Mamoru glanced up from the pile of papers on his desk and sighed as the old wounds in his chest from Ken’s bugnucks started to ache again. He’d obviously been sitting for too long. He rose to his feet and turned to stare out of the window, unwelcome memories battering at him like drunken pugilists.
A knock on his office door that he recognised as his secretary’s came as a welcome relief and he called for her to come in.
“Takatori-san your grandfather is here to see you.”
“Here? Show him in at once please.”
He sat back down at his desk and waited for her to wheel his grandfather’s chair into the office.
The old man motioned her out, “Give us half an hour,” he instructed and waited for the door to close. He regarded Mamoru, then spoke, “The Weiss are still alive but you know this don’t you?”
“I have very…marked proof that Hidaka still lives and, as the cat-boy never returned I can only assume that Kudoh and Fujimiya killed him and escaped. What became of Bengal I don’t know.” Steely blue eyes, once so bright and emotive stared back at his grandfather thoughtfully.
“I’m guessing that you have information regarding their whereabouts and that is why you’re here.”
“They are alive. Every last one of them,” the old man told the boy and tossed an envelope onto the desk.
“In fact, they have joined with Schwarz and are proving to be quite resilient.”
“Joined with Schwarz?” That information truly astonished Mamoru. The idea of Fujimiya linking up with the freaks that had kidnapped his sister seemed almost preposterous and yet…
“Schwarz wouldn’t aid them unless it was worth their while,” he said. “I know that Hidaka became a freak and burned down the Kritiker building, Kudoh I’m almost certain is also a freak but Fujimiya?”
“Born that way. His sister too, from all appearances. Why do you think the Esset Elders wanted her? She has some sort of freakish talent.”
Mamoru sat back in his chair and rested his chin on his clasped hands. “Her friend said that she never aged whilst in the coma. She told the girl that herself. We did speak to Sakura at length but even our best interrogators could get nothing more from her before she died.”
He glanced at the envelope. “So they’ve joined Schwarz, have they? What else?”
“Look at the contents of the envelope. I’m sure you’ll find it quite enlightening.”
Mamoru frowned slightly as he reached for the envelope. “Why can’t you simply tell me?”
“Because you never listen to what you’re told,” the old man snapped. “if you had Weiss would have died long before they could injure you or ruin a valuable property, that’s why!”
“Yes, grandfather, but if you’d succeeded at the Ani Museum I would have died with them wouldn’t I? I very nearly did.” He sometimes wondered if the old man had finally gone senile. If he had then it was time for him to die…in his sleep, of course.
“That mess was none of my doing, child. You can blame those other freaks on what occurred there. Schwarz arranged that little party, at least that is my belief from the perspective of hindsight.”
The old man studied his grandson for a moment, his expression thoughtful. “Tell me, Mamoru, how do you plan to destroy so many of these freaks when you could never touch just the four from Schwarz?”
His clasped hands tightened against one another until his fingers hurt but he didn’t show his fury in any other way. He still hadn’t forgotten the way that German freak had toyed with him and caused the death of his beloved Ouka.
“What exactly are you suggesting, grandfather?” His voice was steady, still almost as sweet as it had been at the Koneko.
“A temporary alliance between us and an organization that is as interested in the demise of those freaks as we are. Representatives will be contacting you to arrange cooperation. Once our need for these people are at an end, we will take care of whatever of these people remain which will give us undisputed control of Japan.”
It sounded feasible enough. “So, there was another organisation that hated Essett. How curious that they’ve never shown their hand before.” He took a deep breath. “But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to talk to them at least.”
“They call themselves Rosenkruez. They’ve been at war with Essett for some time now and are especially interested in eliminating Schwarz and their new allies.”
“That sounds promising. I think we can certainly listen to whatever they have to say. No promises yet but I will agree to a meeting.”
“You will agree to aid them in the downfall of your former colleagues because I have assured them of your cooperation.”
“Indeed? I am not a child, grandfather, and I neither want nor need you to make my decisions for me. However, as you’ve already given them my assurances there is nothing more to be said on the subject.
But that was the final straw and he was determined that his grandfather would not live much longer. After all, the old fool hadn’t lifted a finger when he’d been kidnapped so why should he feel any duty or respect?
“No, of course you aren’t Mamoru. But the fact that you’ve not dealt with this problem is disturbing. You permitted that Hidaka person to get close to you and he nearly killed you. Please understand, your safety and well-being are my greatest concerns.”
It was a pity, but the younger generation just didn’t have the proper mind for business. Well, he had another grandson tucked away safely, and if worse came to worse, he could eliminate this mistake called Mamoru and try again with a boy who knew his place and wasn’t prone to making friends with the wrong people.
Yes, thinking about it, that was probably the best way to deal with the problem. He’d let the young fool make the arrangements for the disposal of Weiss and Schwarz then, when he no longer served a purpose he could tell his last and best grandson to rid them of a liability.
* * * * * * *
Schwarz arrived in Moscow and Brad led them across the terminal to baggage claim. “Don’t anyone start taking Russian now, because we aren’t staying. Our next flight leaves in two hours.”
He was smirking as he turned to Aya, “We’re going to New York.”
There was a whole chorus of groans as they realised they had another flight of even longer duration than the last to go. Kai actually looked as if he might burst into tears.
All Aya said was, “Why New York?”
“Because, next to Tokyo, it has one of the highest population densities which will make it harder for Rosenkruez agents to track us.”
Yohji noticed Kai’s reaction and put an arm around the younger man, “We’ll make him pay for this later, Kai. There are lots of expensive things to buy in New York, so I’ve heard.”
Kai leaned into him and smiled. “Macey’s, Bloomingdales, oh yeah!”
Schuldig chuckled at the pair of them. *I think a Rolex each at the very least.*
Aya simply shook his head at the irony of ending up no more than three thousand miles from their starting point in Sacramento but carefully screened the thought before Farfarello remembered his damned horse and started sulking about it again.
