Shattered Reality Part 8
Cracked Glass
by
Sailor Janus
Hotaru could not believe her eyes. She was too late; Relena Peacecraft had been successfully assassinated. Slowly the girl lowered her gun, sinking to her knees, as she watched a small crimson puddle grow on the stage. The screams of the audience were barely audible to Hotaru. All she could see was the lifeless body of the pacifist princess. 'I was too late Damn it.'
*~*~*~*
The four ex-gundam pilots stared in horror. That did not just happen. Relena Peacecraft, the one true symbol of peace, did not just die.
"Relena... she's dead," Trowa managed to whisper as Quatre shook his head in denial.
"But, why?! How could someone have just murder Relena?!" the blonde shouted, near tears.
"Who killed her? It wasn't Hotaru was it? I mean she did freak out, but..." Duo began to say, but froze, it was just too eerie that Relena was now dead.
"She did not deserve to die that way. Relena was practically robbed," Wufei quietly spoke with his head bowed.
*~*~*~*
Heero could not believe it. Relena Peacecraft was dead. There was no way a person with that much blood loss could have survived. It didn't feel real for some reason. The first time he met the blonde, he wanted to kill her but couldn't. In fact, he tried several times, but could never pull the trigger. Heero knew that she was once infatuated with him if not in love and though it may have seemed he felt the same at times, he knew he was unable of possessing those feelings, they simply could not exist. Not to mention the fact that Relena seemed to only want to change him irked Heero.
Nonetheless, she was pure-hearted and only wanted what was best for the world, even when the rest of the world did not seem to agree with her.
He couldn't think of the past any longer. Right now, he needed to find Hotaru and get them all out, but somehow, Heero lost sight of the dark-haired girl. "Great, where the hell did she go?"
Suddenly, he saw the girl, sitting on her knees looking bewildered at the stage where everyone was fussing about Relena's dead body. Quickly he walked up to her.
"Get up."
Slowly, Hotaru turned her head, finding herself staring up at the Perfect Soldier. "Heero, I tried to stop them. I didn't kill Relena Peacecraft, I swear," she quickly defended herself as the boy hauled her up to her feet by the arm.
Swiftly, he led her to the other pilots, still gripping her arm. "I know you shot the assassin. He fired twice, and you fired once."
The girl blinked at him. "You believe me?"
"I don't know, but something is not right here. We need to leave, now," Heero said calmly as they walked up to the other four teens, which had stunned expressions on their faces. "This was too neatly done."
Hotaru nodded her head in agreement. "It was Project: Red Dove. The dove represents peace and the red is blood or a killed dove. Project kill Peacecraft was accomplished before our very eyes. I just figured it out too late."
The four ex-pilots looked surprised when they saw Heero almost dragging Hotaru up to them.
"Hotaru didn't, did she?" Quatre asked wiping his face. He hated to see anyone die like Relena did. At least it was quick, and hopefully painless.
"No. She killed the murderer. We just witnessed the accomplishment of Project: Red Dove. The death of Relena Peacecraft," Heero grimly said. "We need to get out of here."
Casually the six teens began to head towards the door, as to not draw attention to themselves. Trowa and Wufei were leading the way with Heero still tightly gripping Hotaru's arm in the center and Quatre and Duo taking up the rear.
Once outside the groups separated into two, agreeing to meet at Heero and Duo's apartment as they parted with very few words said between them.
*~*~*~*
Each car was silent. Even the talkative braided-haired ex-pilot was at lost for words. There had to have been more to Relena's death than a simple assassination.
Hotaru felt like she was walking in a deep fog. Nothing seemed real anymore. It was as if she was in a dream world and would awake any moment. If only she could wake up from this nightmare.
Deciding that they really needed to get their minds off of what they witnessed, Duo reached over and turned on the radio. Just as Heero was about to protest, a special news report began, nearly causing the dark blue-eyed teen to swerve off the road.
