Hey, me back! Firstly, I would like to thank the only two persons who wrote me reviews for the last chapter. I mean, ok 75 hits and only 2 reviews? I'm losing my self-respect here, guys! So, maybe, if you disliked the chapters so much, you could've wrote me something like "stop writing! It's stupid"…. Or whatever. Ok, so I'm letting you off the hook, this time! But you better review… please? Pretty please, with sugar on top and all?
Kane's entire gang was settled in the living-room, making the room too small, considering their number. When the silver-haired leader entered the bright room, he saw all of them chatting and making as much noise as they could. After all, this was the night when they were going to attack. Well, not exactly "attack", but pretty close, considering the defensive force they were waiting from Darien Shields' side. In complete silence, Kane looked at each and every one of the, feeling close to understanding them perfectly.
He started his small analysis from the far left corner. There, he saw, sitting in a large and comfy armchair the oldest of his friends and his number one partner in crime: Nicholas. In spite of the years spent around the world, in hiding, he was still wearing his wavy brown hair long and sometimes held in a tail at the back of his head. For the first time in years, his blue eyes sparkled with joy and love for life… and someone else. Tracing his sight, Kane saw the amazonian young woman standing on her feet, in the middle of the room and several meters away from the armchair. She was staring back at him, smiling and throwing some kind of pillow at him from time to time. He would just catch it and throw it back at her, with the fake intention of harming her. But everyone, including the two, knew that Nick was absolutely incapable of hurting Lita in any way.
On the couch stood Rei, whose body was supported by Jade, and she was currently talking to Mina. She felt pretty comfortable with the blonde man and he wasn't even thinking of letting her go very soon. In spite of the wicked smirk he always carried on his face, the dark-haired beauty had managed in the past days to make him stop his always joking and mocking attitude and change to a somehwat more mature version of himself. Everyone knew that the change was at least impossible, or very hard, but Rei had agreed in front of everyone to at least give her best shot in her attempt. You can pretty much figure out Jade's reaction to the news.
Kane had to admit that Rei was fitting in quite well, much better than he had expected. And so was Zack. Eyeing the strange, yet brilliant hacker, Kane noticed the grin he always wore wehn nect toAmy and how his world ended up revolving around the shy doctor. He found their game child-like and also quite amusing. The truth was that he had never imagined Amy in these kinds of situations, but she managed on her own to react pretty well, being able to restrain the young man from any stupid remarks or other wrong doings. He loved to tease her and she loved to answer him back, every day surprising him more and more with her level of knowledge. Although they weren't a couple officially, Kane was sure that it was going to happen very soon. Zack proved his interest in her on a daily basis and she would always blush madly at every word of his on that subject. Still, the two were pretty calm in that moment, Amy sitting on the couch, a bit further from Mina, and, as usual, looking at some plans she had printed earlier, withZack sitting on the floor, next to the couch, leaning his head on her knees and staring at a copy of her own papers.
And last, but definitely not least, he found himself staring at Mina, the beautiful, sometimes so serious, other times so childish, woman he had fallen for so many years behind. He gazed at her, captivated by her long blonde hair and the simple way she had always preffered to the fancy hair-dos, entrapped in her clear blue, which always seemed so opened, but managed to keep so many secrets hidden. She had the soul of a woman in the body of a goddess and she knew how to take advantage of her remarkable features and powers. She had considered herself for a while the true "freak" in their gang, but they all knew that it wasn't true. Persons such as Mina were very rare and couldn't be classified as "freaks" under any conditions. Noticing her eyes staring back at him and the charming smile she was giving him, he couldn't help but remember her face, in so many circumstances: when they had met for the first time, then the second time, their first fight in a bar, during a party, their first kiss, stolen by him in a sunny day behind her school yard, the first battle against forces which wanted both of them dead, the moment when they met Nick, Lita and Jade, their secret wedding and all the days that followed, all filled with both joy and sorrow. She kept on smiling and he finally got the hint. Exiting the dark corner, from where he had been watching all of them, he came next to her seat, but remained standing. His hand took hers and he glanced at all of them. Noticing his arrival as well, Nick cleared his voice and managed to grab Lita and pull her in his arms down in the armchair, also stealing the pillow from her and telling her not to whine. Jade looked at him from behind Rei's shoulder and Zack simply shifted his position, this time leaning even more on Amy' knees, extremely happy than she did not ask him to stay somewhere else.
