Shattered Reality Part 13
The Hunt
by
Sailor Janus
Hotaru could not believe her eyes. What the hell happened?! Apparently she had missed a rather brutal fight. Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre appeared pretty badly beat up. 'Wait.... where's Heero? And Duo for that matter?! Damn it! What did I miss?!' she thought, racing toward the fallen guys.
"No, he's gone," the girl breathed as she sprinted up to the Trowa who was still lying on the grass. "Trowa! Trowa, please wake up and tell me what the hell just happened?!" she cried out, slapping the teen across the face, but he didn't respond.
"Give him time Tomoe. We've all pretty much had the beating of our lives," Wufei said wincing due to the excruciating pain emitting from his knee as he numbly stood up.
Hotaru looked remorsefully up at the Chinese teen. Why did everything have to happen at the exact moment she decided to hide their only lead to Iron Fist's plans?! 'Why am I feeling guilt? I have never felt it at this level. What is going on?!'
"They took Heero and Duo. I can't seem to recall too much of what else went on because my head feels so foggy," the blonde weakly announced from the grass next to the mansion as a thin line of blood trickled down the side of his face. "I thought they were after you."
"So did I," the girl muttered as she focused on the large house. Someone was going to severely regret what he or she had done.
The green-eyed teen came to as well, but Hotaru did not even notice. She had something else on her mind. "Hotaru, where are you going?!" Trowa asked, as confusion hit him.
"To find a mouse and make it squeak," she said in a monotone voice while practically stalking towards the mansion. "Go to the tree at the far end of the yard and get my laptop. I need to examine a few more files before concocting a plan."
The three ex-pilots exchanged glances. They knew very well that Hotaru meant business. She had more than successfully demonstrate her lethal abilities.
"From the looks of it, arguing with her would be a very foolish action right now," Quatre sighed as he carefully climbed to his shaky feet. It didn't feel like anything was broken. Hopefully he didn't have a concussion either.
The other two ex-pilots nodded their heads in agreement. "I pity whoever is interrogated by her," Trowa quietly said as they began the short hike to retrieve the girl's computer.
*~*~*~*
Any trace of warmth in Hotaru's violet eyes had long since faded from existence. Her eyes shone darkly with a very apparent malicious light as she swung open the heavy wooden door and stepped inside. It almost appeared the girl was back to her old callous self. The pretty assassin was back, and once again someone was about to scream in pain.
The gas had long since dissipated, this fact the dark-haired teen knew that for certain. The once lovely mansion now lay in complete shambles. Broken glass scattered across the hard wooden floors as bullets holes graced various walls and furniture. 'Who even owns this place better have good insurance,' Hotaru thought as several shards of glass crunched under her boots.
Suddenly, she her a low groan. It was coming from the redhead who threatened to execute the ex-pilots if she didn't surrender. This might be more worthwhile than she previously thought. Too bad he was unfortunate enough to be left behind. Red was about to regret with a dire passion, ever having heard of Iron Fist and the girl who committed treason against them. Hotaru going to guarantee it.
*~*~*~*
Heero slowly opened his eyes but found it near impossible to keep them open. There was a rather unusual sensation running through the inside of his head. 'Damn it. They must have drugged me. Feels really strong, whatever the hell they used,' he managed to decide before an extreme amount of confusion slammed into his thoughts, making it near impossible to function.
The Perfect Soldier heard a moan next him, which sounded remarkably like Duo. He has heard the sarcastic ex-pilot in pain more times than he could remember. The braided-haired teen seemed to have a rather bad habit about not being able to keep his mouth shut.
The last question on Heero's mind before he lost consciousness at the moment was, did they kidnap everyone else and where were they being taken? Deep down he really hoped that they did not find Hotaru. If anyone had to suffer through this whole ordeal, he'd rather it be himself. Somehow, though, the Prussian blue-eyed teen figured that even if Iron Fist was not successful in finding the girl that she would probably be next.
*~*~*~*
It didn't take too much time for Hotaru to locate some duct tape to bind her still incoherent prisoner's hands and feet together, lastly placing a large piece across his mouth as well. From there she managed to lift Red up and constrict him to a hard wooden chair with a rather nice looking bullet hole in the center.
