He had to be dreaming.

He HAD to be dreaming...!

But as Heero stared at the ash littered across his body and the cot, falling onto the floor in dirty clumps, he knew.  As his mind took in the pentagram necklace that now lay uselessly on the cot’s edge, he saw.  As his heart registered the lifeless, severed braid that used to always move and jump with Duo’s agitated movements, he understood.

Duo would never be back.

Duo would never laugh again.

Duo would never smile again.

Duo would never tease Heero at night or complain about the keyboard.

Duo would never tell Heero it was ok, that he was there for him forever.

Duo would never throw popcorn at Heero or wield Deathscythe’s weapon or call himself Shinigami or talk incessantly while Heero only wished he’d shut up....

Because Duo was dead.

Murdered.

Destroyed.

And as Heero’s mind worked through the logic, he felt the sudden pain of loss. And something in him snapped.

Cano cursed vehemently as he withdrew from the Dream environment.  Pradosh looked over with a surprised eyebrow raised, unused to the violence in his Lord.  Cano glared first at his mirror, then at Pradosh, before taking a deep breath and returning to his usual calm countenance.  “He escaped,” he said simply.

Pradosh’s other eyebrow raised now.  “Escaped, Sir?”

Cano nodded, his jaw set angrily.  “He managed to kill himself.”  Cano turned, his voice turning angry as he spit, “How the FUCK he did it, I don’t know!  I had him, Pradosh!  I had him RIGHT IN MY HANDS... and then....” Cano narrowed his eyes.  “It had to have been Cressida,” he seethed lowly.

Pradosh looked slightly confused as he said hesitantly, “Ah, but, Lord Sandman, Cressida died awhile ago.  We killed her, remember...?”

Cano glanced levelly at Pradosh and smiled grimly.  “It’s a lot harder to kill a Dreamer than it seems, Pradosh.  I would have thought you’d know that by now.”

Pradosh looked at the ground.  “I do, Lord, it’s just... ah... didn’t you... finish... her?”

Cano pulled the chair of his desk out, dropping fluidly into it as he reached for a goblet and bottle of red wine.  He poured himself half a cup and swirled the contents thoughtfully.  “I have now,” he said softly, staring at the wine a color that so resembled his Soul Ruby.  Pradosh watched the Sandman, wisely remaining quiet.  After a few moments, Cano spoke up again.  “You have yet to dispose of her physical body, correct?”

Pradosh nodded, adding an affirmative, “Yes, Sir,” for good measure.

Cano nodded with a slow burning smile.  “Very well.  I will be busy with preparations for the next soul I will catch, but I wish to be there for her extermination.  In one hour I want her body removed from stasis and placed in the Operating Room.  You will assemble our most practiced surgeons.  I wish to see every inch of her destroyed slowly so that she can never return.
You will wait for my presence before beginning.  I plan to enjoy every minute.”

Pradosh nodded curtly, “Yes, Lord Sandman.”  He turned on his heel to leave.

“One more thing, Pradosh.”

The bodyguard stopped in his tracks, turning around once more immediately as he said respectfully, “Anything, Lord Sandman.”

Cano continued to watch his wine as he said idly, “Find me another Gundam pilot.  He will be my next victim.”

Pradosh nodded again and disappeared through the doorway.

Canowicakte continued to swirl his wine thoughtfully a moment before he finally sipped it.  The smooth liquid moved quickly down his throat, calming him even more.  He smirked, picking up the heavy ruby that had rested against his chest for centuries.  He held the jewel up to the light, splashes of cardinal and crimson warring for dominance as the ruby caught the rays and turned into a pool of burgundy light and shadow.  “Happy now, Mariea?  You’re with your daughter again,” he murmured in amusement.  He held the collar of his shirt out and dropped the ruby back into place against his heart.   The jewel pulsed with energy, constantly feeding him as he drained the dozens of souls trapped within its magical, murky depths.

He stood with a soft sigh, cracking his neck and stretching idly before padding across the room.  It was time to start preparations again.

Time for him to catch a new soul.

Quatre wasn’t entirely sure what he’d been expecting to see when Heero walked out.  Of course the Wing pilot would be upset (upset?  Horrified!) at what had happened to Duo....  But Duo was alive, wasn’t he?  That was good at least.  That was all they should need until they could contact Cressida/Dori again and learn what more they should do.

But barely a few minutes after Heero entered that room and Quatre and the other two left, Quatre felt a sudden jolt run through his body.  It spread from his heart outward, racing through his veins like quicksilver lightning. He shrieked wordlessly and crumpled, curled in a protective ball.  Wufei and Trowa were surprised when it happened, but Trowa managed to catch Quatre barely in time before his small body crashed to the cold, hard floor.

“Quatre...?” Trowa asked evenly, a hint of confusion and what may have been fear creeping into his voice.

“Allah,” Quatre hoarsely whispered.  He slowly opened first one eye, then the other, and looked around.  “Allah!” he breathed that time, looking hopeful.  Trowa started to help Quatre to his feet when suddenly several things happened at once.  One: From beneath the closed door that held Duo and Heero a flash of light brilliantly blue blinded them all.  Two: Quatre
screamed and fainted, clutching at his heart as he fell.  Three: a soundless impact shot through each of their bodies, actually throwing Wufei and Trowa a step or two away from the room.

Then the light vanished, leaving the world seemingly darker than before, Quatre was unconscious, and everything was dead silent.

A few moments later the door slowly opened.  Wufei opened his mouth to say something but stopped cold when he saw who was coming out.

Heero stood completely still, one hand gripping the door and the other clutching Duo’s severed braid as if it were a lifeline.  Dirt or soot or SOMETHING was smeared across Heero’s front, making him seem darker and more menacing.  On his chest shone a silver-gold pentagram that flashed brilliantly even in the dim lighting.  Heero still stood there; silent, cold, furious.

But what stopped Wufei from speaking was the look in Heero’s eyes.

Blind, staring, like a zombie.  Yet within the Prussian depths there was a promise for a slow, painful murder that would leave the victim begging for mercy for centuries to come.  Slowly the murderous eyes turned to Trowa’s startled green ones.  “We have a mission,” Heero said flatly.  His voice had always been cold, flat, and emotionless.  But now it wasn’t cold, it was
ice.  It wasn’t flat, it was empty.  His voice had turned from simply lacking emotions to seeming to suck the emotions from the air, throwing it to a void where no life could live and no hearts could beat.

Trowa felt a chill go up his spine as he nodded, never betraying the growing fear he felt inside.

They didn’t have a mission.

They had a death warrant.

Cano stepped out of the Ritual Room, readjusting the pale robes that clothed him.  He smiled to himself as he thought of the energy that would soon be coming his way.  True, he lost the prime soul for harvesting, but the others weren’t too far behind.  Besides, he had gotten plenty of energy from the boy before he killed himself.  Cano’s smile dropped at the thought.
He was still angry Cressida had allowed the boy’s escape, but he was already close to rectifying that mistake.  It would only be a matter of hours and then he’d—

Red lights suddenly flashed and Cano froze.

Intruders.

Falling back into the Ritual Room, Cano accessed the secret passageways, moving swiftly and silently on his way to prepare for attack.  He smirked to himself, having a pretty good idea who would be intelligent enough to find his base so quickly, bold enough to attack full on, and have a vendetta to fulfill.

