Twist of Fate
Chapter 7 (?)
By: IceQueen
Disclaimer: Usual ones apply.
***********
Hotaru woke to a sense of warmth and security. She didn't know where she was and she couldn't remember how she'd gotten there. She knew she ought to get up and find an escape route, however, it was so cozy here, and Hotaru was so goddamn tired.
"Hey... think she's up..." Hotaru heard, but it sounded so incredibly far away. Briefly she wondered who it was.
Suddenly something extremely bright was in her view. Hotaru lifted a hand to cover her eyes, but it was forced back down. "Hotaru, wake up," It said. Suddenly a hot, searing pain brought her back into focus. Hotaru stared up at Daea with something akin to wonder. "You hit me," She murmured.
"It was necessary. You know, you gave us quite a scare," Daea said.
All at once it came back. The rescue, getting cornered, escaping,... getting shot.
Quickly Hotaru pushed back the covers to inspect her wound. Around her calf white bandages were wrapped expertly, and a dull thudding ache emanated from underneath them.
Out of an adjoining room Makoto came carrying a tray with food on it. "Welcome back, sleepyhead," She said warmly.
"H-How-How did we get out?" Hotaru asked.
"Well..." Makoto began hesitantly, setting the tray down next to Hotaru.
"You see...." Daea picked up.
"I came." A voice said from the doorway.
Hotaru averted her gaze from Makoto and Daea to the source, and found herself locking eyes with Isis.
Hotaru nodded her thanks, and took the plate Makoto offered. She began shovelling down the scrambled eggs and toast waiting on the plate.
"You still have one mission to finish. Then you can go on vacation. Treat yourselves to Jamaica or something," Isis began abruptly, filling the silence, "By the way, be more cautious next time. You're getting sloppy. The Preventers are after you now, and my sources tell me they've assigned the ex-Pilots to your case. Be on your guard."
Then she turned and walked away without a word, taking with her the disks that they had fought so hard to get.
Seconds later they heard the front door click shut, and a car start up outside.
"Well, you heard the boss-lady. Me 'n Mako are gonna get ready for tonight. Maybe you should leave it to us-" Daea said while standing up, until she was cut off.
"No. I'm going with. I'll be fine." Hotaru said between mouthfuls of egg.
Makoto looked doubtful, but didn't feel like arguing. "Alright..." She began, "But leave the planning to me 'n Daea. We'll get it done just fine."
Hotaru nodded her agreement, and Daea and Makoto walked out of the room, talking quietly about what they'd need.
While the two were gone planning Hotaru decided to take a look at her wound.
She imagined it was pretty bad. She could barely walk; she didn't know how she'd make it through the mission.
Grimly, Hotaru peeled off the layers of bandages wrapped around her calf, the white, gauzy substance coming off easily.
She stared at the deep hole going through her leg, and grimaced in pain.
Near tears, Hotaru laid her hand on top of the wound casually, and thought of a good way to tell the others she couldn't go.
Suddenly, a warm feeling spread throughout her injured leg, and she pulled her hand away.
Hotaru stared at the new skin which hadn't covered the wound before, and at her hand, which was glowing a soft purple.
"Holy shit......" She murmured before passing out.
**********
"......So you see Princess, healing is quite easy. Everyone has the power, just not all can access it." He said, smiling jovially at her.
"Uh huh... Why do I have access, and not the woman in the slum with three dying children?" Hotaru asked, holding her head down sadly.
"I don't know. Ask Eegri... Not me. You're asking the wrong person."
"Well, thank you. I appreciate the gift. I'll try to use it to the best of my abilities," Hotaru said with a soft smile, looking at the man who'd just taught her how to save the lives of her people.
"No problem. I'm happy to perform public services," He told her with a wide smile.
She smiled back at him.
"I can see that." Hotaru told him.
"Well, Princess Saturn, it was an honor," He said, and got up. She too stood. "I hope to be seeing you again soon," He told her, and bowed deeply to her.
The man took her hand in his own and kissed it gently, his lips lingering perhaps a second more than was appropriate.
Hotaru blushed deeply even though she tried not to.
"Yes," She said when he pulled away, "I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon."
Calmly she walked out of the temple, and into the religious sector of the capital city, her home.
************
"Think she'll be okay for the mission?" Daea asked worriedly.
"No." Makoto stated simply.
