After containing her tears in Amber�s presence, Jess needed someone to comfort her. She wandered into the hall and turned the knob to Duo�s room. The blinds were pulled shut, pitching the room into shadows. Duo was settled in front of a TV in the corner of the room, a game controller in his hand, � Oh no, ahhhh! I�m being attacked! Die evil scum!� He was completely absorbed in his game, keeping him from noticing her entrance. Jess kneeled behind the dark boy and slid her arms around his waist, her tears soaked into his shirt. Duo paused the game and craned his neck to see her, �Hey babe, what�s wrong?� She nuzzled the crook in his back; her only answer muffled sob. Pilot two twisted around and hooked his arms around her waist, pulling her into his lap, �What made my little doll cry?� Clutching his shirt tightly, Jess continued to sob uncontrollably, �She�s� gone.� Duo pulled a tendril of flame colored bang from her eyes tenderly, �What do you mean? She go to the store? Why would that upset you?� The small redhead he�d grown to love buried her face in his washboard stomach; �She�s not coming back.� The longhaired American kissed her forehead gently, �Sure she is, don�t worry about her.� Jess sat up abruptly, coming close to slamming heads with him; �She told me that she saw you at the base, what you did. That�s why she�s leaving, because she doesn�t think you�re safe. Treaty or not.� He adverted his eyes from her questioning face, she continued, �I know that she thinks this way because she didn�t understand why, but Duo, neither do I.� The death of darkness tightened his grip around her waist, the thought of losing her made up his mind, �Jess, I couldn�t tell you because it was against our rules, but hey, I don�t follow to many rules.� He faltered for a moment as he chose his words; �The reason that I act the way I do is because I�m a demon, a creature of darkness. The shadows were my mother, flame my father and Hell was the place of my birth. I am the god of death, one of the many soul collectors of the underworld and one of the best. I am a descendent of the great Lucifer who fell from heaven and I need mortal blood to survive when I�m not home, but as I said before, I will not hurt you.� At first, pilot seven was at a complete loss of words, only managing a tiny squeak. Duo internally groped for the darkness that was his being, his ever-familiar wings slid gracefully out of two permanent slits in his back. Peering at their dark ebony gave the same effect of staring into fathomless infinity. Jess reached out to touch them, half expecting her hand to sink into that darkness, the leathery flesh was warm under her fingers. Duo wrapped them around her, enveloping her delicate body, �Now you understand why I am the way I am, can you accept this?� The small girl nodded and laid a light kiss on one of his bat like appendages, the wing trembled under her gentle hands, �Yes Duo, I can deal with this.� The dark youth sighed with relief, completely ignoring his flashing video game.
The Pie Hut, as the tiny restaurant was called, was virtually empty, save for the waitress behind the counter and the thin scattering of customers. A young woman sitting at one table was busy stuffing herself with the house specialty, cherry pie. Another empty pan sat in front of her that had once contained peach, she finished up the last few bites and called for another. Why do I eat pie of all foods for comfort? Amber wondered but had no one to ask, Jess had after all stayed behind. She furiously repressed her urge to sob; digging into the new pie that was set in front of her. Her stomach revolted in a wave of nausea as the first of the sweet blueberry filling reached it. Amber covered her mouth quickly to hold it back, dropping her fork in the process. Oh god, I�m going to be sick. Is it really worth all of this?
Contact between the two girls was completely silent for nearly a week; when a call did come, it was unexpected. Jess snatched up the portable phone on its third ring, �Hello!� The familiar voice on the other end sounded strained, tired, �Hey Jess, I�m sorry about what happened earlier. I should�ve considered what you wanted to do.� The small, freckle dusted redhead hopped up on the side table, her feet dangling several inches from the ground, �Don�t apologize Amber, I shouldn�t have argued with you, so we�re even, �k? Where are you?� The German on the other end faltered and coughed heavily, �That doesn�t matter. I don�t want you to worry about me.� Pilot seven frowned, �Are you sick? You sound horrible.� Her comrade�s voice seemed airy over the line, another heavy cough came before her answer, �Just picked up a bit of the flu, I�ll be fine. Listen, Jess, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I love you and I always will. You�ve been like a daughter to me.� Emerald eyes grew wide, something isn�t right. Jess opened a laptop that was sitting on the table beside her and plugged its cord into the base of the phone, green numbers and coordinates flew across the screen, �Amber, why are you talking like this, are you ok?� Her coughing was muffled this time, but a lot longer, her voice returned to the line sounding as though it were close to breaking point, �I�m alright, really. I just need to get some rest� Jess, I want you to make me a promise, alright?� The printer spit out a paper with an address on it, Jess grabbed it and wrote a few words on it, � �K, what�s that?� As Trowa made his way through the living room, Jess shoved the paper in his hand. He opened it and read the note the small Irish girl had made, �Go there!� �If something ever happens to me, you�ll kill him for me, right?� Nearly forgetting that she wasn�t on a screen communicator, Jess nodded, �Of coarse I will Amber.� The other girl�s voice seemed more relaxed now, �Good, I�ll see you later.� Before she could object, the line was dead.
