Prologue
"And
when the war ends, the stars shall weep in sorrow for they know man will never
be at peace and the battles shall continue until all humanity is gone."
Washington
DC: September 3rd , 0600 hrs
"She's not going and that's final!"
"But Serenity, we need the Rabbit,
she's the only one who can fully infiltrate the Labs, she knows the place like
the back of her hand."
"Have you seen her lately? She's burning up! There is no way in hell
that I'm letting her out of this house just so that she can go and get herself
killed!"
"But Ren, we-"
"Don't you 'but Ren' me! Mill, I know she says she's capable of going
but you haven't seen her. That virus
really did a number on her. She hasn't
had a peaceful night's sleep in over a week; she is in no condition to take on
this mission! She needs her rest."
Milliardo was beginning to get sick
as he watched Serenity pace back and forth across the room. Her silver hair, done up in its customary
buns, trailed behind her as she quickened her pace. Shaking his head, Milliardo marveled at how alike the two sisters
were. Not just in looks but in
temperament as well. In their line of
work, being able to impersonate one another was a luxury that neither one of
them took for granted. He couldn't
begin to count the number of times those two had switched places on him just
for the fun of it. One would think they
were twins.
"I'm sorry Milliardo, but this is
one mission that the Rabbit will not be taking."
He sighed in resignation. She was right, he fully admitted that, but
that didn't change their situation.
They needed Eternity, she was the only one who could filter through the
labs with ease. If only...
Of course! How could I be so
stupid? He mentally smacked
himself. There was one other person who
could get the job done, and she was standing in front of him. Getting up from the couch he approached
Eternity's doppelganger.
"So Bunny, how well do you know the
Infil facilities in Melbourne?"
She stopped her pacing and looked up. Her eyes gleamed as she stared into his and
the corner of her lip twitched upward to form a devilish smile.
"Mission accepted."
5
miles out of Melbourne, Australia: September 5th, 0200 hrs
"Just give me your hand!"
"I can't *umph* reach!"
"Come on! You're almost there!"
"Just leave me, you have to get out
before the whole place explodes!"
"I'm not leaving without you, so
come on!"
She stretched out as far as she
could, arms reaching out to the man who was holding onto the edge of the building
for dear life. *Come on, just a little bit further,* she managed to grab
one of his arms.
"Now, try and pull yourself up," she
shouted while tightening her hold, afraid that she would once again loose her
grip on him. After much effort on both
their parts, they managed to get him back onto the ledge, safe for the time
being.
"Thank you," he said in between
breaths.
"Don't thank me just yet, we have to
get off this thing now!"
She stood up from her crouched
position and began to move around the building, taking each step with the
fluidity and gracefulness of a cat. The
man, who only seconds before had been on the verge of death, couldn't help but
be impressed as he followed close behind.
'BAM!'
The girl looked up at the sound of
the explosion, her silver eyes focused on the ball of fire that rose over the
horizon. The flames and explosions were
getting closer with each second that passed. Her eyes threatened to burst with
tears as the smoke, which emanated from the burning buildings, clouded the
night sky and invaded her vision.
People below them were running around, their shouts kept growing louder
and more frantic.
Oh gods, I knew I should have
given myself more time to get out.
Almost there . . . don't look
down Ren, just keep going nice and steady, she mentally coached herself. One more step and…
"There's a pipe just a little to the left there, grab it and slide
down," she yelled to the man behind her, hoping that he heard her above all the
chaos. She took a hold of the pipe and
slid down, all the while counting in her head, …two-… another explosion
sounded off in the distance, . . .
three- . . .four- . . . have to hurry, must hurry.
"Ouch" she hissed as she hit the
ground and quickly moved aside so that her companion wouldn't land on top of
her.
"Hurry!" she urged him as he reached
her side. "Go as far as you can; this
place is going up!"
"You really do a thorough job, don't
you Bunny?" the man said half mockingly, his crystal green eyes focused on the
girl running next to him.
"It's my job Ace, now move it!" She ran pass him.
'BAM!'
. . . -five . . . she turned a corner and suddenly came to a
dead stop. "Damn!" her exclamation went
unheard amidst all the noise.
"Bunny!?" Ace shouted as he saw her
pivot and start running back toward the building. He began to follow but was stopped short by the girl's shout.
"Keep going!"
"But-"
"Go!"
"Are you crazy? You cant' go back there!" He attempted to grab her arm but she stopped
him by pulling out a gun and aiming it at his head.
"Look, I didn't save your life back
there just so that you'd go and throw it away!
Now go before I fire!"
He didn't budge.
What a time for you to get a
conscience Ace. She tightened her grip on the gun. "Are you going to leave or am I going to
have to shoot you?"
He responded by taking a step toward
her.