The boy his little treasure had been so fixated on.

<Heero.>

Cano switched secret hallways, changing his mind slightly.  This would be amusing indeed.

“Heero, slow down!” Quatre panted.

He had come back to consciousness 20 minutes after they left the factory. It probably would have taken longer except Heero had insisted they return immediately to their safehouse where the Gundams were stored .  When Quatre had still been unconscious upon arrival Heero had finally slapped him back to reality.  The Arabian was immediately forced into Wing Zero to discern the position of Cano’s domain.  Quatre had been frightened out of his mind, so it was a miracle nothing had happened with the Zero System.  Perhaps it was sheer pain for Duo’s demise and fear of what Heero would do to him if he DIDN’T find the Sandman’s whereabouts immediately.  Heero had his eyes on Cano but it seemed he would kill anyone and everyone who got in the way.  10 minutes later they had the location and were already on their way.  Quatre had been nervous about how fast they discovered the location but Heero explained monotonously (no, more like EMPTILY) that Quatre had only needed to think correctly and ask the right questions.

So there they were, 50 minutes after Duo’s death, running through a large expanse of underground caverns that never seemed to end or really even change.  Heero had been striding so fast he should have been running, and Quatre’s body was still in shock after all the energy running through him lately.

“No,” Heero said simply and turned a corner abruptly.

Quatre glanced at the other two and saw similar thoughts.

Heero had finally cracked, and without Duo... who would put him back together once this was all over with...?

Shaking his head, Quatre doubled his pace to catch up.

He was afraid to leave Heero alone for any extended period of time.  Not only for Heero, but also for what Heero would do to anyone around him. Heero glanced back once at Quatre, his eyes completely bereft of any emotion except hatred and revenge.  Quatre shivered, seeing the message in the glare.

‘Get in my way and I kill you,’ his eyes silently seethed.  ‘I promise.’

It was 10.35 minutes later when Heero stopped abruptly in front of a door. He turned slowly toward it, his hand unconsciously moving for the doorknob. The other three pilots stopped behind him, watching.  Just as Heero was about to turn the knob Quatre inhaled sharply, turning paler than his hair in the moonlight.  The Arabian was slowly turning his wide, frightened eyes around the hallway.  Trowa looked at Quatre but Wufei followed Quatre’s gaze and caught his breath.

At the end of the hallway stood a large mirror.  Staring back at each of them was the part of them they didn’t want to remember.

Quatre saw himself, green eyes wide and full of madness.  The Other Quatre was laughing, spinning around in merry circles in the midst of a colony’s worth of tortured ghosts.  Quatre fell back, holding his hands to his mouth as he shook his head and tried to deny what he saw.  Suddenly the Other Quatre stopped spinning and was standing there, staring back at Quatre as if he truly was his reflection.  ::You look like me, but you’re weak,:: breathed a voice in Quatre’s head suddenly, ::Do you wanna play...?:: Quatre only shook his head wordlessly, unable to do anything more than stare in horror.

Wufei found himself staring at himself at a younger age, hair loose and flowing free to his shoulders.  Glasses sat on his Other self’s nose as the Other Wufei stared back calmly.  Wufei swallowed, wondering where this was leading.  He didn’t have long to wait.  Suddenly a girl appeared in front of the Other Wufei and glared at him.  “Wufei, you call yourself a man?” she
demanded, her voice echoing within Wufei’s head, “I thought that after becoming my partner you’d change.  I guess I was completely wrong.” the girl said sternly, her fists at her hips.  The Other Wufei ignored her but the landscape suddenly molded around him until suddenly the two were resting in a beautiful field, cherry blossoms falling lazily down around them.  The Other Wufei barely glanced up from that book that suddenly appeared within his grasp.  ::I’m not interested in fighting:: the Other Wufei replied, flipping a page.  Wufei knew this was so familiar and yet not....  He shook his head, know what was to come.  Suddenly, fearfully, he looked behind them and saw a mass of black approaching through the sky at an intense speed. “Move!” Wufei cried at the mirror, “GET YOUR GUNDAM!”  The Other Wufei and girl didn’t seem to hear him....  ::Justice?:: the Other Wufei was saying, ::You really think there is such a thing?:: (1)

Trowa found himself facing himself... only... he was smiling....  Trowa frowned slightly, but the Other Trowa continued to smile smugly.  ::Do you wonder who you are?:: asked the Other Trowa with a smirk.  Trowa narrowed his eyes slightly.  ::Iiiiii know whoooo you aaaaaarrre....:: Other Trowa said tauntingly, liltingly, like a child picking on another.  Trowa’s gaze shifted behind Other Trowa’s back and noticed a circus tent rising from the ground ominously.  Behind the tent flames licked at the sky.  Trowa frowned but the Other Trowa was already turning and walking away.  ::Don’t you want to see?  I can show you.  I can show you everything....::

Heero barely glanced back at his copilots who had each stopped, staring transfixed at the end of the hallway.  He turned forward again.  It was of no concern of his.  Taking the braid that was still gripped firmly in his fist, he wrapped it like a strange belt around his waist and pulled his shirt over it before turning the knob.  As he stepped into the room, the door slammed shut firmly behind him... almost as if it wouldn’t open ever again.

When Heero stepped into the room he felt a pressure erupt around him, but he completely ignored it.  His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness of the room and he surveyed its contents.  The room was fairly large, decorated in what looked like a mixture of white and gold.  A large throne sat at the opposite end, almost hidden by a strange alcove shadowing it.

A soft mist hung just above the floor, rendering his feet invisible.  The scent of some incense permeated the air; a strong, almost musky aroma.  A few candles had been lit near the throne, their flickering flames the only light in the dark room.  Huge mirrors covered all the walls, some even hanging from the ceiling and swinging in an unfelt breeze.  The room was so silent it almost seemed alive; breathing.

Heero took another step forward, ignoring the sudden slamming of the door. He was looking for a figure when suddenly, in a faint tornado that started with the mist at the floor and swirled to the ceiling in a flash, a power rose in the room.  More candles that he hadn’t noticed before lit themselves, the deadened wicks leaping to dancing flames in the blink of an eye.  A sound caught his attention and Heero immediately whipped his gaze to the area.

Sitting comfortably on the throne was a middle-aged man who appeared to be of Hawaiian ancestry.  His skin shone a light golden in the mediocre light, but his eyes seemed small pits of a void deeper than black holes.  He was watching Heero expressionlessly, but on his lips was the smallest of smirks.   The man wore simple white robes with a crimson and gold layer over it. His straight black hair fell down his chest, ending at his elbows.

“Welcome,” the man said simply, and his smooth voice almost seemed to speak in Heero’s head.

Heero narrowed his eyes and stood completely still, already planning the logistics of the murder he was about to commit.

“I’m quite interested in you boys,” the man said conversationally after a brief pause, leaning back into the throne as if discussing sports with a neighbor on his living room couch, “You have quite unique structures that provide me with an especially good subject...” The man continued to watch Heero calmly with eyes the deepest shade of black.

“Canowicakte,” Heero said evenly.

The man raised one slow, amused eyebrow.  “Ahh, so you’ve already heard of me?  Of course, most know me by my title....”

“Sandman,” Heero provided, observing through his peripheral vision the structure of the room.  There was very little that would get in his way provided Canowicakte wasn’t able to hide anything from Heero’s sharp eye.

