Note: For those of you who might be confused, I refer to Siren/Diablo as Siren when I'm describing her physical actions. I refer to her as Diablo when she speaks, since it is Diablo who speaks, and not really Siren herself. Diablo is using Siren's body as a puppet. I hope that clarifies the situation. Enjoy Part 3!
The War of the Assassins
Part 3
The boom of the buster rifle being discharged and the whining noise of missiles flying through the air were the only sounds heard by the Gundam pilots for what seemed like an eternity.
Heero allowed himself a small, tight smile of satisfaction as he watched Siren's relaxed figure get swallowed by thick black smoke and fire. The earsplitting sound of exploding missiles filled the air. All of Trowa's 36 homing missiles had hit their mark. So had the bright yellow beam of Heero's buster rifle. After all, Wing Zero is accurate to the thousandth degree, and I'm only 10 feet away from Siren. There's no way I could have missed.
He saw Trowa also smile in satisfaction, and heard a raucous cheer from Duo. Wufei snorted and looked smug. Basically, everyone felt that they had won, disabled Gundams and all.
Except for Quatre. "I don't know, Heero…" he said slowly, "but I have a feeling that she's still alive."
Trowa looked alert. He understood Quatre better than any of the others, and therefore knew of how sensitive he was to other people.
"What do you feel, Quatre?" he asked, concerned.
"I…I'm not really sure, Trowa," Quatre replied uncertainly, "It's just that I can still feel her here with us. It's hard to explain, but I'm almost positive that Siren's still alive."
Duo snorted skeptically. "Look Quatre, nobody can take a point blank shot from Heero's buster rifle and Trowa's missiles and still survive. Magic sword or no, Siren is as dead as a doornail."
Despite of his reassurance, Quatre still looked doubtful.
Heero watched as the dark smoke began to clear, and decided to settle the silly argument. "Look, we'll find out soon enough if Siren is still alive. The smoke is clearing."
The others immediately shut up and looked at their respective monitors. The thick smoke had almost all but dissipated, and in a few more seconds, the pilots would know for sure if they had successfully eliminated Siren.
Heero took the time to ponder what Quatre had said. He's rarely wrong about these things, and we've been shown time after time how Siren can do the impossible. I doubt it would be too hard for her to stop my buster rifle and Trowa's missiles. Zero agreed with him, and so Heero was not very surprised when his monitor showed Siren, alive after all and virtually unscathed.
She was still standing in a loose, indifferent posture, with Diablo grasped firmly in her right hand. The only difference about her was the spherical black aura that surrounded and shielded her. It sizzled and popped as if it contained great power.
"She blocked it with that shield…" he heard Trowa say unbelievingly.
"No way!" Duo shouted. "What if you just missed?"
"We did not miss," Heero replied firmly, as if daring the others to disagree with him.
Quatre was too polite to say 'I told you so' but everyone could feel that he wanted to. Wufei just stared, mouth open, as if too shocked to believe his own eyes.
"Oh God," Duo complained, while double-checking his monitors. "Why did I have to drag myself into this? I could've just stayed in the colonies with Hilde, nice and comfy, and avoided this crazy woman altogether."
The others did not reply, though several of them began to regret ever accepting the mission. Not like they had much of a choice in the matter. After the Mariemaia incident, Relena had realized that peace was something that had to be fought for and in some cases, obtained forcefully. Therefore the pilots did not destroy their Gundams as originally planned, and each pilot had hidden them in a secret location that no one else knew of. For the past two years, the Gundams had not been needed. Then the underground organization Siren Song had suddenly shown up a few months ago, and all of the efforts of the Preventors to bring Siren to justice had failed. The Gundams had been brought in as a last resort; therefore the pilots had no choice but to accept their mission.
Heero noted the mangled state of Deathscythe Hell and Altron and decided with a certain degree of irony that the mission was not going as smoothly as planned.
Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, Siren dropped her shield and made her move. She bolted up Heavyarms like a black comet and gave it the same treatment as she had given Deathscythe Hell. Its severed head had barely even started falling when Siren headed for Sandrock. Poor Quatre didn't even have time to react as his beloved Gundam was mutilated right before his eyes. Both defeated Gundams fell at the same time with a heavy thud onto the grass of the meadow. The Heavyarms' gattling guns and the short scythes of Sandrock spun through the air. Heero watched with a sort of sick fascination as Siren jumped impossibly high; then held Diablo high over her head and fluidly swung him down over the weapons like a cleaver. They were easily demolished.
Siren, now falling, gracefully somersaulted through the air several times and landed solidly on her feet. She casually hooked stray strands of dark hair behind her ears while a slight smirk played on her lips. It was all too easy.
"Why…why didn't you finish us?" Quatre asked shakily. He was shocked almost senseless.
Heero idly wondered why he hadn't thought of the question himself. Sure, four of the Gundams were destroyed, but the pilots were unharmed, if a little shaky. He waited to hear Diablo's customary reply that they'd find out when he defeated him.
"Because I want you to sit utterly helpless as you watch your best friends and comrade-at-arms be destroyed at my hand," said Diablo maliciously.
Heero was surprised at his response. I wonder if he's finally given up on the whole 'You'll find out when you defeat me' bit.
He heard Quatre's horrified response. "But why would you want to do something so horrible like that? Something so…evil?" Heero saw him shiver in revulsion.
Diablo laughed harshly. "You foolish boy. Don't you realize by now that you're speaking to Evil itself?"
Quatre was utterly aghast, and did not reply. Heero watched as Trowa gave him a reassuring look, as if wanting to comfort the kind warrior.
Siren suddenly turned to face the Wing Zero, but Diablo spoke for her. "I hope you still remember my generous offer Heero Yuy. If you defeat me, I'll answer all of your questions. Well?"
About time he's mentioned it, Heero thought to himself as he assessed his situation. He decided that the Wing Zero would be completely useless against Siren. It was just too slow. Even the self-destruction device wouldn't be powerful enough to break her shield. The only option he had was to fight her in person using the Zero System helmet.
Heero turned around and pulled out the white, oversized, pointed helmet that he had stored behind his seat. He heard Quatre gasp in surprise, and for good reason. The helmet had the exact same shape as the helmet Dorothy had used when she had fenced with Quatre on Libra. When Quatre had told the Preventors about it, Lady Une was intrigued. She had then assigned Howard to design a replica. He figured it out rather quickly, and Lady Une had given the helmet to Heero 'for an emergency'. He had never needed to use it - until now.
If this isn't an emergency, I don't know what is; Heero thought as he maneuvered the Wing Zero so that it was bent down on one knee. He then slid on the helmet and observed the effects. It really wasn't much different from sitting in the cockpit of the Wing Zero; it was just closer and a little stronger. Heero then popped open the cockpit; it opened with the hissing sound of pressurized air escaping. Without a second thought, he jumped the 15 feet or so from the cockpit to the ground. He rolled smoothly to his feet when he landed, and started walking purposely towards Siren who stood waiting for him a small distance away.
"What are you doing Heero?" he heard Trowa ask quietly through a radio link in his helmet.
"Wing Zero would be useless against her, so I'm going to fight her one on one," he replied stoically.
"But...without a weapon? She'll carve you apart with that sword!" Duo exclaimed, horrified.
"I have the Zero System with me, and it tells me that she'll provide me with a weapon."
Wufei was shocked. "But how could you trust that...that...onna?" he demanded.
Unsurprisingly, Heero did not respond.
Duo rolled his eyes. He felt that it was stupid to put so much faith in the Zero System, but he also knew that Heero would not listen to any advice he had to give. He was in Perfect Soldier mode, and totally dedicated to his mission.
"Heero," Quatre said a bit uncertainly, "is that…Dorothy's helmet?"
"No Quatre," Heero replied emotionlessly. "It has the equivalent design but I'm not wearing the same helmet she wore on Libra."
Quatre sighed with relief. He really didn't like Dorothy.
A few more steps...Heero was almost there...
"Hey Heero!" Duo called at the last minute, sounding almost cheerful. "Good luck man!" Heero could almost hear his grin. There was a slight pause from Duo before he finished seriously with a touch of concern, "Don't go gettin' yourself hurt now..."
