Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Descent ❯ Descent ( Chapter 1 )

Key:
Telepathic Communication.
Emphasis.

-- Descent: Chapter One --

Once, Schwarz were at the peak of their powers and four kills away from owning the world. Now look at them.

In their latest residence, there were mere shadows where Farfarello should have been crouching. He was gone now, victim to a new-found belief in 'love', and living on the other side of the world. The remaining members had decided that a replacement was required; preferably an unthinking yet passionate fighter with a capacity for violence. What they got was the last surviving member of Schreient, Tot.

Nagi sat next to Tot with his hand resting lightly on her shoulder, watching her attempt a one- sided conversation with her toy rabbit. With the deliberateness acquired from his leader, he picked up the toy and placed it out of her reach. His mouth twitched to parody the grim smile usually displayed by Schuldich.

Schuldich leaned against the wall at the very back of the room. Every now and then an unspoken idea from one of the others would strike him and his smile would mirror Nagi's.

Crawford finished sorting through his notes and began. "I received a call from Jei." He paused long enough to allow Nagi to speak.

"Jei?" he asked curiously. "Is he going to pay us a visit yet?"

"Jei?" imitated Schuldich joylessly. "Is he going to pay this month's rent for us?"

"Quite possibly. Someone has been considerate enough to send him a photocopy of our map and the manuscript that came with it. Now, I know," he pre-emptively scowled at Schuldich, "it sounds suspicious, but it would appear that in the West he's known as an expert on religious matters."

"Are you going to visit him?" inquired Tot.

There was silence. Nagi eventually broke it. "Are you?"

"Jei thinks the map is genuine," Crawford convinced himself. "Naoe, log on to the 'net and book two plane tickets to Munich, departing as soon as possible. Economy class, of course. Don't forget the car hire. Schuldich, start packing."

"Papa, will Tot and Nagi-kun be staying behind?" asked Tot, oblivious to the look that passed between Schuldich and Nagi as they observed Crawford's involuntary shudder.

He recovered quickly. "Certainly. It is possible that someone wants us to be somewhere else, so we need you to remain behind. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some research to do."

***

"Here's my theory; you, being a telepath, have always known how he felt. He found out about how you felt. Now, instead of acting on this knowledge, you're just strutting around like peacocks, feeding each other's egos." Nagi stood at the entrance to Schuldich's room, watching as he loaded a patterned green shirt into his suitcase.

"Stop trying to live vicariously through us."

Nagi frowned. "My girlfriend would rather sleep with a stuffed rabbit than with me, and yet what we have is still way more satisfying."

"Touché. There's hope for you yet. But," he paused thoughtfully, "the rest of us still made a mistake inviting her here, and we trapped you. When we get back, we'll give you a good night out without her."

"It's okay," Nagi smiled. "I like having her around."

"You can't possibly like living this way," stated Schuldich.

Nagi looked shyly to the floor. "You say that, but a person can be unusual, but still make you happy."

"She's certainly unusual."

They were interrupted by Crawford knocking on the door panel just above Nagi's head in order to attract attention. "Research completed. Remember how our victim smelt?"

"Like a really well-cooked roast chicken," Schuldich answered.

Nagi made the appropriate gagging noises.

"I spent some time in negotiations with the new Eszet directors this evening."

"You mean grovelling, don't you?"

"I still remember what they said to us the morning after the ritual hall collapsed: 'you're either the most incompetent team we've ever had, or you're the most untrustworthy.'" Nagi resigned himself to this with a sigh.

"And they have a good point there. So, I spent some time in negotiations with the new Eszet directors and I was eventually allowed access to their floating database. We now have a few candidates for whom might have caused that death, or at least plausible examples of with what we might be dealing."

Crawford handed over several pages of text to Schuldich. Nagi's eyes narrowed and glared at them both. He reached out to try and snatch the paper from the telepath, but Schuldich held it above his head and smiled condescendingly.

"Uh-uh. Crawford gave it to me. Right?"