Cano nodded easily.  “Quite right.  So.  You would be Heero, correct?” Heero’s gaze calmly returned to Cano’s.  He gave nothing away in his expression but Cano smirked.  “Yes, you would be him.  Where is your little friend?”

Heero’s eyes narrowed unconsciously.

“The one that resembles a girl.  I seem to have misplaced him.  Did you find him, then?”  Cano’s voice sounded only slightly amused but nothing more.

Heero began to observe Cano more carefully now, gauging his strength and what sort of threat he posed.  “Yes.”  His voice was completely monotonous.

“I was rather disappointed to lose him.  But then, death does that.”  Cano reached down beside the throne (Heero inconspicuously tensed to dodge) and brought up a crystal goblet filled with red wine.  He stared thoughtfully at the contents.  “He released himself.  Did you know that?”  Heero didn’t respond in any way.  “While I was distracted he managed to slip from my grasp.”  Cano’s eyes flicked up to meet Heero’s gaze briefly before he looked at the red wine again.  “Rather annoying, actually.  He was close... so close....”  Cano’s voice was soft, caressing.  Heero felt a pang of anger at the intimacy he was talking about Duo but he immediately pushed it down, allowing his void of all emotions to regain control completely.  Cano looked up again with a face that betrayed no emotion save carelessness.  “He was quite the interesting specimen, however, as I was saying all you pilots are.   But him in particular.  For one, his fascinating fixation on you.”  Heero
didn’t appear to respond so Cano continued conversationally.  “Ah, I’ve seen homosexuals before, of course.  They’ve been around since I was a child, whether or not anyone believes it. No, that wasn’t what was so interesting. It was his devotion I found intriguing.  Complete devotion to someone he hardly knew.  Hmmmm.”  Cano sipped his wine and paused.  “It took his dreams to convince him, but by then he had given up.”

The door suddenly opened behind Heero and he turned to see if it was the other pilots.  Instead, a very large man was entering.  In the hall Heero could barely see the other three still frozen in place.  The door shut with an echo behind the newcomer and Heero turned to see Cano suddenly standing about 10 feet from him.  Instead of being surprised, Heero just noted this for evaluation later and increased his observation of Cano.

“Your friends won’t be bothering us, don’t worry.  I’ve trapped them in their minds.”  Cano was, again, watching Heero calmly.

Heero finally reacted.  In a matter of seconds he had his gun out and trained on the exact point of Cano’s head that would cause him the most pain and slowest death.  “Just like you did to Duo?” he asked, no emotion in his voice.

Cano glanced over Heero’s shoulder and shook his head at the man who had just entered.  Heero heard the man set something down and the door open and shut firmly.  Cano turned his gaze back to Heero, more or less ignoring the gun.  “Not quite,” he replied calmly.  He moved to take a step then paused, giving Heero a ‘I’m about to move don’t shoot me’ look.  Heero’s gun never left its target as he turned, allowing Cano movement.  He was confident in his ability to kill the man.  Not so much because Cano posed no threat or even that Heero was more powerful than Cano by any means.  Instead, Heero
knew he was willing to die for this, what could very well be his last mission ever, and Cano probably wouldn’t be.  From what he’d learned of the man, he was rather old, and not about to give up his life easily. Therefore, it was best to learn as much as possible before pulling the trigger.

Cano didn’t walk; he strolled.  His movements were graceful, but slightly forced, as if that grace wasn’t an innate ability of his but had rather been learned through years of practice.  He wasn’t nearly as good at it as Duo was.

Duo.

Heero didn’t outwardly change his expression or stance in any way, but inside he allowed an extra boost in determination fill him.  He WOULD kill the man who had murdered Duo.  And he would be sure it was in a way Duo would have liked....

“No, not at all, really,” Cano was replying airily,  “His soul was trapped, not his mind.  There is a definite difference.”  Cano slowly bent down and retrieved the object that had been placed on the floor.  As he stood he held it up so Heero could see.  A brilliantly deep gem twinkled all shades of burgundy and crimson back at him.  “This is a Soul Ruby,” Cano said calmly,
“And it is what would be holding Duo’s soul right now, had he not killed himself.”

Heero refused to be baited but Cano appeared to wish the information released anyway since he continued even without a reaction from the Wing pilot.

“Yes, killed himself.  He called upon some god he believed in.  As a whole, that doesn’t work.  But apparently the boy believed himself to be some faint incarnation of the deity so it did.  It was rather intriguing, truthfully, although I would have preferred to have kept him around awhile longer.” Cano looked at the ruby and smiled.  It wasn’t a happy smile, nor even an
‘evil bad guy’ smile.  It was the smolderingly intimate smile of a man recalling the deepest secrets of his lover, and smugly knowing he was the only one who would ever truly know so much.  It was calm, but taunting, and smug but overall somehow very vile.  Too insinuative.  Too knowing.  Too... private and intimate.

Heero was getting angry.  He knew exactly who Cano was thinking of to produce such an expression.

Duo.

“He never quite begged, well not to me anyway.  He –did- beg you.  Several times.”

“What did you do to him?” Heero asked quietly, unable to keep the question in any longer.  He had thought at first he wanted it left for Duo to tell in his own time, but now Duo was dead.  There would never be a chance for him to explain.  Then Heero had believed it best to let it slide... to give Duo some dignity as he went.  But now Heero knew—he KNEW—the best way to accomplish this mission was to know details.

The best way to avenge Duo was to know what the fuck Cano had done to him, and how to pay him back.

(2) The room fell away from the three pilots, leaving a dark mist to cover the rest of the world.  Though they stood side by side, they saw only the mirror and the mist.  No longer was there a hallway, no longer a doorway, no longer even copilots.  It was only the mirror and them.  The mist and the mirror.  The mist and them.

Suddenly, at the same time, each pilot saw the mirror turn a reflectionless black.  A moment of pure silence passed when the mist suddenly swirled up in a faint tornado around each pilot, and the mirror shattered.  Not realizing the similar predicaments the others were in, the pilots each looked around, seeing the same thing, but different, and never seeing their copilots.

People surrounded them.  Faint figures blocked by the dirty mist with just enough detail to see their glittering eyes and unmoving mouths.  The dead silence was replaced with the sound a man’s higher but rich voice echoing into oblivion.

/Dori me
Interimo adapare dori me/

The man’s voice was joined by a soft chorus that echoed as well on ‘dori me.’  Each pilot turned as if synchronized, but there was nothing save the mist, the mirror, them and the....

The people’s eyes stared glassily but the mouths moved as the chorus of voices did.  When the man sang again, it was impossible to see which of the blind people he was, for their mouths were closed and eyes staring at nothing.

/Ameno
Ameno/

The man’s voice echoed eerily, soon joined again by an increasingly loud chorus.

/Latire
Latiremo
Dori me/

As the voices echoed away, a swirl of smoke covered each pilot’s eyes.  And when each could see....

Quatre fell back, surrounded now by not only the singing figures, but also closer by the colony’s worth of people he’d seen earlier in the mirror.  Men and women, young and old, stared with eyeless sockets at him.

/Ameno/

Rose the chorus, louder, still led by the man’s voice.  The colony people crowded around Quatre, reaching imploring hands toward his face, his shoulders, his heart.