Heero did not reply. It was too late now for such sentimental frivolity. He was face to face with Siren.
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Strife was in complete turmoil as he headed automatically towards the Meadow. Rag had dropped a bombshell on him, one that he would have never expected from her. She had said flat out that he loved somebody. This in itself was astonishing, but what had surprised him even more was his reaction. No denials or shocked outrage...in fact he had said absolutely nothing. He had been silent for so long that Rag had fallen asleep on him. Which was an improvement, actually, since Strife needed some time to himself. He loved Rag like a sister, but a sister who could read his mind just left him with no privacy.
The thought startled him. Damn it! Why did I even think that? I don't know what love is, or even what a sister is, Strife thought, scowling darkly. He held his head between his hands and tightly shut his intense green eyes. Why am I thinking about love so much? I'm not supposed to be thinking about it at all! But what if Rag's right? What if I DO love her? He began to think of the last time that he had seen her. She had been lovely, captivating, sweet and funny. Strife's years of training and strict mind control slipped for just one second when he dreamily thought, Would it really be so bad? Maybe I do love her...
With that thought, excruciating pain struck every cell of his body. Strife screamed in agony. "What the hell?!" he managed to shout before pain racked his body again and made him mute. He heard Rag's voice tormenting him, "Because you love her...love her...love her..." Suddenly, images of a beautiful woman with silky midnight blue hair and enchanting violet eyes filled his head. She was smiling at him, and he was leaning in to kiss her full red lips. Desire was overwhelming. No. STOP. Stop feeling this. Stop thinking of her. STOP! Strife dropped to his knees in pain and frustration, still holding his head. Strangers stopped and stared at him, but he did not notice, consumed by pain and by visions of himself kissing her, touching her face and hair and lips. "love her...love her...love her..." NO. Shut up! He started talking out loud despite of the pain, in sheer desperation. "Stop...shut up! Stop it, stop, God damn it! I DON'T LOVE HER!!" he shouted between gritted teeth.
With that said, the hallucinations abruptly stopped and the sharp pain was blunted to a dull, pounding ache. Strife's head reeled and he felt dizzy and nauseous. What the hell was that? What is WRONG with me? Am I going insane? He gingerly stood up, opened his eyes and for the first time, noticed the crowd of people gathered around him; he glared angrily at them in annoyance. Strife started striding purposefully, ignoring their offers of help and tried to focus instead on putting one foot ahead of the other. Anything was better than thinking of love, thinking of...Odessa...
As he walked, Strife wondered about the stabbing pain and odd hallucinations he had just experienced. Nothing like that had ever to him before. It's probably just from stress. But even as he thought this, he knew that it was a lie. Something bothered him though...it was a memory, a memory of something his Sensei had said, something about falling in love...but once he thought he knew what it was, the memory would slip away again like water slipping through his fingers. Why can't I remember?! Strife shook his head in frustration; his unruly black hair flew wildly in every direction. Just stop thinking about it. Maybe it'll go away on its own. The dull, pounding ache did not go away. Nor did the feeling that he had forgotten something important. To distract himself, he cautiously looked up and saw a large mass of hover vehicles zooming through the air. It was rush hour, or he would've taken a motorcycle himself. It was seriously just faster walking. Not to mention it was more distracting. Strife started to walk a little faster, wanting to leave Mestra City and Lothos as quickly as possible. Perhaps when he arrived on Earth, he wouldn't feel so badly.
A few minutes later, he finally arrived at the Meadow. It was as it always was: sunny, balmy, and beautiful. The grass was velvety soft, and a bright healthy green. Bright yellow daffodils danced in the breeze and saturated the Meadow with a sweet, heavenly smell. Strife felt immediately better. The painful ache was gone, and so was the strange feeling that he had forgotten something. He felt an overwhelming peacefulness wash over him as he yawned in contentment. Strife always felt tranquil in Meadows. He supposed it was because of all the Pure Magic that gathered in and around them. There was a Meadow in every world that existed in any universe, and it was how Blade Mages and Assassins traveled, using Meadows like the ordinary citizen would use a space shuttle.