As soon as she firmly secured the massive amounts of tape to the man, he began to gain consciousness. Rather than commence the interrogation now, the dark-haired girl decided to let the Iron Fist guard sweat a little as she inspected the rest of the home for more prisoners before going upstairs to her room, for some well needed supplies.
By the time she returned, Red appeared to be very livid. "I guess you aren't as well liked as you thought. Don't worry. This won't hurt much," Hotaru drawled as she approached the chair and quickly ripped the tape concealing the redhead's mouth that cried out in pain.
"We are going to play a little game. You tell me what I want to know, and I will make the pain minimal," the violet-eyed teen whispered, crossing her arms over her bloodstained shirt.
"Go to hell bitch," the man growled which only made the girl roll her eyes. Torture was not exactly Hotaru's favorite method of gaining information. Hacking was the preferable one, but this moment, she had to use the resources she had. It was the only way she was going to be able to save Heero, Duo, and possibly cease Iron Fist's control.
The girl roughly grabbed Red by the front of his shirt. "Don't mess with me. I can and will make you feel pain beyond your wildest dreams. I am capable of that much and more," she spat in his face. "Question one. Where did they take Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," the man sneered before Hotaru slapped him across the face. "Look I don't know who they took or whatever! I was knocked out because of your damn gas bomb remember?"
Quietly she dropped his shirt, and backed away a foot or two. "Fine. Then where is your headquarters? If you give me a sarcastic answer then I'm going to have to get nasty real fast."
The guard chuckled until his face twisted in agony as the girl took out a gun and fired into his leg above his kneecap. "Shit!"
Hotaru's expression however had not changed. She still possessed the same hard look she had upon entering the mansion. "Perhaps now you will take me seriously. One more time, where is your headquarters?"
At this time, the three ex-pilots entered the room, stunned to find that Hotaru had indeed almost blown the guy's knee off. Of course, foolishly, the man still didn't answer. What Hotaru did next, the teens would probably never forget as they agreed no doubt, that the girl was not someone you wanted to cross.
"I am growing tired of your stubbornness so I shall grant you one last chance. You are going to tell me exactly where your headquarters is or I'm going to make sure it is impossible for you to ever have the ability to pass your genes around and it will hurt like hell," the girl said as she selected a new target to shoot.
Red's eyes grew huge with terror as he stared at Hotaru. If she had the ability to put a bullet in his knee without even a hint of hesitation then she probably wouldn't mind shooting him below the groin as well. The girl aimed her gun straight at his groin level and just before she pulled the trigger, moved the swiftly to the right, sending the bullet speeding into the floor, startling her intended victim.
"ALL RIGHT! DON'T SHOOT!" the Iron First guard shouted as a cold sweat dripped down his face. Hotaru lowered her gun and clicked on the safety as she crossed her arms again, intently ready to hear what the trembling man had to say.
Quatre could not believe his eyes. Hotaru was actually successful in gaining information but still, she appeared very cold and sinister while doing it. Now he understood greatly how she was able to succeed as a killer. "Wow, remind me never to get on Hotaru's bad side!"
'I would have to agree with you on that one,' Trowa thought, nodding his head in agreement. He knew the girl had the capacity to maim and kill a person of her choosing, but actually witnessing it, was still a very surreal experience.
The Chinese teen was in complete shock. 'Was Heero ever this malicious?' he wondered before concluding, 'Perhaps, the two really do deserve each other.'
"Well? I'm waiting," Hotaru said as she glared at the man who shaking tremendously in the wooden chair he was bound to. 'Damn it. I don't have time to wait for you to catch your breath!' she thought while clicking the safety off again.
'Geez! Who the hell is this girl?!' the Iron Fist guard thought as he stared into Hotaru's cold violet eyes. "Fine. You win. The main headquarters is about ninety miles south of here in a building known as Elite Silver, which is found in a remote location outside of Draven City. If they were taken any place, then it was probably there. Happy now?! I gave you what you want!"
Hotaru merely glanced at the guard as she clicked the safety on once again. It was funny how crazy people, particularly men reacted to a certain body part. "Did you guys find my laptop?" she questioned the ex-gundam pilots who were still staring at the Iron Fist Guard, tied to a chair.
