Chapter Fifty-Two
The Beginning of the Truth

Monday, Nine A.M.

Heero had been feeling like something was off or that something was going to go wrong. The day before hadn't exactly been great but it wasn't a terrible day overall. Relena hadn't questioned him anymore about Serena, and Heero was grateful for that. He was still confused about his feelings toward Serena. Heero thought he understood them but when he had woken up that morning, Heero felt more torn than he had been in the past.

Heero knew what the right thing to do and what he should've done, but part of him, maybe his pride wouldn't let him admit it. It wasn't that Heero didn't care about Serena, because he did. She was a vital asset to Preventers and her well-being was of the most importance.

To simply put it, they needed her.

His rational side reminded him of this. Then there was the more human side, the one he had been learning more about over time. Buried feelings but not completely forgotten. That side told him that he did care because Heero knew how Serena felt. To be alone in the world, only following orders and never truly living for yourself. While Heero still valued his training and everything he had learned, Heero wouldn't trade what he had now for the life he once lived.

When he had gone to lunch with Relena, Heero had to admit that he wasn't thrilled with the fact that he had to see Dorothy. Quatre was one thing but Dorothy tended to get under his skin at times.

Though, for once, Dorothy hadn't.

Dorothy and Relena had spent the majority of the time talking which meant Heero was left alone with his thoughts. Though it didn't help that Quatre kept looking at him like he was searching for something. Heero had tried to hide anything and everything from Quatre.

This one topic Heero didn't want Quatre's help with.

It wasn't hard to guess that Quatre was trying to gauge his feelings about Serena. Quatre had been there, watching as he and Serena argued. Everyone had seen it. Serena had been upset and Heero was sure the amount of alcohol she had consumed only added more fuel to the fire.

Serena had been trying to seek his approval, had been from the beginning. Heero wasn't so blind that he couldn't see it, he just couldn't trust her. But Heero knew he needed to, especially now more than ever.

Heero was making his way through the hallway heading toward Une's office to speak with her about why the morning meeting had been pushed back a few hours. When Heero rounded the corner, he spotted Une speaking with Senator Gates.

"Commander Une, I hope you can help me with a problem," Senator Gates said with his back to Heero.

"What seems to be the problem Senator?" Une glanced at Heero as he continued to head towards them.

"I'm looking for someone," Gates said, turning his body to the side. Heero assumed Gates had noticed Une looking at something behind him.

"Who are you looking for, Senator?" Une lifted a brow as she looked at Gates.

"She looks a lot like you, Preventer," Gates said, locking eyes with Heero for a moment before turning his head back to Une. "I'm looking for a missing person. I was hoping we could discuss this in private?"

Heero shot Une a look before she agreed to speak with Gates privately. The two walked into her office, closing the door behind them. Heero turned on his heel making his way to the stairwell. Taking the stairs two at a time till he reached his floor. Stepping back out into the hallway, Heero made his way to Trowa's office. The feeling he had had earlier that morning felt like it was coming true. Something wasn't right.

Without knocking, Heero opened the door. Looking around, Heero's heart started to race when he only saw Trowa sitting at his desk with a confused look on his face.

"Where is she?" Heero asked as he walked closer to Trowa.

"Serena?" Trowa asked, lifting a brow.

"Where the hell is she!?" Heero turned dark eyes on him. Trowa checked his watch before looking back up at him.

"Spaceport. She brought Cathy there and was going to make sure she made it onto her flight. Why are you asking?"

"When does Catherine's flight leave?"

"It was for nine, Serena should be on her way back."

"Senator Gates is currently speaking with Une about a missing person. He said that she looked a lot like me." Heero pulled out his cellphone selecting a number as he brought the phone to his ear. "Serena can't come here. She needs to go back to your apartment and wait till one of us gets there."

"Heero what's going on?" Trowa asked as he stood up.

Heero ignored Trowa, waiting for Serena to pick up. When she didn't, Heero cursed under his breath as he ended the call.

"She can't come here, not with Gates here. Keep calling her. I'm going to go find out what's going on," Heero said, turning on his heel, practically running out of the room.

Serena left the Spaceport making her way back to Trowa's SUV. She had dropped him off at work before heading here with Catherine. Everything had been going smoothly. Catherine thanked her for dropping her off and staying till she boarded her shuttle.