They sat, arranging things for the mission, Makoto typing fast-paced on the laptop computer, while Daea got the gear they'd need.
Abruptly a soft knock was heard on the door, and Hotaru walked into the room. Daea stared in shock. "Makoto...." She said softly to the one who was facing away from Hotaru, "I think she's fine for the mission."
"Yes. I am." Hotaru said while seating herself.
"Okay, here's the plan...." Mako began.
************
At 18:04 Daea left the house Isis had lent them, seeing as their old place was now dangerous to be at.
She wore the standard security guard uniform, corny hat and all. The hat was placed on top of a short brown wig, and Daea wore brown contacts as a disguise. Her figure was obscured by the decidedly unflattering outfit, and Daea couldn't wait until this mission was over.
Her job was to get in undercover, go to the security room, and turn off the cameras that Hotaru would encounter along the way. After doing that she was to return to position and 'check' Makoto for weapons and such. Once Mako was in Daea had to get to the East Wing and watch Hotaru's back.
That was it. That's all she had to do. It sounded simple in theory, but Daea knew a hundred different things could go wrong.
So here she was, driving down to the Peacecrap mansion, putting herself on the line to kill some stupid foreigner. Her ID jangled against her shirt pocket, as nervous and jittery as she was.
Daea half-hoped that the SUV she was driving would break down in the middle of the road, so she couldn't go. Her friends were depending on her though.
So Daea drove herself to the mansion, parked her car and checked in with no problems. After ten minutes at her post Daea walked calmly to the security room, shot the guards on duty, and set to work disabling certain cameras.
**************
At 18:27 Hotaru and Makoto left the house, Hotaru hiding inside the trunk of the car, and Makoto driving.
Hotaru was suited up in a skintight black suit, designed for stealth and comfort, with soundless black shoes. Her short hair was pulled back into an almost-painful ponytail to keep it out of her face.
She had with her one climbing rope complete with grappling hook for getting in the place. Hotaru was also equipped with a special gun which had laser sight, infrared, and a silencer attached. Just to be careful she brought several other weapons with her including a knife, smoke bombs, sleeping gas, and grenades. Hotaru felt like G.I. Jane.
In the trunk she breathed shallowly until they arrived and passed the check at the front of the mansion.
Makoto, seated in the front of the car, was going over her part of the plan mentally.
Get in the place, get checked by Daea, get to your seat, then at 18:57 leave to go in the basement, and pull the lightswitch. At 19:00 switch the lights back on and get out of the basement. Drive back to the place.
When the lights went out Hotaru would shoot the target, and escape. Daea would cover her escape, and the two of them would leave together.
Makoto fingered the material of the dress she was wearing nervously. She had doubts about their success in this mission. What if their streak of bad luck continued?
Makoto was posing as a guest tonight, and was wearing a light pink dress made of satin, and a blond wig with blue contacts. She hoped everything worked out fine.
Everything did so far. They passed the security, and Makoto parked along the east side of the building. She pulled the handle to pop the trunk, and left, walking inside the building.
************
H
otaru heard the pop of the trunk and got out carefully. Smiling, she grabbed her things and ran up to the building·¶ . She wound her arm up, and let go, the grappling hook finding its mark in the dark. Hotaru tugged on it to be sure it would hold, and began climbing up to the top floor.
She found her way inside an attic space, and had to navigate through piles of junk before finding the door out. Hotaru left the grappling hook where it was. She walked out and into the hall, passing a security guard on the way.
Daea tugged her hat down a bit to show acknowledgment, and let Hotaru go on her way without a word.
Hotaru stealthily tiptoed down the hall, using the shadows as cover. Soon she heard voices murmuring. Lots of them.
She found a duct, which would lead her to the room where the meeting was to take place, carefully she began to unscrew it. When Hotaru was finished she placed the grate on the floor, and clamored in, hearing Daea move to cover the whole East Wing in case some little lost sheep wandered up. It was supposed to be empty.
Hotaru crawled through the duct, her gun strapped across her back. She knew she was probably collecting lots of dust and cobwebs, but it was a small price to pay. Finally she reached the end of the tunnel, so to speak, and stretched her arm out in front of her to see what time it was. 19:55. The lights would go off any second.