"Um, yes," Quatre quickly said as he handed the girl her portable computer. "How did you know that they were taken someplace else and not Station Red?" he inquired as the girl flipped open the computer and quickly turned it on.
"Station Red would be too obvious by now, not to mention that during my rescue mission, Heero and Duo took it upon themselves to load the place with explosives which detonated twenty minutes after you had left the site. I guess you could say they probably like to make things go boom," Hotaru stated as she was about to place the disk containing information on Iron Fist into her disk drive when something else flashed on the screen. "What's this?"
"What?" the green-eyed teen asked as he and the other ex-pilots gazed over the dark-haired girl's shoulder.
Wufei raised an eyebrow at the screen. "You don't know what an email is? And how long have you had that computer?"
Hotaru glared at him before she explained the dilemma. "I know what an email is but whatever it is, was sent to my Code address, which I thought it was deactivated. After I had cut the strings on Iron Fist, it should have gone under obsolete. I do not recognize their address either."
"I guess the only way we'll know is if you open the email," the Arabian shrugged. "I mean, maybe it's just a fluke."
"It is addressed to Firefly and the Gundam Pilots," the violet-eyed girl simply said gaining a few gasps.
The Chinese teen appeared bewildered as he focused at the heading of the email portrayed on the computer screen. "How-how did they know? I mean are they with Iron Fist or is it someone else?"
"Maybe it is Iron Fist asking for a ransom on Heero and Duo," Trowa suggested which only received a headshake from Hotaru as she opened the message and began to read it aloud.
"Dear Firefly and Gundam Pilots. We do mean to alarm you by our sudden contact, but time is of the essence. Please report to the Draven West Edge Warehouse. It is imperative you come for we have something you maybe be very interested in. signed, E," the girl ended as she spun her head around to face the three boys. "Well, this is an interesting turn of events."
"Hn, first Heero and Duo are kidnapped and now this. Do you suppose the two could be linked?" Trowa speculated as he stood up, placing his hand on his chin in thought.
"No. From the sound of it, Stanz is arrogant enough to try physically drag us someplace," Quatre brought up as everyone in turn began to plot what to do next. "I wonder why they only took Heero and Duo but not the rest of us. They certainly had the chance."
Wufei scoffed at the suggestion, crossing his arms in disgust at the whole situation, "Perhaps because they were the ones who both infiltrated Station Red and rescued Tomoe. They probably want revenge."
"Or they are setting a trap for me using them as bait. It's like a human chess game. They have already caught two of my pieces in one single move and now it's my turn to move a playing piece," Hotaru announced as she frantically searched for maps on the locations to the two given destinations.
'Wow, that actually makes sense. They're still after her even after all this time,' the blonde thought as he turned towards the girl that was busily printing on her computer. "So what are you going to do, Hotaru?"
Quickly she tore off the two sheets and handed one to the Quatre. "The queen is going alone. You three are going to see whoever E is and whatever he or she believes we would be interested in."
"What?!" Quatre abruptly shouted as he stared at the girl who began retreating upstairs.
"You're insane Tomoe!" The Chinese teen yelled loud enough that Hotaru could hear even once she had entered her room.
*~*~*~*
'They won't understand now, but later they will. First I need to change out this shirt. The blood on it is nauseating me,' the girl thought as she pulled out a dark blue T shirt and pulled it over a fresh purple tank top. She had no clue why, but the color seemed almost comforting in a strange way. Swiftly, she pulled out her other bag, which held her weapons and her favorite black jacket. This was going to take a lot of work.
*~*~*~*
"Stupid girl is going to get herself killed," Wufei grumbled, unable to believe that a girl would take it upon herself to go alone! It was absurd! Of course Hotaru was no ordinary girl. Still, it was a really risky action to take, especially since over half the world was on the look out for the dangerous ex-assassin.
"No she won't. She's much too cleaver. If Hotaru dies, then it's because she either surrendered or sacrificed herself for a better cause than her own existence. She's much too determined." Trowa quietly argued as he leaned against the wall behind him.
Quatre meanwhile, was busy studying the directions to Draven City. If Hotaru's skills are exactly what she had demonstrated them earlier, then the girl had a very good chance of getting in and out alive with Heero and Duo right behind her.