Serena had left shortly after not wasting any time. She knew Catherine was fine and there was no need for her to hang around. Serena needed to get back to HQ to meet with Trowa before going to find Heero. Even if it wasn't exactly what she wanted to do, she and Heero needed to hash a few things out before the meeting.

As she was nearing the SUV, Serena felt someone grab her, spinning her around, and pushing her into the driver's side door. Then she felt something press into her neck before the person pulled away enough for her to see their face. Serena didn't recognize the guy that was holding her.

"They've been looking for you, Delta," he grinned at her as he pushed her more into the door. "You'll be coming with me back to-"

Serena never let him finish as she brought her knee up into him. When he released his hold on her, Serena grabbed his head, twisting it till she heard a snap. She caught him in her arms just as he started to fall to the ground.

Serena glanced around before unlocking the SUV and throwing his body into the back seat. Shutting the door slightly, she walked to the back opening the trunk. Looking around she found a large blanket tucked to the side.

Grabbing it, Serena closed the trunk before moving back to the passenger door. Throwing the blanket over his body, Serena shut the door completely this time.

Looking around one last time, Serena was satisfied no one had seen her. She climbed into the driver's seat, starting the engine before she calmly made her way out of the parking lot and out onto the street.

Heero's anger flared itself to life the second he left Une's office. Senator Gates was looking for someone, and that person was described as being a female in their early twenties with long reddish-brown hair and green eyes.

At first, Heero thought nothing of it, even with Gates's comment lingering in the back of his mind. It wasn't till Une produced a photo Gates had left with her that everything started falling into place.

Heero had been staring at a photo of Serena. Even under all the makeup, the green-colored contacts, and the reddish-brown hair, he could still see that it was her. At that moment, Heero felt a wave of emotions wash over him. Anger or what he thought was anger at the forefront. But there was also fear.

Heero was angry not just at Serena for lying to him once again, but also because someone knew she was with them. Whatever was going on needed to be handled fast. Une had ordered him to find Serena and bring her back to HQ as quickly and quietly as possible. If Gates was lingering around they still needed to keep Serena hidden.

By the time Heero got back to Trowa's office, Heero felt like he was going to explode. But Heero knew that he needed to stay calm and collected. There could've been an explanation for everything, for why Serena hadn't told him or any of them about Gates. Even as Heero kept repeating that to himself, his teeth continued to clench.

Without knocking, Heero pushed open the door to Trowa's office. Trowa was standing by his desk with his phone cradled against his ear. Heero made his way over to where Trowa was standing trying to gauge whether or not he was able to get a hold of Serena.

"Damnit Serena, pick up!" Trowa yelled into his phone as he ended the call. Heero felt panic starting to set in. Serena never ignored Trowa's calls.

"You haven't been able to get a hold of her?" Heero asked gruffly.

"No, she hasn't answered any of my calls," Trowa shook his head. "What the hell is going on?"

"That's something we're going to have to ask Serena. Let's go, we need to find her."

Heero turned to make his way back out of Trowa's office. He didn't bother to check and make sure Trowa was following him. All Heero knew was that he needed to get to Serena first before anyone else did.

Heero hadn't told Trowa anything as they made their way to the parking garage. The only thing he said to Trowa was that they needed to find Serena and that they should start with his apartment before heading to the Spaceport.

There was a possibility that Catherine's flight had been delayed and Serena was still with her. But why wouldn't she have answered her phone or even called to tell someone that?

When Heero pushed through the side door to the parking garage he spotted Trowa's SUV pulling into one of the empty spaces. Heero wasted no time jogging over to the vehicle just as Serena opened the door to get out.

"Why didn't you answer your phone!?" Heero growled at her as Trowa came to stand behind him.

Serena eyed him before moving to the rear passenger door. Throwing it open she pulled the blanket that was covering a body in the back seat. Turning her head, Serena said nothing to him.

"Shit," Heero said, ranking a hand through his hair before grabbing Serena by the arm and pulling her away. "We're going to Une's office," Heero said as he slammed the door shut.

The three of them made their way through HQ. Normally they would hide Serena from prying eyes but this time Heero didn't care.

