The nasal voiced physician adjusted his glasses higher on his nose with disapproval, �Well, I want you to inform him that we highly discourage women to give birth before they�re eighteen and that they should avoid such activities that could cause it again. I estimate that a second child might kill her as this one was quite a strain.� His words proved true as pilot seven had to stay hospitalized for three weeks longer than average. Her son, on the other hand, was completely healthy and opened brilliantly blue eyes his second day of life. A shock of soft, golden blonde hair dusted the top of his head, putting the question into mind if it was really Duo�s. Even at birth, strong celestial power emitted from the tiny life and he shrank away from those around him who were dark.
A bell rang in an all but empty house, catching Heero by surprise. It sounded a second time and he recognized it as the door-chime. Trotting downstairs with a hand on his gun, he yanked it open with a killing glare. The winged silhouette in the doorframe stepped inside, �Good day Helios. I have an issue I need to discuss with you.� Heero bent in an awkward bow that hid his suspicious look, �Great arch, what brings you to us?� Michael�s rusty orange eyes narrowed, �Your ill-treatment of my student.� Helios moved aside for the irked angel, �I�ve given him no ill-treatment. I only punish him for his constant foul behavior.� A sidelong glance banished his certainty of his lie, �According to Apollo, that�s not the case.�
Slightly distracted, Michael took several steps into the house; �This place has a woman�s touch. I�m aware that one of them is name Jess, is there another?� Heero nodded meekly at the question, his silent fury raging at Quatre; �The other is called Amber.� The vermilion arch barely seemed to acknowledge his words, entering the kitchen and kneeling before the stove, �Cookies, they smell good.� A spatula lashed out across his reaching hand, startling him. �Don�t even think about it�who are you?�
Wary gray-green eyes stared down at him and a slender set of fingers rested on the handle of an ever-present pistol. Michael rose to his feet; �I�m pleased to meet you, Amber.� She pulled away sharply, whipping the gun out to aim, �Trowa!� Heavy footsteps rumbled down the stairs, �What?� He stopped dead as he caught sight of the guest, �Michael�Why are you here? Am I in trouble?� A smile broke out across a normally serious face, �No, I�m here to speak with Helios about your treatment, I had to see if it was true before I exacted punishment.�
Triton�s expression became blank, unreadable; �What took you so long?� The arch absorbed his reaction and turned back out the door. Helios had stayed behind, now shying away from the bristling angel. Three well-placed strikes knocked pilot one down with a bloody nose. A cobra swift hand snatched a handful of russet hair and yanked the face up to connect two sets of eyes. Snarled words escaped the prince of angel�s clenched teeth, �If your ways were correct, this is what it would be like. I will be informed if you act that way again and you�ll be given more than a black eye.�
Humiliated and in pain, Helios didn�t watch Michael leave. Once the door was closed behind him and a minute or two passed to allow him flying time, Heero bellowed furiously, �Quatre, get your ass in here!� The timid youth fearfully entered, knowing what was coming. Heero heaved himself to his feet and glowered at the slender boy, �You went to Michael?! You, of all people, managed to get an audience with him?!� His drawn back fist hit only Trowa�s broad chest. Triton�s emerald gaze hardened, �No, you will not take this out on him.�
Rage burned at the thickly muscled barrier that protected the trembling, blue-eyed Arab, �Get out of my way, Barton!� Unlike usual, pilot three didn�t shrink away, �No! Your humiliation of this is your own. Deal with it.� Something snapped and the creature with deeply wounded pride stormed from the house, leaving behind his assaultors to breathe easier. Plotting occurred in the complex hallways of Heero�s mind; muttered words of seething anger formed an idea that would tear his enemies apart.
Thoughts wavered, fading and blurring, ungraspable. Triton fought the smudged random pondering that he seemed to have no control over. He couldn�t figure out why his mind was so confused, where the blurs began. Recollection ended at the soda he�d had, the one Heero had given him when they�d spoken. Trowa could hardly remember the subject matter of the conversation anymore. The hall he wandered down didn�t seem to have an end, which door was his? One of them opened and a pair of feminine hands pulled him inside. The nails were long, with red polish. Trowa wondered vaguely of whether of not Amber had ever worn polish. A voice trickled into the mental cotton in his ears, telling him to relax, to lie down. He couldn�t recognize the voice, nor see the face it belonged to. Those crimson tipped fingers slid beneath his shirt. Fuzzy darkness faded his vision and swiftly took hold of his swimming head.