"This just in. Officials are on a look out to apprehend the suspects in charge with the murder of the Prime Minister of ESUN, Relena Peacecraft, during her peace summit. Witnesses say a dark-haired young woman ran up to the stage and fired twice, killing Peacecraft instantly before turning her gun on a guard, slaughtering him as well. From there the woman left with five young gentlemen. Ages are said to range from late teens early twenties. Please approach these individuals with caution. They are said to be armed and dangerous."
"What the hell?! I didn't kill Miss Relena Peacecraft!" Hotaru gaped, feeling outraged.
Duo looked equally pissed off, as Heero carefully pulled over to the side of the road, placing the car in park. "What a load of bull shit! We did not partake in her assassination!"
"Shh, there's more," the stoic teen said. 'Please don't let this be what I think it is.' Unfortunately, he was correct.
"I have word that the suspects have been identified as Trowa Barton, male, age 19; Duo Maxwell, male, age 19; Hotaru Tomoe, female, age 18; Quatre Winner, male, age 19; Chang Wufei, male, age 19; and Heero Yuy, male, age 19. Please approach..."
Quietly Heero turned the radio off. No one knew what to say at this point. They had names, and probably pictures as well. Since when did hell come to earth?
"Now, what? We are wanted criminals," Duo, sighed as he stared wide-eyed at the radio. This can't be reality. What the hell just happened?
"We'll go back to the apartment as we said, and figure things out from there," Heero calmly said, as he put the car into drive and sped off.
*~*~*~*
Finally the black car settled in front of the tall apartment complex which Heero and Duo both reside in. The others would arrive any second unless of course they ran off the road due to the unpleasant news broadcast.
Carefully, the dark-haired girl climbed out of the car, still feeling weak from the shock. Hopping out after her was the chestnut brown-haired teen who began racing towards the apartment he calls home. Last was Heero, who was walking rather briskly towards Hotaru, and once again took the girl by the arm practically, dragging her up the steps.
At this moment, the car containing Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei had parked in the visitor's lot. Curiously, they watched Heero and Hotaru leave, before they too began up the stairs towards the apartment.
*~*~*~*
Duo just about spit out a mouth full of cola as the Perfect Soldier slammed the door open. Quietly he watched his friend pull the violet-eyed girl into the room, and shove her back against the wall, pinning her against the flat surface by her shoulders.
"Heero!"
"Shut up Duo," the blue-eyed teen snarled before directing his attention back to Hotaru who was staring at him completely emotionless. "What the hell kinds of games are you playing?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," the girl softly answered as she watched the other three ex-pilots enter the room. Luckily Duo motioned for them to not say a word as they watched in horror as their friend interrogated the girl further.
Heero narrowed his gaze at the teenaged girl as he clutched her arms tighter. "Don't play innocent with me. You knew they were planning on killing Relena Peacecraft, didn't you? Didn't you?! Answer me!"
"No, I did not. I knew just as much about that project as you did," Hotaru calmly answered. She knew it would be very simple to free herself from the frustrated ex-pilot's grasp, but for some reason, didn't bother. The dark-haired girl didn't have the drive to do it anyway, not to mention, the results would be rather painful on Heero's behalf and that was not her goal.
"Liar." Heero growled as he brought his face closer to the point where Hotaru could feel his hot breath on her face.
"I am telling you the truth. I tried to stop the killer but I was too late."
The Perfect Soldier stared into Hotaru's violet eyes as he shook his head. "No, you conveniently killed him which gave cause to frame us successfully. The 'I want revenge,' has been nothing more than an act, wasn't it? Wasn't it?!"
"No! I am sorry that Relena Peacecraft was killed. I am sorry all of you have been accused of her murder. I am sorry all of our lives right now are in the crapper, but I am not sorry for deceiving Iron Fist and joining you guys. If only you'd believe me," the girl firmly said as she began shaking a little. "I was nothing more than a pawn, a useless game piece for them to manipulate at will. Once I broke free, everything began to change. I now have control over my own destiny."