Heero held onto her arm as he dragged Serena through the hallways. Something was wrong, not just with Gates but with Serena. She hadn't even protested once while he took her through the building. Her face was a stone mask and what was eerier was the fact Serena hadn't said a single word.

Heero didn't bother to knock on Une's office door as he opened it, pulling Serena in with him. Trowa followed, shutting the door behind them.

Une shot her head up as the three entered her office. Heero pulled Serena to a chair, telling her to sit. Une noticed the hard expression on both Heero and Serena's faces but Trowa's was a mask.

"I think you need to explain something to me, Lowell," Une said as she folded her hands together. Serena narrowed her eyes slightly.

Reaching under a folder that was on her desk, Une removed a photo, holding it out to Serena for her to take. Une continued to study Serena's face for any indication that Serena knew who the photo was.

Serena leaned forward to take the photo. Une watched as Serena's face hardened, her jaw clenching before she slammed the photo down on her desk.

"Where did you get this?" Serena asked hotly.

"I had a lovely visit from someone."

"Who brought this to you?"

"Senator Gates stated that the person in that photo went missing. One of his employees had asked him if he could bring it to our attention." Une hardened her eyes as she spoke.

"Gone missing huh?" Serena's jaw clenched more.

"The question is, Lowell, what are you not telling us?"

"Guess someone's missing their toy." Serena sat back in the chair glaring at her. "They know I'm here."

"What do you mean?"

"Someone from ROE found me at the Spaceport. Also, the fact that someone sent whoever this Gates is to bring you this photo as a warning."

"Where is the person that found you?"

"Dead," Serena's lip curled up.

"What?" Une widened her eyes as she looked at Serena.

"He's in the back seat of Trowa's SUV," Heero stated. Une swung her eyes to Heero before turning them back to Serena. Une took a deep breath before continuing, they could deal with the body later.

"Serena, you need to tell me what's going on or I can't help you. Gates seemed to know a lot about you."

"I don't know who this person is. Last I remembered there was no Senator by that name."

"Senator Gates recently took over the position of Raymond Rickburge while he's on leave due to medical issues."

"What?" Serena's eyes went wide. "What does he look like?"

Une looked between Heero and Trowa before moving her hands to her keyboard. After a moment she turned the screen around to face them.

"This is Senator Gates." Une watched as Serena's eyes grew wider.

Serena felt her body start to tingle. Her hand automatically reached for her neck. Edwards had somehow managed to get Gates into the ESUN.

How long had Gates been in that position? It had to have been after she was forced into isolation.

Had Gavin continued with the original plan even without her knowledge? But Gates wasn't supposed to be the one to take a position within the senate. Did that mean they knew where she was the whole time? But how did they find her?

"Serena, who is this?" Une asked. Serena snapped her head back up.

"They know I'm here and they want me back," Serena shook her head.

Serena didn't know how much longer she had before she needed to leave. Everything was falling into place, maybe this is what they wanted. To turn her while she was still in the custody of Preventers.

"They'll pay someone, make some deal with someone to get me back. Without me, they can't complete their mission."

"What?"

"They own me! They'll do whatever they have to do to get me back!" Serena yelled.

The reality was starting to set in. They'd always own her, always be able to control her. She would never be free.

"What are you talking about?" Heero asked.

"You think J just handed me over to them? They paid him a nice sum of money for me. Without me, they can't take over the ESUN. Don't you get it!" Serena said bitterly as she turned to face Heero. Her anger started to grow.

"They can't own someone," Trowa said softly. Serena swung her eyes to him.

"You'd think that, but they can and do. They'll come for me, Edwards won't stop till he has me back," Serena said. Trowa took a step closer to her, kneeling so they were at eye level.

"Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell me? We can protect you while also taking them down," Trowa said as he placed a hand on her knee. Serena tightened her eyes before turning away from him.

"You can't protect me."

"That's not true, we can and will."

"You can't protect me from myself," Serena said in a low voice. "They own me, they control me. You can't stop me once they have me."

Serena felt a sharp pain in her head. Her time was running out. Serena needed to leave before she did something she would regret.

"Serena, just tell us-"

"No!" Serena stood, forcing Trowa to stand as well. "I'm leaving, I'll handle this myself."

