Heartless Joy
Chapter 8, HelloBy: SilverRose82
It's short, it sucks but you know what I don't really care. It's over. Not exactly like I wanted to end it, but I wanted to get it finished. I'm not sorry for leaving this story to sit in the dust. No one read it anymore and no one really cared. But the stupid thing is done and that's all I really need to know. Now I can focus on my new and upcoming stories without a sort of guilt for not finishing this one.
So, no, this is not my best work, my best work would have to be A Bed of Stars, which I am extremely proud of.
~*~
Months had past since Leitha had declared war against ESUN. Serena, so not to give away that she and Ben were betraying Sanc kingdom, made trips down to the Preventer's headquarters' every so often to speak with people. Her first encounter with Lady Une after war had been declared had left the once OZ Lieutenant silent for a good few minutes after the Gundam pilot had left her office. Une had then declared that L6 and L7 were in no way connected to Leitha and were to be left alone for fear of making them attack out of protection.
Life was just beginning to turn back to normal when Heero Yuy found a disturbing piece of information; one that even he knew had been left unguarded for one of the pilots to find. Glaring at his printer Heero was forced to wait as the machine presented him with a still warm piece of paper. Reading over the letters once more he made his way towards Lady Une's office knowing that the older woman would want to see what he had found.
"This is impossible. Are you sure its not a fake piece of data?" Une asked as she read over the letter Heero had presented her with. The writing was familiar to her as she tried to place who she knew who spoke like this, not able to make a connection she placed the white paper on her desk and looked up at Heero. The dark haired pilot gazed at her, he knew as well as she did that the information he had found would no doubt lead then into a trap. "Well, which ever this is we must follow any lead we are given. I want you and the others, plus a handful of other preventers and soldiers to go to L6 and see if you can get into the colony."
"Mission Accepted." Heero toned as he turned to leave the room, he walked towards the offices where the other four pilots worked and told them only the basics before leaving for his own office. Moving to download any information he would need he smirked silently to himself before turning his laptop off. Some how Heero knew that this would be his last mission, he would not make it out of that base alive.
Duo knocked on the doorframe to let Heero know that he was there, the violet eyes pilot gazed heavily on his friend as he tried to read what Heero was thinking. The prussian eyes pilot gazed up from his computer screen as he watched Duo walk into his office, his eyes landing on the desk beside him, where a normal comment would have come should Ben still had been there.
"When are we leaving?" Duo asked as he stood before Heero's desk, all the pilots seemed apprehensive over the upcoming mission. The information had come to them to easily, and though the ones that would be going with them would not be told, it was a suicide mission. They were going to walk straight into a trap and there would be nothing that they could do about it, an order was an order.
"Tonight, Midnight." Heero told him as he continued to shut down the other few computers in his office; turning to look back at Duo he shook his head. "She is your weakness, Duo, and now she is your enemy. Can you be trusted to kill her if the need arises?"
"I don't know." Duo whispered as he turned to gaze at the floor, in all his life Duo had never had to make a choice like he was going to be faced with later that night. The auburn pilot watched as Heero stood up, Duo watched Heero's eyes and knew that his friend wasn't planning on coming back. None of the pilots planned to make it out of the L6 base alive, the base was notorious for its murderous nature with soldiers and stowaways. "Heero let me go after her you've got someone to come home to."
"No." Heero grunted out as he lifted up his gun case, pulling out his semi-automatic colt he grabbed a single magazine to load. Duo watched in silence as his friend silently signed his death warrant, nodding Duo knew he would not be able to change his friends mind.
"Alright, I see you tonight then." Duo sighed as he turned to leave the room, Heero didn't even gaze up at his friend as he clutched the magazine in his hand. Releasing his hold on the magazine Heero locked and loaded his gun, closing the clasps of his gun case he placed his gun in its holster before walking out of the room defiantly.
~*~
"So, Heero, how have you enjoyed the base so far?" Serena asked with a smirk as she gazed intently at the man before her, her eyes having darkened to a darkness that even Heero found eerie. In the pale yellow light of the hall he could see the gleam of her dagger as she shifted it around in her hand. Heero stared straight ahead not wanting to get caught in whatever trap the female pilot was setting up.
