Chapter Three:
Birthday Happiness?

They dragged him into the building looming ahead with an ominous aura surrounding it. The structure itself was gigantic, though they went through the back way so as not to draw attention to themselves.

'Hopefully the others will notice I'm gone...' Heero thought, knowing it would be virtually impossible to get him out of this situation alone. Then again, he knew he was kidding himself because of this. He never kept in contact with the others, but he had a feeling that Duo kept them up to date since he wouldn't leave the Japanese pilot of Wing alone.

It had completely slipped his mind that Duo was coming over today though...

Duo walked with the other Gundam pilots, even Wufei who had taken a break from the Preventers for a day to hang out with one of the hero's of the Eve Wars. Duo had found out that today was Heero's birthday and he had gotten all the others together for a small, secluded party.

"So how did you find out it was Heero's birthday today?" Quatre mused, happy they had unearthed the slightest information on the pilot. He had brought a gift for the teenager, though his really age was estimated to be about seventeen today since he was fifteen during the Operation Meteor.

"I hacked a lot of places, mainly the base where they trained him. Found a slight profile and some small vitals on him and it said when his birthday was, but the year was estimated. It said the day he was born, the year, the month and all that. It didn't have a name, but there wasn't really anything else except his current age during the time that profile was updated into the computer." Duo said, talking slowly rather than his normal fast tone.

"Interesting." Trowa said thoughtfully. "Is this the place?" He questioned; looking at the nice complex of villa's before him.

"Yeah, lives nice doesn't he?" Duo joked, walking up a flight of stairs to the second floor and saw a wide open door labeled 2B.

Trowa raised his eyebrow in question to Duo. "Is this his apartment?"

"Hm?" Duo nodded and noted the open door and looked into the room. "Uh… yeah…" It was completely trashed, a lamp was broken by the door and there was an obvious struggle previously in the room, but what drew their attention was the blood by the door and how it was smeared.

"What's wrong?" Quatre inquired, coming up from behind and looked at the lovely room that was now trashed and the blood on the floor everyone was looking at.

"Some birthday." Duo muttered, getting up from the crouch he was in to rush down the stairs to the security room as he knocked the guard unconscious, pulling out a tape from previous activities today.

A door opened on the blue screen and Heero's form could be seen over the tall figure cloaked in black. Lips were moving as Duo interpreted them.

'Who are you?' Heero had asked.

The man didn't say anything but an obvious smirk drew on his face as he drew his fist into Heero's abdomen at inhuman sped, not even the perfect soldier would be able to dodge something like that unexpected.

Quatre stared at the screen with worry. He saw Heero stumble to the floor, clutching his stomach in obvious pain, though he masked it well as he coughed up a handful of blood onto the floor.

The man and another who ran up to stairs dragged him off, tying a tight gag over his mouth and binding his wrists so tight that they bled.

A man lifted him up easily and then threw him over his shoulders; Heero's eyes closed in pain. They rushed down the stairs, leaving the house in the mess they had made after they attacked him.

"Once again Yuy has gotten himself into another mess." Wufei said, his eye twitching when he received a death glare from Duo.

"This was supposed to be a happy day, but now he ends up getting kidnapped." Duo sighed heavily, taking in the license of the car on the tape.

"Why would they want him? The war is over, and I have a feeling this has nothing to do with the Gundam's." Trowa said, breaking the short silence they all had.

"I agree." Quatre pointed out.

"Who are these people and are we possible threats?" Quatre said after he got nods from the others agreeing with Trowa and him...

"...From my visions of the world, you will cry all alone..."
Aura, .hack/SIGN