Amber frowned deeply, �Where the hell is he?� Holding an armful of burbling and giggling baby, the new mother looked up at her old companion, �Who, Trowa? I don�t know. I haven�t seen him today.� An ear listening behind the door smiled inwardly, Perfect. Helios hid his smug look as he entered the den, waiting for the opportunity to set the key to work in his mastered chain of events. A labyrinth of dominos ready for its deciding tap. The opportunity came knocking, �Heero, have you seen Trowa?� He allowed a few moments to pass, so he didn�t seem over-eager, before letting the first domino fall, �I think I saw him heading to his room not to long ago.� The German started upstairs ad pilot seven returned to feeding Ace, the reaction was exactly as planned for.
Amber entered without knocking, there didn�t seem to be a need to anymore. A set of eyes outlined thickly by black makeup pencil snapped to meet hers, the woman they belonged to was sitting astride Triton�s lap. Amber interpreted the blank effect of drugs on the young man�s face as something completely different. The skimpily dressed woman withdrew her hand form the button on Poseidon�s jeans, �Trowa Bear, who�s that?� The direct slap of the use of her nickname for him drove a steak of emotional agony deep into mind. Pilot six fled from the scene, nearly falling down the stairs in her hurry. Daniel had been untrue to her, and now Trowa, who�d she had given everything she had to, appeared to be in the same boat.
Heero sauntered into the abandoned room and glanced down at Trowa�s glazed face, �He�s such an easy fool to manipulate. Just as easy as his girlfriend.� The woman of negotiable affections slid off her quarry, �So where�s my pay?� A large wad of one hundred-dollar bills exchanged hands and the prostitute left.
Triton moaned as he gained a semi-conscious state; his head throbbed. Flickers came when full memory was called; the rest eluded him. Getting up groggily, he rummaged through his bathroom cabinet for something to ease the ache in his head. Triton trotted downstairs to be greeted with a cold shoulder, �Morning Amber.� She gave him a glare of daggers and returned to cooking breakfast for one. Even the eggs made her stomach roll slightly, as it was still nauseous from the escapade of pie eating the night before. Pie was a comfort food that was often abused.
The silencer smirked, thinking she was playing, �What�d I do? I left the fridge open, didn�t I?� She said nothing, annoying him a little, �Come on Amber, stop playing childish games and tell me why you�re mad.� Amber verbally lunged on him; �You know exactly what you did that made me mad you bastard! I trusted you! You�re just like Daniel! Did you only �save� me from him so that you could do the same damn thing?!� His voice rose in volume to combat hers as he countered, �What are you talking about?! I told you about him so you wouldn�t get hurt so badly. What do you mean by that?� A hard slap shocked him into silence. �That woman in your room last night? I never knew you liked them so old. She�s probably better than I am, huh? Has a little more experience?� Triton kept his gaze on the floor, �I don�t� know what you�re talking about. I can�t remember anything from last night.�
�Had a few drinks then, did you?� Sarcasm gave her words sharp edges, pulling Trowa back into an argument he�d wanted to avoid. He sucked in his breath between his teeth; �I haven�t touched a drink in over a month! That was our bargain and I�ve struggled to hold my end of it! You doubt me without proof.� Her attitude didn�t change, �Well, your reputation gives me reason enough.� Feeling defeated, the Latino skulked out of the kitchen. His developed emotions bled from inflicted wounds, her words stinging in an after effect.
Apologies, gifts, and explanations rained down on Amber over the next few days, though Trowa still searched for an explanation himself. After a week, his efforts dwindled as her lack of attention killed his will. Depression followed and Triton made an appearance at fewer meals, staying locked up behind a closed door. Heero found him to be far more agreeable, asking the most ridiculous tasks that were accomplished with no argument. A young Arab watched in despair as the fallen archangel lost his spark of life. He went to him, hoping to remedy the situation.