“Think big, Kai. Jaguar, Mercedes, Lotus, Lamborghini.” He grinned and winked at the boy.
“Well I am owed a lost Lexus,” Kai said slowly, “and didn’t you have a rather nice Lotus?”
Aya shook his head at both of them. “Time enough for all that when we’ve dealt with Rosenkreuz for once and for all. I do not intend to spend the rest of my life running away from them, no matter how fast the car.”
Crawford paused midway down the terminal, that faraway stare showing his team what was going on. He blinked, rubbed his temples and just stood there lost in thought for a moment.
“Stay sharp. We've acquired the unwanted attention of some lowlife airport officials and they apparently have Russian mob ties.”
He glanced at them, “Don't use your talents unless there is no alternative. There are Rosen agents nearby but they are unaware of us for the moment.”
Farfarello threw an arm around Schuldig, “Maybe we can bribe them or scare them off somehow.” He lipped some of the German's hair and tugged on a lock with his teeth.
“Good old-fashioned killing, Farf,” Schuldig said with an evil grin, “it works every time.”
Aya turned his head to glare at the telepath. “It also attracts a lot of unwanted attention,” he said. “Especially in crowded airport terminals. If we have to take them down we do it quietly and as privately as possible.”
“Bathroom's a good choice. Anyone else need to go?” Yohji asked softly as he scanned the terminal for the worldwide visual symbol that would mark where the toilets were.”
Crawford smiled at the blond, “Have I mentioned how much I love you?' he asked the former Weiss.
“Not lately, but I'll have to take a rain check for later, since I think we should split up and draw the goons away while the rest of you get our baggage.”
Crawford leaned in close to Abyssinian, “Don't you just want to bend him over something and fuck him blind?” he asked, his dark eyes full of amusement and no small amount of blatant desire.
“Always,” Aya said, with a sultry glance at both Crawford and the blond. “I think I’ll join him in the bathroom, though the fun will have to wait till we’re through here. I’ll take Farf and leave you and Nagi to keep a leash on Schu.”
Brad's gaze was on Aya's lips as the man spoke, his cock going slightly erect as he thought about the things that mouth could do.
“Penthouse, Waldorf Astoria, New York. We'll have a bit of time there,” the American promised.
"What about Ken, Zeshin and me?" Kai demanded.
"Zeshin stays with Aya-chan, you and Ken can join the fun if you want."
Ken glanced at Nagi. “I think I'll stay here if you don't mind. Someone has to help claim the luggage.”
Zeshin nodded to Aya, “I wasn't planning on leaving her.”
Farfarello nuzzled his lover's ear, “I'm going to go play. Too bad it's not a real leash. I'd love to lead you around dressed in nothing but a collar and a bit of chain.”
Brad smirked, “There's a picture.”
“There is?” Nagi asked, thinking about all the possibilities for blackmail such a picture would provide.
“No, dumkopf,” Schuldig snarled, “vater was speaking metaphorically!”
“Well, damn!”
Ken chuckled, “I'll get you a digital camera and we can try for a picture if you want.”
Farfarello grinned, “I'll even get Schu to pose for you.”
Aya shook his head as the mental vision of Schuldig wearing nothing but a collar and bit of chain assaulted his senses. It was tempting but they had work to do. “Okay, all those heading for the bathroom, let’s go.”
Yohji gave the telepath, his lover and Brad a very studied, blatantly sexual smile, “You guys certainly know how to get a man's attention.”
“So do you, Kudoh,” Brad replied as he looked the slim blond up and down. “And one of these days, we're going to have quite a bit of fun making you pay for being such a sexy bitch.”
Laughing Yohji headed for the bathroom, “We'll see who pays and who receives that payment... babe.”
Crawford smiled, “Yes we will... babe.”
Aya rolled his eyes and followed Yohji, Kai and Farfarello hot on his heels. Several suspicious looking characters peeled themselves off of walls and followed them.
“Playtime,” Kai said happily.
Crawford watched them go, his dark eyes full of the pride that filled his heart. They were Schwarz, and they were his. Every last one of them.
It was a conventional airport bathroom with a row of stalls down one side, a urinal at the end and a row of basins under a large mirror down the side opposite the stalls. Aya glanced around and headed towards one of the stalls, motioning the others towards the urinal and basins. Now all they had to do was wait.
A thought occurred. *Keep it clean and quiet, Farf,* he sent to the Irishman. *We can’t go through here covered in blood.*
The door opened and the first of the goons came through, gun in hand.
Yohji didn't even turn his head, pretending to be a tourist with nothing to worry about while he wiped his perfectly dry hands with a paper towel. He could see the men in the mirror as they entered, but pretended to be totally unaware of what was happening.
Farfarello had chosen a stall closer to the door, positioning himself so he was standing on the toilet seat, waiting for the goons to get well inside.
Kai positioned himself in front of the urinal although he didn’t actually use it. It’s stainless steel giving him a mirror like view of the bathroom behind him.
Aya took position in a further stall, ready to take on anyone stupid enough to come too close.
Six men entered, one staying by the door to keep hapless tourists at bay. All had guns in their hands.
Aya thought fast. No talent meant doing it the old-fashioned way which was going to be messy but necessary. When he was sure there were no more than six targets he sent just one word. *Now.*
Yohji's wire hummed through the air, wrapping in tight coils around the first gunman.
Farfarello burst out of the stall and took a man by surprise, his booted foot cracking across the man's jaw with a crunching sound.
The others fanned out and one pointed a gun straight at Kai’s back. Aya flew out of his stall and took the man down with a kick to the solar plexus. Once down a hard kick in the kidneys finished the job.
Meanwhile Kai spun sending a sai straight into the chest of a fourth gunman. The other was still spinning in his left hand, mesmerising the two remaining men.
Yohji pulled as hard as he could on the wire, strangling the goon.