"I guess all of you know that tonight we're going to take Serena back… and that I don't plan trading neither Rei nor Zack for my sister. As both of them had stated, they would like to remain here, with us and I've noticed that you've welcomed them much better than I had expected. So, I formed a plan that, with a little luck, should help us get Rena back, by the end of the night. Now, I want all of you to listen carefully and understand what each of you has to do." He stated and all nodded their heads, letting him know that they understood completely and were ready to follow his exact words. "Good, now, we'll make Shields believe that the original intention of switching Rei for Serena still stands. That's why Rei is going to stay with me all the time, out in the open, where he can clearly see us. Thanks to our new hacker here, we've managed to find where Shields has been living in the past few days. I have also managed to decide along with him where the "switch" will be made. Now, I'll need you all to listen carefully to these directions, because I'll need you all to follow them exactly!" he added and motioned all of them towards the table further away, where the city's plans were spread around.
Lita growled… again. Nicholas glanced to her and a second later his eyes returned to the road, his hands securely wheeling the rather large car he had chosen for the mission. He was supposed to assist Kane from several levels above and shot Shields or anyone else, in case something didn't go as smooth as they all wished. Lita was going to stand guard at the back fence and let them know if they were going to have more guests than anticipated.
Ever since they had learned their missions, the tall young woman couldn't stop frowning, or glaring, or growling… or doing anything else to show her strong emotions. Unlike her, Nick had managed to hide his feelings quite well… until he couldn't take it anymore.
He suddenly changed the course and pulled the car in a parking lot, somewhere close. He let the engine still ignited, but stopped completely the car. He then turned to her and met her confused emerald eyes. Oh, how he loved those eyes…
"What's going on?" she asked when she didn't get a response for her gaze.
"You've been unhappy with this plan from the beginning and have been fusing all over the place since we left the hide! What is it?" he asked, managing to hold his emotions partly inside, not wanting to burst in front of her like that.
"I don't agree with the rendez-vous point, I don't agree with faking this switch, I don't agree with you taking that position, I don't agree with this entire mission!" she nearly yelled, exasperated already.
"Lita, whatever happenedto that wild spirit of yours? I've seen you jumping into suicidal situations and exiting them in one piece. Don't tell me you've suddenly gone soft and that you don't trust me enough for my part!"
"It's not that!" she bit back and crossed her arms over her chest, looking anywhere else but not at him… or his dark blue eyes.
"Then what is it?" he asked, this time on a comforting tone.
"Why did Shields suddenly left the house with Rena? Why did he wait for so long to make the switch? And how come I've heared rumours about Diamond calling him?"
"You think he'll bring in Diamond in order to catch us all?"
"Why not? It's not like we're all buddies with either of them…"
"Alright… then why didn't he hire Diamond in order to kill Rei so many years ago? Why did Shields always wanted to keep the assassin out of his family business?" Nick questioned, glancing at her from time to time.
"Maybe he found some sick pleasure in hunting Rei down and trying to kill her!" she exclaimed and stared already tired at him. Returning her electro-shocking gaze, he answered.
"I doubt it… And I seriously doubt that Shields wants to kill his sister. If those were his true intentions, he would've done it a life-time ago… not wait for so long and allow her to team-up with other specimens, such as us… No, there's something else going on here…"
"And it's just a matter of time before we find out what…" Lita whispered and stared in void, not focusing on something particularly.
"Why are you like this?" Nick's voice was heared again after some time and she looked his way. The next moment, she lowered her eyes and even blushed a bit.
"Because whenever I carried those suicidal mission, as you call them, I didn't have… you…" she confessed and a weird sparkle appeared in his eyes. "I guess I'm scared for you and I don't want you to be in any danger…" she whispered further.