So sorry, I guess we'll just have
to do this the hard way, her fingers tightened around the revolver as she
pulled the trigger.
He just stood there; he didn't even
flinch as the bullet grazed his left arm.
Whether it was from years of training or just from plain shock, his
facial features showed no emotion
"Next time I won't miss," her voice
was sharp as steel. "Now go!"
He nodded, ever so slightly, finally
consenting to her request. "Be careful
Bunny," he said in a small voice as he turned around and ran, his right hand
covering his left shoulder. *She's going to get herself killed.*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I'm going to get myself killed,
were her thoughts as she kicked open a side door to the building. She had a little over a minute to spare and
then she was probably going to be shish kabob.
She dashed inside, running frantically through the endless corridors that
were bereft of any form of human life; all the while mentally berating herself.
How could I be so stupid as to
forget the disk? I just couldn't grab the thing and go, could I? Noooo, I had to go and be all noble, and
where does that get me? Ahhh!!! I'm 13
years old and going senile, way to end my career. I bet my parents are turning in their graves. Her mental tirade was broken by a loud
bang coming from the front of the edifice.
"Aw crap!" she cursed under her
breath, "sixty-five seconds left." She
made one last turn at the end of the corridor and immediately opened the first
door she came upon.
The room was filled with computer
equipment. A large screen covered one
of the walls, while the main switchboard sat a few feet in front of it, and
right on top of the board, exactly where she had left it, was a clear
case. She rushed over to the console
and started punching in various codes.
The screen in front of her blared up to life. Typing at the speed of light, or so it seemed, she put in command
after command. Finally, hitting the
enter key, she stepped back and watched as the computer ejected a small disk.
"Gotcha!" she exclaimed while
grabbing the disk and placing it in the case.
Bending down, she removed the heel of her shoe, revealing a cavity,
which she used to store her loot in. A
small smile crept onto her face as she placed the heel back on.
Mission complete.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Bunny looked down at her beeping
watch and screamed out in frustration.
"Twenty seconds! Have to hurry . . . must get out." she dashed
through the halls, back the way she had come.
Her blond hair, having escaped from its braid, trailed behind her like a
banner.
'BAM!'
The explosion came from within the
building.
. . . fifteen seconds . . . the door was a few feet in
front of her. The sound of metal
bending, wood burning, and glass shattering was almost deafening. A ball of fire was slowly working its way
from one end of the building to the other.
Bunny could almost feel the burning heat of it engulf her.
. . .twelve seconds . . . she
bolted out the door and kept on running, adrenaline rushing through her system.
. . . ten seconds . . .
'Bang!'
She stopped, dead in her
tracks. In front of her stood a
middle-aged man, arm out-stretched. In
his hand he held a pistol with smoke coming out of the barrel, indication that
it had just been fired.
Her chest was burning.
"Going somewhere?" his voice was
cold and harsh. "Don't you know it's
bad manners to leave without saying goodbye to your host?" his lips twitched
upward forming a smirk.
Bunny lifted a hand to her breast and
then quickly removed it. Her gloves
were covered in blood. Her blood. She sensed the man nearing her, but she did
nothing, felt the pain as he struck her across the face, which caused her mask
to fall and land with a soft 'thud' at her feet. Yet she didn't do anything, didn't even wince.
"How does it feel to fail Bunny?" he
spat in her face. "To know that this is
the end?" An involuntary gasp escaped her as he grabbed her upper arm and shook
her. She bit down on her bottom lip,
trying to keep from making any other sound.
He saw this and smiled.
"Don't you have anything to say to
me little Bunny?" the words came out as a sneer.
She looked up into his eyes. Silver met black; hatred was written in them
both. The explosions coming from inside
the building had stopped. Bunny took
the time to notice this and a smile crept onto her parched lips. A bewildered look crossed the man's eyes at
the sight.
"I have something to say," she
hissed. He raised his eyebrow
expectantly. "One- . . ."
'BAM!'
Bunny's world went black.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She woke up feeling cold and
disoriented. Her chest was killing her
and she was having trouble breathing.
Each breath she took felt like a knife was stabbing her lungs. Haltingly, she moved a hand to her chest and
laid it over her breast. A piercing
pain washed over her as she felt around the wound that was there. She stopped her probing, not wanting to
cause herself further injury, and moved her head, attempting to take a look at
her surroundings.
Where was she?
She was having trouble remembering
what had happened to her. Her mind was
a complete blank. She attempted to sit
up, but her efforts proved futile and she promptly found herself once more
laying on the ground. The darkness
wasn't helping her any; all she could see were the outlines of charred
buildings and the trace of smoke that lingered in the air. Underneath her, the upturned concrete, and
pieces of metal and glass, were impelling themselves on her back.
Silent tears slid down her dirt
stricken face as she dared to move once more.