Hotaru reached behind her, like a contortionist, and brought her gun around. The slats of the duct cover were just large enough for her to see and stick the tip through. Below her she could see the head of Relena Peacecrap- oops, I mean Peacecraft- and her five personal body guard. What a spoiled little brat! In the crowd she saw a blond woman wearing pink stand up and walk out of the room. Just then Relena began her speech.
**************
At 19:57 Makoto got up and left the room, just before Relena began to talk.
Presumably going to the ladies' room, she turned a corner, and waited until several guards walked past. Then she continued on her merry way to the basement.
She got without any problems, except for the fact that she had to pick the lock, and shut the door behind her. Walking over to the fuse box, she opened the cover, and raised her hand, waiting until her synchronized watch beeped at her.
Suddenly it did. She flipped all the switches in the box, and heard panic erupt upstairs. They would be coming down here soon. Then her watch beeped again, signalling the end of lights out, and she flipped them all back on.
Makoto ran upstairs, and out of the door before any guard could even look at her. Starting her car, she drove back to the rented beach house.
**************
When the lights went out Hotaru was ready. She put her eye on the eyepiece, aimed, and fired, shooting Brazil's ambassador dead in the heart.
Emotionlessly, she backed out of the duct, to drop next to Daea, who moved and screwed the cover back on with an electric screwdriver. Then the lights came back on.
"Let's go." Hotaru said, and Daea nodded her agreement.
They ran down the hall at top speed, ducking back into the attic. Hotaru quickly threw her rope back out the window, and let Daea climb down first.
Then she released the hook, and tossed down her gun. Bracing herself, Hotaru flipped over the window pane head first, and did a neat tumble onto the ground below.
Daea offered her hand, and pulled Hotaru up. Breathless, they ran to the SUV, and got in. Daea drove away before any car checks were authorized.
"Mission... accomplished..." Hotaru panted out.
*************
AN: That's it for now! What did you think of it? Is it good? Please review. Lots of reviews. Review multiple times under different anonymous name if that's what it takes. Anything to boost my ego! NO! I'm just kidding. ^_^ Anyway, lemme know what you think.
Hehehe... I didn't tell you who Hotaru was talking to in her flashback. I'm so evil. ^_~ I try, ya know. It was hard for me not to say his name... I wanted to so bad!
Chapter 7 (?)
By: IceQueen
Disclaimer: Usual ones apply.
***********
Hotaru woke to a sense of warmth and security. She didn't know where she was and she couldn't remember how she'd gotten there. She knew she ought to get up and find an escape route, however, it was so cozy here, and Hotaru was so goddamn tired.
"Hey... think she's up..." Hotaru heard, but it sounded so incredibly far away. Briefly she wondered who it was.
Suddenly something extremely bright was in her view. Hotaru lifted a hand to cover her eyes, but it was forced back down. "Hotaru, wake up," It said. Suddenly a hot, searing pain brought her back into focus. Hotaru stared up at Daea with something akin to wonder. "You hit me," She murmured.
"It was necessary. You know, you gave us quite a scare," Daea said.
All at once it came back. The rescue, getting cornered, escaping,... getting shot.
Quickly Hotaru pushed back the covers to inspect her wound. Around her calf white bandages were wrapped expertly, and a dull thudding ache emanated from underneath them.
Out of an adjoining room Makoto came carrying a tray with food on it. "Welcome back, sleepyhead," She said warmly.
"H-How-How did we get out?" Hotaru asked.
"Well..." Makoto began hesitantly, setting the tray down next to Hotaru.
"You see...." Daea picked up.
"I came." A voice said from the doorway.
Hotaru averted her gaze from Makoto and Daea to the source, and found herself locking eyes with Isis.
Hotaru nodded her thanks, and took the plate Makoto offered. She began shovelling down the scrambled eggs and toast waiting on the plate.
"You still have one mission to finish. Then you can go on vacation. Treat yourselves to Jamaica or something," Isis began abruptly, filling the silence, "By the way, be more cautious next time. You're getting sloppy. The Preventers are after you now, and my sources tell me they've assigned the ex-Pilots to your case. Be on your guard."
Then she turned and walked away without a word, taking with her the disks that they had fought so hard to get.
Seconds later they heard the front door click shut, and a car start up outside.
"Well, you heard the boss-lady. Me 'n Mako are gonna get ready for tonight. Maybe you should leave it to us-" Daea said while standing up, until she was cut off.