/Omenare imperavi ameno/

The chorus of blind, faceless people continued while the colony people opened their mouths and spoke quietly, words that couldn’t be understood, some even seeming to be the echoing of the song that had risen to fill Quatre’s head.

A woman came right up to Quatre, gripping his shirt in skeletal hands.  Her bedraggled face resembled nothing more than a skull with a little skin stretched over it.  Her hair was straggly, long, a dirty blond stained crimson.  She pleadingly scrunched her face up and opened her mouth.  When she spoke, it was the man and chorus combined.

“/Dimere
Dimere/”

An old woman appeared beside the young woman and began pulling her away. The elderly woman, whose clothes were ripped and worn, looked up through a graveyard of wrinkles and frizzy white-blood red hair.

“/Matiro/”

She said, her voice the man and chorus combined.  But her face was angry and she looked ready to spit at Quatre’s feet.  The first woman looked at the second, the two fading into nothingness as children suddenly appeared very clearly in Quatre’s vision.  All the little girls and boys, each bedraggled, some partially burned, some with expressions caught in pain and horror, all stained in some place with blood, stared eyelessly at Quatre. As one they cocked their heads and spoke with that same voice, the voice of the man and chorus combined.

“/Matiremo/”

Quatre screamed, bringing shaking hands to his eyes to block out the images, but he couldn’t ignore the song.  Luckily, it seemed to fade into the background the slightest bit.  The darkness behind his eyes shattered to reveal a white void.

Wufei looked around helplessly.  He’d been hearing what sounded like a song in the background but he couldn’t understand it.  The people surrounding him had opened their mouths and sang but beyond that all he had seen was darkness and a muted song.

Suddenly the massive form of Shenlong shimmered into view before him just as the words /Matiremo/ echoed quietly.

/Ameno/

The voices got louder immediately after Shenlong’s appearance, the voices echoing eerily.  A pause of the singers was accompanied by a very faint instrument Wufei couldn’t completely pay attention to at the time, and the sudden sound of drums.

He stared at Shenlong, captivated by a crimson aura that pulsed to the music around it, like a fire of the soul.

Suddenly, directly behind his shoulder, he felt something.  He turned abruptly, faced with Meiran.  She fell back a few steps then stumbled around, partially hung over as if she were a puppet being used poorly by her puppet master.  She looked up at him through scraggly hair almost immediately and opened her mouth before Wufei could do anything but gasp in surprise.

“/Omenare imperavi emulari/”

She said, but it wasn’t her voice.  It was a higher voice that Wufei didn’t care to evaluate at the time.  He moved to get closer but each movement only stumbled her back more.  He tried to yell her name but the song drowned anything he said out.  She was continuing in that strange voice, staring intently at him but otherwise seemingly ignoring him.

“/Ameno
Omenare imperavi emulari/”

Before Wufei could do anything more, she disappeared in a wisp of smoke, leaving him with the muted but now louder song, echoing around him from the blind, singing group of people.  Wufei turned to look at them and was suddenly engulfed in white.

Trowa stared at the people surrounding him, trying to understand what was happening.  The three of them had been standing in the hallway, Quatre had seen something that startled him, and when Trowa had looked over he had seen... himself.

But now a muted song that was seemingly being sung by these staring, singing people that he’d never seen before surrounded him.  Just as Trowa took a step forward, intending to investigate more, the song increased in volume and his surroundings changed.

Trowa was standing in the center of a circus ring, where the Ring Master usually directed the events.  The seating was filled with that strange chorus as they all stared glitteringly, unnervingly at him.  They opened their mouths and sang.

/Ameno/

As they sang, Trowa heard something behind him and turned swiftly. Catherine walked slowly toward him, each step plodding and purposeful, like a zombie.  Her eyes were wide and staring blindly but still directly at his face.  She wore her circus outfit.  Knives dangled loosely in her hands and as she approached, she opened her mouth, singing in the voice of the chorus,

“/Ameno dore/”

Suddenly she whipped the knives at him.  Trowa didn’t move as he continued to watch Catherine, but some of the knives got so close it was almost as if she had missed him instead of purposefully going right past.

She opened her mouth again and all the sound and volume of the chorus was still escaping her lips.

“/Ameno dori me/”

Catherine threw one knife so close it actually cut some of his hair off. As the strands floated to the ground, Catherine suddenly stood as stiff as a board, all her muscles tensed.  She was staring at him, her eyes full of pain and sorrow and regret, when immediately she disappeared in a swirl of smoky mist.  Trowa took a step forward, one hand out as if to reach to her
invisible form.  Abruptly the lights turned off throughout the entire circus tent, only one bright and steaming spotlight trained on him.  Through the brightness he could still see the chorus, staring at him as they continued their song.

/Ameno dori me/

The light blinded him until all he saw was white.

The three pilots stood by each other in their minds again, but due to the white they were each still completely unaware of the others.  The chorus spiraled in around them until the very inner chorus members were directly in front of the pilots.  Still, through the white, they were as misted and formless as they had been so far away.

/Ameno dom/

Half the chorus sang at a time, but the volume was still as if everyone was participating.  The song was directly in each pilot’s head, echoing, reverberating, gaining intensity until it seemed it would kill them.  Still, the voices stayed the same volume.

/Dori me reo
Ameno dori me
Ameno dori me/

The chorus started to fade into the white background.

/Dori me am/

A guitar and drums sounded and as the instruments played invisibly, the three pilots were shot apart again, back to where they’d been individually.

>

Quatre opened his eyes and was confronted by the colonists again.  They faced him imploringly, some showing marks of how they died while others were merely formless wisps.  Suddenly some started gaining in detail while others flickered in and out of view like a hologram going bad.

/Ameno
Omenare imperavi ameno/

Murmured the colonists.  As one they turned, holding their left hands out to the side.  Quatre’s gaze unwittingly followed the motion, looking behind them and to the left.

In the distance, where the sky would be were he in anything but a plane of nothingness, a starry night glittered back at him.  He could see a colony floating in space, turning slowly.  Suddenly he saw himself firing.  The beam ripped ruthlessly through the colony, people killed with no forewarning, silent as death.  Quatre saw himself staring unremorsefully as blood stained the vision.

The colonists were staring at Quatre though their hands were still held out.  They spoke in unison, in the voice of a song.

“/Dimere
Dimere
Matiro
Matiremo/”

Quatre felt himself falling to his knees as he stared at the scene, repeating itself over and over again.  He felt tears spring to his eyes but he was unaware.  Within his chest he felt as if he was dying as well.  All he could feel was the death.

The death and the blood.

Wufei snapped his eyes open and was confronted with that field that he’d seen before.  Again, Meiran was yelling at him but Wufei could hear nothing of what was being said.  In the distance, a terrible black shadow was filling the sky.  Wufei yelled at himself and Meiran to look but they couldn’t hear him.

/Ameno/

Wufei tried to run at the scene but he found he was completely stuck, unable to move, unable even to look away.  The puppet Meiran appeared behind him again, this time leaning against his back, her head on his right shoulder.  She spoke in the voice of the chorus once again.

“/Omenare imperavi emulari/”

The scene changed.  Wufei was now watching Meiran fall in a blaze of fire and smoke.  She screamed and he screamed and the other Wufei screamed, but no sound was heard of any of them.