"Serena, you need to stay here, you can't do this on your own," Trowa pleaded. Serena turned fiery eyes to him.

"I'm leaving, if you value your lives, do not follow me." Trowa went to grab her by the shoulders. "Stay away from me," Serena growled as she pushed Trowa's arms away.

Heero went to make a move to try and stop Serena, but he stopped the moment Serena drew her gun from behind her back, pointing it directly at him.

"I'm warning you, stay away," Serena growled.

Heero cursed under his breath. He never bothered to check her for any kind of weapon but part of him never expected Serena to threaten him with one.

Weighing his options, Heero slowly raised his hands.

"Go."

Serena glanced around the room before slowly backing away. Once her back was to the door, Serena opened it slowly keeping her gun trained on them. Once she was out of the room, Serena lowered the gun before shutting the door quickly.

"You're just going to let her leave!?" Trowa swung angry eyes at him.

"I know you saw her eyes, Barton. We don't know what Serena's thinking or what she's going to do. Letting her go was our only option," Heero glared back at Trowa.

That was something that concerned Heero. Her eyes had changed. They had become an even darker blue, almost black.

"We will now consider Lowell a threat to this agency," Une said sternly, but calmly.

Heero and Trowa turn at the same time to look at Une. Neither of them spoke as they listened to the rest of what Une had to say.

"We need a plan of action for what we're going to do and what we plan to do should we encounter Serena."

Serena had run out of the building, never stopping to look back. She threw her phone, gun, and the keys into Trowa's SUV before heading out to the street.

Serena needed to get as far away from them as she possibly could. Her head was pounding with every step she took. Her heart raced as she tried to fight the inevitable.

Serena hadn't been focused. She should've checked her surroundings but she had been so preoccupied with getting back to Trowa that Serena didn't think twice about anything else. If she had, none of this would've happened.

She felt foolish for her mistake, for being so careless. It was her fault and Serena couldn't blame anyone but herself. They had found her, tracked her down somehow. Waiting for the moment that she would be consumed by the monster she truly was.

Serena could fight it, but in the end, it would always win. She had gotten lucky this time. All the training Serena had put herself through had paid off enough to buy her some more time.

Subconsciously, Serena had been fighting against herself before even arriving at Preventers, but slowly the pain, the one sheer sign that things were about to change, had started. From there Serena couldn't stop the progress, she knew the only safe way to not hurt any of them was to leave.

They couldn't save her, but Serena could try and save them from herself.

When her vision started to blur more, Serena turned down a side street, heading into an ally. Leaning against one of the buildings, Serena tried to calm her breathing and heart rate.

The pain grew as she closed her eyes. There was no use fighting it anymore. Serena was losing herself to what she had truly become all those years ago. No longer the same girl she had once been. Even though Serena couldn't remember what it was like to be her old self. She had died years ago and Serena knew she'd never be the same, but she had seen light at the end of the dark tunnel she called her life.

Hope.

Serena felt herself fall to the ground with one last thought of her own as the darkness consumed her. The end of her and what little freedom she once had faded like the sunlight at sunset.

Trowa stormed out of Une's office after Heero laid out his plan and Une had agreed to it, which only set his anger into a full rage.

They were willing to sacrifice Serena's life for the sake of stopping ROE. While Trowa understood that it may have been the most logical thing to do, he couldn't help thinking how wrong it was. They weren't even going to try to save her.

There had to be some way to help Serena, to stop her before she hurt herself or someone else. But not knowing what Serena was planning to do made things that much harder. Heero had warned him not to engage with Serena if he happened to find her. Trowa was to call in for backup and if she tried anything he was to aim to kill.

Trowa walked into his office slamming the door behind him. How could he possibly kill Serena? How could he possibly even lay a hand on her? He loved Serena and he could never do anything to harm her, regardless of what Heero had said.

Heero had told Trowa that he would try and find out where Serena went but there was a possibility Serena might return to wherever she came from. Why did she run? He had promised Serena that she wouldn't be alone in this and that he would do everything within his power to help her, but she still ran.

Was Serena scared of what might happen? Was she trying to protect him? Trowa didn't know what to think anymore. Even with his anger threatening to spill over he was still worried. Worried about Serena's safety and what was happening with her.

Closing his eyes, Trowa leaned his head against the door.