"Lita!" he said and all his existent feelings for her were concentrated in those simple letters. He suddenly leaned to her, took her chin in his fingers, turned her head to him and kissed the life out of her. Their separated several very long moments later, and simply stared at each other, breathless. Nick would have wanted to say something more, but her lips cut him off… once again…
"Do you think he won't come?" the silver-haired man asked as he walked through the thick darkness, to the place where he and Shields agreed to make the switch. The black-haired woman who walked next to him rose and eyebrow and gaze at him.
"My brother? Highly unlikely! I bet he can't wait to torture me some more…" her voice drifted off.
"Don't worry, I won't let him do that to you anymore… Otherwise, I'd have a very angry blonde man in my team, who would be capable of killing me during a rage crisis." He chuckled.
"Jade?" she asked and he gazed at her, below his eyelids.
"Who else?" She blushed and looked away. "Don't tell me you don't know about his nice performance at one of our meetings, the other day…"
"Yeah… I found out soon after it was over…"
"Well, don't you have anything to say in your defence, Miss Shields?" he asked jokingly.
"What could I say? That I'm happy I've finally found a place of my own and a man who cares deeply for me? I don't have to say all that… I'm sure that you can all notice it in my words and gestures…" she replied and shot him a wondering look.
"Yeah, but sometimes it would be nice to hear it from the person you care for him or herself… Take it as a very valuable piece of advice from a married man…"
"By the way… how long do you and Mina go back?" Rei finally got the chance of asking this very "important" question.
"Off the record or official?"
"Both."
"Well, we've known each other for maybe even ten years or more, we've been dating for eight and married for about four or five…"
"Wow!" Rei simply stared at him, remaining speechless. "That's a loooong time…"
"Well, for me, it seemed to pass pretty fast. I mean, a couple of years ago I was very satisfied with this leader of rogues title, but now I can picture myself surrounded by family and friends, calming down, maybe leaving the country and starting over some place else…" he honestly answered.
"Hmm, and by family, do you mean kids too?" she narrowed her eyes and smiled wickedly.
"Sure! My family may not have been great or close, but they've still taught me that one of the best ways of entering history is reproducing yourself. And I must admit that I quite enjoy the process of…" he stopped, just in time to see Rei madly blushing and looking away. "Sorry…" he apologized quite embarrassed, understanding that his mouth had started speaking without him a while back. They entered the unfinished building's perimeter and continued their walk in silence, until, maybe one minute later, Kane announced. "There they are!" Rei stopped as well and looked up to see her brother and Serena, waiting for them at the end of several stairs which led to what was supposed to be a main hall.
"She's not restrained…" Rei couldn't help but notice with loud voice. Kane glanced at her and watched his sister.
"Something's not right… She's just standing there, not even trying to fight her way out…"
"It's as if she wants to be there…" she concluded as confused as she could be and followed the silver-haired man when he started walking again, this time more determined than ever to get the answers he needed and wanted.
"What's the word?" a man with red and spiked hair aksed on the phone. He was currently sitting in his car and gazing outside his window, at the deserted bulding, having noticed the four people inside it.
"We go in now!" the voice on the other line commanded and nodded, closing his cell-phone and exiting the vehicle, in the same time with another man from a similar car right behind his. He had very light blonde hair, almost silvery, and stood right in front of third man, this one much more silent than the other two… almost as if he wasn't real. The three exchanged a single common glance and started walking to the building, where they were planning on making quite an impression.
"Kane!" Serena exclaimed as she ran to him and jumped in his arms, carrying a huge smile on her beautiful features. He welcomed her warmly, but kept staring at the much too quiet and calm Darien, who simply stood there, watching them.
"What's going on?" he asked and Rena backed away from his arms, her hands still on his, but gazing up at his handsome face. Rei came from behind him and looked directly at her brother, who, for the first time in years, looked back at her, but didn't glare or pull out some gun to point at her.
"Kane… I know what you're thinking, but it's not like that at all!" Rena spoke, almost without meaning and he barely gave her any attention: he was currently watching Darien like a hawk.
"Then what is it?"
"He's letting Rei go… and me too!" she said with sparkles in her eyes, forcing her brother to gaze down at her incredously and Rei's eyes to fill with tears.