“/Ameno/”

The puppet Meiran moved in front of him then, and he saw that she was exactly as he’d last seen her.  The scene disappeared, the field appearing around him instead.  The puppet Meiran fell to the ground, blood staining her form.  Wufei reached out and clutched her as she stared up at him.  She opened her mouth but instead of the words he remembered, instead of hearing his own words or even feeling his own tears, he was able to experience only one thing: the song.

“/Omenare imperavi emulari/”

Breathed the puppet Meiran a moment before she died in his arms.  Wufei screamed at the sky but couldn’t hear his voice.  He tried to hug her tighter but the stench was overpowering.  He was surrounded by pain...

... And all he could smell was death.

Death and blood.

Trowa let his eyes refocus and was met by the scene he had originally seen when he looked in the mirror. A circus tent stood in front of him, the Other Trowa turning with a smirk toward Trowa before disappearing around the corner.  Trowa stood still a moment, then was surrounded by what looked like customers from the circus, but he knew they were that same chorus as all the other times.

/Ameno/

Trowa barely glanced at them before he started walking.  They followed behind him dutifully, continuing to sing.

/Ameno dore/

Trowa ignored them as he rounded the corner and was met with a fire that was beginning to rage out of control.  He heard the screams of a girl and what was probably a baby, as well as the death screams of a woman and man.

/Ameno dori me/

Trowa watched the Other Trowa reach through the fire and pull out a small bundle.  The Other Trowa turned with a smirk at Trowa, holding the child out.  Trowa took a step forward to meet them but the smoke of the fire swirled around both and they disappeared.  The little girl was still screaming but all Trowa could hear then was the song, and the death screams.   He took another step forward and was confronted with a man and woman burning alive.

As Trowa stared helplessly the woman reached through the flames toward him, her face burned and bloodied, but hopeful and determined.

/Ameno dori me/

He held his hand out, unable to take his eyes away, but the woman suddenly tensed and fell to the ground lifelessly.  Trowa swallowed, looking up to the sky and observing the inky black of the night as it burned with the fire.

But even though he looked away, he continued to see that woman and man.

All he could see was the death.

The death and blood.

The three stood side by side again but they were lost in their own memories and thoughts.  The chorus appeared again, this time standing above and below them as if on stairs though the world was still a misty black void.

/Ameno dom/

Darkness penetrated the minds of each of them.

/Dori me reo/

The chorus began to swirl around the pilots, the clothes of the chorus never moving as if there was no air or breeze produced.

/Ameno dori me/

Some of the chorus members stood touching the pilots then, their skin as cold and clammy as death.

/Ameno dori me/

Suddenly light seemed to shine in the darkness and the chorus, one by one, disappeared in a swirl of smoke.  As they disappeared they continued to sing.

/Dori me am/

The guitar and drums sounded again, surrounding the pilots who were beginning to look around.  Quatre looked over and caught the eyes of his fellows.  Wufei looked forward resolutely and Trowa had an expression that hinted at sadness.  Quatre pulled himself up and looked around, eyes filled with guilt.

/Ameno
Ameno dore
Ameno dori me
Ameno dori me/

Murmured the chorus softly.  A red mist appeared, swallowing the three pilots slowly.  Trowa moved to the side, Wufei moved to step back, and Quatre tried to run, but each was caught in an unbreakable hold.  The mist moved intimately around them as the chorus sang into oblivion.  The second the mist touched Wufei, who was closest, he froze and clutched at his
throat.  A heartbeat passed before he was falling to the ground and Quatre was silently screaming, eyes wide with pain.  Another heartbeat passed and it was Quatre collapsing to the floor, the mist wrapping suffocatingly around Trowa’s immobile form.  The Heavyarms pilot tried to resist but he felt a pressure pulse into his brain and, as the next heartbeat passed, he
was on the ground, eyes as glassy and staring as his copilots.

The chorus had disappeared completely but their voices still filled the void, echoing calmly around the three fallen pilots.

/Ameno dom
Dori me reo
Ameno dori me
Ameno dori me
Dori me am..../

Heero immediately threw himself to the side and rolled, listening intently for the telltale signs of breathing and movement.  He looked around the room, trying to train his eyes to the abrupt blackness, but for some reason he still was completely blind.  He continued to hold the gun out, silently training it at the slightest indication of movement.  But instead of one person’s movement, he was hearing several.

He finally closed his eyes, straining his ears as he listened.

The sound of soft sighs emanated seemingly from the very walls surrounding him. They were high and low, some barely noticeable and some louder and more forceful.  He opened his eyes immediately and was surprised to see the faintest glows shimmering in and out of existence.  The air seemed to be moving in ghostly patterns, forming into transparent, glowing human figures here and there.  Slowly they came closer and closer to him until Heero felt the slightest pressure on his arm.  He jumped unconsciously at the absolute cold that he felt at the touch; it was as if the warmth had been completely sucked from him where he felt that.

As he watched, the ghostly forms were coming closer and closer, touching him faster and more frequently all over.  Heero tried to ignore the cold and move, but he soon found his legs weren’t listening.

A sound directly behind him caught his attention and Heero turned his torso, the gun trained immediately.

Nothing.

Heero heard another sound, which he turned to immediately, but there was still nothing.  Just as he was about to look to the first spot again a voice spoke from directly in front of him.

“Some people say they don’t believe in ghosts,” Cano’s voice calmly penetrated Heero’s mind, “But they are very mistaken, wouldn’t you say?”

“What is this?” Heero growled as one of the figures passed through the upper right half of his torso.  His heart, though it wasn’t touched by the ghost’s passage, stuttered as if nearly frozen.  His lungs ached and felt slow, as if coated in a thick layer of frost.

“Some past friends of mine, I suppose.”  Cano’s voice was encircling Heero but he still couldn’t see him, despite the flashes of light from the human-like figures.  “They’re all dead now, of course.  After a fashion. But I like to keep them around for occasions just like this.”

Heero narrowed his eyes, tracking the movement of the voice.  In a flash of movement he had the gun trained and pulled the trigger.  But before his finger completely pulled the trigger, one of the ghost-like beings rested so its presence was completely surrounding his arm up to the elbow.  He grit his teeth and continued to try to pull the trigger completely but soon his
entire arm was completely numb and throbbing with as much pain as if it was completely covered in frostbite.  Heero grit his teeth even more, willing himself to pull the trigger despite the setback, but then another ghost moved to his upper left torso.  Heero gasped despite himself as his heart suddenly stopped pumping.  He could feel the cold wrap around his ribs, turning them brittle and useless.  His lungs slowly stopped moving as the tainted blood raced through his veins even without his heart to help it along.  Soon his entire body was filled with a heat-sucking coldness that wrapped itself around his bones and muscles and tendons and skin and every part of Heero’s body.  Distantly, he heard the gun fall from useless hands.

He was beginning to lose consciousness as the lack of breath and blood wore on his body.  He felt himself falling but he was so removed it barely registered in his mind.  Everything was so slow, so lethargic, he had a hard time remembering why he was supposed to be angry, remembering what he was supposed to be doing.

Just before he fell to the ground and was sure his entire body would shatter, he felt warm hands catch him and a thick layer of fabric surround him.

But by then, his eyes were already closed and he was already beginning to dream.

~ Where...?