Rather than attempt asking questions Quatre knew he wouldn�t answer, the blonde youth slid his hands into Trowa�s unkempt hair. Surprisingly, he put up no block against Quatre�s commonly used mental entrance. The blue eyed youth found what he was searching for, clearing the fog from the images. Once all was learned that was possible, he pulled away, �Heero, damn him. He did it again! This was his doing, how can she not see that?� Trowa turned his gaze up to the youth, his eyes reminded Quatre of a broken doll. Feeling that it was his fault, he hugged him tightly, �I�m sorry Trowa. I�ll try to fix things.�
He left the lifeless face staring at his back and headed towards Amber�s bedroom. As he predicted, she was inside. She paused folding and putting away her laundry to consider him, �What do you need?� Quatre balked his anger and fell back to the civility that most knew him for, �I know that you�re angry at Trowa, and for good reason, but haven�t you considered that it wasn�t his fault. You�re tearing him to bits acting the way you are! If you haven�t noticed, he�s stopped eating. He�s losing weight rapidly and hasn�t talked in weeks. He�s even apologized even though he doesn�t remember what happened, isn�t that enough for you?!�
Amber scoffed and continued her work, �Having a shot or two of vodka tends to do that to your memory. His problem, not mine.� Shocked, Apollo�s eyes flared to a brilliantly shining azure, �How can you even say that? He�s your soul mate! I hate to admit that, but he is! He gave up a habit he�s had for years because you convinced him in a day! He gave up alcohol for you! He�s changed so much for you and you can�t even take time to see the plain truth!� A strong gale conjured from nothing caused the furniture; heavy and light, to slide out of place hazardously. They moved in a circular pattern with Quatre as the center. Lighter things such as books and clothes whirled swiftly, caught up in the wind. His eyes glowed as a beacon of blue, �If you cared so much about him, you wouldn�t let him suffer like this! To be shunned by your soul must be the most painful thing that you can encounter in eternity and you don�t care! He was treated better when he was gay!�
Everything fell to the floor as the air once again became stagnant; Quatre clamped his hands over his mouth. Amber ran fingers through her wind blown hair with a cocked eyebrow, �He was what?� The hands came away with a desperate cry of, �Happy! When he was happy�I�ve got to go now.� �Gay with who?� The youth chewed fretfully on one nail, �Oh man, you can�t tell him I said that! Please, don�t hold that against him. We were both young and lonely and�and�� �Get out.� Quatre hung his head and did as he was told, with a gut feeling that it wouldn�t turn out well.
Amber found her senses after a few hours of thinking and went to look for Trowa. She would figure out what really happened before putting him though any more. Downstairs, a shell of a once great arch downed bitter, mind numbing liquid. Nearly thirteen empty amber bottles littered the table and floor, another clutched in Triton�s fist was halfway to joining them. The huntress gasped as she took in pilot three�s current condition, he was exactly and Quatre had told her and she hadn�t noticed in her anger. She approached him slowly, �Trowa, stop. Please, I believe you, don�t drink any more. We were doing so well in kicking that habit.� He turned his glassy eyes to her, and for the first time, she saw them fill with fear. The fear melted into unbridled hatred; �Get the hell away from me!� He leapt up from the table, knocking over his chair. Amber reached for him, �Trowa, stop! I�m sorry, I was being an idiot! I don�t want to lose you over this!� He�d made it partway up the stairs when he turned, �You aren�t sorry. You just want to get to me like everyone else did. Gain my foolish and unfaltering trust and shoot me in the back. Only they did it literally!� The remainder of the stairs were gained and Trowa slammed the door to his room. The dishes in the kitchen cabinet rattled softly. Amber vaulted up after him, thinking that he would be easier to talk to when he wasn�t drunk.
Trowa trembled faintly as he leaned on his dresser; tears broke free from his unknown hold. He brushed a light finger across them and wonder at the shimmering droplets; he�d only ever seen them in space. The click of the door snapped his reflexes, the handgun on his desk snatched and aimed in a split second. Amber pulled back a little with carefully covered panic, �Trowa, put that down.� Her gut twisted with guilt, I caused those tears. �It�s okay now, I forgive you.� Triton�s arm fell, a sob wracked his starved body, �I don�t�I didn�t do anything. Everything went black after Heero gave me a soda. I don�t know what happened after that.� Thinking the initial danger was over; the huntress took a step forward. The gun was there again, blocking her path. He shook his head, �Don�t come near me.� Amber took a second, smaller step, �Calm down and put that away. It�s kind of hard to talk this out when you�ve got a gun pointed at me.� The barrel lowered, but returned as pilot six attempted to approach.
Her movement was too quick for Trowa�s alcohol slugged mind, startling him. His hand twitched, the gun fired, and Amber hit the wall behind her with an explosion of white fire through her shoulder. Similar fire spread in Triton�s, but rather than an echo, it was a forte of the feeling. Whether from the shock of seeing Amber�s blood or the knowledge that he had drawn it, he collapsed on the floor; his mind fell to pieces, �I didn�t mean to.�
Jess nearly dropped her teacup, across from her; Quatre came close to following suit, �What was that?� He peered up the stairwell; �Some one fired off a gun!� With an unstated decision, both bolted towards the sound. The noble of the desert kneeled by Trowa�s side as pilot seven examined the blood on the wall. Triton gave Quatre an animalistic expression of panic, �I didn�t mean to! I didn�t!� The low-level angel tried to sooth him, speaking in soft tones, �What didn�t you mean to do? It�s alright, you can tell me.� He curled into a ball, sobbing into the knees of his jeans, �I didn�t mean to shoot her! I didn�t mean to!� The Irish girl darted down the hall and into Amber�s attic abode, �Amber! Where are you?� A mumbled response gave away her position, which Jess ran to. The off white carpet all about her was stained a deep ruby, the ring still spreading outward. The emerald-eyed teen crouched and stretched out to tie off the bleeding wound. Amber pulled away, �No, I�ll do it�I deserve this wound.� No amount of convincing could deter her from this decision, so Jess stayed near in case she passed out.
