Amber dropped the pot of cheese covered noodles in the midst of complaining men with satisfaction, �You can eat or starve boys!� She plopped herself into the empty seat next to Trowa, received his sidelong glance, �You know, we aren�t getting our daily intake of anything except dairy and grains with this. Not to mention fat, but it�s not like any of us worry about that.� She only cocked an eyebrow and picked up her fork, �Who says bachelors actually care about the food pyramid anyway. Besides, everyone knows that the bread companies put it out so people, in their idiotic nature, would by more bread.� Triton let it drop to dig into his bowl.
A suddenly airborne fork whizzed across the dining table, skimmed Amber�s face, and stuck itself firmly into the wall. Eyes wide with rage and shock, Amber slammed down her own eating utensil, �Duo!� The braided youth held up his cheese caked fork, �It wasn�t me, I swear! This is my fork!� Rage burning all those near her, Amber glared around the frozen table, �Everyone, hold up your forks!� All did as they were told; six forks gracing the air like Olympic torches. Amber turned gently to the only one without his hand pointed to the sky, �Quatre, hold up your fork hon.� The noble of the desert was paler than typical, both his hands spread on the table at though he were attempting to keep himself upright. Sweat had broken out all across his brow and he was panting heavily, no answer came from him.
Quatre had groaned with the rest at the unveiling of the macaroni, but took a bowl without true complaint. It wasn�t in his nature to complain. His thoughts were rolling steadily through a regular routine: plans for the evening, a glance into what he had to accomplish tomorrow, if he needed to work on Sandrock, and wondering how long it had been since he�d contacted his men. This regularity was split with horrific force by a scream that tore across his mind, resounding in each crevasse to gain strength rapidly. When it tapered off, his head was throbbing and his body was trembling. A voice slowly ate it�s way into his shock, �Quatre, where�s your fork?� He groped blindly for the utensil that had been in his hand moments before, but he couldn�t find it. A murmur he was hardly aware that he�d spoken told Amber this and he excused himself. Several startled sets of eyes followed him to the top of the stairs, but no further.
His room provided solitude in which he could tackle the scream with his questions. Settling onto his floor with his legs crossed, Quatre shut down his outer senses and probed for the source of the cry. He spoke tentatively into the area he narrowed it down to, Who are you? His doubt on receiving a response was beaten down by an obviously frightened voice, What? Oh God, I�m hearing voices, I�ve really lost it now! Quatre furrowed his brow, No; I�m speaking through telepathy. I heard you scream, are you all right? The response came slowly, as though she was unsure of whether she should believe the voice in her head, My hand really hurts, I think I should get to a hospital. Extending his senses to this life force, pilot four gave her a warning, I�m going to take a look at it, your vision may fade or change to what I�m seeing so don�t be alarmed. The image that flowed into his mind was a set of trembling fingers, still a scorched red. Parts of the flesh were already bubbling up with blisters and Quatre could tell that she�d been badly burned.
Withdrawing his gaze, he realized that he was quickly tiring with this extensive connection, It looks pretty bad, but maybe I can help ease it a little until you get help. Her tone had lost all caution and was laced, instead, with awe; You don�t have to do that�was the room I saw yours? Quatre pushed his being outward again, finding the pain that was causing this girl to falter when she spoke, If it was painted yellow, then yes. Your hand should begin to grow numb right about� Rather than say what he intended, Quatre gasped at the searing fire that had flamed up in his hand. Worry laced the girl�s voice, I told you, you didn�t have to! You�re a really kind person�what�s your name? He struggled to keep his connection and fight off his growing urge to run and stick his hand in the sink, I�m Apollo and I�ll keep you company when you call for me, if you want. He felt, rather than saw, the girl smile, I�m Cassandra, and I would like that very much.