I look around, feeling faintly surprised that I’m not dead.

Darkness is all around me and slowly I begin to remember.

I came to that building to rectify a mistake, for one last mission.

I don’t know where I am now. Maybe the room. Maybe not. The environment doesn’t matter as long as I complete this mission.

Only then can I rest.

Something is appearing before me. I move as trained and am rewarded with a slightly surprised Canowicakte. He stares at me and I guess I am in that dream place I was before. It looks the same with the exception of Duo and Cressida.

Cano smiles slowly at me and speaks, “Ahh, so it WAS Cressida who helped you,” he murmurs thoughtfully.

At first I am confused.  How would he know...?  I don’t look down then like most would, to see if something on me shows that Cressida was with me, because I realize what I was just thinking.  Cano tries to hide it but he smirks slightly.  Very well.  I concentrate and distinguish between what I am thinking and what he can hear.

“Yes, this is that ‘dream place’ you were before,” Cano says, amused.  I stare at him silently, knowing he hates it when I don’t respond.  He tries to hide it but I can tell that he isn’t used to so silent and stoic a victim.  Maybe he thinks I should be like Duo, who was most likely VERY expressive with everything he did.

But I’m not Duo.

I’m his revenge.

“What do I want?” Cano asks an unvoiced question again.  I smirk inwardly. He’s too willing to part with information for melodramatic effects.  He’s trying to get me to react.  The less I react, the more I learn.  So, I remain quiet.  “Your soul, yes, well, I already said that.  But to do so, there are several ways.  I could directly torture you as I did your friend,” I can’t help but clench my jaw in anger, “but I have a feeling that wouldn’t be as effective on you.”  Cano regards me calmly and I force myself to relax.  There will be time to kill him.

Slowly.

And VERY painfully.

“I could show you what your pilots are going through but I have the feeling that, as well, would fall short of your compassion.”  Cano begins to move around me and I watch him intently.  “I could show you scenes of horror, or even force you to bring unpleasant memories to surface, but, again, I believe that won’t be the most effective.”  Cano stops directly in front of me again. “In fact, I believe there is really only one way to get through that impenetrable mask.”

I stare at him calmly, not caring what he chooses to do to me.  All that’s important is the mission, so that is all I concentrate on.  Still, it’s helpful to frustrate him as a frustrated man is a careless man.  So when he moves his hand slowly and the environment changes, I look to see what he has to show me.

The darkness fades away and now, several feet from me, I am beginning to see something that looks like two people form as they fall from the sky. Cano stands directly behind my shoulder and breathes into my ear, “You wanted to know what I did to him....  Witness, and experience, then.”

I am right.  Those ARE figures.  One breaks off and lands in an easy crouch as the other continues to fall.  The plummeting figure screams in pain as it hits the ground forcefully and I can hear the distinct sound of bones fracturing and breaking.  A light suddenly shines and I catch my breath without meaning to as I realize who they are.

Duo lies on his stomach, looking roughed up and worn.  I feel a pang of anger and sadness in me.  The anger I can handle, but the sadness hits me harder than I expect.  I wonder what is happening but then  it begins to happen right in front of my eyes.

The other figure is me....  My eyes narrow as I watch.  The other Heero has been laughing and Duo freezes as Heero appears next to him.  Duo looks over at that Heero and stops when he sees that the other Heero’s eyes are suddenly red and glowing.  Duo shudders and looks away but then Heero is by his ear.  I feel jealous that someone who looks like me gets to be so close to Heero when I hear, as if I am Duo, what that Heero is saying.

“You like it hard, don’t you, Duo?” he whispers tauntingly and I freeze. Oh no....

Duo blinks and says immediately, “What?!”

The other Heero runs a hand over Duo’s cheek as he talks and I find myself trying to run forward to stop what I’m afraid may happen.  But I can’t do anything but watch.  “You like it rough and painful, Duo, just like your life.”

Duo swallows, “Not...  I—I don’t....”

Suddenly the other Heero grabs Duo’s wrist and jumps on his torso, puling on Duo’s braid with his other hand.  Duo cries out but Heero pulls the braid straight, running a thumb over it.  Before even I see it coming, the other Heero lets go of Duo’s wrist and pulls a knife from his shoe.  He immediately cut the braid off.

I feel my eyes widen and throat constrict.  The other end of the braid that is wrapped around my waist....  I wondered why it was separated from Duo’s body... I wondered why it hadn’t aged....

Because _I_ cut it off.

Duo is screaming, “What the fuck, Heero?!” and struggling against Heero’s weight, but I know there’s no use.  When I want to hold someone down I can hold them down, and presumably my dream-self is the same way.  The other Heero looks at the braid, smirks, and throws it into the darkness.

Even though the scene is a few feet from me I can see all the details clearly.  Duo’s beautiful, expressive eyes are beginning to fill with tears as his shorter hair fell around him.  I clench my fist, extreme anger and sadness filling me.  That braid meant so much to Duo... I never knew why but it did.  He loved it... and yet it was not a problem for Cano to arrange for
an other me to take it from Duo.

I’m about to turn on Cano when I realize the other Heero still has the knife out and is now laughing.

He holds the knife tip to Duo’s throat and looks with a pleased smirk down.  Duo’s eyes are filling with unshed tears again and I feel even more angered that that other me would make Duo want to cry.  “You fucking bastard,” Duo hisses and for a brief moment I’m proud of him.  But then the other Heero is leaning down toward Duo, smiling.

“You’re going to like what I’m going to do to you, Duo.  We all know how vocal you are.  I want to hear your screams, koi.”  The other Heero’s voice vibrates it’s so sensual, and he speaks with his lips nearly touching Duo’s.   I growl low, angrily, watching as Duo shudders and closes his eyes, concentrating.  Heero chuckles and keeps the knife at Duo’s throat as he
speaks, “You won’t wake up.  You’ll never wake up again.” Duo’s eyes fly open again and they are so filled with despair I feel an ache to be near him, to make him feel safe.  “Now, Duo, let me hear that sexy little voice of yours....”

Heero raises the knife and stabs Duo so hard it’s buried to the hilt in his chest.  Duo screams, twisting around, but there’s no use.  I stare, shocked, unable to tear my eyes away.  Duo looks shocked suddenly and that’s when I notice the arousal pressing against Duo’s stomach from the other Heero.  I start to feel very sick to my stomach as I watch but I can’t tear my eyes away.  I feel like they are glued to the scene, and I’m so sickened by it all I’m too shocked to look anywhere else but at Duo and what is happening.

Heero pulls the blade out, chuckling.  “That’s right, koi.”  I find myself growling deep in my throat at the use of that word that should be used only with one you love, “Keep screaming.  You know how much I love that.”  Heero lies down on Duo, his hands on his wound.  Heero scratches at it and Duo whimpers, and when suddenly Heero bites at the knife wound Duo yelps.  Duo squirms to get away but Heero moans, beginning to pull Duo’s shirt off. Suddenly he rips the shirt in half and Duo moves more, still trying to escape.

“Heero, please, let me go—!”But his words turn to a yell as Heero bites his skin again.  “Stop it you bastard!” Duo screams but Heero only laughs, biting at the cut again, licking at it.  Duo moves around more and finally groans.  Heero pulls away, smiling down at him.  Duo’s eyes are half open, his shorter hair splayed around him.  As I stare I find myself choking
inwardly at his beauty.  I can’t stop staring at Duo, at how sexy he is there even as I realize that I shouldn’t be thinking of this consider what is probably going to happen.