Grinning as only Farfarello could, he grabbed one of the last two would be assailants and slammed him face first into the nearest wall.
Aya took out the last of the men before he could escape back out of the door. One kick sent the gun spinning out of his hand, the second broke his neck. He glanced round at the others. Kai was retrieving his sai, carefully wiping it clean on the dead goon’s shirt, Yohji was retracting his wire and a very sane looking Farfarello was grinning at him. He actually grinned back.
“This was too easy,” Yohji remarked as he wrapped a paper towel around a cut in his palm from not wearing his gloves.
Farfarello's grin vanished and he looked down at the corpses at his feet, "They're only agents but..." he looked up at Aya, "I think he's right. They were more like sacrificial lambs than a threat and Rosen wouldn't send them just to see if we could kill them. They already know the answer to that."
The Irishman nudged one of the bodies with his toe, then he crouched down and looked into the dead man's eyes.
"I think they wanted us divided and that means we need to get back to the others right fucking now."
Aya didn’t comment or argue. He simply spun on his heel and bolted through the door, heading for the baggage carousel and the rest of his team.
Kai exchanged a look with Yohji before heading after him. What he saw at the carousel brought him to a halt staring.
There were people, dozens of them, converging on the rest of their team. Passengers, airport workers, a couple of airport security guards. Their faces were blank, staring, their movements jerky and unnatural as the pallor of their faces. They were closing inexorably on the rest of the Schwarz team.
Standing amid the shambling hoard was a slender woman with hair black as a raven's wing, her arms raised over her head as she screamed, "KILL THEM, KILL THEM!"
Beside the woman was a young boy who stared at nothing, drool running from his slack lips. As they watched the room's appearance changed, the dead horrors taking on the semblance of living people for an instant before the horror movie scene returned.
Nagi had raised a telekinetic shield around the others but it was obvious that he wouldn’t be able to hold it much longer without Yohji’s help.
"KUDOH!" Aya’s yell echoed through the airport, but the only one that took any notice other than his own team mates was a man so pale he had to be an albino. He grinned and turned his full attention back to the war he was waging mind to mind against the German telepath.
Yohji was already running, right on the heels of both Aya and Farfarello. He skidded to a stop when he realized what the things in the airport looked like. "This can't fucking be real..." he muttered as he shoved his hands into his gloves and threw his wire, entangling several of the things. When he pulled the zombies came apart, their rotted flesh no match for his own strength and the cutting power of the harigane.
They could hear Zeshin growling, and Ken's hands were wreathed in flame, the ex-soccer player ready to defend his team, but unwilling to throw the fire through Nagi's hard pressed shields.
Crawford was on his knees within the protection of Nagi's shield, eyes wide with pain, a trickle of blood running from his nose as he battled to retain possession of his own mind.
Aya went straight for the woman and child, cutting a swathe through the zombies with the knife that was always tucked in his boot. Seeing his goal, Kai started to help, his sai sinking into rotting corruption with sickening plopping sounds.
Aya stopped just short of his targets and concentrated hard. Suddenly both of them wavered out of existence sent into a specific point in both time and space where they could do no more harm. That just left the zombies to deal with. Then Aya realised something.
“Nagi, drop the shield and grab the cases! Hidaka, help him.”
Kai frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Wherever this might be, it’s not a fucking airport! And we need to get out of here. NOW!”
Aya was right. They weren't at the airport in Moscow. They were at a decrepit and crumbling military base somewhere in Siberia.
They were also in trouble.
Yohji grabbed Aya and hauled him toward the rest of their team, "Freeze time!" the blonde shouted at his team mate.
Aya glanced at him in confusion. “Freeze it? What’s that going to achieve?” However he trusted Yohji’s quick wits and did as he was told.
Everyone and everything but the red-haired man and his blond lover stopped moving. He gripped Aya's hand tightly and pulled him along, heading for the albino. "Kill him and set Brad and Schuldig free," he instructed, his voice showing the strain he was under as Aya drew energy from him.
Aya nodded, finally understanding. He hadn’t taken much notice of the albino in his desire to rid them of the woman and the monstrous child. He stopped moving and drew Yohji to a halt beside him. He drew yet more energy from the blonde and formed it into pinpoint accuracy before sending it straight at the albino.
The pale creature aged before their eyes, one moment he was a man in his mid-thirties the next he was old and stooped then he was a skeleton on the floor.
The dust swirled, then rose into the air and reformed into the albino. It smiled at them, showing wickedly sharp teeth. "You can't kill the dead."
"AYA!" Yohji screamed as the thing lunged for his lover. Yohji pulled Aya out of the way just as the thing's razor sharp talons tore across the front of Aya's coat shredding the cloth.
“Actually you can,” Aya said, and sent another burst of power. This time he sent the albino to the same time and place that he‘d banished the woman and child to.
“I’m going to get us out of here,” he said to Yohji. There was an apologetic look in his eyes as he added, “I’ll need more of your power.”
Yohji put his arms around Aya, "Do it."
Aya returned the embrace, knowing he would need to hold Yohji up when he got them where he wanted them. There was also the state that the others were in to consider. Luckily Brad had shared the details of the booking in the New York Hotel with him. Now he just had to get the timing right.
The air about them shimmered and wavered and then they were in the large lounge of an expensive New York penthouse.
Yohji staggered against his lover, almost taking both of them to the plush carpeting that covered the floor.
Zeshin released Aya-chan and just barely caught Schuldig as the German wilted. He didn't know where they were, or how they'd gotten where they were, but he could tell both the telepath and the precog were in bad shape.
"Someone help Brad," the leopard boy said as he started to pick Schuldig up only to have him taken out of his hold by a wild-eyed Farfarello.
*Schuldig? Can you hear me?* the Irishman asked silently.
The flame on Ken's hands flickered out as he realized they were no longer in danger. He stepped closer to Nagi and slipped his arms around his lover, "You okay?" he asked but his gaze was on Aya and Yohji.