Hotaru dropped her eyes to the floor as she continued. "I tried to stop her assassination. Unfortunately, I realized what Red Dove stands for too late. Please listen to me when I say that I had no part in her death." Taking a deep breath the girl raised her gaze back to Heero's cold eyes as well as to the small audience. "I am still willing to offer my aid if you will accept it despite the way I've been treated."
The other pilots appeared as if they would say yes, but the Perfect Soldier was much more stubborn.
"Bull shit. I should have the right mind to blow your head off."
Hotaru stared deep into his eyes. "Then why don't you? Is it because you are worried about getting blood on the carpet or because you are afraid of being wrong?"
"Damn you," he growled as Hotaru held her gaze into Heero's deep sapphire blue eyes.
"Too. Late. I've already been damned enough for everyone in this apartment."
Heero blinked at the teenaged girl's words, slightly faltering. There was something about her eyes. Then he realized it. She did not care. She was trying to find a purpose for her existence since she no longer was consent to completing her given mission. 'Could that be why she is so compelled to work with us or is there another objective?'
"You don't even want to know what kind hell I have been through, let alone survive it. I am quite amazed that I am still breathing today with all those damn tests, experiments, and what they call training. I don't think broken bones are a normal part of training, do you?" Hotaru looked away, as she ended her speech. "Believe me when I say, that I no longer want to be affiliated with that hell hole, they call a federation. I'd rather die in a meat grinder than go back there."
The room fell completely silent as the girl stared at the pale blue carpet. She was tired of arguing and tired of the memories she was constantly plagued with. For once, she wanted no more than to be trusted without being used in the process.
Heero relaxed his grip, slowly backing away from the girl who appeared completely lost. He didn't know what to say or even do at this point. There were so many unanswered questions that it was driving him crazy.
Hotaru slowly slumped down the wall to the floor as she wrapped her arms around herself. Her dress was already torn so why should she care about wrinkles anyway?
"Um, guys, they have pictures too," Duo announced, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Quickly everyone excluding the girl, raced for the television set and sure enough, all six of their faces were plastered on the screen.
"Can someone explain to me what the hell just happened?!" Wufei angrily shouted looking more than a little upset.
"They have gained control," Hotaru quietly said as she rose to her feet, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
"What?" Trowa asked as they turned to face the girl.
"They have gained control. Think about it. Many pacifist leaders have been killed through the years; I myself have been the cause of several. This wasn't plotted over night; it's been a plan that took years of development. Nothing in the last few years that has occurred was coincidental. Everything was arranged for a reason and reality is shattering as we know it."
The blonde nodded his head in agreement. "Hotaru does have a very valid point. This wasn't just a simple murder, but a part of something very big. This question is, what is the master plan?"
"My guess is world domination," the dark-haired boy with the deep blue eyes simply answered.
"Of course the old, 'Rule the world' gag. Doesn't it get a little old?'" the chestnut brown-haired ex-pilot muttered, rolling his eyes in disgust.
"So, what now? They'll probably investigate our whereabouts which means it'd be a good idea to leave the city, but where exactly can we go?" the Chinese teen said, feeling concerned for all of their well-beings. The pilots have been persecuted before, but not for the cause of murder. Punishment may be more severe than that of a rebel.
"Damn it! This worked out pretty convenient for them. Since they couldn't kill us, why not blame us?" Duo grumbled as he sat on the arm of the couch with is arms crossed.
Quatre shook his head. "They probably still want to eradicate us though. It'll just be easier if everyone else is out on the search as well."
"We leave. Everyone pack a bag or two and meet back here in an hour. We'll take the van," the Perfect Soldier decided as the others nodded in agreement.
"It would possibly be wise to alter our appearances somewhat," Trowa suggested. "Especially since there is probably a manhunt out for us."
"I think I have a few ideas as far as that goes," Hotaru quietly said. "Change into something you normally never wear and make sure you have either a hat or sunglasses as well as a jacket. We may have to trade clothes around."