Suddenly Heero lies the blade aside and stands, “I’m not hearing enough of your voice, Duo.”

“Heero,” Duo starts to sit, but then Heero kicks him in the head.  Duo falls back, the back of his head hitting the ground with a crack.  Heero laughs happily and kicks Duo who screams.  Duo rolls over, starting to crawl away.  I find myself wishing with all my energy that he makes it, but I have a feeling he won’t.

I can’t stop staring.

As much as I want to stop, I can’t.

Oh God, Duo, what have I done to you?

Heero’s hand catches Duo’s ankle and pulls him back.  “Now, now, where’s my favorite toy going?  Does Daddy have to show his little boy how to behave?” Duo shivers, shaking his head frantically, but Heero pushes him onto his stomach and pulls his arms from beneath him.  Duo’s hands are being pushed into the ground to the forearm, disappearing into nothing.  Duo pulls at his arms but he can’t seem to free them.  I stare, bile beginning to rise to my throat.  No, please, don’t do what I think....

Duo is pressed flat against his stomach, staring in my direction.  He probably sees the braid that was thrown my way but it’s as if he’s staring directly at me as I stare back.  His eyes are full of fear and self-loathing and pain.  As Heero moves his legs apart Duo asks softly “Heero...?”  His voice is desperate, pleading, and I try to walk toward him again, but can’t.  The other me only chuckles at him.

Then Heero pulls down Duo’s pants and Duo struggles violently.  “Fuck, Heero, let me go!”  His voice is full of fear but Heero only chuckles softly, as if truly amused.  I feel so sick, so disgusted at this other me, at what Duo had to go through, I find myself blanking out for a moment.  I may have been able to stay away from that vision if it weren’t for the scream.

I snap my eyes back in focus just in time to see the other Heero rape Duo ruthlessly.  My stomach clenches as I watch myself make Duo scream in frenzied pain, watch myself rip at his back and roughly fondle Duo until he can’t seem to handle it anymore.  The other me never stops entering Duo again and again, and within seconds I feel so sick to my stomach I force
myself to look away.  I can still hear the other Heero’s grunts and amused laughter, though, and Duo’s moans and screams as he’s forced into again and again.  I completely forget I’m here with anyone else and fall to my knees. Duo is screaming again, his voice raw with agony and terror.

But all I can think is one thing.

He thinks it’s me.

He thinks it’s me.

He thinks it’s me!!

I clutch my stomach and find myself throwing up, something I haven’t done in a very long time, if ever.  Duo screams again, this time louder than the others, tears filling his voice.  I begin to throw up again, but there’s nothing in me so I can only heave silently, surrounded by the voice of my friend, of the one person who ever truly cared about me, who ever promised
to be there for me forever.

But now he’s not.

Now he’s gone.

He’s dead.

And before he died, he was raped brutally by me.

It suddenly gets quiet and I look up without meaning to.  Heero pulls away, flipping Duo over so his stomach faces up.  Duo looks lost in a daze of fear and pain, blinking slowly.  The other Heero smiles down at Duo and says in a soft voice, “Come to Daddy.”

Duo blinks but my eyes widen.  NO!

Heero begins to work his way down Duo’s chest while Duo whimpers and yelps and squirms.  Heero sits up suddenly and put his mouth around—

I can’t watch anymore.  I turn my face away and yell helplessly, “STOP IT!”

Cano appears behind me and laughs softly.  “I was only giving you what you asked,” he replies calmly.

I force myself to swallow the bile that tries to rise again.  I take in a deep breath and speak as calmly as possible but my voice quivers a little, “Did you do that to him?”

Cano smirks at me just as I look up.  “I would have thought you were smarter, Heero.  You did it, didn’t you see?”

I grit my teeth and say louder, almost a yell, “Did you do that to him?!!”

Cano looks at me appraisingly then smiles that intimate smile from before. “I forced him to feel the limits of all his emotions.  I made him bring out what would hurt him the most so I could take his energy.  In that sense, yes, I ‘did it’ to him.  And, I suppose, in the process I was able to feel the pleasure you were able to feel.”

My vision turns completely red as I push myself up.  Cano is watching me, still completely confident, especially since my gun didn’t materialize in this world with me and I have no other weapon. But I don’t need a weapon. All I need is Duo’s memory and it will get me through this.

I tense my legs then run at Cano.  He smiles, holding a hand up just as I jump at him.  Pressure surrounds me so strongly I almost feel like my bones are breaking.  But I can ignore pain.  I stretch toward him, suspended in the air just inches from his throat.  He smiles smugly but he doesn’t realize I’m not using all my strength.  Just as Cano begins to lighten his power to push me down, I’m ready.

I throw myself at him roughly, placing all my strength into one point. Cano looks surprised as I get closer to him than he probably expected.  He doubles his effort and I fly back, hitting the ground with a crack.  As I sit up I set my bone and notice what sounds like a song in the background.

/Exit: Light
Enter: Night/

Cano narrows his eyes throws a hand toward me but I roll just in time for the power wave to pass by me.  I smirk at him and bolt around behind him. He is fast.  This is his domain.  This is where his power resides.

But my power doesn’t depend on a jewel or my environment.

My strength comes from the memory of two laughing amethyst eyes as they smile merrily at me and promise me a forever they couldn’t keep.

I scream and attack, feeling myself lose my constant restraint.  I have almost always been stronger and tougher than my peers, so I’ve taken to holding back some of my strength.  So I wouldn’t hurt anyone too much.  So I would feel like less of the murderer and assassin I’d become.

But right now I feel like pulling all my training into use.

Right now I want to make that fucker bleed.

Cano turns but I anticipate the movement.  I fake to the side then run swiftly around him again.  He turns, confused by my speed and precision. When I finally slow enough for him to focus on me he holds his hand out for a power wave.

His last mistake, I smirk inwardly.

He expects me to dodge down or to the sides, so as the power wave approaches I watch it ripple through the air.  It is a low lying, strong wave that would most likely crush me if I weren’t as intelligent as I am.

Too bad for him.

As the wave approaches I put all my strength into my leg muscles and jump. The wave passed below me but I’m caught in the current of air recoiling from the supernatural wave.  Cano still stares at the point I was, his reflexes too slow because he relies on his magic too much.

As I fly through the air I focus my strength into my hand now.  The air current shifts and now I’m flying straight at him as I fall.  Instead of resisting, I let the air push me completely so I have more momentum.

Cano is just looking up at me and I see, finally, true fear show in his face.

/Grain of sand/

I push my hand into the shield that surrounds him.  He moves as if to push me away again with another power wave, but he’s too shocked and still slightly drained from his last exertion.

I use this to my advantage.

His protective shield turns red as I start to push through it.  He begins yelling and suddenly that pressure appears around me again.  It starts to squeeze and I feel pain as some bones crack, but it doesn’t matter to me now.  I don’t care if I die, as long as I take this shithole with me.

My fingers begin to break through his defenses.  He doubles his efforts and just as the pressure is beginning to affect me I feel a flash of power erupt from my chest.  The pentagram necklace I forgot I was wearing falls from my shirt and begins to spin, waves of defensive power being released like a makeshift tornado.  Cano looks down in complete surprise at the necklace, and that is when I make my move.  I push harder and now my hand breaks all the way through his shield.