"Is this true?" she inquired. Darien suddenly became interested with the floor beneath him, but managed to answer a mumbled "yes". "Why! After all this time, why?" Rei burst out and came up to him, hitting his chest with her fists. For the first time in her life she was free, but felt emprisoned by this man worse than ever. He was her brother, her twin… and also, her executioner… until today. "Damn you! You did this all to me, so that you could back away now! Do you have any idea what you've done to my life!" she shouted, tears emerging from her exotic amethyst eyes.
"I know… I know and I regret… I can't believe I'm saying this, but I regret it all!" he said and stared into her eyes, not moving an inch and prepared to suffer everything that was coming down his way.
"And you really expect us all to just stand here and buy this whole crap?" Kane burst and glared at the young man who had once been his best friend. "How can you even state something like this, when we all know just was kind of lie it is?"
"Kane, don't…" Serena wanted to ask him to stop, but got fastly cut off.
"No! How can you defend this guy? You heared what he did to Rei! He tried to kill her and he kidnapped you!" he spoke loudly, not believing what his sister was trying to convince him off.
"I know! And I also know that he really means his words! Kane, I read him! He's honest!" she almost shouted and stared at her big brother, rising herself a bit on her toes. The silver-haired man backed away a little and looked at her as if she was not his sister anymore… and still she was…
"What happened?" he whispered, touching gently her right cheek. Rena looked at him with tears in her eyes, thanking God that he could understand her… and trust her as well. Still, there was going to pass a whole lot of time before the others would even manage to accept Darien Shields on the same side, but trust him. But time would arrange for that to happen… eventually…
"You have to believe me, Kane… I'm telling you only what I've known for myself…" she whispered back and watched him lovingly. Rei and Darien were staring at each other, one in shock and the other regretting his entire life until that present moment. Suddenly, Rena backed away and her eyes widened in shock: she was getting a bad feeling.
"What is it?" Darien asked, noticing her movement.
"Diamond…" she managed to say, but stopped the moment a male voice filled the entire space.
"Is right here!" They all turned to the entrance and saw the devil himself, with his brother on one side and the loyal employee on the other. He was grinning from one ear to the other and walked a bit to them. "Hello, Rena! Missed me?"
"Took you long enough!" Jade muttered as he saw Lita's tall body approaching his position. They were currently hiding somewhere at the far back of the property, standing guard, just in case some of Shields' men might have followed their boss and were ready to give the other a hard time. The second moment, a strong fist hit his head at full. "What the hell was that for!"
"Talking too much and about things you don't even know!" she bit back and glared at him. Sticking his tongue out, he settled back, deciding that it was for the best not to disturb further the amazonian woman. Oh, how he knew what was waiting for him if he managed somehow to annoy her. "Yeah, that's really mature Jade! Sometimes I wonder how Rei can even stand you around her with all your flirting "instincts" and other things… you tend to do…" she mumbled, finding difficulty in even speaking about his habits… bad habits.
"That's cuz she needs a real man…" he answered and shot her a playful look.
"Oh, yeah! Real man, alright!" she rose and eyebrow and stared at him in disbelief.
"Just cuz now you're taken, it doesn't mean you have to set up all your standards after that dear star-reader of yours!" Thud! Yet another punch very well aimed.
"Well, I see you started again… I don't have to set up standards anymore… Nick's more than enough for me!" she stated proudly.
"What if doesn't work out by some minuscule, but existent chance?" he asked and this time backed away in time, using his past skills to duck. Curiously enough, the punch never came. She just stood there, staring at him with her hands on her hips.
"Do you really believe that?" a bit of disappointment could be heard in her voice.
"As a friend of you two?"
"Yeah…"
"Nah! What the hell, he's been chasing like mad and he would have to be an idiot to let you go now, after he finally got you!" he assured her with a smirk… one his most charming ones.
"What if doesn't work for me?"
"Are you kidding?" he burst. "Impossible… you're much too caring for your own good… and he trapped you, alright!"
"Why, Jade! I think that's the most considerate thing you've told me in years." She thanked him with a smile.