None of them needed an explanation of what happened. They all knew.
Aya held Yohji up, barely. “Ken, help me get him on the couch please.” He waited only while Ken left an exhausted Nagi and came to help him. Once Yohji was on the couch he staggered to where Brad still knelt on the floor.
Schuldig was still fighting the darkness left in his mind by the undead albino. There was nothing he could get hold of, nothing he could anchor himself to. Then the comforting buzz of insanity that always lurked in the back of Farfarello’s mind was in his head and he heard his lover’s voice. *Farf?*
*Schuldig, come back to me. I'm here. Don't slip away. I need you, Schu.* The Berserker glanced at Aya as he knelt beside Brad. The American looked bad, pale, blood oozing from his nose, eyes staring into nothing. Like Schuldig.
*Bitte,* he said in silent German. *You are stronger than this, come back to me.*
"Kai, go find some candy or something for Yohji," Ken said. "Try the hotel lobby or call room service."
“On my way,” Kai said without argument. A quick glance round the room was enough to convince him that room service was not a great idea right now so he left for the lobby, shutting the door quietly behind him.
A hand clutched at Farfarello’s clothing and Schuldig’s eyelids flickered although they didn’t open. *So empty, so vast and dark. I’m lost, Farf. Where are you?*
Farfarello pulled his lover into his arms and kissed him fiercely, *Right here, Schuldig.* He closed his eyes and struggled to reach out, to help the red-haired man find his way back from the brink of madness.
He grinned as the answer came to him and instead of fighting to free Schuldig from the lightless void, he walked into it himself.
*I'm here, Schuldig.*
And suddenly there was a glimmer of light in Schuldig’s darkness as the Angel of Death stood waiting for him. He smiled. *Take me with you, Farf,* his mind whispered, “I can’t do this alone.*
The Angel of Death smiled and took Schuldig's hand to lead him out of the darkness.
Meanwhile Aya reached out a hesitant hand, wondering how to call Brad back from the living nightmare he’d been subjected to.
Brad stared into the void, his visions gone, lost in a darkness so complete he could feel it on his skin, touching him.
He knew there was another world. One of light and sound. A world that contained his lovers and his team. But no matter which way he turned there was only the unending Stygian gloom.
Aya’s hand descended on Brad’s arm as he thought things through. Time was the gift they shared in different ways but would that help them now? Brad’s manipulation was through his visions, through glimpses of possible futures, his own was physical. Then it hit him and he ripped Brad’s shirt open and touched the bare skin of his chest with his hand. He just hoped he was right.
Brad gave a gasp that was closer to a sob as the non-time where he was trapped imploded into a scintillating red cloud that turned into Aya's hair.
The American blinked, still dazed, the pain in his skull making him feel ill. He took Aya's hand in his and kissed the palm gently. "I owe you," he murmured.
“No doubt you’ll pay me back sooner or later,” Aya said quietly, smiling down at his lover. “We all made it although you and Schu were in a bad way.”
He glanced across the room and was pleased to see Schuldig struggle into a sitting position, clinging to Farfarello as if afraid he might disappear at any second.
Kai returned with some Hershey bars and passed them round, crossing to the couch and making sure Yohji ate at least some of the chocolate.
Nagi was leaning against Ken as he slowly recovered his strength and Aya-chan and Zeshin were murmuring soothing words to each other in the far corner. Aya took a deep breath. They’d been lucky: this time.
“Lesson two,” he muttered, “avoid the pitfalls of arrogance.”
"I should have seen it. I should have known," Brad remarked as he wiped at the blood on his face.
"But you didn't," Yohji returned softly. "And I think I know why."
“Oh?” Aya queried. He remembered that Yohji had been the one who knew what he had to do back at the so-called airport. “Why?”
"I didn't realize it until now," Yohji began, "but every time Brad fails to see something it's when you and I are both standing near him. I think your chronokinetic power is stronger than Brad's precognitive ability, but it doesn't seem to matter unless I'm close to both of you."
Farfarello broke a piece of chocolate off the bar in his hand and fed it to Schuldig. "You've taught yourselves to control your talents, but Aya has never been taught how to tune Yohji's power out so he subconsciously taps into it. That would explain a few things I've been wondering about."
"Yeah it would," Ken agreed.
“So you’re saying I need to tune Yohji out except when I need him to boost my power. Am I right? And do I only need to do this when we’re both near Brad?”
He turned to stare at Farfarello. “And what exactly have you been wondering about?”
"That's exactly what I mean," Farfarello answered. "Brad's visions have never failed us until the two of you joined Schwarz. I'd been wondering if your power would disrupt Brad's ability to see. It does. It also seems to affect Schuldig or he would have noticed that we were surrounded by dead people, not living minds."
Aya backed away from all of them as if his very presence would contaminate them. As usual it was all his fault. “Then I’m more of a liability than an asset,” he said.
Schuldig shook his head. “Don’t blame yourself for my mistake, Aya. The necromancer was making me hear living minds.”
Crawford looked up at that, "She couldn't do that. I don't think he could have either, but the boy..." he shook his head. "I think it was the boy. I've never seen him until today, but the other two, Vampyr and die Toten I've heard of but never met."
“Tot,” Nagi breathed.
Schuldig glanced up at him. “It doesn’t mean child, Nagi. Tot is German for death. So…Die Toten… the death or the killer if you prefer.”
Aya was still as far away from the others as it was possible for him to get and stay in the room. “That doesn’t help if I’m affecting Brad’s visions.”
"It's the two of us in combination," Yohji said as he leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. He was so tired he felt numb, and a glance at Brad told him the older man was suffering from the after effects of their near deadly encounter with the Rosen freaks.
"I think both Brad and Yohji need bed, Schuldig too," Ken stated. "And we really need to officially check in before anyone gets suspicious."