Again, she felt a wave of dizziness come over her as the pain entered
her chest. But she ignored it, tried to
put it as far away from her mind as she possibly could. She brought her left hand down to her side
and used it to try and propel herself.
"Calm down, don't freak out..." she
whispered to herself. She had managed
to turn her body around and was now facing the ground, her left arm underneath
her. After much effort, she was able to use her right arm to push herself
upward and bring her knees underneath her for support. There she remained, kneeling.
Her being was transfixed on the
total devastation that lay in front of her.
From her position on the ground, she hadn't been able to fully see the
extent of the chaos that surrounded her.
Now, her eyes fell upon buildings that had collapsed, one on top of the
other, the pavement that now lay in rubble, and every now and then she would
see a body, unmoving and bloodied. Yet
the darkness hid most of it from her view.
Slowly, the memories of the past
couple of hours were returning to her.
She turned to the right, and there she saw the remains of a middle age
man. Blood oozed out of his temple,
right where a metal beam was rammed into his head. She had done this. She
was responsible for the destruction that lay before her. Yet the knowledge didn't frighten her; it
was quite the opposite, a feeling of completeness and relief washed over
her. If it hadn't been for the bullet
hole in her chest, she would have jumped up and started dancing. As it was, she couldn't do much except try
and stand up. She couldn't remain
there for much longer.
"Shit!" the involuntary curse left
her mouth as she looked down at her watch.
I've been out of it for two hours. Her stance was unsteady as she got up. Her vision was still cloudy, and she tried to stand still just
long enough to orient herself and bring her world back into focus. Once she was sure she wasn't going to fall
down or pass-out, she began walking.
She had to get out of there before they came back to check out the
place. She really wasn't sure where she
was going, she wasn't sure of anything just then. All she knew was that they couldn't find her. It was imperative that they not get their
hands on the information that she had taken from them.
Each step she took brought her pain
beyond belief, but she kept on going.
The night got colder, and somewhere before dawn, the heavens opened up
and a torrent of rain fell from the sky.
By the time she stumbles onto civilization, she was trembling from the
cold and burning with a fever.
The dim lights of Melbourne's
establishments lit the streets. There
were a few people out, owners about to open their shops, people on their way
home after a late night of partying, but none of them paid attention or
disturbed the lone figure as she walked down the street. She was blind to all of it. Very little registered through her fogged
brain, all she knew was that she must walk.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Ikuko, are you sure you're reading the
map correctly?"
"For the last time Kenji, I know how
to read a map!"
A heavy sigh escaped the driver as
he once again focused his attention on the road. There was just no getting around his wife once she had her mind
set that she was right.
"All I'm saying is that this street
is starting to look very familiar," he glanced out his window. "Are you sure we haven't passed by that shop
before?"
"That does it!" Ikuko screeched at
the top of her lungs. "If you want to
read the map, here!" she threw the map at her hardheaded husband.
Kenji was momentarily blinded as the
paper blocked his vision. He managed to
keep the car steady and removed the offending piece of paper from his face.
"That was uncalled for," he turned
to glare at his wife.
"Oh, and your comments about my
navigational skills, for the past half
hour, weren't?"
"Well if you would just learn to
read a map-"
"I know how to read a map!"
"Well you could have fooled me."
Ikuko just leered at him, her eyes
bearing into his. They stayed that way,
the two of them staring at one another, until Ikuko turned to face forward, her
arms crossed over chest. Kenji just
continued looking over at her. He knew
that the fight was mostly his fault, but he was damned if he was ever going to
admit it.
"I'm not go-"
"Kenji, look out!" Ikuko screamed as
she pointed to the road in front of them.
Her husband's attention was
immediately turned back on the road.
There, less than ten meters in front of them, someone was standing in
the middle of the street. Without
thinking, he applied the brakes to the car and turned the steering wheel as far
to the right as it would go. The wheels
of the car screeched as they stopped rotating and glided on the pavement. When their car finally came to a stop, the
front end was facing the sidewalk.
The two inhabitants of the vehicle
were in a state of shock. Kenji had a
death grip on the steering wheel, while Ikuko held onto the door handle for
dear life. Both of them, it seemed, had
forgotten how to blink. Their eyes were
wide open and all they could do was stare straight ahead.
Ikuko was the first to recover. She turned and looked out of the driver's
side window, out into the street.
There, the girl that they had almost rammed their car into, remained
standing, the rain soaking into her clothes.
Ikuko cried out as she saw the girl's feet give out from underneath her,
and rushed out of the car to try and aid her.
She was at the girl's side in a matter of seconds, kneeling next to her
on the pavement, an arm going around her for support.
"Miss, are you al right?" Ikuko
asked in heavily accented English. The
girl's lack of a response worried her.
It seemed that the only thing keeping her from hitting the pavement was
Ikuko's hold on her.