*~*~*~*
"Hey Heero! Which sunglasses are better?" Duo asked holding up two pairs as he walked into the kitchen where his friend had a mix of clothes and weapons spread out on the table.
"Either. Now leave me alone. I still need to figure out how to get everything I need in this bag." the boy said, uninterested as he concentrated on his bigger concern.
The chestnut brown-haired teen grinned sheepishly as he replied, glancing around the room. "Oh, sorry. Hey, where's Hotaru?"
"Changing in my room."
At that moment, the mentioned girl walked out into the kitchen carrying her torn, wrinkled dress and was now clad in a pair of dark blue jeans, a dark blue long sleeved-shirt and a black hooded zip-up sweatshirt with white sneakers. "Sorry, for taking so long," she simply apologized, throwing her dress in one of her bags. It wasn't stained so Hotaru could still probably repair it.
Heero nodded his reply when suddenly the doorbell rang. Exchanging glances, the three teens moved towards the door, and peered through the peephole. Relieved, they discovered it was only Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei.
"Any trouble?'" the Perfect Soldier asked as he let them in.
"Surprisingly, no," the tall green-eyed boy answered dropping his gray duffle bag to the ground.
The blonde Arabian looked sadly as his friends, swinging his own tan bag to the carpeted floor. "I still can't believe this is happening."
All the faces in the room appeared either gloomy, or unreadable as they nodded their heads in agreement. One thing was for sure; the tension was extremely thick.
Hotaru stood quietly, as she pulled her dark hair up into a ponytail. 'This is my entire fault. If only I could have figured out what Red Dove meant earlier, and shot that asshole before he killed Relena, we wouldn't have to run.'
"Trowa, give your coat to Duo and Duo tuck your braid under it," the girl ordered as her eyes shifted from one boy to the other.
"What?" both teens said in unison.
Hotaru sighed, "Trowa's coat is long enough to hide the end of Duo's braid, this way he won't stick out because of it."
Obediently, The green-eyed ex-pilot removed his tan trench coat and tossed it to Duo who accepted it, pulling the long coat on. Amazingly, it actually worked perfectly.
The dark-haired girl also had a few more ideas for the boys which resulted in a few protests but eventually everyone ended up satisfied with their new look, consisting of Heero ending up in a white sweater thrown over his green tank top, with light blue jeans, his dark blue jacket and a black hat which pulled his long bangs out of his face since he refused the hair gel.
Duo had to change into a long sleeved black T-shirt, with Trowa's tan coat and a pair of black jeans. Quatre now had on a red sweatshirt underneath a dark denim jacket with dark blue jeans and his bangs parted in the center. Wufei, had to wear a white long sleeved shirt, navy blue sweatpants along with a blue hat. Trowa was last one for the makeover, which resulted in his bangs completely, gelled off his face, a green sweatshirt, and khakis.
"It'll have to do," Hotaru decided as everyone picked up their bags and headed outside.
*~*~*~*
The van was extremely quiet other than Duo snoring in the back. Everyone was both exhausted and on edge, especially Trowa who was given the duty of driving them to the Preventer's Headquarters. The ex-pilots knew Sally Po and Lady Une believed the teens were framed. From there, they will have to find some other place to go since searching the Headquarters for the five boys and one girl, was logical enough since three of them had positions there to begin with.
Suddenly, just as the van pulled in towards the parking lot of the Preventer's Headquarters, the building erupted into a huge explosion throwing shards of glass and chunks of concrete and shrapnel everywhere as the six teens gaped in horror.
"HOLY SHIT!" Duo, who was awakened by the detonation, yelled as Trowa quickly backed the van up, tires squealing, to get them out of harm's way as the demolished building began to collapse in front of them.
"This can't be happening," Quatre softly said from the passenger seat, watching the tall building crumbled to the ground. Flames soon scorched whatever was still standing, while thick black smoke bellowed into the air, rising higher in the sky.
