arrangements. He'd remained strong when February betrayed them, continued on when April was almost killed. But nothing could have prepared him to see the lithe body collapsed on the ground before him.
He raced forwards, falling down beside Li, the sensation of blood seeping into the white fabric covering his knees. He looked down at the red liquid surrounding himself and the body before him, there was so much, too much. Gripping the dark-haired man's shoulder, he squeezed, urgently calling the other's name. Please be alive, don't do this to me...
"Li," he called urgently, "Li!"
Li didn't move and for a devastating moment November thought that he was already gone. He fumbled, pushing his fingers against the pale neck, searching for a pulse. As the dark blue eyes flickered open, November found the thready heartbeat, collapsing over the other man as he pulled him close.
The bleeding. He had to stop the bleeding. He had to get help. He had to get Li help.
Shrugging off his white suit jacket, November bunched it up in his hands, pushing it against the gaping wound on Li's side. There was a gasp of pain from Li as November pressed down, trying to halt the bleeding.
"It's OK," November said, "It's going to be OK."
November wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure himself or the injured man before him. Panic was gripping him, his thoughts a mess. Help. He had to get help.
Clumsily, with shaking fingers, he pulled his phone out, dialing an ambulance. Holding the phone to his ear he silently begged someone to answer. November tried not to look at how his jacket which he held against Li's side was slowly turning red.
The call connected, November articulating where they were and the extent of Li's injuries to the best of his ability. It felt surreal, like he was watching the scene before him through someone else's eyes. Because this couldn't be happening. He brushed the dark locks from Li's pale face, trying to soothe him as he struggled to stop the blood flow. What had happened?
Red and blue light illuminated the area around them, the headlights of the ambulance momentarily blinding November. How had it gotten here so quick...he'd only just called it. But November didn't care. He flagged them down, yelling for them to come and help him.
And then, everything happened in a flurry of movement as the paramedics pushed November away from Li. As they transferred him onto a stretcher, November's blood soaked jacket falling to the ground with a wet squelch. They loaded Li into the ambulance, November jumping in behind them, pulling July with him.
"Are you family?" The paramedic asked him as she begun hooking Li up to monitors.
"Yes," November said, his eyes not leaving Li's prone from. "I'm his partner."
As the paramedic begun asking him about Li's medical history, about whether Li had any allergies, what his blood type was, November stumbled over the questions. He didn't know, he didn't know any of these things about Li. He felt so helpless. He should have anticipated something like this could have happened. He should have been prepared.
But as the ambulance rushed towards the hospital, a small hand made its way into November's own - squeezing. November looked at July, grateful for even the smallest comfort.
November sat in the hospital waiting room - numb. Everything was out of his hands now, there was no more that he could do.
And he felt utterly helpless.
He looked up for what may have been the fiftieth time as he heard someone coming down the corridor, hoping they would have an update on Li's condition yet wishing they didn't. November wasn't certain he could take it if the surgery didn't go well. The nurse walking down the corridor gave him a kind smile, but she didn't stop, and November sunk his face down into his hands once more. What was happening in there? It had been hours.
The clip clap of shoes reached his ears once again. He looked up and immediately looked the other way. He didn't want to see her, didn't want to talk to her. The footsteps halted before him, her shadow casting over him.
"Jack..." Misaki began.
November refused to meet her eye. She had caused this.
Misaki cleared her throat. "November...I thought you should see this. We...we found it at the scene."
Misaki placed a long metal object on the low coffee table before him. It was wrapped in a plastic evidence bag, and November noted with disgust that there was blood pooling at the bottom of the bag.
"November...November, I'm so, so sorry-"
"Thank-you, Chief Kirihara," November said tersely, refusing to meet Misaki's eyes as she tried to apologize.
There was a pause as Misaki was lost for words. In the end, she bowed to November and left the waiting room. And then November was left alone again, waiting. The small sleeping figure of July resting against his side the only other person in the room.
November stared daggers at the bloodied knife before him. He didn't know what had happened to Li at the Nuclear Research building. He didn't know why Li had been hurt. Didn't know if Li was going to survive.
But as he looked down at sharp twin blades of the knife, caked in drying blood, there was one thing he did know.
He was going to kill BK-201.
*facepalm* did I just end this on another cliffhanger?