"Kenji!" she turned her head and
shouted for her husband, not having noticed that he had already gotten out of
the car and was now at her side.
"What's wrong with her?" his voice
was filled with worry as he stooped down to his wife's level, his attention
fully centered on the girl in her arms.
She was a small thing, couldn't have been more than five feet tall, if
he had to guess. Her blond hair, which covered most of her body, was all dirty
and matted. He took note of her torn up clothes; her pants were ripped in
various places, and her jacket, whose left sleeve was missing, had surely seen
better days. What could have possibly
happened to her?
"Kenji..." his wife's voice broke
through his thoughts. "... she's
burning up," her voice was laden with fear.
"We need to get her to a hospital."
Kenji looked at his wife, then the girl, and finally he nodded.
"I'll carry her, you open the back
door," he instructed as he reached to take the girl from his wife. As soon as he had a hold of her, Ikuko
removed her arms only to find that her once clean hands were now covered in
blood. She looked back down at the
girl.
"She's bleeding."
"Hum?" was all that Kenji managed to
get out as he made an effort to stand up with the girl.
"There..." she touched the girl's
chest lightly with her hand, but was quick to remove it when the girl let out a
low moan..
"Shh... It's okay, everything will
be alright," Kenji labored to sooth her in broken English.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Bunny managed to flutter her eyes
open.
She had seen the car speeding toward
her, yet she hadn't been able to move.
She was like a deer, looking directly at the headlights of the on coming
vehicle, paralyzed. In the back of her
mind she was screaming at herself to move, to run, to get out of the way. But her body wasn't listening. And so she remained there, waiting for the
inevitable, but the collision never came.
She heard, more than saw, the car
skid on the road and come to a stop.
She remained there, unmoving, stunned, and that's when her whole world
came crashing down. The pain. The cold.
The wariness she felt throughout her body, it all caught up to her in
that one moment. Her body was rendered
helpless as her legs gave way from underneath her.
She felt someone's arms go around
her, and she leaned into them, letting them take on her weight, as she let her
eyelids close.
"Miss, are you alright?" Bunny heard the words but didn't have the
strength to answer.
"Kenji!"
"What's wrong with her?" someone
else had joined them.
"Kenji... she's burning up. We need to get her to a hospital." She didn't know what transpired between the
two people then. All she knew was that
she was being lifted off the ground.
"I'll carry her, you open the back
door."
"She's bleeding," pause.
"There..." Bunny felt like dying the
second the hand touched her wound. She
felt like crying out and screaming, but all she could afford was a low, pain
filled moan.
"Shh... It's okay, everything will
be alright." Those words cut through
her. How could everything be okay? She was cold and wet, had a bullet in her
chest, her body had stopped paying attention to her brain a long time ago, and
to top everything of, she probably had over half a dozen people on her trail,
each and everyone of them ready to kill her.
Everything was not going to be all right.
She needed to see who had the gal to
utter such a statement in her presence, and somehow managed to flutter her eyes
open.
Kenji stared down at the girl in his arms, his trek to the car
momentarily forgotten as he gazed into the girl's silver orbs.
"Kenji?" his wife's voice seemed a
bit anxious as she held the door to the car open. But his attention remained fixed on the girl whose lips were
moving. Yet no sound came out of them.
"Kenji! Don't just stand there, that girl needs medical attention." Ikuko was beginning to get exasperated at
her husband who was just standing there with the limp girl in his arms. Finally, as if sensing his wife's
displeasure, Kenji resumed walking.
Once he reached the car, Ikuko got in and aided her husband in laying
the girl in the back sit. As soon as he
saw that his wife had a firm hold on the girl, whose head was resting on her
lap, Kenji closed the door and quickly got into the drivers sit. The engine blared to life as Kenji turned on
the ignition and began to drive.
In the back sit, Ikuko was busy
holding onto the girl and soothing her whimpering. She pulled the hair back from the girl's forehead, and like her
husband was transfixed by the color of the girl's eyes, eyes that seem to be
pleading with her.
"Don't worry little one," her voice
came out steady and reassuring. "We're
taking you to a hospital, everything we'll be alright." These last words seemed to upset the girl, rather
than assure, her eyes grew wide and she began to move her mouth.
"No… th-they can't find me...
please," Bunny's voice came out rasped.
"You need a doctor. We're taking you-"
"They... they'll... find... me," she
was struggling with her words.
"Who'll find you?" Ikuko asked, curiosity and worry lacing her
voice.
"They will...can't... let them...
please."
Ikuko could tell that the
conversation was only serving to get the girl agitated. She was trying to move and Ikuko could tell
that was causing her pain. She had to
calm the girl down.
"Don't worry, I won't let them get
you."