A trio ended up in the vehicle headed to the chosen mission, the two that had originally intended to go, and Amber. She spent most of the journey shooting angry looks at Duo and cleaning her gun. The actual work that needed to be done was simple enough, infiltrate and destroy. It didn�t take long with the three of them working their way through the base, killing soldiers as they went. The resistance was almost minimal, as the attack hadn�t been expected and no man was prepared. The soldiers didn�t hold any position and were easily pushed back into the furthest portions of the base. There they made their last retaliation in a hopeless attempt. Bullets filled the hallway in a deadly rain, daring any of the pilots to show their face around the corner. Duo approximated that there was around nine soldiers left behind the firing guns and withdrew a grenade from inside his shirt. He motioned for the others to get down, throwing the resistance their death. The halls shook as smoke and dust billowed from the explosion.
Amber paused before entering the devastated space, picking over rubble and bodies. She chuckled, �You miscalculated, there were ten.� Duo entered behind her, Jess on his heels, �So what, nine, ten, they�re all dead.� The sharp click of a cocked gun sent all three rigid. P.C.�s pilot rolled her eyes to the battered soldier that was shifting his aim between her and Duo, �Not quite.� Jess backed up a step to avoid being noticed, though neither of her companions had budged. The darkly clad youth grinned evilly, �You can�t shoot all of us. No matter what you do, one of us will kill you. It�s a lose, lose situation buddy.� The blood-covered soldier seemed to glaze over, his aim dropping minutely. When Duo moved for his gun, the barrel came up rapidly and a deafening shot threw all those around him into shock.
For a split second, nothing moved or breathed. Amber glanced at Duo and he to her. Neither bled. Amber smirked, �You missed, you ass.� The soldier cocked a faint smile even as she shot him, causing Duo to proceed with a double check. Faint whispering behind them both pushed a disturbing realization home, �Not really�� The freckled youth forced a pained grin as two sets of eyes turned to her, her hand pressed against her stomach though a thick crimson stream slid underneath it. Tears welled in her wide eyes, �Amber�I�m scared.� The fierce German leapt forward and took hold of the petite youth even as she fell, �Oh god, Jess!� Duo still stood with an expression of dismay. A deep ache had settled in his gut, a mere shadow of his other half�s agony. His mind screamed at the imperfect justice of the world and the worlds that guided it. He knew he couldn�t heal her with the piece of burning lead that was deep inside her and he knew that he couldn�t do it with Amber around. She�s going to die�she�s going to die and I can�t do I damn thing about it�
The death of darkness couldn�t feel the movement of his feet as they brought him to the frightened girl�s side. He couldn�t see Amber tying of the profusely gushing wound, but was only aware that she was there. She looked up and said something to him, something he didn�t respond to. Instead, he kneeled at her side and scooped the tiny body into his arms. Jess curled into him, still sobbing. Each convulsion of her small form sent crippling yet ignored shocks of edged pain through Duo�s own body. Shadows clouded his vision as the part of him that kept his death seeking soul retained fled to the inner reaches of his mind. Shinigami clawed his way to the foremost recesses and took control, maddening control. The gate was broken and the dark beast was free, not to be contained.
Amber followed Duo�s hurried pace, occasionally attempting to fight her way into the daze he�d fallen into, �Duo, what�s the matter with you?! Hey, talk to me, Maxwell! Look, we have to get her to a hospital.� He remained silent but took his burden to the jeep they�d come in. As Duo seemed in no shape to drive, pilot six slid into the left side and started the engine. Amber knew that she could handle small wounds with her skills, but this was out of her hands. The location of the nearest hospital evaded her first desperate search but before she�d pulled onto a major highway, she knew were she was headed. Jess�s murmurings to Duo slowed to a stop before the sign for the turn off even came into view causing Amber to put the pedal to the floor.
The bleeding girl was rushed into the catacombs of the whitewashed, sterile castle. The first set of doors was closed on the two following and nurses swamped them with insurance questions. The longhaired youth craned his neck to see over them, ignoring them all. The German fought her was to him and placed her hand on his rigid shoulder, �Go home, Duo. She won�t be out for a while. I�ll call you when she is.� Rather than argue, as he normally would have done, he turned and went out the door. Once the automatic glass slid shut behind him, Amber appeased the frantic nurses with answers.
