Duo held up a victory sign and gave the people a cocky grin. He tossed his head, making his braid whip around his lithe form. Wufei sent him an annoyed look and seconds later, so did Trowa. The Deathscythe Pilot merely shook his head. They were just jealous of his good looks. Although the rest of the pilots were quite handsome and had their own fan clubs developing rapidly, they couldn’t hold a candle to him.

Shinigami’s grin broadened and he gave an excited holler, evoking more screams from everyone worshipping them, especially the young females. The braided baka smirked at his best friend, being clung to by a parasitic Relena. His face twisted into a grimace, the Perfect Soldier looked like he was going to be sick. Duo’s day couldn’t get any better. Parties. No more war. Hundreds of girls in love with him. Star Children together. He gave a rare genuine smile and sighed happily. If only Shini would come up here and tell the world what she had done for them. That would make his night complete.

And then Duo’s smile was replaced with the more common frown. No more war... He recalled the night’s previous events. It wasn’t over. Not yet. So many had died. So much had yet to be repaired. Even the heartless boy, Heero Yuy, knew it: “I don’t deserve happiness. I shouldn’t be celebrating. I’ve killed too many. The price of peace is too high. No matter what anyone thinks, the war has only begun.” The American stared out at the vast reaches of rejoicing citizens. They have no idea...

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Shinira smirked at the boy standing dumbstruck before her. After several minutes of the torture kisses, she had finally figured out what she knew about him. He was a Fallen. Of course. How had she not known it before? Fallen regained his composure almost immediately and returned the confident smile she shone on him.

“Well... from you, I think I’d like to keep you...” His eyes sparkled with lust “but from your brother, I just want him to stay out of the way.” Shinira snorted. The chances of Duo staying out of the enemies way, was verging on impossible. Of course, for this creature to leave his hiding place and to come to this world, he must have a significant reason. Most likely... an assassination was being planned. Very extensively planned... Duo might not even be an obstacle... The deities!

“You’re going to kill them!” she blurted, anxiety coming over her. Shivers ran down her spine--and not the kind she got every time Heero looked at her. Her fears were confirmed when the villain before her smirked. He was in control of the situation, and he knew it. Shinira shuddered at the thought of being completely helpless when someone needed protecting. What was his next move going to be? She hadn’t been keeping him distracted, Fallen had been doing it to her the entire time. Which meant he had others here with him, watching and waiting for the opportunity to strike...

“Well... not all of them...” He hissed as he took a step forward and grasped her hands. Leaning in closely, he whispered to her “I want to keep you alive...” Shini tore her fingers from his and backed up into the platform, finally feeling real fear. “None of my ’colleagues’ think it wise to spare you, but I’ve had my eye on you for a little while now and you intrigue me. I want to know more about you...your kind...” Fallen grew closer to her every moment, cornering Shinira against the platform. She couldn’t lose herself into the swarm of people, for fear that he would attack innocent people. And she couldn’t escape behind the platform, he would surely strike the exposed Pilots.

“How...?” The little agent was gradually regaining her confidence, the more he told her. If she knew what he planned, perhaps she would be able to stop him. “You can’t kill them... they’re immortal.” In her panic, she had forgotten that one important little fact. He chewed on his lip while he pondered her statement and how to answer it.

“I can’t kill them, but I can bring them a great deal of pain... with these.” Fallen reached into a pouch he had hidden beneath his overly large shirt and pulled out three small capsules. One black. One white. And one silver. Shinira gave him a questioning look and took a step closer, reaching out, trying to touch one of them. Before she could say anything, he spoke again. “It’s blood. The black is a demon‘s blood mixed with my own. The white is an angel‘s blood, again, mixed with my own. And the Silver is all three put together.”

“Wait a second... Fallen blood mixed with celestial blood creates a... poison?” She examined the silver capsule, taking careful note of it’s tightly sealed cap. He dropped his sinister visage and gently took the silver vile.

“Actually, all of them are poisons, but only to certain individuals. The demon blood, on a regular basis, wouldn’t harm anyone, but I recently found out that if you mix it with a Fallen’s blood, it will become a torturing acid for an angel. The same goes for angel blood to a demon. And this one...” he held up the silver capsule he had just taken from her. “...is for Heero.” Shinira’s heart skipped a beat. So he knew that little detail too... “You’re going to sick these poisons on them?” she waved her hand in the direction of the deities.

“No. Just Trowa. He’s the only one I want.” Shinira and Fallen leaned up against the side of the platform beside one another and crossed their arms. The little agent took a couple of minutes to try and figure out just what was going on. He interrupted her thought process by speaking again. “The other poisons are for anyone who gets in my way.” He paused for a dramatic effect and to let Shinira absorb what he was saying. “I don’t want to hurt you or your brother, but if either one of you try to stop me, I’ll have to.”

“I have a question...” Shini stood up straight, off the wall and Fallen acknowledged her upcoming inquiry. “Why haven’t you taken me out yet? I am still a threat to you and your ‘mission.’ And now that you’ve told me your intentions, I might just be able to stand in your way.” He sighed and ran a hand through thick white hair.

“Because as much as it would help me carry out my plan, I don’t want to hurt you. I have the guts to take out your brother, but that would hurt you. And that’s not what I wanted to accomplish with this ‘mission,’ if you must call it that.” Shinira bit her lip and turned away. But he wouldn’t let her get off that easy. He took hold of her chin and forced her to make eye contact with him. Fallen was trying to tame her... and it was working. Even after suffering so long ago, she was surrendering to the same trick again.