"He's right," Zeshin commented from where he was standing, looking out the balcony at the skyline of New York City. "Kai and I could go and check in."
"Not Kai. He needs to take care of Brad," Farfarello stated.
Brad cast an annoyed stare in the Berserker's direction.
"Tell me I'm wrong," the Irishman dared.
The Schwarz leader got to his feet, swayed and dropped back into the chair admitting defeat without vocalizing the surrender.
“I’ll go with Zeshin to check us in,” Aya said. His voice was bitter as he added, “seeing as I’m so unscathed. Let us have your passports.”
He went nowhere near Brad, indicating to Zeshin that he should collect the pre-cog’s passport and whichever of his credit cards he wanted to use.
Kai was kneeling by Brad’s chair, running his hands over the American without touching him. He winced as he covered the area round Brad’s head.
Brad got out his wallet and tossed the whole thing to the leopard boy, telling Aya, "Use the Amex for the hotel, get some food sent up off one of the other ones. They don't need to see our passports. I've got a New York driver's license in the wallet for identification. If they want to talk to me, have them call my cell."
Farfarello got to his feet and picked Schuldig up, "We're going to take a shower."
"Be careful," Yohji told his lover as he got more comfortable on the couch, head dropping back to rest on the soft upholstery.
Aya almost bolted from the room. Farfarello had given him a lot to think about. Fate was a bitch to him. It seemed that every time he dared to be happy something came out of the blue to slap him back down and remove that happiness.
It now looked as if he would have to keep away from Brad and the thought upset him more than he cared to admit.
Zeshin followed Aya, the look on the older man's face telling him that his former team leader was anything but pleased by the recent developments within Schwarz.
"Don't blame yourself," he murmured as they reached the elevator. "You aren't as fully trained with your talent as they are, and neither are Yohji or Ken. The rest of Schwarz has had years to learn to work together, and learned from teachers who permitted no mistakes."
“And if I’m too close to Yohji to tune him out?” Aya asked, surprising himself by sharing his fears with the younger man. “What if my blinding him gets Brad killed?” He entered the elevator and leaned against the far wall, arms crossed across his chest in a gesture reminiscent of hugging himself.
"Aya, I'd be more worried about all of us being killed if Brad can't see something than just him dying.
He went quiet as the elevator began it's drop to the lobby, finally adding, "Have you ever tried to consciously notice Yohji's power seeping into you when you're standing next to him? From the way they were talking it's a subconscious thing you aren't even aware of. I don't think anyone is blaming you or Yohji for this, either. You were right, we're too arrogant in some ways. And we're also relying too heavily on Brad and Schuldig. I think it's time we stop doing that and learn to actually work as a united team, instead of a leader and a bunch of followers."
Aya glanced up, his full attention now on Zeshin. “You always were a deep thinker,” he said, “rather like your genetic father. As for your questions, it never crossed my mind that there was seepage from Yohji to me anymore than I realised that my very presence could blind Brad. As for the team dynamic, it worked this way because Brad was the one who saw the way forward and Schuldig cleared it as we went. There is a blending of all our talents, why else can I talk mentally to people and even pick up on Yohji’s empathy.”
He sighed. “We have to learn to either link our powers so we work as one greater whole or we need to start running now and never stop. I’ve never been very good at running.”
His eyes widened. “What did you say? About Brad seeing his own death all the time? There has to be a reason for that.”
"Okay, what if time gets distorted when he's near you?" Zeshin mused. "It's not that he can't see what's going to happen, or loses the ability to use his power, but that it gets so muddled up that he can only perceive twisted results, and only those that involve him?"
Zeshin held up one finger, "One, he has been wrong about his own death every time." He raised a second finger, "Two, a lot of things he's seen haven't happened. Three, things he hasn't predicted have occurred. Four, he has totally failed to see the most dangerous situations, like the airport mess. He should have picked up on the fact the plane wasn't going where it should have gone and he didn't." He sighed, "Not only that, but Schuldig didn't notice anything either, so whatever is going on here affects him too."
“And they along with Farfarello are the ones that were trained by Rosenkreuz. The ones whose genetic materials were used in experiments…” He broke off, eyes staring into the far distance.
“Zeshin, check us in and order the food. I need to go back upstairs. Brad and Schuldig are under attack.”
Zeshin's eyes mirrored Aya's own shock as he too came to the same conclusion that the older man must have just reached. "If I'm Farfarello's son, maybe Schuldig and Brad have progeny they are unaware exist. And that would explain a hell of a lot about what is going on," he stated matter-of-factly, as he accepted Brad's wallet from Aya.
The elevator stopped, "I'll take care of everything down here. Don't worry about me. You go up and tell them what is going on."
Aya only waited for Zeshin to clear the elevator doors before punching the button to their floor again. It actually made more sense than Yohji and he being responsible for Brad and Schuldig missing things. His shields clicked into place almost audibly. And that was strange in itself. Normally they were raised as a matter of course.
When the elevator reached their floor he flew out of it and into the main room of the penthouse. Nobody had gone to bed just yet for which he was thankful. He didn’t want to say this more than once. “I think we’re under attack,” he said, “Brad and Schu especially.”
Yohji opened his eyes at the sharpness of Aya's voice. There was anger and self-disgust in that tone, he'd heard both enough to notice how upset the red-haired man was.
Ken frowned. "Under attack?" He looked from Aya to Brad, his dark eyes full of puzzlement. "Wouldn't their shields protect them from that?"
Farfarello stopped brushing Schuldig's damp hair, his expression thoughtful. "An attack? What kind of attack?"
“Just supposing that their DNA or other genetic material was used like yours was, to make progeny that could use their talents,” Aya said. “They would have been brought up to be totally Rosen and, if they know about their genetic ‘fathers’ at all, have been taught to hate them or regard them as flawed in some way.
