Twist of Fate


Chapter 9


By: Kiana Darkk, also known as Lady of the Mystics, and at one time, IceQueen.



AN: GOD! My old name was too long! GRR....... (I guess that's all I have for an author's note right now....) So I changed it. The new one is Kiana Darkk, so like it or don't. (I guess I had more to say...)



Disclaimer: Usual ones apply.











"Mako, are you okay?" Daea asked worriedly, squating down next to her brunette friend so she could be near eye level. A groan was what she received as an answer.



Makoto laid on the hot, gritty sand after taking a spill in order to spike the ball back over the net. "Just gimme a minute...."



"Come on you guys! I'm really starting to have fun now! You can't quit!" Hotaru called from the other side of the net. The black-haired girl stood, tossing the volleyball nonchalantly from hand to hand, wearing a violet shorts/bathing suit. The beginning of sunburn could be seen on her ears and nose. ((Sorry, I'm not up on the fashion lingo...))



With a sigh Makoto got to her feet, and examined the little scratches on her legs from the grainy substance she'd been lying in. "Alright... I'm okay. Let's play." Without another word Hotaru stepped back and served the ball over the net.



Daea took a step forward and smacked it back over the net with a forearm pass. A loud thwap could be heard as the ball came in contact with her delicate skin.



Hotaru responded aggressively by taking a dive in order to hit the ball across to the opposing side. She used the momentum of her fall to turn it into a roll, and sprung back up only milliseconds after she went down.



The ball was coming straight at Makoto in a leisurely arc, so Mako had time to get under the ball and make a set. Daea then stepped in front and neatly spiked the ball over the net. Teamwork at its best..... Thought the albino girl with a quirky smile.



Hotaru forearm passed the ball back over. Things continued like this for about an hour until Makoto's stomach said it was time for lunch. The girls packed up their things, changed into normal clothes, and set off down the main street, looking for an appropriate place to eat.



"So what do you feel for Mako?" Daea asked, squinting against the glare of the sun.



"I'd like Italian personally."



"Pasta or pizza?" Hotaru asked, scanning both sides of the street.



"Pasta. Pizza's too greasy. You know what they say, you are what you eat."



"Daea?" Hotaru prompted.



"Hm?" The girl murmured, a far-off look on her face.



"What do you want to eat?"



"Food, preferably." She replied.



"Very helpful..." Makoto mumbled.



"I'm not a picky eater. I'll eat whatever you put in front of me," Daea said in explanation.



"Oh-kay.... How about this place? It's a cute little family-owned restaurant." Makoto suggested, pointing at a sign hanging outside of a cozy looking restaurant.



"Linda's: An International Foods' Restaurant.. Sounds good to me." Hotaru said after reading the sign.



The three companions walked into the dimly lit restaurant, (Hotaru guessed it was supposed to give it a 'romantic atmosphere,') were shown to seats, and ate. Meanwhile.......











"Take a left turn here. No, not your left! My left!" Duo raved as Heero took another wrong turn. How Duo ended up navigating boggles my mind too, but I guess it's because he called shotgun.



"We'll never get to the hotel at this rate. We'll be driving around like this for the rest of eternity. Ugh. An eternity spent in a car with Maxwell... Why me?" Wufei grumbled from the back seat.



Trowa blinked at his friends' antics, which was a lot more of a reaction than earlier when Duo dumped his suitcase all over the airport terminal.



Heero ground his teeth for the umpteenth time, and finally pulled off to the side of the road. "Everyone shut up," He stated in his coldest voice, the one he usually reserved for psychotic mass murderers, and stacks of paperwork.



The whole car turned deathly silent, you could've heard a cricket chirp a mile away, and in that quiet Heero smiled. "Thank you," He said, "Now, no one in the back seat is to talk at all. Duo you may give directions. Any more talking from you and... omae o korosu." ((I had to put in that line!))



The car remained silent. Heero turned the key in the ignition, bringing the rental car back to 'life,' and ordered Duo to tell him what direction to go from there.



"Take a right at the next stoplight."


Heero drove with Duo giving directions, and Heero's would-be migraine was stopped before it showed up.



The boys got out of the rented BMW, and the parking valet took the keys and parked the car. Their hotel was a nice, classy digs called Le Chateau. It smelled of lemon-scented cleaning supplies, expensive cigarettes, and women's perfume.