Duo entered the quiet house without his usual thought of the location of other pilots. He stopped in the entryway, his fingertips brushing the cement wall that bordered the garage. Amethyst eyes narrowed, their pupils dilating to thin slits. The hand resting on the wall curled into a fist as Duo whispered, �I could�ve done something, I could�ve done something and now she�s going to die�I�m going to lose her.� A scream of rage fought its way from his depths and ripped across the quiet to shake several that heard it. Shinigami released his fury on the wall in a series of shattering punches. His fists entered the solid gray mass and found the emptiness on the other side, only to be withdrawn and returned again in a new place. The bones and flesh of his knuckles splintered and tore, leaving scarlet trails down the rutted surface.
A swift grip halted the demon�s release of wrath, receiving a smoldering glare from gleaming red irises. Heero didn�t flinch as he�d seen such anger before, or so he thought, �Chill out, Duo. The wall is dead.� The dark boy bared his fangs at the angel, �She might be too, let go or you�ll join them both.� His hand remained where it was, �Who? Jess? Duo, she was only a human. You�re overreacting to this.� As the ire in Shinigami�s face twisted it into a snarl, a slight twitch of Helios�s fingers brought the white band against the beast�s neck. It cut into his flesh, but to Heero�s slight fear and surprise, it had no effect. Duo�s snarl turned into a chilling grin, �I�m sick of your toy, of your �control.� I won�t play this game any longer.� The band of light was swarmed by shadow, glowing brilliantly in its last attempt to remain. The darkness faded and Heero stepped back, �Shinigami, look�return to where ever you�ve been hiding yourself. I can call a greater arch and they�ll tear you to shreds.�
Trowa just made it down the last few steps when Heero�s lithe form flew through the air in front of him. He watched as his body traveled airborne for several yards before ending its flight by crashing into the lamp on the end table and sliding into the kitchen. Taking note that Duo�s fist seemed to be the force behind his wingless flight and that the more dangerous of his persona seemed to be in place, Trowa ducked into the closet for temporary safety. He brought his cell phone up to his ear and waited through the first and second ring for Amber to pick up. The voice on the other end sounded extremely tired as it spoke, �Yeah, what�s up Trowa?� Poseidon hissed the situation to her with bated breath; �Duo�s gone psycho! We need reinforcements!� There was an audible sigh, �Trowa, I don�t have time for this, they just brought Jess into the recovery room and I�� The tall youth cut her off, �No, you don�t understand, he�s really crazy. He was punching holes through the wall, the garage wall Amber! The one that�s made out of cement! Then Heero must have tried to stop him because he got a really nice deck that sent him flying over the couch, lengthwise, and through the lamp!� The lengthy pause on the other side made Trowa check his phone screen to see if he still had connection before she answered, �Alright, I�ll be there in a minute. In the meantime, see what you can do. We might want to start a search for a straightjacket if we can�t calm him down.�
Quatre sat, with teacup in hand, when the silver arch slid into the kitchen with an obviously broken nose. The blonde leapt to his feet and spotted Duo walking towards them with eyes that lit up the shadows around him. Not waiting for him to enter the kitchen, Apollo dove beneath the table beside the furry body of Fang, �When demons get mad, angels die!� Estrial growled low and inched towards the only other door to the cooking area, I suggest that we bolt! Pilot four heartily agreed and bolted for the dog flap cut into the bottom of the porch door. Both bodies reached it at the same time and wedged themselves into position that allowed for no easy movement either way.
Duo ignored the fleeing pair, peering down at the unconscious archangel, �See what you do with your own medicine.� He crouched and created a thin band of shadow between his fingertips, �Only mine can easily become as thin and sharp as I need it to for taking off your head.� The cord wound easily about Heero�s throat and sealed into an unbroken circlet. Duo rose to return to the wall, leaving another decent sized hole with the others.