Bunny looked at the woman who had
just made such a bold statement. She
stared into her blue eyes and was amazed to see the determination that was held
within them. She let out a sigh. For the time being she would put her trust
in this woman, there was little else that she could do. She allowed her eyes to drift shut one more
time.
Ikuko continued to run her hand over
the girl's brow. That sigh she had
given off, it had seemed so final.
"Why would anyone want to hurt you
little one?" the question was asked absently and Ikuko wasn't expecting an
answer, hence was surprised when the girl opened her eyes and stared directly
at her.
"I'm Bunny," she whispered, as if
that explained everything, before losing all conscious.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The emergency room was bustling with
activity. Doctors and nurses were
running from one area to the other, shouting orders as they passed charts back
and forth, checking up on the various patients that were being brought in. They were being overloaded, and that was an
understatement; ambulances were coming and going at an unheard of rate,
dropping off the injured and heading back out to collect more. Apparently, one of the Infil Tech labs,
outside of the city, had exploded, and now their hospital was being overrun
with the casualties.
"Dr. Kitman!" a young woman, who
couldn't have been more than 25, turned to see who had yelled out her
name. Walking towards her, at a pace
that came dangerously close to being called running, was another one of the
Doctors that had the misfortune of being stuck with this shift.
"Dr. Blamon?" she questioned him.
"You're needed in surgery
immediately. We have a code green."
Dr. Blamon didn't bother asking any
questions as she turned and ran out of the emergency room, and headed down the
hallway toward a set of double doors and the operation rooms. There, she was greeted by a group of doctors
and nurses who where getting ready. She
entered the room and was immediately assisted into a pair of scrubs by a
nurse. Once suited, she turned to one
of the doctors who was already set and was looking at a pair of x-rays.
"So Steven, what are we up against?"
she asked as she approached her colleague.
"Hypothermia, major head wound, cuts
throughout most of the body, significant blood loss, bullet shot through the
sternum," he pointed to where a bullet hole could be seen on the x-ray. He traced a path down the sternum and
stopped when his finger came to the point that showed where the bullet was lodged
between two ribs. "If that thing shifts
just a millimeter, it's going to go into her lungs and then that's it. This girl is holding on by a thread."
She nodded her understanding of the
situation, turned and walked into the operating room. There, she paused as she looked at the patient. A small blond girl, hooked up to countless
machines, was laying on the operation table.
Two nurses hovered over the young girl, readying her for what was to
come.
"Come on Kitman," Dr. Steven came up
behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"This girl needs a miracle."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ikuko had followed the men as they
took the girl into the ER. Kenji,
having been ordered by one of the orderlies to remove his car, remained
outside. Once inside the building she
was stopped by a volunteer who guided her to the waiting area; it appeared the
girl had been wheeled directly into surgery.
"Please take a sit miss, a nurse
will be with you momentarily." Ikuko
just nodded her head as the girl walked away.
Moments later, a nurse approached her, a clipboard held securely in one
arm and a couple of blankets in the other.
"You're with the young girl that was
just brought in?" The nurse asked while
handing Ikuko the blanket. Ikuko just
nodded as she took the proffered blanket and wrapped it around herself.
"Thank you." Ikuko said gratefully,
as she hugged the blanket closer to her wet body.
"Your quite welcome. We don't want you to catch a cold now do
we?" the nurse smiled as she tried to raise the spirit of the raged looking
woman. "I just have a few quick
questions right now, think you're up to answering them?"
Ikuko sighed, "yes."
"I need to know that patient's
name."
Her name? What am I supposed to
answer? Ikuko thought frantically. I
promised her I'd keep her safe... I need to keep her safe. But what can I say? The questions and uncertainties, raced
around her head. The nurse continued to
look at her expectantly. She had to
tell her something...
"Usagi... Usagi Tsukino." Well, she did say that she was Bunny, so
this isn't far from the truth.
"Alright, and your name is?"
"Ikuko Tsukino."
"You're related to the young girl?"
Ikuko didn't hesitate in answering,
"she's my daughter."
The nurse just nodded as she jotted
down the information and continued to ask her questions, while Ikuko did her
best to come up with answers. When the
nurse was finally satisfied with the information she had gotten she left. Minutes later, a soaked to the bone, Kenji
joined Ikuko in the waiting room. She
handed him the extra blanket that the nurse had left. Wrapping himself up, he sat down next to her.
Kenji took a look at the crowded
room, and had trouble keeping out all the noise that emanated from it. He could hear the doctors shouting orders
through the double doors that led into the emergency room, and hear the cries
of the patients. It was all getting to
be too much Kenji.
"How is she?" he asked a bit
hesitantly, breaking the silence that had fallen over the two of them.
"I don't know. They rolled her directly into surgery. The nurse was nice enough and gave us these
blankets," she snuggled deeper into her cover, trying to find some comfort in
the warmth that they afforded her.