A few seconds later, Hotaru marched down the stairs appearing as if she were on a mission, which her mind, was very likely to be true. "You better leave now as well. The sooner, the better."
The three teens nodded their heads. They had already acquired the needed arsenal, for the trip, just in case they were to run into trouble.
Abruptly, the dark-haired girl tossed some clothing to the guys. "Here. You're better off wearing some sort of disguise since we are still highly wanted. Don't worry. They're guys' clothing."
"Thanks Hotaru," Quatre quietly said as he pulled on the baggy sweatshirt, hat, and sunglasses.
Wufei and Trowa each nodded their thanks slipping into the shirts, hats, and sunglasses provided by the girl who placed a pair of dark sunglasses over her violet eyes as they headed out the door.
"What about him?" Quatre asked, as he pointed out the Iron Fist guard who was watching them leave.
"Just leave him. I don't find pleasure in taking a life. I only do it if I have no choice," Hotaru admitted as she stared straight ahead. "Perhaps he'll get lucky and his buddies will miss him. Probably not though."
"Wait. Isn't there a detonation device in the van?" the circus performer reminded them as he watched Hotaru walk past, pulled a small object out of her pocket and pressed the tiny button.
"Hmm, it appears the device was very poorly done," she said, approaching the vehicle. Carefully, Hotaru lifted up the hood, and found a small bomb inside. "This is so sad. I have done much better jobs at this than these guys did."
"That device, reads detonation devices?" the blonde quizzically said as he watched the girl deactivate the explosive with a small pair of pliers, which were oddly in her pocket.
The girl only nodded as she moved from the engine to the driver's seat. 'One more wire should do it,' she thought before once again returning to the hood of the car and pulled out the bomb then quickly took the electronic apart to the point where is was no better than a piece of scrap metal. After replacing the hood, she walked back towards the pilots, and placed the detonation detector in Trowa's hand. "You may need it."
"What about you?" the brown-haired teen asked as the girl began to walk past them, dumping the bomb in the trashcan.
"I had two," she simply stated as the three ex-pilots watched her curiously. "Don't even think of following me. I need you three to report to E's and get whatever it is he or she wants us to have." Carefully, Hotaru pulled out a rather large object from the bushes. Oddly enough, it was a motorcycle.
"But how... you're stealing a motorcycle?!" Quatre blinked as the girl pulled a pair of keys from the pocket of her jeans. Apparently, she must have swiped them from Red while he was still unconscious.
The dark-haired girl grabbed the helmet from the ground, peering curiously at it before putting it on her head and hopped on. "I'm only returning it," she shrugged as placing the key into the ignition and quickly started it with an easy thrust. With one glimpse back at the three ex-pilots, she speed off with a deafening roar.
"Godspeed Hotaru," Quatre whispered as he followed Trowa and Wufei to the van.
*~*~*~*
"Heero. Hey Heero. Wake up!" Duo said in hopes that his best friend wasn't comatose or something even worse.
Groggily, the Perfect Soldier opened his eyes and peered around the room he was in which remarkably resembled a prison cell.
"Good you're still alive! Pretty great room huh? But I think I would have preferred the presidential suite personally. This one just doesn't seem to have a great view. Not to mention the really drab colors," the cobalt blue-eyed teen smirked as he watched Heero try to ease himself off the floor, which quite a feat considering both his wrists and ankles were shackled.
Dazedly, he continued his examination of the room, but found it nearly impossible to focus on anything. Whatever they had used to knock him out was still probably in effect. "When did we get here?"
"No clue. I just woke up a few minutes ago. Those drugs they used on us are pretty nasty stuff. It makes me feel like I took too much cough syrup or something, but ten times as strong if not more," Duo admitted as he leaned himself against the wall since he was still much too dizzy to stand without falling over.
"Hn," Heero nodded as he managed to pull himself to the opposite wall. Trying to form a plan at this point was futile since he still could not think straight. Everything was in complete jumbles, none of which made sense. Damn them.