"Don't get used to it!"
"Jerk! Talking about instincts… I've got a bad feeling… as if something extremely bad is going on." She got up and looked around.
"You want to take a peak inside, make sure everything's ok?" Jade pointed to the building. "Look, if those guys had come, they would've been here by now!"
"Yeah… still, Nick didn't send us any signal…" Lita's voice drifted off. "Let's go… just to make sure." She entered through the back and he followed her, his eyes carefully scanning the surrounding area… just in case.
"You didn't tell him, did you?" Amy stood in the doorway of Mina and Kane's bedroom, looking at the young woman laying on the bed, several meters away.
"No… but, then again, you knew that, didn't you?" the blonde said and looked up at the much younger girl.
"I thought you might have changed your mind in the last moment…."
"Well, you know me…. I never break any promises… Don't worry, as soon as he gets back I'll tell him the good news." She said quietly, studying bored a magazine she held in her lap.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Amy asked one last time, aware of the fact that she was bugging the married woman, but wanting to check everything. Mina let out an exhasperated sigh and looked at her. Rising her arms in defeat, the doctor walked backwards. "I know, I know! I'm going to let you rest now…" she smiled and walked away, down the hallway. She wished for Mina to as least manage to take a nap, but she knew that it was impossible. She was too worried for her husband… not to mention the new quantity of hormones inside her body, which was about to alter her lifestyle big time. Walking inside the huge living-room, she noticed Zack watching very interested one of the computer screens and sometimes tapping down very fast. His glasses were pulled up completely, showing his face in an intelectual style, rather than modern, as before. Without looking up at her, he felt her presence coming right next to him and staring at him rather than at the monitor his eyes were glued on.
"Is Mina pregnant?" his question sounded incredibly loud in the unmoved air, as he looked at her for the first time, staring right into her blue eyes. She blinked and looked away.
"How did you know?" she inquired a moment later.
"I heared a part of your conversation before Kane left… That, among other things I've noticed around, led me to that conclusion… or the one according to which Mina was dieing… but I highly doubt the second one. How long?"
"Very recent. She's progressing well considering the circumstances, but it's still much too early to be sure completely." Changing his tone and attitude, Zack suddenly smiled.
"Kane will sure be very proud."
"I hope so!" she declared and sighed. Noticing the silence, she glanced at him and saw his features betraying in interior conflict. "What is it?" she asked, suddenly feeling a sum of chills down her back.
"Let's also hope that Kane survives long enough to find out… Diamond found them! Get Nick now!" he announce and shook her a bit, managing to wake her up from the intial shock. She ran to the main control room, leaving him behind to stare at her trail and then back at the screen.
Loud shots could be heared and a feminine scream. Diamond stood above Kane, with his gun pointed straight at his heart. Suddenly, heavy weight threw him on the floor and he woke up with none other than Darien Shields above him, hitting him like mad.
"Kane!" Serena shouted and she landed next to him, looking at his hurt arm.
"I'm fine!" he pushed her away. "Rei, get her out of here!" he ordered, but allowed himself to be lifted by the two women first. "You have to go!" he shouted and pushed the two on the ground, ducking one of Rubeus' bullets. Taking off his own gun, he started shooting at the red-head and his buddy, Diamond's brother, who were hiding behind some columns on the other side of the room. He managed to get a glimpse of Darien almost killing the assassin with his bare hands. That was the first moment when he actually started believing that his former friend changed indeed. That thought made him smile for a second, before starting to fire again. He could clearly see that Sapphire was making his way to where his brother was almost getting killed and that Rubeus was planning a force attack.
Suddenly jumping from his place, Kane ran to Darien and covered him, while grabbing his right arm and pulling him away from the other white-haired man. He now saw Rubeus and a Diamond filled with blood coming towards them.
"I didn't know you could be so strong…" his voice drifted off as he saw Darien's knuckles covered in the assassin's blood. The two looked into each other's eyes for a second.
"You covered me…" Darien said and bowed his head for a second, as a "thanks".