And she knew he was doing it.

Because Heero had rejected her and because she wasn’t in the right state of mind. She was distraught. Shinira inwardly cursed herself for losing her concentration so willingly. Whether or not Fallen knew what had happened to her didn’t matter. It wasn’t his fault. He was going to get what he wanted, either way. The female pilot had to admit his plan wasn’t very well thought out, but it would be effective. Especially since no one knew but Shinira and Fallen.

She threw her arms around his neck and cried. Sobbing her eyes out and shivering in his embrace. He welcomed her sorrow with open arms and stroked her braid. Fallen held her tightly and whispered sweet reassuring nothings in her ear. After a few more moments of silence, he pulled her away and gripped her shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes. “Shini... wait right here. I have to do this...” So he thought she was crying for the deities? Well... maybe he didn’t know everything about her, after all... No matter how good to her he had been, his goals were still sick and twisted.

“No...” It was barely audible, hardly more than a whisper, but he heard her all the same. Shinira held her fists tightly to her sides and held her head low, trying to suppress a new rage. For every time someone had taken advantage of her. Every person who had relished in her suffering. He was doing the same thing... even though he was a master at it and had almost fooled her, Shinira had identified his game and now he was going to pay. “I will not let you touch them.” She raised her eyes to meet his. Green and Gold. It was a challenge. Fallen heaved a sigh, but immediately returned to his sinister side. “I offered you an easy way out, but you just had to go noble on me...” he hissed venomously. A second of hesitation and both raced to jump onto the stage.

Her heart pounding nervously, Shinira made it to the center of the platform before Fallen had his pistol pointed at her. Not his pistol. Shini’s eyes widened when she realized who’s gun he was holding. It was hers. That got her adrenaline pumping. Waves of sick anxiousness coursed through her veins. How...? No one was fast enough to steal from her....

He hadn’t done it quickly.

Realization hit her painfully as she remembered what he had been doing to her while they stood alone and in the shadows. Unbuttoning her shirt. Beneath the silken black shirt was the belt of grenades Shinira had brought and the pistol, loaded with Heero’s hollow point bullets. Her blood ran cold. And so did everyone watching the two of them standing frozen atop the platform. Right then, she noticed where they were and what was happening.

There were innocent people here. She couldn’t let them die because of her stupidity.

“Fallen...” her voice wavered and a shiver ran down her spine, hoping that she could convince him to give them a chance to run. “Yes?” He licked his lips and gave her the smirk of a victor. Shinira slowly raised her hands into the air and glanced at Duo, who was watching, unsure of what to do. She gave him no signal, for she didn’t want him to move. The innocent had to escape first and then their bloody battle could begin.

“You have to let them go...” she jerked her head in the direction of the silent mass of people, all holding their breath, afraid. Even the joyous music had stopped. All was still. Not even the crickets had come out to play their song. His eyes narrowed and he cocked his head to the side. “Why...? You deny me of what I want! Why should I give you what you want?!” He looked as if he would crack in moments. Obviously, his plan wasn’t working out the easy way it should have. She spoke slowly and enunciated every syllable to make sure he heard her. “Because they’ll all die, if you don‘t.”

“What’s your point?” He looked her over and then glimpsed over at the six other individuals standing still as statues behind the two of them, relative to the crowd. Relena was hanging on Heero’s arm harder than ever and the other pilots stared, not daring to say a word. Worried that any sudden movements would set off the human bomb and he would kill someone. Particularly the girl standing in the center of the stage.

“When they die... they’ll all go to hell. Or heaven. That isn’t what you want. If you sentence this many people to death, it’ll only be a blow to you. And you know it.” Shinira spat the last sentence and smiled inwardly. He would see it her way and they would be spared. Where the two of them would go from there, she wasn’t sure. As he thought about her proposition, Shini could almost see the wheels turning in his head. “All right...” Fallen purred and then turned his unnerving yellow eyes on the people of the colony. “All of you! Run! Go home! If you leave now, your lives will be spared!” His constant purring turned into a bark that echoed through the eerie silence as he commanded the flood of humans.

All hell broke loose as they did as they were told. They ran. Into each other. Some of them made it into nearby buildings but the others broke out into panic and screamed and cried. A few of them, drunken and still in fighting mode, tried to climb up on the platform and help. These were shot. Shinira gave a dry sob when one man fell before her with a bullet in his forehead, red blood oozing out of his wound and some of it even slipping out of his mouth. After nearly a half hour, the last of the insane people had run away to another part of the colony. Shinira sighed in relief. They would be safe for now.

“Happy?” He growled impatiently. The little agent nodded vigorously, evoking a small smile from Fallen, and unknown to her, from Heero as well. “Happy enough to let me do this without a struggle?” Shinira snorted, indicating that she wasn’t. “Oh well... I tried. This could‘ve been painless for you. I wouldn‘t have had to hurt anyone. You know that, don‘t you?” For a moment, his eyes pleaded with her. She shook her head and half smiled.

“One way or another, someone was going to suffer. I’d rather it be me.” Shinira lowered her raised hands and got into a fighting stance. It was his turn to shake his head. Each thought the other was speaking and acting with the absurdity of a mental patient. “If that’s the way you want it... so be it.” The moment of silence after he spoke stretched itself out into an eternity. Everyone else on the platform completely forgotten, Fallen and Shinira stood facing each other, each preparing for a vicious battle.

Until he fired.

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