"Hn."
"Oh, well that's nice, I do so hope you're not afraid of the dark, because strange things lurk in the shadows when the lights are off." Serena whispered in a seductive tone, as the lights above them flickered once before dying, bathing the two in total darkness. Heero could hear nothing as he tried to locate Serena, hoping that he would be able to outsmart her. He was the Perfect Soldier, but she was the Heartless Soldier, the Ice Soldier. Turning around at a sudden noise behind him he watched as a single blue emergency light was flickering its light glow at the end of the hallway. His eyes widened slighting when he saw Serena standing below the blue glow, her eyes still gazing at him as she held a knife to the light connection, she smirked darkly before slice through the wire bathing the hall into darkness once more. "Hope you told Hotaru that you loved her, because no one is leaving this base alive Yuy. Especial you."
Heero gazed into the darkness, his eyes had yet to become use to the pitch-black corridor he was standing in. Shaking his head his dismissed her words, he was the Perfect Soldier and he never failed a mission. Once his eyes had become use to the darkness around him, Heero slowly began to make his way towards the end of the hall where he knew Serena had been last. Once he reached the corner he listened for any noise of life, all he could hear was the distant sound of running and commands being called out by squad leaders. Grunting Heero began to move left, his right hand against the wall as he trying to find his way out of the maze he had entered with the others. His eyes darkened as he remembered the massacre that had taken place the moment the soldiers were out of the ships.
The whole operation had been carefully planned; there had been two men to each of his one. He had watched with dead eyes as his men were torn in two by the laser rifles, the once spotless steel floor had been covered in crimson blood. He had faintly heard Quatre cry out as he watched the manslaughter accrue before him. But his eyes had locked onto the familiar figure of Serena, her black cat suit clung to her figure as her ever long gold hair danced around her body. Her face was void of emotions save for the dangerous smirk that graced her lips as she baited him to come after her, and Heero Yuy had fallen right into her little trap. He left the docking bay not alerting Quatre to his movements or allowing for any of the other pilots to follow after him.
His battle was with Serena and Serena alone, she had made it clear during their last encounter that she wanted to battle him, knowing that he was still bitter against all the times she had embarrassed him. Every time she had come out on top while he had fallen in second place. The two pilots had never gotten along, not even when the two were told to go on a mission together and she had allowed Heero to order her into taking DeathScythe out into battle instead of getting her gundam. It had been for reasons of logic and not from respect, the two may have understood each other because of their training but a Perfect Soldier and an Ice Soldier could never mix, never corporate with one another. It was a mutual understanding that they would have to get along before everyone else, rules that they had set the night she had first shot him.
Shaking his head he knew that he would have to be mentally ready for whatever plans Serena had for him, there was no telling what the female pilot would do to him if she caught him off guard. He had a slight idea from her earlier words that he would be meeting up with a creature of the reptilian breed.
~*~
"I do keep my promises, Yuy. Fair trade, a life for a life. You kill me, I kill you." Serena whispered as she looked up at Heero, her black colt pistol had been tossed aside after she had fired off a round in his direction. The free fire had hit its mark, and Heero could only scold as he lifted his blood-covered hand to his face, the liquid was sticky as he rubbed his fingers together. This wasn't like the times where he had reset his own bones, the times he had jumped from buildings with simple bullet wounds; this one had hit its mark. Both pilots knew that single fire would enable time, precious time, free fire was the only way to insure that they would hit their mark. And both of them had, Serena took in a ragged breath before she dropped to her knees, in her left hand was her knife, free of crimson blood, a knife she had refused to use but in defense.
Heero glared at her before he lowered his hand, his own body slacked as he slid down the pristine white walls of the compound a crimson trail followed his slouching figure. There was no reason to him to try and go after her, even in her weakened state, she still possessed the only weapon between the two and she would fight him to the death. While both could handle bullet wounds, how would they be able to handle bullet wounds to the upper chest, puncturing lungs, tearing through arteries, lodging close to the heart.