Crawford smiled in a manner similar to Schuldich's. "Patience is a virtue, Naoe."

Schuldich ran his right hand along the print-out and nibbled on his forefinger on his left hand. "A microtelekinete, a pyrokinete and a micropyrokinete. I sense a pattern here." He deliberately licked the length of his finger and glanced up to see if anyone had noticed. "Hey, Nagi, do you think you could get the same effects?" He was looking at Crawford.

"Probably," he said, then he rolled his eyes and smiled ruefully. "...Maybe one day."

Crawford either didn't notice the way Schuldich looked at him, or ignored him. "I don't think that anybody on this list is capable of it either. Too weak. Nevertheless, please investigate them. When was the last time you hacked the Kritiker servers?"

Nagi thought briefly about the question. "It's been at least three days."

***

Crawford turned on his mobile while he waited for his luggage to appear on the conveyor belt in Franz Josef Strauss International Airport. He scrolled through his address book and selected the number of Schwarz's Tokyo residence. He knew it was ten past two in the morning in Japan compared to early evening in Germany, but he didn't need precognition to know that Nagi would be awake despite this.

"Naoe? I thought you'd be awake ...Look, I foresaw you answering the phone and you have, so I was right." He paused, and held the receiver away from his ear. "Did Schuldich teach you those words? Did he mention that you don't use them towards me?" Another pause. "Fine, fine. Send the Kritiker information to my online e-mail account then. Don't forget to encrypt ...Of course you know that. Goodbye." He disconnected the call before Nagi could say anything else.

As he had predicted, Schuldich threw one of two suitcases at his feet a few seconds afterwards.

"He'll send the information to us later," Crawford informed him, and picked up his luggage.

The next stop was customs, who waved them through while under the influence of mind control. They took the escalator and passed through passages with achingly bright red and blue neon lights. Then there were more escalators, some tourist shops, and eventually they reached the outside of the modern-looking glass structure.

It took longer than they expected to find the car that Nagi had hired, and once they had dragged their cases into the boot, they sank into the two front seats. Crawford took the driver's seat.

"I really fucking hate travelling," declared Schuldich as he stretched his legs out. "How far is the airport from Farfarello's house?"

"Jei," Crawford automatically corrected. "Don't call him that under any circumstances."

"Or he'll go into a Farfarello-like rage?" Schuldich laughed. "Denial is such a beautiful thing."

"Could you get that for me?" said Crawford, as he put the car into gear.

"Get what? Oh, I see." He picked up Crawford's mobile from the dashboard just before it started to ring.

"Speak." He paused to listen briefly. "Have you really? Really?" His unexcited drawl could only begin to indicate his contempt for the people on the other end of the mobile. "That's really nice for you. Really, truly fantastic. Unfortunately, we're one step ahead of you, being in Germany already and having figured out the secret to the map as well. So simple, really." He pressed the 'call cancel' button. "Bastards!"

He turned to Crawford. "Someone sent Eszet a copy of the map too, only that one had notes in it. Apparently, when we get it, we have to decipher the fucking thing as well, and they already have the answers. Bastards."

The car suddenly swerved into the side of the road and he pulled on the handbrake violently. The driver, Crawford, lay back his seat and spoke calmly. "If other people have a copy of the map and the key to it, then the version we are about to obtain is worthless. I was hoping that phone call could have been avoided."

"Maybe we could sell it really quickly?" suggested Schuldich. For his trouble, he received a harsh slap across the face. Not one designed to hurt, but to humble.

"Idiot," growled Crawford, as he exited the car. Schuldich followed.

"Listen to me, Crawford. Listen. I think you can do it. I, personally, am counting on you being up to the challenge, okay?"

"Don't talk so much," Crawford ordered, and threw himself down onto a litter-strewn bank of grass at the side of the road.

Schuldich sat down beside him. "It's like in Indiana Jones, isn't it? He goes looking for these priceless artifacts and despite everything manages to outsmart the Nazis who are after him."

"Indiana Jones?" repeated Crawford with disgust. "I really hate you."