"I told her she was our daughter-
Usagi." She turned to look at her
husband who seemed to be deep in thought.
"You're not mad at me are you?"
Kenji was startled that she would
think that, and quickly turned to her and gathered her in his arms.
"She was so scarred Kenji, I told
her I would keep her safe, and I couldn't think of anything else-" she clung to
her husband for support as the tears that had welled up in her eyes escaped
her.
"It's okay Ku-chan, you did the
right thing," he kissed the top of her head.
"We'll make sure she gets out of here alright."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The nurse approached the sleeping
couple.
They where sitting next to each
other, the woman was cuddled in the man's chest, his arms going about her
protectively. The waiting room had
quieted down quite a bit in the pat couple of hours. Most of the people had already left or where inside the emergency
room getting patched up. The couple
here was one of the few people who still remained waiting.
"Mr. Tsukino?" The nurse tapped the man on the shoulder,
trying to wake him up as gently as possible. He stirred slightly, and blinked
his sleep filled eyes. His vision
settled on the nurse who was hovering above him.
"Yes?" he asked in a wary
voice. Next to him Ikuko opened her
eyes, intent on listening to whatever the nurse had to say.
"Your daughter is out of
surgery. She's been placed in one of
the rooms on the fourth floor," she informed him.
"Can we see her?" Kenji asked.
"She's sleeping right now, but
you're more than welcome to go see her; if you'll just follow me, I'll take you
to her room." Kenji and Ikuko stood up
and followed the nurse as she led the way.
The ride on the elevator was a quiet one, the two of them lost in their
own thoughts. Ikuko held onto her
husband's hand as they stepped out of the elevator and trailed the nurse down
various corridors. They stopped at one
of the nurses' stations, and waited as their nurse talked to a volunteer
sitting at a computer terminal. They
didn't hear what the two of them were discussing, all they saw was the girl
sitting behind the counter hand the nurse a sheet of paper and point to a door
on the other side of the hall. Nodding,
the nurse motioned for the Tsukino's to follow her.
"A doctor is with your daughter
right now. She'll be able to answer any
questions you have." She let them know as they approached the room.
The door was slightly ajar, and the
nurse knocked once before pushing it open the rest of the way and
entering. Inside, the room was lit up
with the sunlight flowing through the windows.
Laying on the bed, closest to the window, was the young girl that only
hours before the Tsukino's had almost run-over. She looked so fragile and defenseless, with needles and tubes
stuck in her body and her golden hair framing her bruised face.
"Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino?" they turned
at the sound of the new voice. The two
of them hadn't noticed the woman standing in the corner, writing away on a
clipboard.
"I'm doctor Kitman," she moved
toward them and offered her hand in greeting.
"Is she going to be alright?" Ikuko
asked apprehensively as she shook the doctor's hand.
"She should recover," she
began. "Her injuries were numerous,
bullet wound to the chest, lost of blood, she suffered a major concussion, and
when you brought her in she was in the first stages of hypothermia, and
although we were able to bring her temperature down she still has a rather high
fever. Then there are the numerous cuts
and bruises that line her back, arms, and legs," she read off the list of
injuries from her chart. "She's very
lucky to be alive. Right now she's
sleeping off the effects of the medicine and the anesthesia that were given to
her."
Kenji looked at the doctor and then
at the girl laying on the bed. "How
long will she have to remain here?"
"Right now it's hard to say. Her bullet wound, although deep, did not do
any major damage, and should heal up rather quickly, but we're not too sure how
the procedure we preformed on her has affected her. We'll have to wait until she wakes up to find out how she feels
and then go from there." Dr. Kitman
stopped for a moment and looked at the worried couple.
"All the signs so far point to a
speedy recover, there were no problems during the surgery. If luck has it she should be waking up later
on today, and if everything goes well she can be discharged at the end of the
week. Anyway you see it, she's going to
need to rest for at least a week, and she's going to be sore for a good
while." She once again paused and
looked closely at the Tsukino's.
"May I suggest that you go home as
well? You look extremely tired, and a
good rest will do you a world of good."
"But I can't just leav- " the doctor
cut off Ikuko in mid sentence.
"She's just resting right now, it
will be hours before she wakes up, maybe not until tomorrow. Go home and rest."
"We'll do that. Thank you doctor Kitman," Kenji bowed
slightly as he said this.
"Just doing my job. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a patient
waiting for me in another ward," she bid them farewell. As soon as she was out the door Ikuko turned
to he husband.
"I can't leave her here Kenji. I don't want her to wake up and not see me
here. I promised her-"
The nurse, who until that moment had
remained quiet, spoke up. "Most of the
doctors send the family members home, but there's no problem if one of you
wishes to stay. You can lay down on the
bed," she motioned to the empty bed in the room, "and there's the cafeteria on
the second floor. One of you can stay
and the other one can go home and rest."