Room assignments were drawn out of a hat. Duo would share a room with Trowa, and Wufei would share with Heero. Originally Duo had to share with Wufei, but that idea was scratched off ten minutes later when they two tried to kill each other while unpacking.




Heero took out his laptop and cell phone, and began the hunt for the Immortals almost immediately. Wufei unpacked while H-chan was doing that. Duo went swimming. (Ah, responsible, prioritized Duo.) And Trowa went to help Heero get information on where the Immortals might be.


*********************** 3 hours later



Heero set his phone down with a satisfied click.



" A room at the Hilton is being reserved under the name of Selena Faris," He reported to Trowa.



Trowa stopped his fast paced typing, and signed off of the Internet. "Good. Shall I get Wufei and Duo?"



Heero paused to think. "No. We'll rest for the remainder of today, and go after the Immortals in the morning."



Trowa nodded his assent. "I'll tell the others," He said, and with that, left the room.



*Next Day*



"Mako, get up," Hotaru cried, waving her hands frantically. Her friend remained in her larvae-like state, wrapped up from head to toe in blankets.



"Uh!" Daea cried from outside the room. Suddenly she flew through the door, and took a running leap onto Makoto's bed.



"Ahhhhh!" Makoto cried as she was rudely pulled from her sleep. "Get off, youma!" She roughly pushed Daea back, and the white-haired girl was spilled unceremoniously onto the carpeting.



"What was that for?" Daea asked as she stood up, rubbing her poor bruised butt.


"Sorry," Mako said sheepishly.


Daea smiled sweetly. "Forgiven."


"Now," Hotaru began, "What are we going to do today?"


"Shopping!" Makoto cried. At the same time Daea yelled, "Beach!"


Hotaru looked thoughtful, then suggested that they do both. Shopping first, of course, then the beach.


Makoto took her turn in the bathroom, while the other two girls ate breakfast. When she was done Makoto joined them in the retaining of sustinence.


Then the three girls grabbed all their cash sources, paper, and plastic, and took off for those expensive, designer stores. (Ah, the life of luxury!)


*1 hour later*


"Excuse me, is Ms. Faris here?" Duo asked, polite as he could be. He flashed the woman behind the check-in counter a dazzling smile, and waited patiently for her answer.


She thought for a moment, which seemed to take a lot of effort, and then picked up the phone. "I'll check their room. I'm not sure," She said in a half-wit voice. The woman dialed four numbers, listened for a moment, then hung up.


"No one answered, so no, I guess she isn't here." The woman flashed the bright smile of an airhead at Duo. He smiled back, while internally thinking, what a ditz.


Just as Duo turned to go she scrunched up her tanned face, and called out, "Wait!"


He turned back around and raised a questioning eyebrow.


"I remember now," She giggled, "I saw Ms. Faris and her two friends leaving this morning. They were saying something about going shopping, and then going to the beach."


"Do you know where they were shopping?" Duo asked, glad that the trip wasn't a total waste.


"Probably the downtown area. It has all the good stores," The blond at the counter replied.


"Which beach were they headed to?"


"The Aussie Escape, I'm sure of it. I saw them there yesterday."


Duo smiled again, walked up to the woman, and kissed the back of her hand lightly. "Thank you. You've been an immense help."


The woman blushed and said, "You're welcome."


He walked out of the hotel whistling a happy, little tune. After he got in a van parked out front he smiled. "Guys, the ladies are shopping in the downtown area, and then they are going to The Aussie Escape."


Wufei snorted derisively through his nose. "It's just like a baka onna to go shopping."


"Yeah, but we still have them. Now we just need to get some artillery," Heero said. With that they drove off to prepare for their encounter with the Immortals.


*3 hours later*


The girls, or the Immortals, were once again at the beach. Makoto was lying on a beach towel, suntanning. Hotaru sat nearby reading a diary from the Eve Wars. Daea, however, was at the nearby bar, the Aussie Escape, getting drinks for everyone.


"Um.. yeah. Can I get a gin and tonic, a regular margarita, and a... Pina Colada?" She asked the bartender, pausing to think about her own order.


"Sure. It'll be right up." The bartender, a handsome man in his late thirties, moved away to get her drink order.


Daea sat on one of the cute barstools and waited impatiently for her drinks. She looked around at the other people present. Most of them were couples. Gross! She thought to herself. Couples were so..... coupley.

There were four guys sitting near to each other, talking quietly. Probably two gay couples, she thought darkly.