"Are you willing to kill me if necessary?" Serena's words came to the forefront of his mind. Trowa knew his answer was still the same, no, he couldn't kill her and wouldn't. He still didn't understand why Serena had asked him this, but Trowa was starting to think may it had to do with whatever was going on with her now. All Trowa knew was that he needed to figure out a way to find Serena before Heero or ROE did. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. That was his promise and Trowa would be damned if he couldn't keep it.

A/N

Happy Wednesday!

Well... things took a turn, didn't they?

Heero's bad feeling came to fruition now didn't it? Gates (which we've learned a little more about now) decides to pay Une a visit and it just so happens Heero picks the perfect time to go speak with Une. This obviously has set off some red flags for Heero, not to mention when he goes to Trowa's office, he finds that Serena isn't there, like she's supposed to be. Or maybe that's why the meeting was pushed back? Because Serena wasn't there, to begin with? Whatever the case, Heero's now on high alert. Something isn't right and he's going to get to the bottom of it.

Serena, girl, what are you doing breaking people's necks in such a public place!? And why are you so damn calm? Although, maybe we should feel bad for the poor guy that's now dead in the back of Trowa's SUV, lol. Though, I will say that it's odd that this random guy went up to Serena and pushed something against her neck. But more on that in a little.

Heero's not happy. Heero's just learned that Gates is looking for someone that just happens to be Serena and by the time he gets back to Trowa's office, he finds out Trowa hasn't been able to get a hold of Serena. I hope you all noticed that Heero hinted at the fact that he knows Serena never ignores Trowa's phone calls. So has Heero been checking up on her? Or is it because he's looked through her phone logs and text messages and now has those stored on his computer. Hm. Interesting. Or maybe Heero's been slowly gathering the evidence he needs to nail Trowa and Serena on their, at this point, not-so-secret relationship?

Once Heero and Trowa are able to find Serena because she just so happens to drive back to HQ, Heero has no idea what the hell is going on, and now onto of Serena not sharing some more information, there's some dead guy in the back of Trowa's SUV. I'm sure Heero will tell Une to send Duo to clean up that mess, considering Duo had to clean up one of her messes before.

Une is not thrilled either, but at the same time, Une is concerned as well. Une tells Serena that if she doesn't tell them what's going on, they can't help her. But I don't know if they can help her at this point.

Serena knows what's going on, to a point. She knows what's happened and what's going to happen to her, but she's also angry at the fact she let this happen in the first place. Besides Gates, which she clearly knows who he is, Serena's dealing with some more realizations that the original plans she knew about have gone out the window and something has been happening in ROE. She's always had a feeling but this is now confirming it. On top of that, Serena's starting to panic. She's telling everyone that ROE owns her, and they control her. But she's not telling anyone what any of that means. Serena tells Trowa that he nor anyone else can't protect her from herself before she decides to leave. By pulling a gun on Heero. But true to her word, she would never shoot Heero, which she didn't. She never said she wouldn't pull a gun on him though.

We see Serena running from the building, but not before throwing her phone, gun, and Trowa's keys into his SUV. At least she did that, right? But why did she discard the gun she had? With all of her training, why would Serena go running around the city without some sort of protection? Does it have anything to do with what's happening to her? We know she left Une's office to protect everyone, so maybe that's why?

Serena talks about the person she is, referring back to many things that she's hinted at, or others have hinted at. Serena tells us that she's not the same person she used to be and how that person died years ago. But there was hope, for however short it was, it seems Serena believed she could return to her true self and escape the darkness she called her life. But not anymore. Unfortunately, we know something has happened and the question is, will we ever see Serena again? And if we do, will she be the same?

Trowa, you're one hell of a boyfriend, I'll give you that. Fighting for Serena time and time again. But what are you going to do now? Serena runs off and you have no idea where is she. Not to mention, Serena's now a threat to the agency, and because of her background... it's understandable why the order was given to shoot and kill her should she try anything. But I guess the big question is, will Trowa be able to do what's needed if he does find Serena? Can Trowa put aside his feelings to do what's right and kill Serena if she tries to attack him, or anyone else? (Damn, I love a good full-circle moment.)

Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens on Friday for chapter 53, Darkness.

Until then, enjoy the rest of your day!

-MM