Amber pulled her blood stained hand off of the phone painfully, and opened the booth�s door to the outside. A large pool of her blood filled the bottom and covered her shoes; she left crimson footsteps in her limping wake. The alley she entered enveloped her in soothing darkness, hiding her from anyone on the street. Amber pressed her back against the wall and slid down, leaving a crimson trail across the bricks. A pair of eyes swam into focus, they belonged to no one she knew, �I don�t have any spare change.� The slender youth that knelt before her supported a pair of white wings that draped to his feet, he was clad entirely in black, �I don�t want your spare change, Amber.� She pulled her gun up between them, despite the pain it caused, �Get the hell away from me.� He backed out of her line of vision and leaned against the opposite wall to wait. Amber laughed faintly, �So this is how it will end, the great huntress, dead in an alley.�
A black truck rolled to a stop, its only occupant hopping out onto the sidewalk. His dark emerald eyes roamed over the street, carefully picking out details. They came to rest on the crimson filled phone booth and the streaked trail leaving it. Trowa followed it into the same alleyway Amber had entered only minutes before. It took several seconds for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, slowly; the angel known as death came into view. Trowa bristled angrily, �Leave here Thanatos.� The angel of death rolled his gaze in annoyance to the being that dared to interrupt him, �Are you ordering me, mortal?� Pilot three placed his body between the soul collector and Amber, a strange need to protect her gripped his mind, �It�s not her time to die.� The angel pushed himself off the wall lazily and peered up at what seemed to be a fool before him, he ruffled his dark feathers, �It is her time, which is why I�m here.� Comforting sapphire power pulsed in his veins, throbbing heavily as Trowa called for it. It gathered between his shoulder blades, his flesh bulged as it yearned to be free. The angel paled as the tall youth�s hair lengthened and melted from brown to jet-black with a brilliant golden sheen. The silencer�s wings burst from his back, tossing blood to mingle with Amber�s on the wall, neither noticed it glow faintly as the two types mixed.
Thanatos backed as far from the pilot as the narrow allay permitted, pressing his black clothed body against the crumbling bricks, �Poseidon?! What are you�� He seemed incapable of finishing the question, his mouth worked like that of a beached fish. The golden arch extended his massive black and gold wings to hide the bleeding girl from view, �She will not die today, leave here now.� Trowa�s emphasis on the last few words caused Thanatos to cower more, but the fear of returning to heaven without the girl�s soul gave him false courage, �You can not interfere with this Poseidon! You may have a great love of life, but she will die!� Ignoring him, Trowa turned to kneel before his dying comrade. Amber opened her tired gray-green eyes only enough to see him, a trickled of crimson leaked from the corner of her lips, �Trowa?� He wiped away the blood that left her mouth with a gentle hand as his wings returned to the hallow of his back, �Hang on Amber. I�m going to get you out of here.� She shook her head faintly and pulled her hand from her side, a large piece of metal protruded from her. Trowa winced, �Oh shit.� A curt laugh floated over his shoulder, �See, there is nothing you can do to save her now.� With the ease of experience, he removed it, blood poured out in an unblocked torrent. Trowa placed his hand over the wound, spilling his own golden light into it. Slowly, it sealed up inside, leaving only a slight rip in the surface of her flesh. Without another word, he scooped the injured woman into his arms and carried her to his truck. Amber cried out at the sudden jostling of her wounded body, �Trowa, I�m so tired, let me sleep.� He slid into the driver�s seat, laying pilot six carefully across his lap, �If you go to sleep now, you�ll never wake up.�
The soul collector watched at the alleyway�s mouth as the black truck peeled away from the curb; �This isn�t over, Poseidon, until I get her soul.� He vaulted himself into the sky to rejoin the ranks of angels.
