Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Coming Home ❯ 77 ( Chapter 77 )

77

 

…wie viel vom dem, was ich heute weiß, hätt ich lieber nie gesehen.

 

Over the next several days, I watched my team virtually tack-weld itself back together. We practiced with weapons and bare-handed, we sparred, we strengthened our team link. Nagi worked on his gift, Far managed his madness, and Brad showed no weakness whatsoever. Soon the team was nearly as combat-ready as we had been the day we'd left Prague.

 

Yet the very things that made us strong seemed determined to shake us apart.

 

Brad kept dropping into visions, some so powerful he needed help anchoring to the present for hours after. Though Farfarello had pretty much evened out, he kept flashing me that odd, knowing smile that made my skin crawl. And Nagi practiced with his power in spite of a steadily diminishing appetite. If the kid were merely finicky, I'd get into his head and force him to eat; in truth, the coarse camping rations made him genuinely ill. I finally got him to eat some canned fruit I found, but there wasn't much of it.

 

During this time, I gave up on breaking my addiction to nicotine and merely thanked the powers that be that I didn't have any worse habits to deal with.

 

Of course, now I had to face the very real possibility of running out of cigarettes. We'd already managed to run out of toilet paper, and Nagi's first introduction to the process using leaves had been a disaster. He blamed me for using up the last of paper, which I hadn't, and refused to speak to me for the rest of that day. His silence burned.

 

The weather seemed to mirror our moods, growing dark and thundery with alarming regularity as we each wrestled whatever demons we had left. This evening - mid-August by my best guess - the approaching sunset had been swallowed by storm clouds, the horizon murky as smoke.

 

I ground the remains of my third-to-last cigarette under my heel and went in search of enlightenment. Farfarello was busy, cleaning our laundry with well-water and soap flakes. Nagi slept in the back of the car, his usual spot since the madman's attack on him in the cabin.

 

Brad sat on the hood of the car again, staring at nothing.

 

“Hey,” I called out, tossing an acorn at him.

 

He didn't even blink.

 

I leaned on the fender and stared at him. His eyes were focused somewhen else; all I could do was wait for him to get back.

 

It felt like hours, but it was probably only a couple of minutes before he took his glasses off and closed his eyes. “What is it, Schuldig?”

 

“It's the team second's duty to report any problems, right?”

 

Brad glared a moment, then stated, “I am not unfit, Schuldig. Just…preoccupied.”

 

“I wasn't talking about you,” I stated, earning myself a curious blink. “Staying here is hurting Nagi. The kid's a wreck: he can barely eat, and the more he uses his power the worse he gets. He's tearing himself up, and wearing himself out. We need to get back to civilization, at least for his sake. I think Far is stable enough to travel, and it might do you some good with those visions, too.”

 

Brad said nothing, he just stared off at the building clouds, his eyes squinting a little against the glare.

 

I turned to leave. Brad stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Schuldig, I…”

 

“What is it?”

 

“You're right, the visions are getting out of hand. It's either mice, or the whole damned Esset army is breathing down our necks. And I can't tell the difference.” He shook his head, gazed at the ground a moment, then said, “Gather the team, Schuldig.”

 

While I hurried to fetch Farfarello, I could hear Brad opening the car door and waking Nagi. I helped Far carry the soggy clothes back to the cabin and hang them to dry before joining up with the others.

 

Brad and Nagi sat in the clearing behind the cabin, near the bat-tree. The boy watched Farfarello as he moved to take a seat across from him; I parked myself in between the two.

 

With all the solemnity of ritual, Brad unholstered his gun and began to disassemble it. “Gentlemen, we have reached a crisis.” He spoke slowly, as though weighing each word against an unwritten and unfriendly future. He did not look at us as he spoke, but concentrated on cleaning each component of his firearm with delicate precision. “First, I would like to congratulate each of you. We've broken all known records for eluding Esset, and you have all shown outstanding loyalty to me. My thanks to you all. However, it is clear that your well-being, both mental and physical, has been stretched thin. This cannot be allowed to continue. We need to act decisively, and we need to act now, before we lose any more ground.” He paused to inspect his handiwork before beginning to reassemble his pistol. “The question remains, what manner of action? I'm going to offer each of you three choices. Choose carefully, because this opportunity will never come your way again.”

 

The three of us glanced at one another; I could feel mental whispers of confusion from Nagi and Farfarello. Brad's shields, however, showed nothing.

 

“We are in a good location here,” Brad continued, gesturing toward the treeline, “a crossroads, if you will. To the north, wilderness, and the kind of people who seek it out. There are militia cells here, folks who build their lives around protecting citizens from their own government. Right or wrong, they are well-supplied, and I have never known them to be on Esset's radar. A man alone could lose himself in these woods, and most likely find shelter with those who would gladly hide him.” With smooth, neat movements, Brad slid bullets into the magazine, setting each in place with a soft metallic click. “As your leader, I am giving each of you the chance to walk away from the team and not look back. Right now.”

 

Nagi shifted and gave me another uncomfortable look. ::Schuldig, Crawford is scaring me. I don't like this.::

 

Brad looked up from his gun, regarded each of us in turn as he stated, “I, however, will be returning to Europe to take care of some old business, with or without the team. It will be easier with your help, but I will not ask it of you. You must know that, should you choose to accompany me, I will continue to demand your unquestioning trust and your absolute loyalty, though I cannot guarantee your survival.”

 

In the gravid silence that followed, I cleared my throat and asked, “You said three choices. What's the third?”

 

Brad slid the clip home and aimed the gun at my forehead. “Be certain.”

 

 

 

End Book Two - “Coming Home”

 

Thank you, Good Readers, for staying with our heroes thus far. If, in your heart, you know which choices the men of Schwarz would make, and you are satisfied with that, then you may leave this story here and write your own ending.

 

However…

 

If you have any doubt in the wisdom of their choices; or you believe that the answer is not quite as obvious as it seems; or you simply cannot bear to not know what really befell the four, read on.

 

How strong are the bonds of love, friendship, and loyalty among the men of Schwarz? What secrets does the Oracle guard to the exclusion of his team? What is Nagi's power becoming, and what is its cost? Find out the answers to these questions, and more, in upcoming volumes of “Coming Home”.

 

 

 

 

A/N

…wie viel vom dem, was ich heute weiß, hätt ich lieber nie gesehen.
(how much of that I know today, I had rather never seen.)

 

There is an anime music video out there that hauntingly captures the fatalism of the Weiß Kreuz universe. It's set to Wolfsheim's “Kein Zurück”, and I give a nod to it here - thank you, Kurayami, for making “Am Ende Deines Weges” and sharing it with the fandom. It is an amazing work of art.

 

This chapter's quote is for Brad, and for Schuldig's image of the man.

Stay, or leave? The question is posed, to Schwarz, and to you. The story will continue regardless. Unlike Brad Crawford, I'll let you change your mind.

 

If this is goodbye, then turn away in peace. I'm curious how you imagine things ending for our dark heroes.

 

But, if you stay, then hang onto your butts - the kiddie-ride portion of this story is now officially over.

 

GR