Heero raised an eyebrow at Quatre as he attempted to bring Trowa back to his senses. The blonde had made several journeys through his friend�s mind, but couldn�t put the scattered pieces back together. Helios drew his attention away with a question; �Do you think he�ll ever be the same?� The youth refused to look at him, his controlled anger boiling, �I doubt it. Are you satisfied? Is his suffering great enough to appease your twisted sense of humor?� The platinum archangel didn�t respond, continuing on. He stopped for a brief word with the berserker that had once been Wufei, �Kill Trowa as you please, but do it soon.�
Triton took up beating his punching bag for countless hours, neither speaking nor stopping for sustenance. Both Quatre and Amber begged him, pleaded with him to come back to his old self. The huntress held him and spoke to him, but nothing seemed to have an effect. The noble of the desert tried to convince Amber that he would be all right, but only found that he was attempting to convince himself.
Amber sat on the edge of the metal-framed bed watching the golden arch land punches and kicks in a memorized pattern. He was covered in sweat, having not stopped in two days. They�d tried everything they could think of, but the arch still remained in his dazed state of mind. She got up and wrapped her arms around his slimming waist, �God I wish I could just go back and fix this all. I hate to see you like this.� He paused his movements, as he did when he was touched, but continued as soon as her grasp was gone. Force-feeding seemed to be the only thing keeping him alive and it had been a while since his last meal. Amber went downstairs to get him something.
A creature that thirsted for the blood of dark beings slid into Trowa�s room unnoticed. Wufei smirked at the broken fallen, �You suffer so. Shall I end this pain for you? Set you free?� Shattered eyes turned to him and a single whispered word came, �Yes.�
Amber turned off the stove and dumped the contents of the pan into a bowl, �I hope he�s okay with tomato soup.� The sentence was alone in the emptiness around her. She sighed and pushed back threatening tears. As she neared the door, another being came from within. Wufei smiled at her, his blank gaze sending shivers down her spine. Trailing him were crimson footprints, as though he had walked though paint. Amber dismissed the thought that it was paint when she spotted the same material spreading from the doorframe of Trowa�s room. The bowl and its contents hit the floor. Inside, she could see nothing out of place other than that red splattered everywhere. A metallic smell assaulted her nose and made the air hard to breathe. She pulled her tee shirt over the lower half of her face and scanned the room, �Trowa?� A streaked portion of crimson drew her eyes to the wall adjacent to the door. A scream split the air.
Triton hung from the wall, pinned by numerous swords and throwing stars. The scarlet that was his life streamed down the surface in a silent waterfall. His impressive wings were the most mangled, barely resembling what they once were. Amber yanked desperately at the weapons, trying to free flesh from sheet-rock. At last, Trowa fell forward; the remaining lengths of steel not enough to hold his weight. The strong willed German cradled the broken body in her lap, �Don�t die�you can�t die�not now.� Soft emerald eyes opened wearily and a smile played at the corners of Triton�s mouth, �It�s got to happen to everyone eventually�I�m sorry I put you through all that I did�I do love you, you know.� Amber began to cry, unable to hold it back any longer, �Stop talking like that, you�ll be alright. We�ll get you fixed up in no time�Trowa?� He turned his face into her side and said nothing more. Trowa�s smile faded and a quiet sigh escaped his lips as time moved on without him.
�I am being summoned.� Energy vibrated the very molecules in the air as an immortal known by few materialized before the woman who had called him with her will. He was an odd being to behold; half demon and half angel. Wings hung to his feet that sported crisp white feathers melting into the ebony leather of demons. His robes shifted continuously from black to white in their design, the accompanying boots appealing to both angelic and demonic tendencies. His hair was blonde on the right side and smoother, the left a brilliant red that spiked dangerously. Beneath the golden locks, a blue eye glinted and below the crimson was a cat slit a deep shade of maroon. In his right hand was a staff that stood nearly a foot taller than him, at its top was a gem that never ceased to change colors, glimmering in every shade known to the human mind plus some.
When he spoke, it was quiet, but his voice filled the room with no effort, �I am Judgement. You have summoned me from my place of resting for the release of certain powers that you cannot posses without paying a dear price. Power over life and death is something that no being, immortal or human, has come to obtain and yet, your will requires me to bestow them to you. Will you accept this burden?� Amber nodded, too flustered to speak. He closed his oddly colored eyes and smiled, �So it is your will and so it must be done. Save him then.� With his words, he was gone. Amber�s wings shot from her back with a sickening tear and spikes emerged from their flesh. With the blank gaze of a berserker, she looked down on the man she�d given everything to and gathered his soul to her lips. For a moment, they were one, before she breathed his life back into him and crumpled onto the blood stained floor.
