Artificial
Hmm... thanks to all that reviewed chapter Four... ;; somebody asked for me to write longer chapters... XD but it'll take twice as long to write... I've go the attention span of a goldfish. Anyways... please don't hurt me after reading this chapter... -- you'll see what I mean...

I went through a period of... depression... x.X so this chapter took longer than it was supposed to take... sorry.

Chapter Five
The ride home from Iria's apartment building was oddly uncomfortable. Trowa was spacing out, Quatre had a strange, serene smile on his face, and Heero... well... Heero was freaking out.

"Hey Hee-Chan!" Duo grinned as he switched seats and sat down next to Heero.

The mere sound of Duo's voice was enough to make Heero jump about a mile, not to mention scream in a uncharacteristically shrill and high-pitched sound.

Everyone in the car jumped.

"Heero...?" Quatre blinked slightly. "Are you... alright...?"

Heero's breathing came in harsh, uneven gasps. "I'm... I'm fine." He attempted a Death Glare at Duo, but it didn't work too well.

The rest of the ride was pure silence. As Trowa slowly backed into the driveway, something caught Wufei's eyes. A woman was standing by the door of the small house. Even with her back turned, Wufei could tell who it was.

"Hilde...?" Wufei was surprised by a soft gasp coming from behind him. Turning, he saw Duo's eyes widen with pure horror. The others were too spaced out to notice. As Wufei watched Duo run out of the car towards Hilde, he felt as if a hand had reached roughly down his throat and was now trying to pull his heart out. Choking slightly, he watched Duo embrace Hilde.

This feeling... Wufei winced slightly as he jumped out of the car. Was Iria right...? Am I... In love? The thought was quickly pushed away, however. That stupid Onna has gotten to me, how could I possibly be in love with that idiot? I'm not even gay.

Duo was grinning by the time Wufei had reached the front steps. "I'm gonna go out for a walk, k, Wu-Wu?"

"Like I really care?" Wufei's snapping remark came all too quickly and harshly. The American recoiled slightly, and then, after a moment of silence, he ran down the stairs towards Hilde.

Wufei cried out in frustration as he swung at the punching bag and missed. What's wrong with me? with a small grunt of frustration, he sat down onto the floor and crossed his arms, deep in thought. I'm starting to act like a woman, getting all emotional like this... The thought struck him as extremely horrific, and he pushed it away, standing up again. He swung towards the punching bag and missed yet again, this time due to the surprised scream made by Quatre that could be heard from upstairs. Perplexed, Wufei rushed down the stairs.

"What's-" Wufei's words were cut off as he ran outside. The sky was an inky black color and a shadow had cast over the entire colony, except for the small ray of sunlight fighting its way through the darkness. Quatre was shaking a few feet from the door, kneeled on the floor and covered in... was it... wires...?

"Quatre?!" Trowa ran towards Quatre but suddenly stopped as a woman stepped into the single ray of sunshine.

"You!" From behind Wufei, Heero cried out in a sharp voice full of loathing, something that had never come out of Heero's mouth before. Slowly, he came up next to Wufei and softly whispered into the Chinese man's ear. "Hilde..."

Wufei glanced at Heero, full of confusion. Hilde? What about Hilde?

"Go... go find her..." Heero winced slightly. "Duo... I should never have let him go with her..."

Wufei heard the click of a gun being loaded and automatically glanced down at Heero's right hand. He was surprised to see blood covering the gun that the brown-haired man was carrying. Heero's blood... "Heero, wh-" he was cut off by a death glare.

"Go, Wufei. Leave this to me."

Wufei watched Heero point the gun at the woman - who he could now make out as Iria. Before he had time to think things over, he had started running towards the place where Duo had gone off to.

There was a gunshot. The screaming of Quatre. A woman's voice. The smell of lavenders.

Wufei kept running, trying to keep everything out of his mind other than the prospect of helping Duo.

Something tripped Wufei, and as he fell onto the ground, he could see one of the wire-like things that had tied Quatre down to the ground. It seemed to be moving on its own, trying to wrap itself around the Chinese man's leg. Shaking it off, Wufei got up and started running again. He could hear more gunshots in the distance...

Reaching the park, he glanced around, trying to find the place Duo had gone off into. I know he's here...

And then, Wufei spotted something. Sitting on a bench only a few feet away, Duo was talking to Hilde, oblivious to the horror that was going around him, a wire-like thing wrapped tightly around his leg.

Even before Wufei could do anything, he saw the gun that Hilde had pulled out.

"DUO! NOO!"

I didn't like this chapter... but here it is... x.X; I've already started on Chapter 6... hopefully I'll like it more. Characters are swaying out of character... .;;