"I'll stay here, thank you. Kenji, you go back to the hotel and take a
nap." Kenji looked down at his wife and
sighed. She had made up her mind and
there was no way he was going to be able to change it for her.
"I'll bring you a change of clothes
when I get back. Take care Ku-chan" he bent down and kissed her brow before
leaving.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She wasn't in her room.
The bed she was in was most
certainly not her queen size feathered bed, and the sheets covering her were
most definitely not silk, they weren't even the red cotton ones that she had at
the hotel. They were the kind of white
sheets that one would find in a hospital.
Bunny blinked a couple of times to try and clear her vision. The light from the fading sun allowed her to
dimly see her surroundings. She was
indeed laying in a hospital bed.
Why would I be in a hospital?
Then the memories of the night
before resurfaced; rescuing Ace, the disk, the explosions, being shot, and
blacking out, all that was clear in her mind.
But after that, she couldn't quite remember what happened. She recalled waking up after the final
explosion, and having to walk in the rain, but things started to get fuzzy from
there. In the back of her mind, she
seemed to recall a car almost hitting her, and a woman telling her that she was
going to take her to a hospital, and that she shouldn't worry.
Okay, so I'm in a hospital, now
what? She reached up and ran a hand
through her hair. There, she
encountered a bandage going around her head.
Damn it! I need to get back, need
to get out of here. She sat up on
the bed. Okay, we have our standard
hospital room, bathroom, closet, window... hmmm... wonder what floor I'm on? She swung her legs over the side of the bed
and attempted to stand up. The IV
machine that was strapped onto her right arm slowed her process down, however.
"Just great," she mumbled under her
breath as she removed the needle. She
made sure that she wasn't connected to anything else, before venturing to stand
up again. Somehow, she managed to
stand without having to grab onto anything for support. Slowly, she made her way over to the window
and glanced out, she was up at least four stories.
Okay, going out the window is
out! she turned to look back at the room.
There wasn't much in it. Two
beds, a television set, a chair with her clothes on it...
"My boots," she whispered as a look
of horror crossed her face. How
could I forget about my boots? The disk
is in there. The first thing I should
be worrying about is... Ahhh, I can't believe this, I really am going senile! Bunny walked over to the chair and picked up
the pile of clothes that had been placed there. She held them up to the light to inspect them. There was no use, her clothes were torn up
beyond repair. Bunny gave a look of
disgust as she examined her shirt and jacket, both of which had a gaping hole
in the front of them, and threw them back on the seat, so much for
bulletproof material. She then bent down, and grimaced as pain entered her
chest. She did her best to try and
ignore as she picked up her boots. It
seemed that they were the only things that had survived intact. Gingerly, she removed the left heel and
nestled inside was the small clear case with a disk in it.
"At least I got you out," she
sighed, as she placed the heel back on and let the boot fall to the ground.
Bunny turned to look at the room
once more, this time her wondering eyes were halted when they saw her
reflection in a mirror on one of the walls.
Her eyes bulged out of their sockets as they took in her
appearance. If they had put any more
bandages on her she could have passed herself off as a mummy. Her arms, chest, and forehead were all
covered up, and her hair, her beautiful silver hair, which at the moment was
dyed blond, was sticking out all over the place.
"Well, aren't you a sight to
behold?" she muttered as she swung her arm around.
*Crash!* her arm knocked over a vase
that was sitting on a table.
A heavy sigh escaped her as she
heard someone running toward her room.
"Bunny, this just isn't your day," she mumbled as she shifted and waited
for the door to open.
A middle-aged woman opened the door
and entered the room. She looked at the
patient who was standing up, looking at her rather sheepishly, and then down at
the broken vase. Her brow furrowed as
she attempted to conclude what had happened, but in the end gave up and instead
turned to look at the girl.
"What are you doing out of bed?" she
scolded.
"I was-"
"Doesn't matter. You're going back into it right this
second," she began to lead Bunny, by the elbows, back to her bed.
"But-"
"No buts! Doctors orders," she helped her onto the bed and covered her up.
"Now just wait a second, I don't
need-"
"Look young lady, I'm sure you think
you know what's best for you but trust me, you don't."
Bunny sat up and was immediately
pressed back down. "Why you-"
"What's going on in here?" Bunny
turned to the sound of the voice coming from the door. Standing there was a blue haired woman,
holding a steaming Styrofoam cup.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Tsukino, but your
daughter is being very difficult. I
found her up and about, and I'm just trying to put her back in bed before she
hurts herself." The nurse tried to
explain to Ikuko, who at the moment was looking rather upset at her.
Daughter? Ikuko saw the questioning look that passed
through Bunny's face and was quick to turn to the nurse and ask her to leave.