"Guess we don't have to worry about going into work for awhile," the chestnut brown-haired teen grimly said.
Heero growled as he stared at the building, or what was left of it. 'What the hell is happening? Why are these people after us?'
Trowa parked in a safe location as Wufei quickly dialed Sally on his cell phone. Suddenly his face fell as he stumbled over his own words, "It-it's not going through. You don't think they were in there do you?"
No one answered. First Relena was murdered, then the ex-pilots were framed, and now their safe shelter had been destroyed, no one even wanted to think of the possibility that more lives may have been claimed.
"We better get out of here now. The authorities will be here any moment, and for us to be on the premises when we have been accused of murder is not a bright idea." Hotaru quietly said. 'It's happening. Damn them.'
Heero nodded his head, surprised that he was actually coinciding with the girl who presumably confused him more by the minute. "I have to agree with Firefly. Trowa get us out of here."
With that, the circus performer set the car back into drive, and sped off, leaving the destroyed building to continue it's doomed destiny to become nothing more than a pile of ashes and rubble.
*~*~*~*
Determining that food would be the best idea, Trowa parked in front of a small grocery store, so they could grab a few items, in case they were not able to safely find a place to eat at. However, the van was not the most peaceful place since everyone was still highly nervous and aggravated. In fact, everything fell to pieces once Trowa, Hotaru, Quatre, and Heero, arrived back at the van from the store, exploding into a large fight fueled by everyone's rage and fears.
"Hey! Will you stop insulting me!" Duo shouted heatedly as the quartet climbed into the van, glaring at the Chinese teen.
"But it's the truth," Wufei sneered at the braided-haired teen who had a disgusted look on his face.
"Will you two calm down," Trowa asked which sounded more like an order, rolling his eyes.
The onyx-eyed ex-pilot however was so angry that he was willing to lash out at anyone who even challenged him, "Oh look! He actually talks!"
"Wufei..." Heero said almost threateningly, growing sick of the boy's attitude.
Wufei instead snickered, "What are you going to do, Yuy? Shoot me? Kill me? Mr. Perfect Soldier!"
"Shoot him Heero!" Duo yelled, still pissed off about the insults as the stoic teen fumed, grabbing Wufei by the collar of his shirt.
"Duo! Heero! Stop it!" Quatre shouted as he dropped a plastic bag of food consisting mainly of prepackaged goods such as crackers and juice boxes, in the back.
The American instead smirked, "What are you gonna do Quatre? You're the peace lover, oh wait, she's dead AND SCREWED US ALL OVER! Are you gonna go insane again or something?"
The blonde narrowed his gaze at the irate boy. "At least I don't LOOK LIKE A GIRL!"
"Yeah, well you act like one," Duo challenged back resulting in Quatre punching him hard in the face bruising the chestnut brown-haired teen's jaw and giving him a fat lip.
Hotaru stared at Heero, Wufei, and Trowa insulting each other as Duo and Quatre began swinging fists. 'This is so inane! Why can't they see that fighting with each other is not going to help our damn situation in the least bit?' The violet-eyed girl had enough with the senseless brawling. "Will all of you knock it off?" she shouted, attempting to stand up without hitting her head on the low ceiling of the van.
"Stay out of this!" the fighting ex-pilots yelled to the girl who glared at them as she hopped out of the frenzied vehicle.
"Fine. If you people can't keep your heads on then I guess I'll go," the girl spat as she stomped away from the van filled with teenaged boys who were completely losing control.
"Damn, she's right. We are battling the wrong people," Heero sighed as he let go of Wufei's shirt. At this time, everyone else calmed down, realizing how stupid they were acting.
"Should go after her?" Duo asked as he rubbed his swelling jaw.
"Yes. Firefly is just as wanted for murder as the rest of us," the Perfect Soldier said as he jumped out of the van followed by the others who felt equally guilty for making the girl leave.