*~*~*~*
'Damn it. This is all my doing. I'm the one Iron Fist wants, but instead they target the ex-pilots once again. They better not have harmed either of them or so help me, I'll get very ornery,' Hotaru thought as she whizzed through the countryside at a high level of speed. It did not matter to her if the cops were to try to pull her over or not. They would never catch Hotaru anyway.
'Hmm, I should be coming close to the intersection where I need to turn off at. Here we go.' With a quick turn, the violet-eyed girl found herself battling traffic to her dismay. 'Great, there has to be a way out of this.' Hotaru felt she was too pressed for time to play it safe so she gunned it, driving along the side of the road. There was just too much at jeopardy.
*~*~*~*
Trowa took the streets steadily, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. All three teens were very inquisitive over what E had for them. One thought came to mind, which would be a very welcome surprise, new Gundams. They had self-detonated their own back in AC 196 and the scientists who had built them perished on the battleship Libra back in AC 195, so if it were new Gundams, how could it be possible?
"I hope the others are okay," Quatre thoughtfully chirped in the passenger seat next to the tall teen. He knew they could handle themselves, but Iron Fist seemed to so sly, that they could easily throw his friends off guard. Perhaps Hotaru was the only one who could predict what was to be expected, but then again, there was so much, which they had kept hidden from the girl that maybe even she didn't have a very good chance against them. The Arabian gravely wished Hotaru had allowed at least one of them to accompany her, but she strongly refused. It appeared, stubbornness was another lovely quality to the callous, deadly, yet highly intelligent female assassin and hacker.
Wufei stared out the window before replying, "They should make. Can't say it'll be easy though. Since it's the main headquarters, it should be heavily guarded. Perhaps the fact that Tomoe herself is highly unpredictable, is the only thing she has to her advantage. Everything else maybe left up to chance."
The other two teens nodded as they drove in silence, unaware that as soon as they had entered Draven City, they were being followed.
*~*~*~*
Shockingly, no one attempted to pull Hotaru over. At least that made her life a little easier, for now anyway. The girl still had quite a few obstacles left to face. "Please let them still be alive," she softly said to herself, while making another turn. "In less than thirty minutes, I should know."
*~*~*~*
Heero and Duo both finally regained their normal senses once again, eagerly plotting an escape when suddenly the cell door swung open revealing a tall lanky white-haired man wearing glasses. "Hello gentlemen. I am Prof T. Now that I have introduced myself, I inquire that you tell me which of you is the one who presently refers to himself as Heero Yuy."
The two teens exchanged glances as they both pointed to each other and cried out, "He is!" this action however caused the Professor to roll his eyes in annoyance, wishing he knew why every single job he did was more like pulling teeth.
Heero glared at Duo as he said, "Heero, stop trying to steal my identity."
"Me?! You're the one who's trying to steal my identity just like you did last time!" the chestnut brown-haired teen gaped as he crossed his arms feeling outraged.
"Heero, stop lying because we both know that I don't. I may run and hide but I never tell a lie," the Perfect Soldier drawled which cause his friend to drop his jaw.
With a snort of disgust Duo muttered, "Great. Now he's stealing my slogans."
The scientist was now highly aggravated. "Enough of this insipid pity bickering! I guess we'll just have to find out the hard way," he sneered, signaling for several guards to hold each teen down as the Professor drew blood from both of them.
"Blood test?! But how do you know Heero's blood type and everything?!" Duo gasped as the needle pierced into his skin while he tried not to squirm.
This question made the scientist chuckle. "We have known the boy quite well since he was a youngster. But enough of that for now. We must run a few tests to determine which of you is Heero Yuy." With that last word, the man followed by the guards left the bandaged teens alone in their cell.
The Perfect Soldier stared bewildered at the wall. 'What does he mean they have known me quite well as a youngster?! How could that be?'
The braided-haired ex-pilot was contemplating the same thing. "Did any of that make sense to you? I mean if they knew you, then why can't they pick out a Japanese boy from an American? The only way we are remotely similar is that we both are the same height, have blue eyes although a different shade, around the same weight and have brown hair but yours is darker. Other than that, we are nothing alike. This just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Duo sighed, as he winced at his arm that blood was taken out of. Lately he seemed to be having way too many run-ins with needles.