"No. I'm going with. I'll be fine." Hotaru said between mouthfuls of egg.
Makoto looked doubtful, but didn't feel like arguing. "Alright..." She began, "But leave the planning to me 'n Daea. We'll get it done just fine."
Hotaru nodded her agreement, and Daea and Makoto walked out of the room, talking quietly about what they'd need.
While the two were gone planning Hotaru decided to take a look at her wound.
She imagined it was pretty bad. She could barely walk; she didn't know how she'd make it through the mission.
Grimly, Hotaru peeled off the layers of bandages wrapped around her calf, the white, gauzy substance coming off easily.
She stared at the deep hole going through her leg, and grimaced in pain.
Near tears, Hotaru laid her hand on top of the wound casually, and thought of a good way to tell the others she couldn't go.
Suddenly, a warm feeling spread throughout her injured leg, and she pulled her hand away.
Hotaru stared at the new skin which hadn't covered the wound before, and at her hand, which was glowing a soft purple.
"Holy shit......" She murmured before passing out.
**********
"......So you see Princess, healing is quite easy. Everyone has the power, just not all can access it." He said, smiling jovially at her.
"Uh huh... Why do I have access, and not the woman in the slum with three dying children?" Hotaru asked, holding her head down sadly.
"I don't know. Ask Eegri... Not me. You're asking the wrong person."
"Well, thank you. I appreciate the gift. I'll try to use it to the best of my abilities," Hotaru said with a soft smile, looking at the man who'd just taught her how to save the lives of her people.
"No problem. I'm happy to perform public services," He told her with a wide smile.
She smiled back at him.
"I can see that." Hotaru told him.
"Well, Princess Saturn, it was an honor," He said, and got up. She too stood. "I hope to be seeing you again soon," He told her, and bowed deeply to her.
The man took her hand in his own and kissed it gently, his lips lingering perhaps a second more than was appropriate.
Hotaru blushed deeply even though she tried not to.
"Yes," She said when he pulled away, "I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon."
Calmly she walked out of the temple, and into the religious sector of the capital city, her home.
************
"Think she'll be okay for the mission?" Daea asked worriedly.
"No." Makoto stated simply.
They sat, arranging things for the mission, Makoto typing fast-paced on the laptop computer, while Daea got the gear they'd need.
Abruptly a soft knock was heard on the door, and Hotaru walked into the room. Daea stared in shock. "Makoto...." She said softly to the one who was facing away from Hotaru, "I think she's fine for the mission."
"Yes. I am." Hotaru said while seating herself.
"Okay, here's the plan...." Mako began.
************
At 18:04 Daea left the house Isis had lent them, seeing as their old place was now dangerous to be at.
She wore the standard security guard uniform, corny hat and all. The hat was placed on top of a short brown wig, and Daea wore brown contacts as a disguise. Her figure was obscured by the decidedly unflattering outfit, and Daea couldn't wait until this mission was over.
Her job was to get in undercover, go to the security room, and turn off the cameras that Hotaru would encounter along the way. After doing that she was to return to position and 'check' Makoto for weapons and such. Once Mako was in Daea had to get to the East Wing and watch Hotaru's back.
That was it. That's all she had to do. It sounded simple in theory, but Daea knew a hundred different things could go wrong.
So here she was, driving down to the Peacecrap mansion, putting herself on the line to kill some stupid foreigner. Her ID jangled against her shirt pocket, as nervous and jittery as she was.
Daea half-hoped that the SUV she was driving would break down in the middle of the road, so she couldn't go. Her friends were depending on her though.
So Daea drove herself to the mansion, parked her car and checked in with no problems. After ten minutes at her post Daea walked calmly to the security room, shot the guards on duty, and set to work disabling certain cameras.
**************
At 18:27 Hotaru and Makoto left the house, Hotaru hiding inside the trunk of the car, and Makoto driving.
Hotaru was suited up in a skintight black suit, designed for stealth and comfort, with soundless black shoes. Her short hair was pulled back into an almost-painful ponytail to keep it out of her face.
She had with her one climbing rope complete with grappling hook for getting in the place. Hotaru was also equipped with a special gun which had laser sight, infrared, and a silencer attached. Just to be careful she brought several other weapons with her including a knife, smoke bombs, sleeping gas, and grenades. Hotaru felt like G.I. Jane.