“If their power is as strong, they could attack us mentally. And here’s something else. I raised my shields after Zeshin and I thought this through which means that, due to the familiarity of your talents, I haven’t had them raised.” He glanced round the room.
“Anyone else with their shields down?”
"Mother fucking bastards," Brad swore, the profanity telling the rest of his team his answer to that question.
Farfarello just stared at Crawford because the man rarely cursed and the fact that he was using that type of profanity told him just how angry and unnerved their leader was.
Crawford reeled to his feet, rage overcoming the pain and debility he'd suffered in Russia faster than anything else could. He started to stalk back and forth across the room, face dark with fury. "I should have known. I should have seen that." Then he laughed, the sound harsh as two blades crashing, "But how could I? They've bred him to be better than I am. Damn them!"
Ken shot a sideways glance at Nagi, but kept wisely silent. He knew better than to bother Brad when he was in that sort of mood, unlike most of the former Weiss.
"Could they really do that?" Yohji asked.
Brad spun to face the blond, "Oh, yes! Damn them all! They made Zeshin, remember? If they can fuse genetic material from Farfarello to that of a leopard, tampering with my genetics to make a 'superior' precognitive, or using Schuldig to create the perfect telepath would be simple by comparison."
“And with Yohji dulling down the voices so well, I haven’t been so conscientious about my shields since we got back from Sacramento,” Schuldig admitted.
“Can we get round it somehow?” Aya asked.
Nagi was thoughtful. When he spoke up his voice was tentative. “They’ve never been able to take anything from me, so I don’t know if they actually realise just what I’m capable of. Ken, Yohji, Aya, Kai, Aya-chan and Zeshin are even more free of their taint. We need to structure both attacks and defence that rely more on us and less on Brad and Schu.”
“But that means we’re blind, kid,” Schuldig said.
“Are we?” Aya asked. “Brad can’t see me. Doesn’t it then follow that his ‘child’ can’t either?”
"Possibly," Brad remarked as he came to a halt amid his team. "But we don't dare make assumptions. He may be strong enough that he can see you."
His eyeglasses glinted as he raised his head to look at Yohji, "How do you feel, Kudoh?"
"Why?" Yohji asked suspiciously.
"Because I have an idea."
"I was afraid of that," the blond replied, with a long suffering sigh. "What's the idea?'
"I think it's time to see if we can see them."
Farfarello chuckled. "Turnabout being fair play?"
Crawford smirked, "If I had any plans to be fair."
“So, how do you want to go about this, vater?” Schuldig asked ready for some payback of his own.
“Is there anything that Ran or I can do to help?” Aya-chan asked. To anyone who knew her well it was obvious she was as angry as the rest of them.
"Give me a moment to work this out and I'll explain what everyone has to do," Crawford replied as he sat down on the couch beside Yohji. He sat back and then leaned against the blond who obligingly wrapped an arm around the American's shoulders.
"Awww," Farfarello said, unable to stop himself. "Don't they look cute?"
Brad raised an eyebrow and turned his dark gaze on Farfarello, Yohji chuckled and leaned in closer to Brad, shuddering slightly as the older man kissed him and drew energy at the same time.
Crawford broke the kiss and motioned Schuldig over. "Abyssinian, if you and your sister would join us please, I think I've got the answer."
Both Fujimiya siblings and Schuldig approached the couch. “Where do you want us?” Aya asked.
Brad patted his lap, “I want you here, Aya-chan next to me, and Schuldig beside Yohji over there,” he motioned to the other side of the couch. “Yohji's going to be boosting you and I, Schuldig. Aya will be in the loop to move us forward or backward in time in case of attack.” He looked at the red-haired former Weiss, “Do you think you can manage that?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Aya said after some thought. He kept his shields raised so that Brad could ‘see’ and held his sister’s hand, knowing their talents were enough alike that he could use her rather than Yohji for energy. “Ready when you are.”
“Shhh....” the American murmured into his ear and raised his hand to run his fingers through the blond's hair. They'd been taking so much energy from the blond and it worried Crawford that they might take too much one of these days. He wasn't sure what would happen, he just wanted to make sure it didn't happen because the results could be dangerous, perhaps fatal.
Aya sat quietly until he felt a ‘shift’ and the sensation of flying. Then he was staring into a room that held a group of eight people. He corrected himself, three or four were adult or nearly so the rest were children: children that looked strangely familiar. A mental gasp from Schuldig made him realise who and what those ‘children’ must be and he realised he was staring at the constructs.
A boy that bore a striking resemblance to Crawford frowned. “We have company. How very interesting,” he remarked. “Alec, do you sense them?”
Crawford's face twisted into an intense frown. This was his son. A son raised by Rosenkreuz.
“Yes, Erik. What should I do?”
The smile that touched the dark haired boy's lips was as cold as a glacial wind. “Say hello, of course.”
*BOOST OUR SHIELDS!* the Schwarz leader mentally ordered to the German.
The boy's bright blue eyes flashed and a mind slammed into Schuldig's shields with the force of a wrecking ball.
Aya-chan squeezed Aya’s hand as the shock went through them all. He moved them exactly five seconds forward immediately after Schuldig got over his shock and threw his own attack. Not at his son but at the bespectacled girl next to the one called Erik.
Lizette was in her brother's embrace, the boy's gaze full of hate as reality solidified after the time shift.
A whimper came from Yohji as Brad struggled to read the boy's next action but Brad was too rattled by the time shift to be able to see.
They'd barely gotten their focus back when another mental attack slammed into them. *You'll all die for this!* Erik threatened, his mental tone full of certainty.
Ken saw what was happening and he glanced at Farfarello and Nagi. “Any suggestions?”
Farfarello grinned and reached out to Aya, “Send me there,” he whispered into the red-head's ear. “I'll take care of the brats.”
Brad shoved the Irishman backward, “NO!”