Suddenly, as though he could feel her gaze, one of them looked up at her. He was very hot looking, tan, asian. He was dressed simply in a Hawaiian shirt, and blue shorts.

With a shock she realized it was Wufei, the Preventer who'd tried to stop her from stealing the scroll, and from escaping HQ. That must mean.... Oh, no.

"Here ya go. I'll add it to yer tab," The bartender said as he set down a tray with the three drinks on it. "Uh huh," She answered dumbly.

Daea broke eye contact with Wufei, picked up her tray, and tried to walk back to her waiting friends nonchalantly.

When she got there both girls were reclining on towels. Daea set down the tray on a nearby cooler, and cleared her throat.
She hesitated as two pairs of eyes locked on her, but went ahead anyway.

"Guys, we have a problem."

~Hotaru's POV~

"What do you mean, a problem?" I said in my iciest voice.

"Preventers are here. I saw them at the bar," Daea said, her voice quivering with the fear that her body didn't show.

"Oh my God," I heard Makoto mutter.

"We need to get out of here. Calmly pack up your things, and return to the hotel. From there we'll go to the airport, and catch a flight out," I ordered.

"You won't be going anywhere," A voice above us said.

~Wufei's POV~

Three startled pairs of eyes looked up at us. I could practically see the surprise coming from them in waves.

"Now gentlemen," The black-haired one said in a sing-song voice, "You never know what the future holds."

In an instant Heero was over the railing I was leaning on with his gun drawn. The barrel was pointed directly at the black-haired one.

I saw Daea move to block most of the innocent by-standers' view of the gun. She wanted to keep them from panicing, I guessed.

"Put away the gun," I heard. I turned slightly to see the auburn-haired one holding a gun pointed at Heero. He might be able to get off a shot, but he'd be undoubtedly dead after that.

"Better do what she says," The black-haired one said, "She'll put away her gun once he does."

"How do we know that you're telling the truth?" Duo asked, always the skeptical street-wise kid.

"I give you my word. That should be enough," The black-haired one stated.

Heero slowly withdrew his gun and put it wherever it had come from. It had to be somewhere uncomfortable because the swimming trunks he was wearing didn't have many hiding spots.

The brown-haired girl put away her gun as soon as Heero did. Honor among thieves, I noted, slightly amused.

"Why are you here?" Daea asked.

"You're under arrest," Duo began, "For several accounts of murder, and grand theft."

"No, not murder," Daea said, shaking her head.

"Killing people is not murder?" Trowa asked. I had to admit, I was surprised. Duo said something serious, and Trowa spoke, period.

"No. Those were justice," Daea answered. I was angry. How dare she disguise cold-blooded killings as justice?!

"No matter what they were," I found myself saying, "You're still under arrest."

"You have to know we won't go willingly," The black-haired one stated. She seemed to be some kind of unspoken leader between them.

"We know." Heero stated. I realized that he was counting on a fight. Probably dying for one. It'd been awhile since his last true challenge.

"I propose a compromise," The black-haired one said.

"What kind?" I asked.

"A volleyball game," She said. I heard Daea trying to stifle her giggles.

"The first one to ten points wins," The auburn-haired one said.

"What do we win?" Duo asked.

"You win, we turn ourselves in. We win, you let us go, and... take us out to dinner." The black-haired one stated. At this Daea could hold back her laughter no longer. She burst out with a fit of giggles. Very girlish. Very un-killer like.

"No deal." Heero said in his usual monotone.

"No?" The black-haired one asked, raising an eyebrow. "Then we'll have to fight in public."

"You don't want bad publicity do you?" The brown-haired one asked. The look in her eyes was truly something else. It made me want to agree to the volleyball game.

"I agree," I heard myself say. Was that really just me?

"Me too," Duo said. No surprise that he agreed.

Heero and Trowa locked eyes, silently communicating. Whatever was said, I'm glad it was. Heero nodded his agreement finally and so did Trowa.

"Goodie!" Daea cried, jumping up and down. The act was very childish, I found myself thinking, not homicidal.

"I'll go get the supplies," The brown-haired one said, "Would one of your Preventers care to join me?" Trowa nodded, and walked off with the auburn-haired girl.

I found myself thinking on what an interesting and different mission this was turning out to be.



AN: That's it for now! Chapter 10: The Volleyball Game! Please review! I worked extra hard on this to make it a good chapter, just to make up for my little crappy half-chapter last time. Not even half!