In the trunk she breathed shallowly until they arrived and passed the check at the front of the mansion.
Makoto, seated in the front of the car, was going over her part of the plan mentally.
Get in the place, get checked by Daea, get to your seat, then at 18:57 leave to go in the basement, and pull the lightswitch. At 19:00 switch the lights back on and get out of the basement. Drive back to the place.
When the lights went out Hotaru would shoot the target, and escape. Daea would cover her escape, and the two of them would leave together.
Makoto fingered the material of the dress she was wearing nervously. She had doubts about their success in this mission. What if their streak of bad luck continued?
Makoto was posing as a guest tonight, and was wearing a light pink dress made of satin, and a blond wig with blue contacts. She hoped everything worked out fine.
Everything did so far. They passed the security, and Makoto parked along the east side of the building. She pulled the handle to pop the trunk, and left, walking inside the building.
************
H
otaru heard the pop of the trunk and got out carefully. Smiling, she grabbed her things and ran up to the building·¶ . She wound her arm up, and let go, the grappling hook finding its mark in the dark. Hotaru tugged on it to be sure it would hold, and began climbing up to the top floor.
She found her way inside an attic space, and had to navigate through piles of junk before finding the door out. Hotaru left the grappling hook where it was. She walked out and into the hall, passing a security guard on the way.
Daea tugged her hat down a bit to show acknowledgment, and let Hotaru go on her way without a word.
Hotaru stealthily tiptoed down the hall, using the shadows as cover. Soon she heard voices murmuring. Lots of them.
She found a duct, which would lead her to the room where the meeting was to take place, carefully she began to unscrew it. When Hotaru was finished she placed the grate on the floor, and clamored in, hearing Daea move to cover the whole East Wing in case some little lost sheep wandered up. It was supposed to be empty.
Hotaru crawled through the duct, her gun strapped across her back. She knew she was probably collecting lots of dust and cobwebs, but it was a small price to pay. Finally she reached the end of the tunnel, so to speak, and stretched her arm out in front of her to see what time it was. 19:55. The lights would go off any second.
Hotaru reached behind her, like a contortionist, and brought her gun around. The slats of the duct cover were just large enough for her to see and stick the tip through. Below her she could see the head of Relena Peacecrap- oops, I mean Peacecraft- and her five personal body guard. What a spoiled little brat! In the crowd she saw a blond woman wearing pink stand up and walk out of the room. Just then Relena began her speech.
**************
At 19:57 Makoto got up and left the room, just before Relena began to talk.
Presumably going to the ladies' room, she turned a corner, and waited until several guards walked past. Then she continued on her merry way to the basement.
She got without any problems, except for the fact that she had to pick the lock, and shut the door behind her. Walking over to the fuse box, she opened the cover, and raised her hand, waiting until her synchronized watch beeped at her.
Suddenly it did. She flipped all the switches in the box, and heard panic erupt upstairs. They would be coming down here soon. Then her watch beeped again, signalling the end of lights out, and she flipped them all back on.
Makoto ran upstairs, and out of the door before any guard could even look at her. Starting her car, she drove back to the rented beach house.
**************
When the lights went out Hotaru was ready. She put her eye on the eyepiece, aimed, and fired, shooting Brazil's ambassador dead in the heart.
Emotionlessly, she backed out of the duct, to drop next to Daea, who moved and screwed the cover back on with an electric screwdriver. Then the lights came back on.
"Let's go." Hotaru said, and Daea nodded her agreement.
They ran down the hall at top speed, ducking back into the attic. Hotaru quickly threw her rope back out the window, and let Daea climb down first.
Then she released the hook, and tossed down her gun. Bracing herself, Hotaru flipped over the window pane head first, and did a neat tumble onto the ground below.
Daea offered her hand, and pulled Hotaru up. Breathless, they ran to the SUV, and got in. Daea drove away before any car checks were authorized.
"Mission... accomplished..." Hotaru panted out.
*************
AN: That's it for now! What did you think of it? Is it good? Please review. Lots of reviews. Review multiple times under different anonymous name if that's what it takes. Anything to boost my ego! NO! I'm just kidding. ^_^ Anyway, lemme know what you think.
Hehehe... I didn't tell you who Hotaru was talking to in her flashback. I'm so evil. ^_~ I try, ya know. It was hard for me not to say his name... I wanted to so bad!