"The only thing I can think of is they may have lost a few files such as my race and some other details. Other than that, I'm confused as well," Heero admitted as he watched the door. It was very likely that any minute, they would be coming for him. The question was why? And what were they planning to do to him?
A few minutes later, several guards rushed into the cell, sending the door crashing into the wall. Next they practically dragged the two ex-pilots in separate directions as the teens struggled relentlessly against the brute strength until both passed out. Drugged once again at the hand of the crazed scientist.
*~*~*~*
The drive to the warehouse was long and tedious, but they made it no less without confrontation of any kind. In an odd way, the teens were disappointed since they were wanted criminals who were portrayed as ruthless killer so well by the media, that it would seem, the authorities would have done vehicle inspections or something to insure the safety of their people. Of course since Nitol Stanz was now in charge, everything seemed to have gone a lot looser.
However, the three friends were still very unaware at the fact that they were being watched as they entered the seemingly abandoned warehouse.
*~*~*~*
From across the street a figure smirked as she carefully the three wanted ex-pilots leaving their van. "Hey Key, do you see who I see?"
The first girl's friend blinked, trying to shake herself out of a daydream. "Huh? yes, Poetry."
The curly-haired girl was rather impatient as she stared at the three guys who were leaving, through her binoculars. "Well, should we go exterminate them now or wait until our fingernails dry?!" the girl dryly inquired, rolling her green eyes.
That woke her partner up. "What is that supposed to mean?" the dark green tinted-haired girl asked as she arched an eyebrow at her friend.
"Just checking to see if you were listening," the girl nervously said. "Come on! This is no fun sitting in the dirt!"
The girl known as Key blinked at her friend who was now rocking back forth on the balls of her feet. "Poetry, sometimes I wonder about you."
"Hmph!"
'At least that shut her up, but probably won't last for too long,' the taller girl thought as she lost sight of the three boys.
"Great! Now they have left!" Poetry grumbled, as she crossed her arms.
"Fine. We'll wait until they leave the warehouse and then we can strike," Key simply said deciding that was the most logical way to complete their mission.
*~*~*~*
Hotaru made a sharp turn, finding herself facing a large mansion-like building. 'Well, you must be Elite Silver. Hmm, Stanz seems to really like his colors,' she concluded, driving hard on the grass.
Suddenly she was greeted by a large group of guards. Rather than stopping and making a run for it like any normal person, the daring girl decided she had a better chance trying to speed through them, with one hand firing off her gun, successfully hitting anyone who was a threat.
'Okay, the door would not be the best idea, but one of those large window will do nicely,' she decided, as she increased the speed on the worn out motorbike, heading straight towards one of the glass windows with one lone guard trying to block her.
*~*~*~*
Duo sat bound to a metal chair, very unamused. The guy that was guarding him was giving him a royal headache with his stupid questions and death threats. "So um, why am I here anyway?"
"Shut up! Answer my question first. Where is the girl at?" the snooty blonde growled which made the cobalt blue-eyed teen long to roll his eyes, but his didn't feel like being smacked in the head by the butt of the rifle again.
"What girl?" Duo innocently asked which made the frustrated guard stand up, and point the rifle at the ex-pilot once again.
The chestnut brown-haired teen gulped, staring reluctantly at the end of the rifle with wide eyes. 'Oh geez, this guy is really losing it!'
*~*~*~*
Heero found himself staring at the floor as his head seemed to feel like it was spinning. All he could remember was waking up on the cold dirty floor, the practically vomiting his brains out. He had never in his life felt this sick before. The pain was excruciating, worse than anything he had ever experienced. Oddly the sensation resembled being torn apart from the inside out.
Only one thought came to mind. They had injected him with the same exact virus they had used on Hotaru. 'Damn, them. Is this why they wanted me? To kill me?'
Abruptly, the ex-pilot groaned as a huge wave of pain coursed through his body. It hurt so much to think, move and even breathe. 'This was the agony Firefly had to suffer through?! Damn she is a hell of a lot stronger than even I imagined.'
Tightly, Heero crossed his arms over his stomach not even realizing that he was free from of his restraints. It wasn't like he could actually do anything now other than retch and cringe in pain.