"But I have to reconnect her to the
IV."
"Please, I'll try and calm her
down. That will make your job easier,
now wont it?" The nurse could only
agree with her on that score and so, against her better judgment and the rules
of the hospital, left the room. As soon
as the door was closed behind her, Bunny sat up and looked at the woman who was
now standing in front of her.
"Daughter?" her voice sounded
puzzled.
Ikuko was never one to bit about the
bush, and just told her straight out, "what did you want me to tell them? That we found you in the street and almost
ran you over? You seemed rather adamant
that no one know who you are, so I said you were my daughter."
Silence ensued between the two of
them as Ikuko seeped her coffee. Bunny
just stared down at her hands, unsure of what to say.
"Thank you," the words came out
almost as a whisper. "Thank you for
everything you've done for me. I don't
know what I can do to ever repay you."
Ikuko stopped drinking and put the
cup down on the table next to her. "You
don't need to do anything, we were more than happy to help." She sat down at the edge of the bed and took
one of Bunny's hands in hers. "I just
hope that you'll be able to tell me what happened to you." Bunny looked at her alarmed. There was no way that she would ever be able
to tell her, ever. Sure she was
thankful, but...
"Don't worry, you don't have to tell
me anything right now. Just know that
if you need any help, I'm here."
Washington
DC: September 7th, 2200 hrs
She was pacing back and forth like a
caged tiger. Her silver hair, which at
the moment was let out of its usual buns, trailed behind her on the
ground. She was beyond mad; she was
furious, furious at Linx for letting her sister take over her mission. True, her sister was a trained agent and one
of the best at that, but she hadn't contacted anyone in over two days now,
causing her to worry and fueling her anger toward a certain someone all at the
same time.
"Miss, you have a visitor," Eternity
turned around startled. She had been so
lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't heard the butler open the door and
come in.
"I already told you Ronald, I'm not
seeing anyone tonight."
"It's Mr. Milliardo, madam."
"Milliardo?" her golden eyes lit up
hopefully. "Please show him in
here." The butler nodded and he left
only to be replaced by a dark haired man with a slight smile on his face.
"Good evening Terry, you're looking
beautiful as usual," he closed the door behind him as he entered the room.
"Cut it out Mill, " he winced at the
nickname, she knew he hated it and only used it when she was annoyed at
him. "I know I look like hell. You
would probably look the same way if you woke up and found your sister missing,"
she uncrossed her arms and looked him straight in the eyes. "So, have you heard anything?"
"She contacted Lark about an hour
ago." Eternity breathed out a sigh of
relief. "She got the data."
"Where is she?"
"Sit down," Milliardo instructed
her. She looked at him; worry once more
clouding her features, as she sat down.
Milliardo looked down at her.
"She's in a hospital in Melbourne,
she's in stable condition, and that's all that she would really let us
know. She warned Lark against going
anywhere near her, apparently Ren doesn't want to get her involved. Lark received an envelope with the disk in
it, as well as a letter on how to contact her.
I wanted to talk to you before doing anything else." He stopped and allowed for the information
to sink into her.
"Do you have a copy of the
letter?" Milliardo retrieved a piece of
paper from inside his coat pocket and handed it to her.
"It's coded," she stated as she
finished reading.
"What?" Milliardo grabbed the letter
from her and began to read it once more.
"You won't find it; it's very subtle
and directed at me," she went to stand behind him and pointed to several lines
in the text. "Did Lark send a copy of
the disk?" He absently took a disk from
his pocket and handed it to her, his attention still focused on the
letter. Eternity just sighed and took
the disk from him and walked over to her desk.
There, she sat down, inserted the disk into the computer, and started
typing.
One hour later, she was still
sitting behind the screen, Milliardo looking over her shoulder. They were rather transfixed on the
information that was being given to them.
"Japan?" Milliardo said somewhat
puzzled.
"It would appear so."
"Do we even have anyone in Japan?"
"No," Eternity replied, as she
turned the computer off and turned to face her companion, "but I know how we
can get one in."
Melbourne,
Australia: September 9th , 0900 hrs
Serenity read the hospital menu
carefully for the fifth time. She
blinked several times, to make sure that she was actually reading what she
thought she was, for there, coded into her menu was a message from her sister.
Must get to Japan
with that family. Don't care how you do
it, just do it. Contact 01569, you know
the rule you know plan. Keep safe...
the Rabbit...
End Prologue (01/26/2001)
Edited (04/26/01)
Re-edited (07/02/01)
No, this
Milliardo is not the Milliardo from GW. Now, Bunny is Serenity, and Eternity is
Rabbit. They are two different
people. This is still in the SM time
line, just before the manga begins. It
will follow the manga, not the anime, so to all those people that hate
Usagi/Mamoru coupling, beware this is probably not the story for you.
Confused?
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