"No, that's you alright. Which state are you from then?"

Despite himself, Crawford answered. "California."

"Hmm ...'California Crawford'. Fuck no, you sound like a porn star."

Crawford frowned and looked away.

"You're smirking. That was definitely a smirk I just saw."

"Don't be an idiot."

"Fine. I won't be, and just point out that they aren't even in Europe yet. If we're quick enough, we can beat them to it."

"You are certain they're not here yet?" Crawford already knew the response as he picked himself up off the slope and walked towards the car.

"Oh, and Crawford ...?" Crawford turned around to find himself eye-to-eye with Schuldich. With no evidence of surprise, he started back to the car again. Schuldich caught him by his jacket's lapel and jerked him forwards. "Next time? Don't. Shoot. The. Messenger." With every word Schuldich's face got closer to Crawford's, until the end when he pushed him away as if nothing had happened.

***

"He's changed a bit since we last saw him," stated Crawford as they finally pulled up outside Jei's house. "New and different obsessions. Try not to be too horrified."

"Will I be injured if I go in alone while you park?" asked Schuldich, off-hand.

"No, not at all," Crawford said firmly, braking to allow Schuldich time to get out of the vehicle.

Crawford guided the car up the gravelled drive-way and switched off the engine. Jei's house had an expansive front lawn, immaculately kept. The perfectly cultivated rosebushes nestled around a pond which even had a luridly-coloured garden gnome fishing in it. Casting his eyes around the remaining area of the grounds, Crawford's eyes came to rest on a sandpit that contained a small plastic slide decked out in bold, primary colours. A vision of Sally exclaiming how they had the neighbour's children over so often that they had bought playground equipment trilled in his ear. He rubbed his temples. Jet lag had finally caught up with him.

Schuldich stood in the centre of the lawn, right next to the sign which, in neat hand-written German, informed visitors that they should keep off the grass. Now, he leaned over a young dog, which he picked up by the scruff of the neck and carried to the front door. The breeze carried his words across to Crawford. "So he's into animal sacrifice now? It could've been worse."

Crawford said nothing as he carried the luggage to the front door, taking care to keep to the paved pathways. The door was opened and he saw Schuldich dump the puppy into the hands of the former Schwarz member that he thought he knew so well. His eyepatch was missing, replaced by what Crawford assumed to be a glass eye. It was difficult to tell when he took into account the man's miraculous healing ability these days.

"The sacrifice was trying to escape," Schuldich said amicably.

"She's our pet," growled Jei, glowering at the German. "Welcome." He didn't sound as if he meant it.

"Thank you," said Crawford politely.

"You set me up," murmured Schuldich and placed a hand on Crawford's shoulder. "You're getting better."

"Come in, come in," insisted a female voice from within the house. "You must be utterly exhausted."

"Sally," smiled Crawford, shaking hands with her. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

Farfarello took the luggage off him and, with no further comment, carried it inside.

The decor was now exactly what he expected. The wallpaper was an old-fashioned floral design showing gentians stained in pastel blue. They clashed mildly with the orange curtains, which featured yet another flower-based pattern. Crawford despised it immediately and hoped that they had not inflicted their tastes on the guest bedrooms.

"What a beautiful house," he observed aloud. "Did you decorate it yourself?"

Sally nodded. "We spent hours trying to agree on the colour scheme. In the end though, Jei chose the wall paper, and I chose the fabrics. It's fabulous, don't you agree?"

"Fabulous," echoed Schuldich.

Crawford had realised immediately that they would have to get the formalities over with first. Some general conversation had to be employed, appreciation of all the effort that had gone into creating this house had to be shown. And only then, when they were convinced that they weren't simply here for the map, they would direct the conversation towards the only reason as to why they were here.

Until then, it would feel like a long wait.

***

"You decorated this yourself, hm? I can tell."

Schuldich stood in the middle of Jei's private study. The walls were painted white, with a padded white carpet, and white office furniture. A white bookshelf engulfed one side of the room. The books themselves were not white, but dark, ancient-looking leather.