Suddenly struck by a feeling of exhaustion, Strife slumped down to lie on the soft, earthy grass. He folded his long arms under his head and closed his eyes, smiling in comfortable satisfaction as a feeling of bliss enveloped him. He was able to think clearly for the first time, and decided that ever since he had spoken to the Baron, he had felt of flood of emotions; they must have caused the pain, sickness, and hallucinations he had been experiencing. If that's the case, then there's a way I can cure myself. Bathed in the soothing aura of the Meadow, Strife was able to regain complete control of himself using strict mind control techniques he had learned in training. He felt the characteristic hardening of his mind and distractions such as emotions abruptly disappeared.
Strife sighed in relief. He had thought for a frightening instant that he would be doomed to feel forever, and therefore would lose his treasured profession as an Assassin. It's good to be back. With that comforting thought, he slid off into a deep sleep.
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Odessa Arrowney, known more commonly as Siren, was lost within herself. She felt disconnected, light-headed, as if she could only observe her own actions and perform none of them. She had just regained consciousness, and the last thing she could remember was feeling a surge of great power and euphoria when she had merged with Diablo.
Odessa took note of her surroundings. She was no longer in the Meadow; she knew that for sure. She was floating in a place that was dark, shapeless, cold, and endless. Odessa looked at her hands, and realized with horror that she could see right through them. That could only mean one thing. Oh no...I'm in The Void...and that means Diablo has taken control.
She felt like crying. She had planned on just destroying the Gundams to teach the cocky kids a lesson, and to do that, she had no choice but to temporarily merge. She certainly hadn't planned on killing the pilots (or on Diablo taking over), and really felt no desire to do so, but Diablo would take immense pleasure from the gruesome act. Odessa shuddered at the thought of what Diablo would do to the poor boys.
The worse part of it was that most of her absolutely loved being merged with and controlled by Diablo. The power-hungry, ambitious, bloodthirsty part of her soul had essentially become part of Diablo. There was not much of her pure, kind, compassionate self, left. Odessa decided that fate was not without a sense of irony: she had become a Dark Magic wielding Assassin so that she could be power-hungry, ambitious, and bloodthirsty, but now when faced with the inevitable horror of recognizing herself in the absolutely evil form of Diablo, she couldn't take it. She regretted her fateful decision and her subsequent transformation to the depths of her soul.
And yet there was nothing Odessa could do. There wasn't enough of her true self left to battle Diablo, win, and regain control. She sat despairingly in what she thought was the direction of down, bowed her head over her bent knees, and this time, really did cry.
The harsh, annoying voice of her former Blade Soul interrupted her. "Aww. Poor baby," Diablo cooed inside her mind, which sounded extremely wrong in his dark voice. He then started laughing at her cruelly, and continued without pity, "You brought this upon yourself. And now that you have, just sit back and enjoy being me, because there's nothing you can do about it."
Odessa knew that what he said was true, but she refused to give him any such satisfaction. She pushed herself angrily onto her feet. "Leave me alone Diablo!" she shouted furiously into The Void. She continued acidly with contempt coloring her words, "You know that I'd never enjoy being part of a bastard like you, so just cut the crap!"
"Well, well, aren't we a feisty little girl?" replied Diablo, amused. "If I didn't have a certain Gundam pilot to torture, I'd stay here and play with you some more." Odessa could feel the ghastly creature smile. "But don't worry, I'll be back soon enough. Besides, there's no hurry - we have all ETERNITY together!" After letting loose another maniacal laugh, Diablo left The Void.
Odessa slumped wearily onto the 'ground', and forced herself not to cry. Instead she thought of Strife, and pleaded desperately to him, wishing fervently that he might hear, "Strife...I'm here, come save me. Please..."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whew, that was a looong part. Sorry to anyone who likes things short and sweet. But I had to get in Strife's whole inner conflict, Odessa's conversation with Diablo AND the Gundam pilots all at the same time. Well, you know the drill, if you have any suggestions, compliments, flames, or just want to talk to me, please e-mail me at Cutlass317@aol.com. Thanks!