Nagi raised a shield around Farfarello, effectively holding him in place and preventing him from touching anyone on the couch. “This is a mental battle, Ken, so there’s nothing we can do to help right now.” His eyes showed his own frustration at that stark fact.
Schuldig got over the fact that he was staring at a younger version of himself and this time he attacked the red-haired boy.
Alec crumpled to his knees under Mastermind’s attack, but he quickly started to gather himself for another onslaught when he realized that he hadn’t actually been hurt, despite the vaunted power of his gene-father’s mind.
A fierce snarl twisted Erik’s lips as he focused his own power, *Hurt this one,* he instructed Alec mentally, giving him an image of Yohji.
Lizette simply clung to Erik while a small boy who looked a great deal like a miniature version of Farfarello stood there petting the girl on the shoulder.
*Shield Yohji* Schuldig sent having heard the command. Aya’s shields clanged around his lover and he felt an almost physical shield added as Nagi lent them his strength to use. He hoped it would be enough.
Schuldig gathered his strength again and this time he smiled as he spotted the green-haired telepath. *Berger! How nice to see you again!* This time he showed no mercy and watched with some satisfaction as Berger slumped to the ground clutching at his head.
Screaming in frustration, Alec quickly diverted his attack and struck at the Schwarz telepath, throwing every bit of his power into the strike.
Schuldig groaned in pain but Yohji was feeding his shields so it did no more than hurt…a lot.
Aya concentrated hard and sent a private little word to his sister. Nagi saw the girl’s eyes widen before she smiled.
In the room in Germany, Erik was getting even younger…
"NO!" Brad shouted and shoved Aya out of his lap.
But it was too late.
Erik gave a predatory smirk and his sister giggled as the power that Aya was throwing at him rebounded to strike at the former Weiss.
Aya-chan broke off immediately but was horrified to see her brother lose his shoulder length hair and revert back to eartails. What had she done?
Luckily, that was as far as the change went and in the faraway room the dark-haired boy also looked younger and rather pissed off about it.
Yohji slumped against Brad, his body shaking from the strain he'd been under during the brief battle. He was tired. So very tired.
"Well that didn't quite work out as I'd hoped," Brad remarked as he glanced at Aya.
Zeshin looked at Aya-chan. "You okay?" he asked her.
Ken got up and put an arm around his lover. "I don't know what just happened, but it doesn't look good.
Aya spotted the chin-length eartails and put a hand to his head. All the growing out of the past year was gone leaving him with the style he’d had for so many years. He glanced sideways at Ken and then at Brad. “You don’t like my eartails?”
He climbed off the couch and knelt beside Yohji and Schuldig who still didn’t look too good. “You both need to rest.”
"I don't think it was your eartails they object to, Aya, I think it's the fact that you seem to have been affected by the attack you just tossed at my damned son," Crawford remarked as he searched for something with a lot of sugar he could shove into Yohji's mouth.
Farfarello offered a candy bar to the American as a sob of utter exhaustion slipped from the blond's parted lips. He climbed onto the coffee table and put a hand on Schuldig, "Does your head hurt?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
Brad glanced at the rest of his team, "Not terribly productive, but educational. I believe that Schuldig's pup can either reflect or mimic powers held by other talents."
Schuldig nodded an answer to Farfarello’s question before turning his attention to what was being said. His headache could wait. “Berger, Geisl and that half-witted telekinetic Layla,” he said, “plus whatever powers the kids hold.”
“I think we’ve found our ‘superior’ pre-cog too,” Aya added. “Another like Zen and a miniature version of Farf. Not sure what the girl in the glasses does apart from giggle inanely.”
Brad handed Aya the candy bar knowing he'd have better luck with Kudoh. "He is better than I am. Genetically at least. His talent is stronger, I'm sure of that also. What he doesn't have is actual experience, so he'll make mistakes. Like today. He came out to play when he should have stayed anonymous. Now we know them, and some of what they are capable of so that makes it easier for us to create a strategy to fight them."
A thoughtful expression on his face, the American reached out and clasped Aya-chan's hand gently in his own before leaning back on the couch.
Ken looked at Nagi and raised an eyebrow, wondering what Brad was doing.
Mystified, Aya-chan left her hand in Brad’s, trusting him to do whatever needed to be done. Her brother, meanwhile, lifted Yohji’s head and placed the candy bar to his lips. “Eat it, Yohji,” he whispered.
Nagi reached out a hand to take one of Ken’s but shook his head in answer to the unspoken question. He had no idea what Brad intended to do this time.
Yohji took a small bite of the candy and then shook his head and tried to spit it out, nausea making him want to throw up. "I just want to sleep," he muttered.
Brad was sitting quietly now, eyes half closed, letting images spin slowly though his mind. "She's my daughter," he stated softly, his much larger hand wrapped around Aya-chan's slender fingers. "She's the carrot they use to control him since a stick didn't work," he murmured softly.
He was tapping just enough of Aya-chan's talent to be able to 'see' back into the past, but it was quickly taking a toll, his head starting to ache fiercely.
A trickle of blood slid from his nose and he let go of Aya-chan's hand. "She's the key. Get her, or kill her, and Erik will unravel and so will his team." He frowned and wiped the blood away from his nose.
“That’s quite a tall order. If Schuldig’s progeny can use our talents against us it’s not going to be pretty.” Aya gave up on the candy bar and let Yohji fall asleep. He could eat later.
“Layla is scary enough on her own,” Nagi said, “she’s almost as strong as I am and one twisted bitch on top of that.”
“Geisl is no pushover either,” Schuldig added, “and Berger is almost as good as I am and that’s without the kids.”
"Yes, that is a long list of problems, isn't it?" Brad smiled, for all the world looking like a cat that had finally had his fill of canary. "But we have an edge they lack."
“We do?” Kai seemed sceptical to put it mildly. The thought of someone able to turn their remarkable talents back on them was seriously creeping him out. He took a glance at Aya and realised that he was a few months younger than he’d been when they’d first met. He shuddered.