"I got used to white walls," he admitted.

Crawford circled the room admiring the framed prints that were on the wall. He recognised the distinctive pale blue and red watercolours instantly, but didn't want to bring them into the conversation. Instead, he looked out of the window and up into the night sky. He thought back to when he could last see the stars so clearly, seeing as the bright neon lights of Tokyo weren't really designed for star-gazing. He recalled the time when he lived in this area of the world, when he was barely a teenager. All the bad memories, all the abuse, were safely locked away where his conscious mind couldn't reach them. All that remained were memories of looking up at the stars and wishing for more than what he had. Maybe a universe or two.

"William Blake," Jei directed his attention to the prints he had been examining minutes ago. "Illustrations for Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy."

"I thought so," said Crawford.

"You did not want to say? I thought you two would be ..." Jei searched for the correct word, "...dying to remind me of the person I was."

"Would it be possible to view the map?" Crawford changed the subject politely.

Jei crossed over to the ivory-coloured desk and unlocked the lower drawer. He removed a white box and opened it. Crimson silk spilled out, contrasting sharply with the paleness of the room. He ran a slender finger across a ridge of material, pleased with what he saw.

Crawford had thought for the past half an hour that the book that would be presented to him should look more professional. Instead, Jei held a child's scrapbook with photocopied pages carelessly glued in place. If he hadn't foreseen this, the shock from the difference between what he had imagined and what he saw now might have made him give up.

He took the book and flicked to the page he remembered so clearly. An etching of a chalice bathed in blinding light from above. Their prize.

"So this is it? The thing that'll pay our bills?" Schuldich drawled, reading over Crawford's shoulder.

Jei snatched the book away and slammed it shut. "You don't understand. It's an important Biblical relic."

Crawford ...You didn't tell him we weren't going to donate it to a museum?

It hardly belongs on display. This chalice was carved from a large ruby and given as a present to Samael -- otherwise known as Lucifer -- from God, only to be taken back later when the angel rebelled. Many scholars once thought it to be the Grail, but Eszet believe it was so dangerous that a group was formed to hide it. With such a history, only a private collector would take it.

"I hate that."

Crawford and Schuldich faced Jei.

"That silence that means you are talking telepathically. About me. Or about matters a madman could not understand."

Crawford thought it ironic that nowadays the reason a telepathic conversation would take place between himself and Schuldich without Jei's knowledge was that a sane man couldn't understand it. He debated briefly as to whether he should remark on this aloud. Jei would most likely be flattered. A brief glimpse of the future demonstrated that he was wrong.

"My apologies. We were merely remarking on our disappointment that you feel we are unable to comprehend the importance of the map and the chalice."

"Smooth-talking liar," accused Jei flatly. "You used to be my idol, but now I ..." he trailed off, his pupils dilated.

Crawford caught the scrapbook as it fell from Jei's fingertips. He tucked it under one arm and crossed over to the desk, where he concentrated on folding up the blood-coloured cloth that it had been wrapped in.

"We could've saved money and bought just one plane ticket, but you brought me along anyway. This was why. You knew you'd need me for this." Schuldich grasped both of Jei's upper arms firmly and manoeuvred him in front of the chair behind the desk. He forced him to sit with a loud 'thud' and addressed him: "When you wake up, you'll believe you gave us the map willingly." Almost as an afterthought: "Then you'll return to your bedroom and have fantastic sex."

"With Sally," added Crawford.

"Yeah, with Sally." Schuldich confirmed.

They left him sitting rigidly upright in his study chair, and returned to the hallway. The lights were switched off, but the moon played along the walls. The blue-tinted gentians that decorated the walls at day now looked darker, as if they were stained in blood.

"Farfarello's choice," murmured Crawford, noticing it immediately.

"How poetic," smiled Schuldich. He stretched out his hand and squeezed Crawford's shoulder. "We'll get him back."

Crawford placed his hand over Schuldich's and hoped he was correct.

-- End Chapter One --