A gentle but stern voice stopped his violent burst yet again, �Duo, the doctors say that she�s going to pull through. She was lucky that the bullet didn�t hit anything major. She�ll take a little while to recover but she�ll be back on her feet in no time. There won�t be any permanent damage.� Amber touched the crumbling pieces of cement with a furrowed brow, �You really killed it, didn�t you? Your hands must look like hell. Let me take a look at them?� The narrow slits of Duo�s cobalt eyes softened a little at the mention of Jess�s recovery. Rather than expose his bleeding knuckles, he turned heel and headed up the stairs. The huntress sighed heavily, �Well, no one can say that I didn�t try. Man he�s pissed, never seen him quite like this before, except when he killed all those soldiers.� She shivered at the old memory and the nausea it dragged up with it.
A face peered its way from the closet beneath the stairwell, one only half visible beneath a shield of hair, �Hey Amber, how�d it go?� Cocking an eyebrow, she turned to Trowa, �And just out of curiosity, Mr. I-have-more-muscle-than-I-know-what-to-do-with, why couldn�t you deal with an angry Duo? I know he�s strong when he�s like that, but still. You�re nearly four times his size.� He grinned sheepishly and came from his small space of safety, �Well, some how you just seemed better for the job as you usually instill a great deal of fear in the dark one�s heart�he�s probably going to remain in his current state of pissed off for a while though. You did what you could though, at least he stopped punching the wall.�
The huntress shifted her weight onto one foot with a thorough sigh, �I don�t understand him, he seems so sweet sometimes, if not annoying, but then he almost turns into this other person, like another being entirely. He becomes so blood thirsty and violent. I worry about her being with him, but I suppose that he wouldn�t�hurt her. I hate to admit it, but if he acts this way when she�s wounded, he�s not going to hurt her himself.� Triton slid an arm around her slender waist, �You never can know what a fool in love will do. Never something to hurt the one they love though, never that. I would know.� Her quick reply was stopped by the tall boy�s lips coming down on hers and he spoke over her flustered silence afterwards, �Call me a fool, but I suppose that�s what I am.�
Furious azure eyes watched this interaction with disgust. The archangel that they belonged to curled his lip into a snarl that could peel paint. If he wasn�t corrupt enough already, he�s getting the help of a half-demon. This is going to stop. Heero grit his teeth as he painfully sat up and felt his busted nose bones, �Damn demon, he�s going to pay for that.� His anger turned into well contained fear as his fingers trailed across the solid strip of shadow that was bound about his neck, �Oh shit, if he�he was Shinigami! Please, God, let that collar still be intact!�
Amber took a deep breath as her hand came to rest on the handle of a door painted red, she could easily feel darkness radiating from the room beyond. Deep crimson eyes met her own as she entered. The creature she had known as Duo was sharpening a wicked looking scythe that had an animal skull at the joint and a spine running down the handle, he turned back to his work. He tested the blade with his fingertips and watched dully as crimson welled from the wound. P.C.�s pilot furrowed her brow, �Let me look at your hands, Duo. They�ve got to be mush after your little episode with the wall.� His cold shoulder put a faint edge on her continuous frustration with him, though she pushed it under with a slight attempt to see through his point of view, �I know you�re mad, I am too, but we�re going to have to take care of them sooner or later. If it�s later, they�re going to hurt a lot worse than if we doctor them now.� The only response to her was the metallic screech of the sharpening stone against the steel. Opening her mouth to shout something irrational, she closed it as the ebony shadow against the wall moved without the boy who was nearly as dark. Slits of light glared at her from the obscure face and dark shadows of wings unfurled themselves across the wall and painted roof.
Bewildered, Amber turned to the death of darkness but found that he hadn�t moved, other than the grin that had spread across his face, �What is that?! What are you doing?� A blood red gaze returned to her as he held out an unblemished hand, �You have no idea.�
