By Eve
Dedication: To all of you, minna-san! Thank you, thank you so very much! This story is for all of you. The following get an extra special thank you though. To Ani-imouto, you are so adorable and I love your reviews. To my darling oneechan, *giggles* never fear our story will soon see the light of day. To Starlight, my newfound kindred spirit who shares the *best* conversations with me. And to Sliver Wing, thank you for being there since day one. I'm in a fantastic mood, minna!
Disclaimer: I'll take good care off them. *crosses fingers behind back* Promise…
Warning: Leave it to me, to torment people in an interlude. There are mature themes in this as well as an enormous amount of blood. Please, please don't read if you can't take it… I won't be offended if you don't. For those daring the plunge, this is severely influenced by my new RK and Angel Sanctuary DVDs.
Author's Notes: This is told in a series of flashbacks, some things will be explained and others will remain unsaid. And don't worry, Relena fans, Chibi-Relena or some form of Relena will be making an appearance…
**
"I will question you, and you will tell me answers."
JOB 38: 3
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Interlude: If Only A Fleeting Memory
**
Dorothy had fondly once called her obsessive-compulsive, the need for everything to have a place showing brightly in the work she did. She made sure papers were never misplaced, picture frames upright, and the wood of her desk always polished. She closed her eyes and took off her glasses, burying her head in her arms. This was getting out of control; the council had no more power to suppress the underground anymore. She sighed; it would be up to the girls now.
Her girls, nonetheless…
Her gaze fell down to her hands. Old and worn, she thought bitterly. Instead of falling her mother's dreams of having a family and being married, she pursed not even an interest but an obsession with science. Her hands and her heart were now showing the effects of what her years of work.
She sighed and opened her desk drawer, pulling out a small picture frame. A faint smile crossed her lips as she brushed her fingers against the stained glass. Merian's tenth birthday had been the last of their happy times…
"So did you have a good birthday, love?"
The small child looked up at her with her dark green eyes shining with something akin to hope. Hope, she thought with a sigh. Hope in these children was something she would never understand where it came from. Every day was no different, each girl providing more and more unbelievable insight into a life she thought she could never ever open herself to ever again. With the exception of the war still lingering that is…
"Hai, sensei-sama. Arigato."
She chuckled, kneeling to face the small girl. "Your Japanese is coming along well. I'm happy."
Merian kept her gaze trained onto her. Like Relena, Merian was exceptionally sharp at reading one's emotions. Even when she had been a mere baby, the child could predict the outcome of any situation and someone's feelings. "Is there something the matter?"
The child kept staring at her, silent. Her heart began to pound. Did she know? Did she over hear anything? Did she know that times were getting worse?
"This will be our last time together, ne?"
A simple question and the child deserved more than a simple answer. She could only nod, biting back the tears that threaten to fall. The five girls were her family, her blood.
"'Tis our last fight, child."
That had been one of the best and the worst days of her life. They had been so happy, the pains and sorrows had been locked away.
"It's kind of silly really," Hilde sniffed, wiping her tears away violently. "La mujer tanta said that we weren't allowed to have dreams. I have dreams. I have dreams to fall in love and being able to smile! I will have them!"
She chuckled, brushing a strand of hair gently out of the younger girl's face. "You will have your dreams, little one. You will always have your dreams."
There had been days almost unbearable, days she didn't know why she had pulled through. The night Catherine had almost killed herself was horrific, a sick breakthrough for the council since they had finally gained their immortal warriors.
"I'm dead, dead, dead, dead…"
She approached slowly, unsure on how to deal with this new finding. They were now finding Catherine susceptible violence. Emma let out a tiny sigh. One, two, three…
"Catherine, darling?"
"My name, name, name, name is Natia, Natia, Natia, Natia. You, you, you, you changed it. I was happy, happy, happy, happy. Now I'm dead, dead, dead, dead…"
She could see the blood dripping down the side of the younger girl's mouth. It was almost as if the younger girl was possessed by an evil spirit.
"Dead, dead, dead, dead… I'm dead, dead, dead, dead… Dead-"
It was then she watched in horror as Catherine took a pocketknife and jammed it into her arm, narrowly missing her vein. She watched in morbid fascination as the girl dipped two fingers into her deep wound.
"Natia-Natia, dead, dead, dead, dead…"
And slow, careful motions Catherine painted in her own blood the word 'Darkness' on the spotless wall.
She shivered and stood, facing the windows to the multitudes of gardens outside her study. Night had already befallen London.
"What is love, 'mma?"
She kissed Dorothy on the forehead, pushing her back into the covers. "That is a question that only you can answer yourself."
No sooner, the young French woman entered the realm of heartbreak and the ends of insanity. It was then when the painting became an obsession.
Blues, reds, golds, and slivers all surrounded the second youngest of the Jitsatsu pilots. Her hair was stained with paint, no longer that glowing hue she was so famous for. Emma almost felt sorry for the thirteen year old, who sometimes went off into her own world even after years of already being turned.
"He's dead to me."
Hilde had been the scariest first time out of all of them, for she had not seen the girl's change into one of the best combat pilots known now only to the legends. Hers had been one of the most violent transformations, after Relena's that is.
"I hear nothing," Charles muttered, ears pressed against the door. Emma rolled her eyes at the man's obvious stupidity and stepped forward into the room, ignoring the fact that door was already oddly enough wide open.
She gasped and nearly fainted at the sight at of a lab technician's body lying in a pool of blood. "Oh God… Dear God…" Her eyes wandered upward and were greeted by the most horrific sight. A severed hand was pinned by a scalpel to the wall, blood dripping down to the floor. It had just been cut, it occurred to her. Her eyes wildly scanned the room.
"Hilde?"
Her voice sounded so hollow and tired.
"I am not…"
Hilde sat in the corner of the room, rocking back and forth covered in blood.
"I am not the Devil nor the Shinigami…"
"Hilde? Chica?"
"I am just a killer…"
Placing a hand against the cool glass, she closed her eyes. Relena would probably be returning soon.
"I don't want anybody, 'mma. I must leave for that matter. 'Tis what is best."
She was five then, the child out of the five that she had the most difficulty understanding. But she was also the easiest to get along with.
"Doctor Peterson?"
She whirled around ready to berate the ingrate who decided to bother her when a nervous soldier met her. She held her breath.
"Ma'am, Brussels has been attacked."
Her eyes widened.
"And Ms. Sylvia Noventa is dead."
**
A cliffhanger in an interlude? ^^ Who would have thought? Review!
* I am not the Devil nor the Shinigami. I am just a killer* This is a quote from Weiss Kruetz from the wonderful mouth of Aya. ^^ Kawaii no baka!