Chapter Three: Losses and Gains

 

*Serena saw giant building land in the house across the street from her own just as she reached the corner gate of her house. She saw the block of brick smash through her mother and father's bedroom window, and screamed. What she didn't know was that the worst was still to come. A car without a driver rammed full speed through the house next door to her own, pushing the wall of the neighboring house into her own house, right through the family room windows.

"No! Mom! Dad! No! Sammy!" She stood, paralyzed with fear and shock. When the dust settled, she ran into her house. Picking through the debris, she cleared a pathway to the stairs that led upstairs. She went upstairs first, hoping that her parents had retired for a nap or any such thing that would have gotten them away from downstairs. She reached her room first, then skipped over it and went into her brother's across the hall.

"Sammy? Sammy? Are you in here?"

"Serena?" she heard a small voice from inside the closet. She flung the door open and found her little brother sitting on the floor in the middle of a heap of clothes.

"Oh Sammy! Are you alright?"

"Yeah. The house started shaking, and I thought it was an earthquake. I stood in the doorway of the closet like I was supposed to, but I fell and the door shut behind me. Where are mom and dad?"

"I don't know yet. Were they home?"

"Yeah, They never said they were going anywhere anyway."

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No. Serena, where are mom and dad? Why haven't they come to find us?"

"Well, the hall from the door to the living room was blocked. Maybe they just can't get through. Stay here, I'm going to go see if I can find them."

"Serena, was it an earthquake?"

"I don't know Sam, but I don't think so." Serena swallowed back her worst fears as she went back down the stairs. Her brother was alright. That was a triumph in it's own. An earthquake? Was it an earthquake? Serena didn't think so, but far be it for her to scare her brother anymore than he already was. Who was she kidding, she didn't want to scare herself with the truth. As she reached the barrier, she began pulling boards, rocks, bricks, and other building materials from the blocked path into the family room.

"Serena? Honey? Is that you?" a voice came through the barrier.

"Mom?" Serena dug faster.

"Serena, don't come in here."

"In where? Mom, just stay there. Is daddy with you?"

"Serena, your father, he's, Serena, don't dig anymore. Just stop honey."

"But Mom! You're still in there, and you're ok!"

"Serena, I'm not ok. Please honey, don't come any farther..." A hand was revealed through the rubble. Serena grabbed it. "Serena, listen to me. Take care of your little brother. I love both you and him very much, and so did your father."

"Mom?" Sammy asked.

"Sammy! I told you to stay upstairs!"

"Sammy, baby. Your sister is right. Listen to her. I love you."

"Mom? Mom!" Called Sammy. The hand Serena had been holding so tightly loosened, then went limp.

"Mom..." Serena whispered. They were gone. Her parents... her brother... her brother!

"Mom? Mom? Mom?" Sammy called for their mother repeatedly.

"Sammy, Mom's gone now, and we have to..."

"No! She's still in there! Mom! Mom!" He broke down in a temper tantrum. He screamed and raged. Serena finally was able to grab a hold on him and just hugged him tight, her own tears mingling with his.

~~~###~~~

     The five guys were able to regroup after the dust settled. Checking themselves for injuries, they looked around at the mobs. The people were beginning to clear the streets. In fact, the only people they could see now were either trapped under something, or laying very still on the street. The delegates began to crowd around them, as if they thought the five boys could protect them from the entire world itself.

     "What was that?"

     "Will she come back?"

     "Was it an Earthquake?"

     "I hate earthquakes."

     "I hate all this dust."

     "I'm hungry."

     "Hiiro! Shoot me!"

     The five guys looked at each other and ran. Five minutes later, they were back at the start, right in front of the destroyed Congressional Building, and an entire mob of delegates was running down the street chasing after invisible pilots.

     "Alright, so? Anyone got an explanation for this one?" Asked Quatre.

     "It wasn't me!"

     "We know that baka Maxwell! Though by the way you eat, it could have been you walking."

     "Let's not fight now."

     "Let them have it out for once Quatre. I personally think it was one of Duo's ex-girlfriends that he made really mad, and now is out for revenge. But Wufei has a point." Trowa almost smirked at his own comments.

     "Not you too Trowa! Oh! Why does everyone have to pick on me?" Pouted Duo.

     "We need to find out where we are and what happened from someone else's perspective."

     "He lives! Hiiro lives!" Cried Duo. After a warning glare from Hiiro, he sobered up his act. The pilots looked around for someone to ask, but they found nothing short of a ghost town littered with trash, debris, and bodies. Out of the corner of his eye, Hiiro caught the movement of something across the street. After getting the attention of the other four, they readied their guns and waited for whoever was coming to make their appearance.