"You did too… One day, you'll have to tell me how my sister managed to get to you…" he said and the two started firing their guns at the others. Moving backwards more and more, they hid behind some walls for a second and Darien talked again.
"You know Rena… she won't stop whining until she gets what she wants…" he shrugged and the two smiled.
"You don't have to tell me… On three?"
"Let's just shoot them!" the two nodded, got out and fired with all their might.
"Rei, down!" Serena shouted and aimed the foot at the man's head. He dropped down, behind Rei and the two recognized him instantly. Sapphire, Diamond's brother. He quicky got up and managed to duck some more kicks from the blond, hit her and made her land on the cold ground.
"Hey!" the priestess made him turn. But when he did, he received quite a surprise. He right palm attached to his cheek and gave him a hell of a burn, by using her birth powers. Forcing him down, she ran to Serena, grabbed her and got her out of the building, down in the yard. They looked back, noticing the four men fighting for their lives. The two had tears in their eyes, but they'd be damned before actually crying like little girls… for their brothers.
Kane received a full hit in his face and, in response, he jumped on Rubeus, taking him down and forcing something rather large to exit his jacket: a detonator. His eyes widened, but he didn't have enough time to react, for the red-head quickly got up and managed to hit him again. On the other side, not too far away, Darien and Diamond were still on the verge of killed one another. Both with bloody faces, but the second one far worse than the first. Darien searched Seerena with his eyes and, when he found her, gave both her and Rei a last reassuring look, right after kicking the hell out of the silver-haired man. He searched for Kane and saw where he was looking: the same detonator. From the other side of the room, Sapphire appeared with his face covered in burns and blood. His cold eyes were set on them and his gun securely pointed in the same places.
"Don't do it!" Kane growled. But it was too late. Before either of them became constient of it, a huge explosion dezintegrated what was built of the construction… and those inside.
Rei saw the explosion being ingnited and wanted to run to them, through the fire, both to her saviour and her brother. But, before either she or Serena could take even a small step, from somewhere above, Jade landed in front of them and took each one in an arm, running far from the fire with both the girls. It took an impressive amount of strength from him, but he did it… for those he loved.
Serena heared Rei's pleadings and cry when the bomb went off. She discovered that she was too heart-broken and tired to understand immediately what had just happened. She wanted to kill, destroy, fall on her kness and beg. Still, the only thing she was capable of was blacking out. The last thing she felt was her own body sent up in the air by the explosion's shock wave. Then nothing.
Mina fell hard on the floor, crying like mad. She wouldn't let anyone approach her or even try to talk to her. She smashed her fists onto the hard floor, forcing the blood out. Her hair was fallen from it's usual bun, falling around her, with her bangs hiding partly her angry and extremely pained features. She was crying for the one she loved desperately, on the floor, in front of her own door. The door which led to her, no, their bedroom. She rose her eyes and looked at the large bed. Her angry gestured calmed down, but the tears started falling even in a larger number. She just stood there, hopeless, faithless, loveless… staring at the room she had shared for so many years with the man she loved ever since she first laid eyes on him, although she had never admitted it. Her right hand touched her still flat tummy instinctively, trying to reach the life that was growing inside her. The life born our of their love… their beautiful and unique love.
She could hear far away the sounds inside the infirmary. Jade and Lita had come back with Nick, who was severly wounded and it was not yet known if he was going to make it through and the two young women unconscious, but not in a bad condition. At the back of her mind, she realised how much this hurt Serena and Rei… just as much as it hurt her... almost… She also hoped with all the heart she was left that Lita wasn't going to lose the love of her life, like she had. She didn't want anyone else to pass through the same hell… it was much too painful. And she didn't want Lita to carry even more pain than she had so far… just like her.
So, she remained there, watching incapable of anything their old room, tracking every detail, remembering every moment shared with him… still loving him like mad. Her drowned eyes looked down, to where her hand was resting. She now lived only for that life… that child… his child…
I know, if the last chapter didn't suck, this one did for sure. I was kind of stuck in a writer's block these days (you see, I don't just write fanfics), so draw your own conclusions… Anyway, if you have something, hell anything to say, please review. Cuz… this is like the end… See'ya'll next fanfic…