Wufei Chang padded carefully through, his attention captivated by the unusual bustling of Preventers around him. The ordinary day of a Preventer involved little to no movement since peace was largely accepted around the universe leaving little work to occupy them with, so he assumed something must have happened in order to provoke so much buzz around the place. His brisk walk finally met with the end of the large corridor, security scanners beaming his face before finally opening for him to enter.
"Sally Po," he acknowledged. The emanating protrusion of apprehension marred her features as she appeared to be awaiting his arrival.
"Disturbing news today," she stated as he took a seat.
"Like," he probed, his senses already preparing him for the answer.
"Relena Peacecraft has been kidnapped."
A young male sat rhythmically drumming his slender fingers on the table beside him. His short cropped sandy blond hair was tousled by the occasional swipe of his left hand, the ticking of the clock hanging in the room echoing in his ears. He resided in his seat wearing a loosely fitted white button up shirt with sleeves that extended to his wrists. The finely pressed dress pants were crimped with small torrents as he sat with legs crossed. Waiting had been his only task thus far and it was proving to be bothersome.
"Tenou, Haruka?"
He stood up with a nod. The woman scanned the man carefully, her eyes not quite trusting him as he stood before her.
"It says you're female."
Haruka smirked, her head bobbing in response. "It speaks the truth then," she saluted. With a frown, the woman shook off her suspicion and continued on.
"Lucrezia Noin," she introduced before promptly motioning for "her" to follow.
"May I ask what this is concerning, Lieutenant Noin?"
"You're being reassigned."
"Reassigned?" She inquired with a perplexed look. "For what reason?"
Ignoring the question, Noin proceeded to inform the sandy blonde of her newest assignment.
"You're moving to the Preventer's corps to join a team in a secret mission."
Haruka frowned, her hands lazily hanging in her pockets as she trailed behind her violet-haired superior. Eight years working as one of the most revered soldiers in the Sanq Kingdom had gained much attention to her humble origins. With the inexplicable skill she had for fighting and tactical maneuvers, it was not difficult for her to stick out amongst the numbers of others that shared her same task. Though Noin gave no indication of why she was being reassigned, she figured something big must have happened and they were pulling in their best to fix the issue. Haruka sighed. I wonder what happened…
"It's a search and rescue. Information will be supplied by your new teammates."
"What if I said I don't work well with others?" Haruka grumbled, earning a stern look from Noin.
"Then I'd say you have no choice in the matter." The metal door behind her slid open, her uniformed frame stepping discretely inside along with Haruka. As the small compartment jutted through the narrow shaft, the women inside stood in quiet contemplation.
Noin felt frantic. The news of Relena's kidnapping was devastating, the stained concern of Milliardo's features fixated in the deep pits of her brain. Things had been so calm, so peaceful but it seemed that in a single event, she was quickly reminded of all the cruel things in the world. Relena was a strong ruler. Being crowned the Queen of Earth did nothing to inflate her ego and her ideals remained steady and secure. There was no reason for Relena to be kidnapped and it troubled Noin that there were still people out there that believed this act could be useful in any way. No ransom note was sent, nor were there any known enemies plotting the kidnapping. Everything just seem to appear out of nowhere, no hints, inklings, nothing! Noin sighed. Hopefully, they would be able to resolve this before the public found out and before anything dreadful happens to Relena herself.
Heero Yuy traveled callously through the littered streets on the roaring engine vibrating heavily beneath him. The one night he decided not to be in close vicinity of Relena only to have her be kidnapped in that same instant. He cursed. He knew he should have never become so lax with his duties of protecting her. Already preparations were being made to find her, teams scouring her bedroom for clues and old comrades being called after years of absence to reunite and track her. With her high position, they took no chances, only wanting the best to be on the case so that casualties were spared. It was exciting, Heero had to admit, that he would be given the opportunity to again use his long subdued skills but at the cost of Relena's wellbeing, it was almost not worth it.
He glided through the parking lot finally stopping in a space near the Preventer's headquarters. Inside, he met with his old Chinese comrade who nodded in acknowledgment.
"Are the others here?" Heero asked, his stoic Prussian blue eyes scanning the halls as they walked.
Wufei nodded in confirmation. "And a few more recruits," he muttered half-heartedly. He had been opposed to adding more people than was necessary but Milliardo and Noin were vehement in getting as many on the case possible as if it would further aid them in their mission. Their emotions were interfering too much and he could see it even before they had their first briefing with the single clue that was found in Relena's bedroom.