~~~###~~~

     "Sammy, grab some of your warmer clothes and shove them into a small bag. Not a lot because you're carrying them, not me."

     "Can I bring my game boy?"

     "Sammy..."

     "I know." With that, he left to pack. Serena, too, left to pack a small amount of her warmer clothes. After making doubly sure she had her transformation locket and communicator, not to mention the Luna Pen and a picture of her family, friends, and Darien, she went to collect Sammy from his room.

     Leaving their house was another story. The front door looked incredibly unstable, and Serena was not willing to take any chances at this point in the game. Instead, she had Sammy climb down the tree outside her bedroom window. Climbing down after him, she took out her father's gun, just for safety precautions. She had no idea how to shoot the weapon, let alone how to load it or clean it. She just figured if anyone tried anything funny, the gun would be enough to scare him or her away, without her actually having to fire the weapon. She made Sammy wait in the shadows behind the house while she scouted out up ahead. Seeing no one, alive, she went out farther. She got into the middle of the street when a voice stopped her.

     "Who are you?" Turning to face the voice, she found five boys a little older than herself holding her at gunpoint.

     "Why?" She asked.

     "Who are you?" Serena sighed and then shrugged indifferently. One of the men made a grab for her, and she yelped and tried to run. She was either too slow or he too fast, because the next thing she knew, she was trapped, being held still by two guys holding her arms. Suddenly, a blur whizzed by them. It came back around and stopped.

     "You let my sister alone you creeps!" The little boy kicked as hard as he could, and down went Duo for the count. His hold on the girl slipped, and finally Serena was free of the hold the boys had had on her.

     Hiiro had no times for games. He didn't care how annoying this little boy was, or how Duo was on the ground rolling around in pain. He didn't even care how amazingly beautiful the girl standing before him was. He just wanted her name.

     "Excuse me please, Miss. We're sorry about our treatment of you, but we only wish to know your name and where we are." Leave it to Quatre to get it right where the others all failed. The girl's faced lightened three degrees and she began a smile.

     "Oh, Well, My name is Serena, and this is Sammy and..."

     "Go away! You leave us alone!"

     "Sammy!"

     "Serena!"

     "Spore!"

     "Meatball head!"

     "Hey! Take that back you little..."

     "Miss?"

     "Huh? Oh, sorry. You're in Tokyo, Japan, the residential Jubban district to be more precise. If you would like to go into town, take this street, turn left, then right, then go straight past the Cross Roads Junior High School. We're going that way now, would you like to join us, ...?"

     "Oh, well, I'm Quatre R. Winner. These are my friends, Wufei, the one who is scowling, and Duo, the one rolling on the ground." Duo sat up and waved.  "The tall one is Trowa, and the one with the gun still pointed at you is Hiiro. We would love to join you."

     "Great. If you couldn't tell, this is my brother Sammy." 'Sammy' turned away and began sulking. "Sorry, he's not in the best mood. We just got out of our house, and right before we left, our mother and father died."

     "Oh, I'm so sorry."

     "Yeah. Us too, us too." The smile that had been on her face melted away, leaving a frown in its place. Hiiro, too, frowned. A frown did not belong on this girl's face.*