"Yes, we do." Brad was looking at Aya when he said, "A very sharp one."
"I know why I keep seeing nothing but darkness when I look forward now. We aren't dead, we've left this place in time and gone forward." He placed a gentle hand on Aya, "Erik can see the future, but he can't see the past. If we go backward, then come forward to where they are, he won't have time to react because he can't see us coming."
Farfarello grinned.
Aya thought long and hard before finally smiling. “That’s easily doable,” he said. Then he sobered. “Is it because we aren’t here now that you’re having these visions and dreams or is it what he’s feeding you?”
"Honestly, I think that little slip through time that took us to Sacramento was a catalyst that has begun to alter my precognitive abilities." He caressed his lover's face, "In a way it's your fault, and of course Kudoh's. You see, I was using my precognitive talent to track where our enemies in that reality were at the instant we left that time. When we moved through time and space I became very disoriented, not really surprising since I was still more attuned to a time and place I wasn't part of anymore. I'm sure you recall how hard it was for a few of us, Kudoh included. It wasn't just the power drain on him though, it was the effect of your power and my power interacting also." Brad glanced at the blond, "We're very lucky we didn't kill him."
"Anyway, I've just realized something that I think will help me refocus. Every time we change time, forward or backward, my ability is still attuned to the prior time reference. Are you following this?" he asked the others.
Ken gave Brad a rueful smile, "Sure, and I'll just go build us a rocket later."
Farfarello sighed, "Poor Kenken, all beauty and no brains."
Zeshin sat down on the floor and sighed, "Trying to follow what he just said is like trying to unravel the Gordian Knot with a toothpick."
"That I could do," Ken remarked.
"Using your bugnucks doesn't count," Yohji murmured softly, showing everyone that, regardless how tired he was, and the fact his eyes were closed, he was actually listening.
Aya-chan moved off the couch and went to sit down next to Zeshin. She took one of his hands in hers and smiled. “Although I don’t share Ran’s talent it’s enough like mine to understand what you’re saying. You need to shut down your talent when we travel though time until you adjust to the new time zone.”
“And yours is the only talent affected because it deals with time, the same as ours,” Aya added. He stroked a hand through Yohji’s hair at the same time placing the other on Brad’s thigh. “And it was nothing to do with the merging of our talents or being close to Yohji and I at the same time?”
Schuldig, having got over the headache that Alec had given him looked up at that. “I never believed that was the problem,” he said. “If any of us know about seepage it’s me and, although we weren’t being careful enough with our shields, the merging of powers and the inevitable seepage does nothing more than strengthen the original talent. You’re travelling through time like a pro and have picked up some of Nagi’s ability. How else do you think you were able to transfer physical items as well as people?”
Brad offered Schuldig another one of his more frequent smiles. "Good. So now that we're all thinking outside the proverbial box," he looked at Nagi, "think about what you can do and tell me what is different."
Nagi shrugged. “There’s the obvious difference of being able to fashion Ken’s fire into a shield…” His eyes widened. “And Aya-chan must have used some of Kai’s power as well as her own when she…” He glanced at his lover. “…er…helped Ken.”
Brad's smile widened into a grin, and he leaned forward to press a fast kiss to Aya's sweet mouth. "Yes my beauties and beasts, our powers are mutable, and they are changing." He laughed, the sound so at odds with the grim face he'd presented to them just before their encounter with the younger Schwarz imitation.
Something was still bothering Aya, however. “That’s all very well but whatever we pick up from each other, that kid can throw straight back at us.”
Brad shook his head, "He can only use one borrowed power at a time."
Yohji pressed his head into Aya's caresses and sighed, "Divide and conquer," he murmured. "Find them when they aren't all together and they'll be easier to handle. Like we did back in Sacramento."
"He's got a good point," Ken remarked.
Farfarello smirked, "Yeah, but he's got a great ass."
One jade green eye opened to regard Farfarello, "You don't ever forget anything do you?"
"Nope, partner, I don't," the Irishman replied. "I'm waiting for another chance to fuck you, and I'm still waiting for my horse."
There was a combined groan from most present at the mention of Farfarello’s horse. Aya didn’t groan though. He merely nodded at Farfarello to let him know that he hadn’t forgotten his promise. When all this was over and they could settle somewhere, always supposing they survived, a horse was one of the easier needs to fulfil.
“Do you suppose they’re ever apart?” Kai asked, still thinking about Yohji’s first remark. “I mean Everette’s gang weren’t a team of assassin talents. Unlike us they did split up in to smaller groups.”
“So do we, kiddo,” Schuldig told him, “or hadn’t you noticed when one or other of us goes off to get groceries or deal with the laundry? They won’t be together twenty-four, seven I promise you. Especially as they probably hate the sight of each other, like most Rosen teams.”
"Schuldig is right, and I don't have to use my talent to know that Alec hates Erik, I could see it in the way he responded to his brother's orders," Brad stated.
"In fact, I've seen that very look turned on me before but I have to admit it's been, oh at least several weeks since I've experienced it."
Aya gave him the benefit of one of his coldest glares before relenting and shaking his head. He had to get used to the fact that he actually cared about every one of the people in this room.
Brad smirked at Aya, "You automatically thought I was referring to you, when in fact, I was speaking of Schuldig."
“The brother and sister seemed close and the two that look like Farfarello didn’t react enough to get any sort of reading of them,” Aya-chan said.
“They didn’t need to,” Schuldig told her, “apart from his sister, everyone in that room hates Erik. He’s trying to be their leader but the only role-model he’s ever had for the job is Rosen and therefore he’ll lead by fear and humiliation.” Something seemed to amuse him as he chuckled suddenly.
"Rather the way I led at first, isn't it?" Brad asked Schuldig.
“Ack, you didn’t know any better either,” the telempath said with a smirk, “and you soon learned. I don’t think young Erik will have the time.”