A small breeze swept by them as the double doors slid open, a round table filled with occupants, some familiar and some foreign, centered in the room. Heero and Wufei took quickly to their seats, quick head bobs given in the direction of three particular men, Milliardo standing at the head ready to speak.
"As you all know," he started. "Relena Peacecraft was kidnapped somewhere between 23:00 hours last night and 08:00 hours this morning. Security cameras around her room show no activity and our investigation team concluded that the security tapes were not at all tampered with. The only clue we have is this."
Milliardo lifted a strange totem pole-like stick engraved with elaborate etchings and symbols, none of which were recognizable. The inhabitants in the room leant closer in their seats to get a better look at the object, each trying to decipher what it could mean.
"So far, no progress has been made. I've called each of you here for separate reasons. Some of you have worked with me before and some of you have not. The purpose of this meeting is to establish an order to find and retrieve Relena as quickly and as safely as possible. Word of her kidnapping is not to be spread." Milliardo's clear water-blue orbs rested uneasily on a red light that had silently started oscillating.
With trained reactions, the people in the room immediately sprang to their feet, weapons and radios pulled from their pockets.
"There's been a breach in security," a voice resonated from a small black box.
"Who is it?" Lucrezia Noin demanded, authoritatively grabbing the communication tool and hastily simulating a tactical rebuttal against whatever was coming.
"I don't know," the man said. "We can't see anything yet. They've come in through the West wing."
Noin cursed. The security put in place was starting to frustrate her as the unknown threat appeared to so easily penetrate their defenses. It was no wonder Relena was kidnapped without trouble!
"You five!" She yelled. The men had already known who she was addressing and turned to her in response. "Head over to the West Wing. Tenou, go with them!"
The five men trailed out obediently, a sandy blonde character not far behind. With their guns drawn they raced to all the commotion. Explosions grew louder as they neared, the heat from the growing fire spawning beads of sweat on each of them.
"What a welcome party," grinned an indigo-eyed boy with plaited chestnut hair. "I would expect nothing less when it involves you guys."
The four men around him scoffed, Haruka assuming they probably knew each other before this. Moving carefully, they all molded into a cautious team peeking behind corners to ensure they didn't walk into any traps.
Smoke and debris flew across, the haze making it difficult for any of them to see or breath but something was in there, they could sense it. Small twitches in their peripheries caused them to jerk around in attempts to spot them, but it seemed useless.
"What the hell?" Someone had muttered as they tried to determine what it is that was in the room with them.
"SH*T!" It was the voice of the braided haired man, his hands retracting hastily. His hand shook, deep gashes burning with bright crimson dripping to the ground. He hadn't even seen how it happened but now it appeared he had dropped his gun and the smoke was growing thicker.
"You okay, Duo?" The brunette bobbed his head and yelled a yes in response as he searched around for the "thing" responsible for his new gashes. Dainty padding could be heard, the sound nearly depleted by the constant rumblings of explosions nearby.
"Where are you?" Duo whispered as he slinked around the area. Was that hissing? Duo yelped again at the feeling of sharp claws slashing across his face. His hands tried to grip the attacker but by some odd mishap he missed. He groaned, gingerly touching his skin to try and feel the damage but to no avail.
"There's something in here!" He cried.
Wufei's ears perked when he heard Duo. A distinctive screech sounded in the mist of Maxwell's noise but he wasn't sure he could depend on his ears especially since his mind had trouble believing that sound could be coming in a situation such as this. He shook his head. It was the sound of a hissing cat but what would a cat be doing in a place like this? He held tightly to his gun, the sandy blond of whom he had yet to meet formally, clear in his view. They both unconsciously turned their backs on each an assumed sense of "you watch my back and I'll watch yours" taking place.
Wufei shot. The scurrying thing bounded uninhibited and it was apparent Wufei had missed his target. The blond behind him shifted in quick movements to try and catch a glimpse of what was coming and cocked his gun.
"Luna?" Haruka scoffed incredulously.
The black cat's ears perked at the sound of her name as she pivoted on her paws to get a clear view of who had addressed her. Wufei nearly fell in his stance at what was to follow but clung desperately at the thinning string of composure still left inside of him.
"Haruka?" The cat spoke.
R&R? Thanks for reading!
JPandS