Cano looks back at me, ready to call up more of his power, but before he can, I rip off the Soul Ruby necklace he showed me earlier.  The necklace falls and I land directly on it, finally falling after that long wait in the air.  I smash my foot on it, shattering the ruby with my momentum.  Cano screams and suddenly the air is less pressured, and my pentagram necklace is
a lot stronger.

Cano looks me in the eye as I stare at him evenly, and the fear and panic I see makes me throw my head back and laugh.  He looks like he’s about to disappear so I jerk my hand up and grab him around the throat.  He squirms and I tighten my grip.  I feel his neck muscles tense so I push harder until he’s gasping for breath.  Just as he begins to weaken I drop him and kick
him squarely in the head.  He falls back, dazed.  I take that time to jump on him with enough strength to crack some ribs.  He yells so I grab his hair and begin bashing his head into the ground.  Then I use my knee to dig into his crotch until I’m sure he’s paying attention.

“This is for Duo,” I murmur pleasantly to him.  I unwrap the braid from around my waist and swiftly wrap it around his neck.

He struggles but there is little he can do.  As I begin to wonder why this is so easy I realize the pentagram necklace is at least doubling my already powerful strength.  I look over and see those same ghost-like beings helping me....  Some hold him down, others pass through him, causing him to twitch. One rests directly above his chest, probably making his heart freeze to a
stop.  I smirk and nod, then tighten the braid even more.

Cano chokes and claws at Duo’s braid, but it’s thick and I will NOT let go.   Slowly he stops moving until he’s completely still.  I wait a few more minutes to be sure but then the world around me is beginning to shudder.  I leap back, still grasping the braid, just in time to see Cano’s body disintegrate.

I smile pleasedly but suddenly there is a pressure around my heart.  I feel myself starting to fall to the ground as the pressure continues.  I look up and see what looks like an apparition of Canowicakte.  I start to struggle but there’s nothing I can do.  I look down, wondering why the necklace isn’t protecting me, and that’s when I see that it disappeared at some point.

My vision is turning blurry and I begin to wonder if it’s such a bad thing to die.  Maybe I’ll meet Duo in whatever afterlife there is.  Hopefully we go to the same place.

Just as I begin to accept my fate I feel a lightening of the pressure.  I open my eyes and see the other ghosts pulling on Cano who is struggling to keep me in his grip.  But as I watch the other ghosts overpower him and pull him away.  They begin to rip at him, his apparition slowly being shredded by the otherworldly ghosts that helped me win.

I collapse to the ground, gasping for breath, holding Duo’s braid tight to my cheek.  It still smells like him.  My God... Duo…  Why didn’t I realize earlier how important he was?  Why didn’t I realize that I lo....

A sudden flash of me raping Duo appears behind my eyes and I can’t hold them in any longer.

Duo would laugh or tease me right now.  He would say something like “Are those Perfect Tears for the Perfect Soldier?”

I can’t believe I have tears going down my face.  I thought I was beyond this.  But I can’t stop them.  I can’t stop thinking about...

Duo.

I’m barely able to understand what’s happening anymore. I guess lucky for me those ghosts are though.  I find the world around me shimmering and slowly it disappears until I’m lying on the ground in that room where I first saw Cano.~

Heero sat up slowly, feeling the effects of the dream world begin to catch up to him.  His entire body ached as if that pressure had been real.  As he stood he looked down and saw a pile of ash where Cano’s body probably was. He stared at it a moment before spitting in the middle and kicking the ashes around.  He turned slowly, looking around the room.

Normal lights lit the huge room now and he was finally able to get a good look at where he’d been staying.  But at that point he didn’t care anymore. Heero looked down and was relieved to see Duo’s braid still gripped in his fist.

Wearily turning on his heel, Heero pushed the doors open.  The three pilots were sprawled on the ground, curled in fetal positions.  Heero looked around and saw no one else in the hallway.  “Get up,” he said monotonously.

At first none of them moved, but then Wufei slowly lifted his head and looked around, followed closely by the others.

As Wufei pulled himself to his feet he rubbed at his head.  “What happened?”

Heero looked down at the braid in his hand and gripped it tightly.  He felt his throat constrict so it was a few moments before he was finally able to look up with a determinedly even look and say with a soft ferocity, “Justice.”

The other three looked surprised, but Heero was already turning and striding away.  He looked down at the braid in his hand and felt his features fall to sorrow.

<I did it, Duo.  I killed him for you.>  He looked down the empty hallway that echoed his heart.  <So why don’t I feel any better?>

The braid only shined in the lighting he passed, a mere memory of the grace and beauty it used to hold when still attached to a loud mouthed baka with beautiful, expressive eyes.

Heero felt his eyes close as he wiped a stray tear that he’d never let anyone see.

<Duo.

<Damn you.>

<I love you.>

/Exit: Light
Enter: Night
Take my hand...
We’re off to never never land./

(1) Actual (sorta) part from Wufei’s past, featured in Episode Zero. Translation taken from http://episodezero.cjb.net/ (go check it out!). What differs is that Wufei doesn’t respond with “I’m not interested in fighting” and the “Justice?” comment takes place a little later in the conversation... I just omitted some in between talk.  Beyond that, the attack doesn’t come nearly that soon....  As for the others, no, Quatre’s part isn’t from his past other than implying when he took out that colony.  (Again, fucked up timeline).  Trowa’s past I know parts of but not if they are true so I am working with what I know.  His Episode Zero part isn’t as helpful! *glare Trowa*  Trowa: //_^;;  Hey, I can’t help it.

(2) For this scene listen to the Era self-titled cd, specifically Ameno if you want to hear what they hear.  This link includes the Latin, a rough English translation, and the music notes.  WOO!  *hugs her friend who showed it to her* http://home.ural.ru/~eRa/txt/ameno.htm Strange thing is, I chose this song as the background before I had any idea what it was saying. How cool am I?? ^_~  Anyway if you really wanna follow this, at the end I will include what was being said when each character was featured.  (Ais <--- *spends WAYYYY too much time figuring out WAYYY too many details*
*sigh*)     FURTHER NOTE: Though it will appear each pilot hears a part of the song, think of it as they are all in the exact same position, but they see individual scenes.  As in... They’re standing right next to each other. They’re all surrounded by the same mist, same figures.  They hear the song at the exact same time.  None of them see each other.  The only thing that
differs is what they see in the mirror, which then comes out to them.

MUSIC NOTES!:

If you’re anything like me you like to know what the author was listening while writing this.  In the beginning it was Metallica’s black album (for the first part up until the mirror)... right after the mirror I was listening to Static X’s “Wisconsin Death Trip” and then I switched for a bit to Stabbing Westward’s “Wither, Blister, Burn and Peel”.  For the Cano/Heero scene it was SW at first but then I changed for the rest of the scene to Era’s self-titled album which is a new-ageish version of templeish songs…
heheh….bad description. >_<;;

if you like that as an ending feel free to stop. but if you want to know what REALLLLLLY happens, youre gonna have to wait a little longer (SORRY!!!!) as i work on Nightwalker.

*pants in exhaustion* hope it was ok...

Darkest Emotion