"Hey, Hotaru! Wait up!" Quatre called out from across the parking lot when suddenly a large van came out of nowhere, screeching to a halt in front of the girl who stared in terror before she began racing away from it.
The boys rushed to other side, making it just in time, to see Hotaru trying to fight off five men. Quickly, they sprinted towards the fight when two more vans pulled up in front of them, blocking their rescue attempt.
"Damn it. Now what?" Heero muttered as ten huge guys climbed out of the new vans.
"Oh Crap," Duo cursed, realizing that things were about to get a whole lot worse.
*~*~*~*
Hotaru tried to hold her own, but these guys were huge. 'If only I had a weapon or two,' she thought, spinning into a back kick, knocking wind out of one guy followed by a side kick, tossing him to the ground, finishing the job.
As she completed her attack, one of the bulky men grabbed her from behind. "We have a few issues about you joining those pilots, Firefly. And don't you dare think punishment will be taken lightly," he growled in Hotaru's ear.
The dark-haired girl struggled to loosen the blonde-haired man's grip before quickly bending forward with all her might, throwing the hulk off her.
Before, Hotaru even had time to react; she was kicked in the back, resulting in her skidding to a halt on the pavement. Wincing, she could feel the scrapes on her hands, as tiny pieces of dirt began embedding itself into her skin.
"We don't like traitors and feel you should be taught a lesson," a tall red head leered over her.
Hotaru glared at him, quickly flipping up to her feet. As she turned around she realized that she was completely surrounded. Urgently the girl tried to do a jump split kick, but was forced to the ground by two men who gripped her arms tightly. 'They must have sent reinforcements. Damn them,' she thought, when a sharp pain pierced her neck and soon everything became blurry. With a groan, she collapsed to the hard ground.
*~*~*~*
The five ex-gundam pilots didn't know how much longer they could hold on. 'What are these guys taking? Steroids?' was the common thought coursing through their heads. Normally it was easy taking on two or even three people at the same time no matter their size, but these hulk-like guys were impossible. Each teen was presently a bruised and bloody mess.
Heero swung his head around after being brutally kicked in the gut. Out of the corner of his eye he was managed to see Hotaru in her own battle, but suddenly saw a scene, which made him panic. She had fallen to the ground, and had not gotten up.
The Perfect Soldier was shaken out of his thoughts when one of the men shouted, "Hey! We got the girl! You can kill those five later! We have to go!"
With a final kick or punch, which sent the five teens sailing to the ground in agony, the bulky men left in their vans, speeding off to who knows where.
"Shit! They got her!" Heero shouted as he slammed his bloody fist to ground. The Perfect Soldier had cut his knuckles when he punched one of his attackers in the mouth. The pain didn't even faze him. He had bigger problems to worry about now.
Duo sat up from where he was sprawled out on the ground, gingerly touching his split lip. "And from the sound of it, she's in for a trip to hell."
"Now what?" Wufei warily asked, kneeling on the ground as he wiped the blood off of his face. Things have just gone from bad to worse.
"We have to get Hotaru back. There is probably a very good reason they took her," the Perfect Soldier said with determination in his voice as he stared coldly where the first van was once parked as he thought, 'The question is, what are they planning to do to her? She already stated her life was in danger. Looks like she has proven it. Damn them.'
*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: Thank you for the reviews once again. This is probably one of my favorite stories that I have been writing so I'm glad you all are enjoying it. Can I create suspense or what? And yes, this is the shattered reality I spoke of in my summary; I just couldn't start it out with reality already broken because that is no fun.
Be prepared, because I am going to have quite a few surprises in store, which explains why Hotaru is not everything, she seems to be. The next chapter however is going to be pretty intense, (thus the R rating) so bare with me, because everything happens for a reason in this story. Romance will hit in either Chapter 9 or 10 and will kind of remain from then on.
I'll have the next chapter up around Sun-Tues, depending on if the site is down again. ^_^