The engine had barely enough time to stop rumbling before Trowa leapt from the cab with Amber in his arms, �Jess! I found her!� The small redhead tossed open the door as Trowa dashed up to it, �Oh god, Amber!� She moved aside so he could carry the fading pilot inside, �What should I do to help?� Trowa studied her worried face for several seconds before laying Amber on the hallway tile, �You can start by getting the med.-kit. Then, Amber is going to need a blood transfusion, got it?� The green-eyed girl nodded vigorously and dashed for the kitchen, she snagged the cross-adorned box from under the kitchen sink where she�d seen Duo store it. Jess set it down beside pilot three and rushed halfway up the back stairs, �Trowa, who else has O negative?� He didn�t look up from his hands as they were busily stitching up one of Amber�s largest gouges, �I think Wufei does.�
The solitary dragon was in the midst of deep meditation when Jess burst into his room without a warning knock, she grabbed his hands and dragged him to his feet. Wufei�s coal black eyes flashed angrily, �What do you think you�re doing, woman?� The small redhead virtually dragged him from the room; �Amber needs your blood.� The only remaining member of the royal Long family frowned deeply, �Is she hurt?� He began to walk on his own accord before being dragged down the stairs by the anxious Irish girl. She nodded as she rushed down the stairs before him, �Really bad.� Wufei halted his progress in the doorway, his dark eyes taking in the bloody girl laying on the tile, �Meilan�Nataku, not again.� Neither pilot tending to Amber heard his whispers. The image of his wife, bleeding to death in his arms, flashed through his mind. As vivid as the day the memory was formed. He barely noticed the thick transfusion needle Jess pushed into a vein in his arm or Trowa�s statement that he needed to inform him of when he got dizzy. All he was witnessing was the dying words of a girl he�d loved in the past, �I may have been strong, but you were always stronger. I just hope I was worthy enough as your wife.� She had saved his life once and he�d never gotten a chance to return the favor, �Don�t die Meilan.� Trowa checked the amount of blood that was flowing and regulated it, so as not to harm Amber any more than she already was, �Well, I think she�ll be ok. There isn�t much else we can do anyway.� Except heal her, Trowa�s gut twisted itself into a knot, sure, if I want everyone to find out. I�d never hear the end of that one.Jess cocked her head to one side curiously as Wufei continued to repeat his wife�s name, �Hey Trowa, who�s Wufei mumbling about? He keeps going on about some Meilan.� Trowa shrugged nonchalantly, �Ask him, when he snaps out of it.� The freckled pilot busied herself checking over Trowa�s stitch jobs on Amber�s wounds.
The silencer turned off the pump and removed the needles from both as Wufei began to wobble where he sat. As he placed a cotton swab over the prick in pilot five�s arm, Trowa noticed something that made anger flare up inside him as a wildfire; Wufei�s hand was laced in Amber�s. Why would that make you angry, I thought you�d given up on that sort of stuff, he turned away quickly and shoved his anger out of his mind, �So, where is she going to stay while she recovers?� Jess ran a finger over the bridge of her nose, �Um, I don�t want her staying on the couch or anything. Maybe she could stay in someone�s room?� Wufei�s head whipped around instantly, �She can stay in mine.�
The fury Trowa had suppressed earlier returned to the surface, �I don�t think that would be such a good idea. If Jess thinks she shouldn�t stay on the couch, a mat on the floor wouldn�t be much better.� Wufei�s eyes narrowed, Trowa held in them, �I sleep on my futon all the time, what�s wrong with it?� Jess put a hand on each boy�s chest and pushed them apart, �I agree with Trowa, a mat on the floor wouldn�t be the best choice for her�� �Futon.� �Right, futon, what Amber needs is a bed.� Trowa nodded his agreement, wondering why he wanted to be with this tomboy so badly, �She can stay in mine, I�ll sleep on the couch.� Pilot seven consented to this and the silencer once again scooped up the unconscious pilot, ignoring the glare Wufei was boring into his back.
It was several days before Amber woke up, she opened her gray-green eyes slowly, �Is this Heaven or Hell?� The sound of Duo�s yelling pitched her into despair, �Has anyone seen my teddy bear boxers?� Amber sighed heavily, wincing slightly as she did so, �What did I do to deserve Hell? I know that I killed a lot of people, but why?� The sound of the door shutting quietly as well as Trowa�s velvet thunder voice drew her attention, �So, your up.� The huntress gazed at him questioningly, �I�m alive?� He set a tray with a lunch of soup on the bedside table as he answered, �Yes, and you�ll heal up just fine.� She closed her eyes again, �How long have I been out?� Trowa sat on the bed next to her, the bowl in one hand, �Probably a week or so.� By the haggard look on his face, Amber determined that he�d been up for every day of it, �Haven�t you slept?� He shrugged, lifting her gently upright with one arm, �Off and on. Do you think you can handle some soup?� Blushing faintly, Amber reached out to take the spoon from him. A wound in her shoulder bolted pain to her fingertips as she moved, she winced. A very small smile crossed the silencer�s lips as he picked it up for her, �Relax, you�re not quite ready yet.� Amber swallowed the first spoonful slowly, her gaze absorbing that smile, �What was that?� The tall Latino readjusted his grip on the bowl, �What was what?� She cocked an eyebrow, her words coming out with a touch of awe to them, �You smiled. I�ve never seen you smile before.� Trowa set the bowl back on the only table on the militarily neat room, �I do every once in a while.� Amber cast her gaze around the remainder of the room, a single trunk at the end of the bed and a metal topped desk were the only other pieces of furniture in the room. Not a single decoration gave color to the white washed walls, �So, you don�t like to personalize?� She was replied with silence, Amber cleared her throat, �Right, so, you ever seen Godzilla?� He shook his head. The recovering huntress gasped, �You haven�t lived!�
