Toraneko moaned aloud as she awakened, in a cold, dank place. She could not see, for it was dark, but she could tell she was out of the bag. But she wasn't alone. Hot breath played its way against her cool cheek and her whole being stiffened. It was then that she realized that she was tied to a wooden chair.
"Awake at last, little one, purest one," snarled the man softly. He straddled her lap, far too heavy, but she didn't care how much he weighed; she just wanted him off of her.
"Virginity is a horrible thing to waste," he growled against her. Her eyes widened. Oh, no, this was not happening! "But it will wait." She heaved a sigh of relief as he stood straight. He exited through the door and she gave a huge shuddering breath. Sobs floated from her mouth as she recalled, very vividly, what had happened.
"Shin..." she whispered in between her gulping cries.
***
Harry Potter! That was his name. The person who said those words...they were Voldemort's words! There is no good or evil...there is only power...
It was the evil in him that spoke. He had exited the room, telling me to think it over, but I sat there, stunned still. How were the others going to rescue me? Why was I being held captive at all? Because I knew something?
No, it was obvious that was not the only reason, least be said.
Another moan in the corner of the room brought me out of my reverie of thoughts. That person...who was it? It was a woman, I knew that much. She was about twice my age, thirty-something. Who was she? She sounded familiar. I tugged on the ropes that held me bound, to no avail. They were tied tight.
"E-Excuse me?" I called out to the other person. "Who's there? Can you help me?"
"S-Sure," she murmured, crawling to the chair. She was using the last of her strength, I could tell, but I did not ask her to stop. She seemed so determined to help me, as though she had nothing else that would give her more pleasure. So I let her continue on.
The nameless woman reached me and picked at the ropes only a moment before I was free. I collapsed to the ground, my feet unable to support me.
"Thank you," I smiled at her warmly, but her face made my breath catch in my throat. It wasn't that she was cut or bruised as I was, nor was she extremely ugly or extremely pretty. It was that she was so familiar. So very familiar...
"Do I know you?" we both asked at the same time. A chuckle ran through us despite our predicament.
"I'm-" we both began, but stopped as we both realized the other was speaking.
"You go-" and it happened again. We shared a laugh.
"We're never gonna get anywhere," I smirked at her.
"I agree," she nodded, a smile so small, she hardly looked like she was smiling at all. She reminded me a bit of Heero.
"My name is Siri Capri," I said, holding out my still-throbbing hand. Instead of answering, her eyes went wide and she gasped. Then, after a moment of deep, steadying breaths, she threw her arms around me and hugged me so tightly, so warmly, so wonderfully lovingly, that I almost forgot this woman was a stranger as far as I knew.
"Is it really you, Siri?" she asked tearfully, pulling back. "You probably don't even remember me, it's been, what, eleven years? Siri, it's me. Ashley Une, your mother!"
"M-Mom?" I whispered reproachfully. "M-Mother?"
"Yes, yes, Siri, honey, it's me, it's mom," she half sobbed, half laughed to me. "Do you still have it? The pendant, dear?"
"The pendant..." I lifted it from my neck and she smiled.
"Do you remember, Siri? Anything at all? You were only five, after all..."
"I remember. Mother, father's been the worst, I swear it upon all things sacred," I told her as I swung the pendant from around my neck. She took it from me, grim now as she examined it. "Why have we been taken, Mother?" I asked her. "Why me and you? What's father and Principal Rem have to do with any of this? Why did he call me the Holder of Power?"
"Siri, honey, this is going to sound strange..." my mother began slowly. "But your father, as well as Rem and three other men, are demons from another dimension. They're trying to get their own bodies back. And they need us to do it."
"How do they need us?"
My mother was silent a moment before she answered. "Sacrifices."
I gulped, bitter vile rising in my throat. How were the others going to save me? I'll bet anything they didn't even know the urgency of my peril. Worse yet, what if they didn't come at all? My worries played through my head, and I'm sure my face went paler and sicker as more images shot past my idling brain.
***
~~~
Grim as they were, the Gundam boys, Shin, and the three remaining girls (excluding Releena) gathered together what power they could. Heero and Duo (Duo talking the most) gave the girls a crash course in shooting a gun. Shin showed them the path they would have to take in order to get into the blank alter-dimension in which he had tracked Toraneko's disappearance. They could only hope that Toraneko, Siri, and any other prisoners the demons had taken were still alive.
Heero was grimmer and more worried than he'd ever been in his entire life. Never had he encountered true demons. Only those of his own past, and those he fought in his mind each and every day. Yes, he even worried about Siri's safety.
Actually, if he stopped to think about it, he was hysterical, in his own way, over Siri's safety. He'd never been this crazy about saving Releena; she'd always been like a sister to him, never truly what she wished him to be. Duo constantly said that the two were good for each other, but the braided idiot knew, deep down, that Heero was looking for someone else.
Raine, the second friend Siri had met at school, was near a state of panic in her mind's sight. However, she'd always been known to keep a cool head in a crisis. That's exactly what she was; cool as a cucumber outside, and pandemonium inside.
Tari, the very first friend Siri had ever had (though she did not know it), really was panicking on the outside. Her hands twisted together as though she were trying to break her own fingers, and the gun Heero had handed her was quickly taken by Wufei, who muttered under his breath about women being incapable of wielding true weapons.
Telex, however, had suddenly turned into a very Heero-like person. The gun that Duo had given her was firmly in its sheath and she stood in a half-parade rest and half-rest position. (AN-For those of you who don't know, I was in JROTC for five years. If you have any questions about the positions I say, email me or Sarah [Angel of the Dragon] and we'll get back to you.) Instead of pacing about, like Tari was at the moment, or running through last minute details on their small crash-course lesson, like Raine, she stayed put.
Even the Chinese Wufei had to admit that Telex was very good at keeping still. In fact, she was quite regal and powerful, in his point of view. (AN-Telex, I'm sorry. I couldn't get Veggie-chan into the plot somehow, so you'll have to deal with the G-boys. Can you guess which one I picked out for you?) But he had more important things to pay attention to; like the ramblings that Shin was belting out about how to get to the alter-dimension.
"It's kind of like being inside a washing machine without the water," Shin was going on. "You have to hold on for dear life to the person in front of you. I'll lead the way, but you'll have to keep your grip steady."
"Sure you can handle that, onna?" Wufei snarled to Telex.
"Of course."
"Telex, are you all right?" Tari asked her. "You don't seem like yourself."
"We're going to rescue Siri, Tari. If it's the last thing I do."
An eerie silence fell for but a moment.
"All right, let's get going," Heero said, surprising them all. Usually, the Perfect Soldier liked those tense moments when nothing was said. It was quite unlike him to suddenly break such a taboo so quickly.
"Great idea, Heero man," Duo grinned. He himself was looking forward to this. It wasn't often he got to be the Shinigami again.
Trowa remained silent. He was always silent. Always the observer. Trowa Barton had lost his memory countless times, being rescued by only those he loved. His sister, Catherine. His best friend, Quatre. All of his friends. He looked to Quatre, who was white-faced. It wasn't often the polite heir to a fortune was so quiet. Trowa knew something was bothering Quatre. But what could it be?
"Everyone ready?" Shin asked. Nods and murmurs. "Grab your neighbors' hands. We're in for a bumpy ride."
"Like a roller coaster!" Duo cheered, causing more ill faces than happier ones.
"No, Duo," Shin told him with a sigh. "Much, much worse."
Somehow, that did not help. However, hands were clenched tightly as Shin grabbed a hold of Tari's right hand. Making certain that everyone was ready, he opened a black portal before him.
"Remember," he called, "stick close."
And into the black hole they walked.
***
Toraneko whimpered in the dim light of her cell, or whatever it was. She was so cold and weary, she didn't think she could stand it if the ocelot creature came back again. Tears had long since failed her and she was extremely thirsty by now. How long had it been? An hour? Two hours? Three? Four? A day? She couldn't know.
All she knew was that she didn't want that man to come back, the one who had told her that virginity was a waste. She hoped he was only trying to terrorize her, just bluffing. He was doing a good job of it, if he was.
Her dark hair was matted to her face by now, framing her dark eyes from the tears and sweat, and a tiny amount of blood. She hadn't noticed it, but there was a shallow scrape just below her cheekbone, probably from the ocelot.
The sound of the door opening was not a welcome sound. Looking up, she saw it was the same man as before. Her eyes went wide with fright when she saw that he held fresh clothes for her. She hoped beyond hope he would simply untie her and leave her to change.
That hope was dashed to pieces.
"A terrible waste, it is, little Tiger Cat. I hope you can back up your name, little one..."
However, before he could do anything, he suddenly crumpled to the floor, twitched a moment, and fell still and silent at last. Standing in the doorway was the last person she had ever expected to see again. He placed a finger to his lips and motioned outside the door.
"S-Shin?" she whispered. "I-I thought that...that you were..."
"Dead," he finished quietly. "I'm a lot harder to kill than you think, Toraneko. I'll explain later. For now we have to get Siri and any other prisoners out of here." As he spoke, he untied the ropes that were cutting off her circulation. She rubbed her wrists a bit to bring back the feeling, then threw her arms around her rescuer.
"Thank you, Shin," she whispered, letting him go at last with a small kiss on his cheek.
"N-n-n-no pr-problem," he stammered. And was that a blush spreading across his face? She could only hope. And right now, she wished nothing more than that hope be true.
"Come on, the others are waiting."
They rejoined the group, a quick hug between the four girls, and they began to search out Siri. Each cell along the hall was empty with the exception of the very last one, in which was a peculiar sight. On the floor sat two chocolate-haired girls, one about seventeen and one about thirty-five. However, the younger looked so much older than she really was, and the elder so much younger, that the two looked like they could be very close sisters, or even twins. Only one person realized who they were.