"I never told her." Heero spoke suddenly as Serena looked up at him through dull eyes, her hands supporting her body weight as a puddle of blood formed by her knees. Her hair surrounded her figure a bright ray of light against a dreary backdrop and reality. Spitting out blood Serena took in another ragged breath as she tried vainly to keep oxygen in her lungs, the metallic smell reaching her nose as her hand glazed the sticky liquid.
"She knows." Serena told him truthfully, as she eyed the silver dagger in her hands, leaning back on her knees she lifted the blade up to study it closely. Her eyes glazing over as she smiled softly to herself, turning to look over at Heero once more a true smile appeared on her lips as she slowly stood on weak limbs. Heero watched as she slowly began to steady herself with a nearby wall, bloody handprints were left as she slowly made her way towards Heero, the knife being used to dig into the wall rather than getting used to try and attack him. But Heero knew that with another soldier trained as him, trusting another was never allowed. Pulling his own form up he glared the shorter soldier down, but her eyes weren't focused on him as she brushed past him and continued to slowly make her way down the corridor.
It was the final walk of a dead man, Heero noted, she knew she would not be able to be saved, but she knew that she should not just give in. Following after her, Heero had to smirk as he watched where she was leading him, abide slowly, towards the docking bays. Clutching his chest Heero followed after her, both soldiers knowing that their time was slowly coming to an end.
~*~
Duo, Quatre and Trowa stared out at the docking bay; bodies littered the floor like bugs. Trowa sighed to himself as he watched and waited for anyone to appear before them. Out of the fifty some officers they had brought with them, only they were left, Wufei had lost his life trying to make his way toward one of the firing squads. Quatre clutched the irate Chinese pilot's sword in his hands; blood covered the steel blade dulling the once glistening metal. A slight rustle to their left alerted them to another presence in the silent base, coming out a corridor was Ben his long blonde hair pulled in a tail at the base of his neck some strands of hair having fallen out its confines framed his face. In his arms he carried a prone figure, a silver blade still clutched in the figure's grasp, crimson covered the blade.
Duo gasped for air as he saw whom the figure was, Ben's dark eyes grazed up at them in distaste as he brought the dead form of his partner before them. Her hair cascading over his arms stained in the deep burgundy liquid of her life force, her eyes shut and her skin grey and ashy with signs of death. Quatre turned away as he felt the waves of pain coming from the man standing before them. Duo stepped forward and took the limp body of Serena into his grasp as Ben turned away from them, Quatre moved to reach for him, but Trowa's hand on his shoulder stopped the blonde pilot in his tracks.
Ben left the large docking bay, his combat boots making a familiar clunking sound as his feet hit the metal staircase. He returned seconds later another body within his arms, this time the three pilots could see the strain in his arms as he carried the other body towards the remaining pilots. Trowa grasped Heero's form in his own arms; the dead weight of the pilot of Wing Zero was heavy in his own arms as he forced himself to stay in control.
"Gather any other soldiers you want, this base will be blown in ten minutes regardless of if you're gone or not." Ben told them curtly as he turned abruptly and left the docking bay for a final time. Leaving Quatre stunned and unable to ask him why his own clothes were soaked in blood that had not come from his carrying the two bodies he had brought before them. Trowa having placed Heero's body inside the ships cargo bay for the time being made his way through bodies to find Wufei's own body. There was a deadly silence between the three survivors as he came back to them, Wufei's own crisp white fighting gi stained with blood.
"Lets head back." Trowa told them as he followed Duo and Quatre into the ship, Duo still appeared to be in shock as he held the limp form of Serena. He had been prepared for death, but he had not been able to prepare himself for the death of his best friend. But the death of his best friend and once love interest by the hands of each other he was unable to comprehend. Duo shook his head as he lay the two adversaries by each other, looking over at Trowa he nodded before making his way into the pilot's cabin, Quatre was in no way capable to pilot the ship as he gazed at his three dead comrade and held the knowledge that Ben was going to kill hundreds more because the colonies L6 and L7 could not function without their guardians.