*~*~*~*
The three teens entered the old abandoned warehouse but oddly found it was pitch black inside. What exactly is going on?! Was this some type of a joke or a trap?
Suddenly, a low voice echoed in the ex-pilots' ears, "At last. We have been expecting you."
Wufei turned around, as he wildly inspected the room. "Where are you?! Show yourself!"
"Um, E is it? We have come here on your request," Quatre shakily announced as he followed the frantic Chinese teen inside with Trowa walking in behind him.
"You mean yourselves my dear boy," another voice said when the lights suddenly flashed on. Silencing the ex-pilots as they stared in amazement.
*~*~*~*
Hotaru was coming closer to the window by every second, of course the foolish guard refused to move. 'Why must everyone try to be the hero?' she sighed before shouting. "Move now or die."
Finally, the guard, dove out of the way, proving that he really was spineless. Oh well, got to the guy credit for trying.
In the matter of seconds, Hotaru crashed through the glass window interrupting a very bad looking interrogation of Duo who has probably had better days which did not involve being kidnapped and staring down the wrong end of a rifle.
Just then, the silence was broken by the sound of clapping. "Brilliant rescue attempt Firefly. I am amazed at your level of skills," Stanz praised the girl who glared in return as she climbed off the motorcycle, aiming her gun at the leader of Iron Fist, as she peeled the helmet off her head with the other hand.
"Can, the flattery. Where is Heero?" Hotaru harshly said, as she clicked the safety off of her handgun. It was out of bullets, but they didn't need that information.
The dark-haired man chuckled at the girl's attitude. "He's indisposed at the moment, I'm afraid."
The violet-eyed girl arched an eyebrow in response. "Oh, then will you go fetch him. I'm kind of in a hurry."
"I'm afraid not my dear. You see, he's fallen rather ill with a nasty virus. He has a rather terrible spinning sensation in the head followed by vomiting and immense pain in his body, but mostly coming from his abdomen. It's really quite deadly without the cure.
Hotaru and Duo both appeared horrified at what they had done to poor Heero. The girl stared in moderate shock at the snickering man while the boy's jaw about hit the floor as his eyes grew wide in disbelief.
The girl regardless held her gun steady, but still appeared slightly shaken. She could only hope that it was a bluff. "Let's make a deal then. I'll surrender myself if and only if you give Heero the antidote and release both him and Duo without any means of execution whatsoever."
"Hotaru! No! We aren't worth it!" the braided-haired teen shouted as he stared in horror at the girl's suggestion. 'How could she be so stupid giving up her life for ours?!'
"Silence Duo!" Hotaru coldly said with a deadly glare. She didn't mean to be so callous towards him, but if he wanted to live, then for once, Duo better shut up. "Well, Stanz? The decision is up to you."
The proud leader's answer however surprised the girl. "I decline. However. I will allow this boy to go with a death pardon and will grant Yuy with the antidote, but do not wish to release him, for we have further plans for the lad." Hotaru was just about to protest when Stanz quickly interjected. "But if you desist Firefly, we will eradicate the one called Duo Maxwell, sitting in front of you at this moment, no questions asked. Now the ball is in your court."
"Me for Duo?" The dark-haired girl asked as she stared at the man who nodded his head. Hotaru glanced at Duo before contemplating her own question, "What are they going to do to Heero? I need to stop them.' Taking one last look at the cobalt blue-eyed ex-pilot who was shaking his head, as he trembled, knowing either answer had it's own consequences. Hotaru drew a quick breath as she lowered her gun firmly stating, "I...accept."
*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: Sorry for leaving this at an extreme cliffhanger but not much more will fit, lol. Gee I believe I have at least three if not four cliffhangers in here. Usually when I have a cliffhanger it's called, "Gee, now what am I going to do?!" That was the slight case here.
Anyone confused about the girls Key and Poetry? Don't worry, you'll find out more about them in the next chapter, as well, as quite a few links to the story. This thing is a lot more involved than it appears to be. I'm guessing some of you may have figured out who the two girls are or at least one. I will guarantee you'll like Poetry.
Um, can't think of anything more. This is officially my longest chapter ever! I'm on page two now!
Next chapter out next week....
Secrets come together like missing puzzle pieces.