"Capri!" Heero hissed through the door. Both girls looked up and hissed at the same time.
"Heero?!"
"I thought I'd never see you again!" said the younger, speaking quietly.
"I thought you were dead!" said the elder, also speaking quietly. They exchanged looks, then giggled softly.
"Heero, is that really Siri?" Tari asked, mouth agape. None of the four girls had ever seen her without that confounded hood over her head.
"Yes."
The team set to work pulling the door open, and soon both of them were out.
"Let's get. Explanations can wait," Shin said firmly. He explained quickly to Siri, the unknown elder woman, and Toraneko what to do, then they set it into action. It was only a matter of seconds before all eleven were safely back in Releena's mansion.
***
~~~
After explanations and introductions (for Une), questions began to arise. Especially over my claim to be the "Holder of Power", so called by Rem. Confusing as it was, Shin knew what it was immediately. And he was one unhappy god.
"This is not good, Siri, not good at all," he muttered, clapping his hand on my shoulder from my right. Heero looked murderous as he did so, and I wondered why. I soon found out.
"What's not good? This is your department," he growled. The others stared at him, unable to comprehend the sudden flourish of anger in his voice, but he simply stared at Shin. Toraneko and the other girls were silent, as was Duo and Quatre. I think they understood the dire consequences of making Heero angry at a time like this. Of course, he was already angry, but that's beside the point.
"The Holder of Power is...um..." Shin suddenly was uncomfortable. My mother growled at him, still upset. "There are very few holders of power. Each of them has a purpose; they, in general, determine the fate of their dimension."
"What do you mean by that?!" I shouted incredulously. What in the world was he talking about? What power? Was I really the holder? And how "few" of people like me were there?
He smiled, as though reading my mind. It was then that I realized it; he could read my mind. He could read each and every thought, conscious or unconscious, that came from inside me.
He knew all along Toraneko had a crush on him.
Knew all along that Heero was no ordinary teacher.
All along that there was more to me than meets the eye.
Kai Shin knew more than he was letting on. His smile grew wider and he gave a silent nod, as though we were having a private conversation between our eyes. Which, in a sense, we were.
"I'm not sure what the power is that you possess, Siri," he told me uncertainly. "But I do know this; you're no ordinary girl."
"Well, duh, Sherlock, we knew that one straight from the start," Tari snapped at him. "And just how many of these so-called 'holders' are there in this world?"
"At this precise moment?" he asked, thinking a moment. "Two. And both of which stand before us at this very moment. He still has not yet made himself known, but he will soon."
Silence as all swallowed hard at the prospect. Five men, all ex-Gundam pilots, were the only ones who would qualify for this. Trowa, Quatre, Heero, Duo, or Wufei...one of them was the other holder.
My throat contracted on itself, making it hard to breath. This was destiny, pure and simple. I'd never really believed in fate or destiny, but this episode had shown me the truth. I just hoped that destiny would prove itself well.
***
~~~
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THEY'VE ESCAPED?!" snarled Rem at Vince Ravioli Caprice and Deer Waterweed, both of whom were sorely disappointed they'd let down their master.
"Just as we said it," Waterweed clipped. "They escaped. No clue how. One second they're there, the next, poof! gone."
"We'll get them back," Rem growled. "Have you managed to find the mistress? Or our partner?"
"We've found the mistress. She is close to our quarries," Caprice answered, glad to answer something with an affirmative.
"Our partner has hidden himself among the ex-Gundam pilots," Waterweed also answered. "But we are uncertain of which he is."
Rem collapsed into his throne chair with a flyaway sigh.
"Pinpoint them both. I want it known who they are inhabiting. And where they are hiding."
"Right away, sir," both bowed and left their master.
Rem gave a lazy wave of his hand, where appeared a scepter of violet and deepest red. (AN-Two of my most despised colors.) He stared into the violet crystal on the end of the elaborately-designed staff, toying with it slightly.
"I will find you again, my love, and we will be together for eternity, side by side as the ultimate rulers of this dimension..." he started chuckling, but was abruptly cut off by sudden flapping of wings. His own spy flew up to him, soaring on golden wings.
"Hera, darling, what did you see?" he asked the peregrine falcon maiden. The falcon was no more, and in her place was a beautiful young girl with long, pink hair and wide, orange eyes. She was scarcely dressed, with only scraps of red cloth covering the bare minimum of her pale, moon-white skin. In short, she was sexy. (AN- "...sexy is dangerous..."--Christopher Hart, Manga Mania)
"The English teacher was in fact the god Shin in disguise. He has proclaimed that one of the five ex-Gundam pilots is a holder, as well as Siri, the known. Our partner and the mistress is among their group, though not necessarily a pilot."
"Good. Anything else?"
"It appears Siri's powers will be at their strongest when she believes she has a chance. Otherwise, she is no match for you, milord."
"Good, good, very good," the tips of his fingers formed ninety degree angles as they crossed. "At least that bungling fool did something right."
"I agree, sir."
"Nothing else?"
"No."
"You may go."
***