Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ In The Shadows, In The Light ❯ 12 Nightmare ( Chapter 24 )

Author's Notes: All Weiss Kreutz stuff/characters are not owned by me and all rights apply to the lucky bastards who do own them. I make absolutely nothing off this except gratification of my own sick and twisted desires.

 

Thanks goes to my beta on this. It's greatly appreciated. I'd also like to thank the friend who answered my medical questions. Much love for that, babe.

 

~ indicates character POV

** indicates internal conversation.

 

 

12 Nightmare

 

~Yohji~

 

Aya and Schuldig huddled on either side of me on the couch. I was having massive flashbacks to some of my school escapades and the resultant trips to the office. I swear to God, I spent years convinced there was nothing meaner or more terror inducing than a pissed off nun. Now, seeing the gleams of fury in both teams Weiss and Schwarz's eyes, I found myself thinking fondly of Mother Superior. At least she wasn't a trained killer.

 

Schuldig was trying to shield Aya and me from the worst of the mental ass-chewing he was taking from Crawford but whatever happened to us earlier made his attempt a moot point. I could clearly hear every mental word directed at him and would have slouched further in my seat, trying to disappear between the cushions if I'd been able to manage it. Brad had brow-beating down to a freaking science. Both my lovers pressed closer to me, Schuldig instinctively seeking safety in numbers; Aya because I was holding him tightly to keep him from leaping off the couch and attacking Crawford.

 

**I'm trying to be patient here; Mastermind, but you're not helping the situation at all. I ask you what you did and why and you tell me you don't know and that you didn't mean too.**

 

Schuldig nodded.

 

**I don't believe that for a moment and I'm pretty fucking insulted that you'd even think I would. I used to think that none of your trouble causing bullshit would surprise me. I stand corrected on that matter. Do you have any idea of the level of utter irresponsibility and complete stupidity of your actions?**

 

Schuldig shrank away from Crawford's wrath, tightening his shields. Crawford merely switched to speaking aloud, his voice sharp with disapproval. “You know as well as I do that Rosencrantz keeps tabs on all their operatives regardless of how scattered they may be right now. There's no way in hell they could have missed a psychic spike that big. They're going to come and investigate and we're not ready.”

 

“We got a tiny bit out of control…” Schuldig started.

 

“Thank you for that understatement. A psychic slip-up from Kudou, I'd buy. He still doesn't have control of his Talent. But you, you spent years being trained. You know better.”

 

Crawford was really popping a vein over this. **How bad is this, Schu? ** I asked.

 

**Bad, ** Schu answered with a mental sigh. **Crawford told us that Rosencrantz was still keeping tabs on us and that if we wanted this whole boost thing to work we had to keep a low profile. **

 

**Which we just ruined. Will he believe us if we tell him what happened? Not what we were doing but the results? ** Aya asked, guilt replacing anger.

 

**I don't know. Crawford isn't a telepath so he might not know about fusion. If he did know what we now have, I'm sure he'd want to exploit it. I'm not telling him. At least, not right now when he's so pissed off at me. **

 

I was about to ask Schu what, exactly, fusion was when Ken stood quickly and stalked to where we were seated. He stood in front of us and I couldn't stop the tiny groan from escaping me. Anger and confusion rolled off him, slamming into me before passing onto Aya and Schu. Schu swore lowly in German and threw a shield up for me, dividing his attention with practiced ease. I gave his hand a grateful squeeze. I really needed to haul ass and learn how to do this mental shield thing properly.

 

“Out of control? I'll tell you fucking out of control! I god-damn-well kissed Crawford! Some fucking accident,” Ken seethed, clenching and unclenching his fists. I was surprised steam wasn't roiling out of his ears; he looked so pissed and offended.

 

“Ja, so? It was good, yes? The cool, aloof ones usually pack a lot of heat,” Schuldig said with a knowing look towards Aya, proving Schu really did have a way underdeveloped sense of self-preservation. It was amazing Schuldig had managed to live as long as he had without regular introductions to mister fist-to-the-face and his good buddy, mister boot-to-the-head.

 

“I don't think that was the point Ken was trying to make, Schuldig,” Omi said, moving quickly to grab Ken's arm, trying to keep him from ripping Schuldig's head from his shoulders with just his bare hands. Ken himself was reduced to inarticulate growling.

 

“Can we fix this?” Aya asked, giving Schuldig a warning nudge followed by a mental jab to shut the hell up that I felt even through Schuldig's shielding.

 

Crawford sighed and ran his hand through his hair mussing his normally neat do. I knew then that things had gone from shit to shinola and we were probably in way more trouble than we'd realized. Crawford was never flustered. Ever. At least according to Schuldig.

 

“No. I don't know how far that… whatever it was that the three of you did extended, but given the type of reaction it produced here with us Rosencrantz's people couldn't help but notice.”

 

“I'll start monitoring Rosencrantz for movement,” Nagi said in a quiet voice. “I'll be careful and discrete. They won't even know I'm there or what I'm doing… unlike some people.”

 

Schu started to open his mouth with a denial that it'd been accidental. Aya grabbed his hand and tightened his grip until his knuckles turned white. Schu mumbled curses in German but said nothing in response to Nagi's pointed words.

 

**Let it go, Sascha. We need damage control now. Think. Is there anything you can do to hide us mentally? Any way we can help? ** Aya broadcast to Schuldig and me.

 

**Ach, I don't know. I mean; I can totally hide my team for short periods of time from a few people at a go but something constant and enough to cover Rosencrantz operatives that I can't see or even know where they are…. Even with the added boosts from Yohji I don't think I could do that. I'd be a huge strain to constantly hide eight people and hide the psychic signature of doing that.**

 

“I'll help you keep a digital eye out, if you want,” Omi offered Nagi. Nagi nodded once and turned on his heel to leave the room with Omi trailing after him.

 

Ken swung his gaze between the three of us before muttering under his breath about asshole German telepaths and stalked from the room. He paused at the doorway and said he was going to go up onto the roof to check out the surrounding area, though God only knew what good that would do. I figured Ken needed a little alone time to deal with the fact that he'd laid a kiss on not only another guy but somebody who was supposed to be our enemy, too. Ken was really having a shitty day and Schwarz's attitude of cool amusement wasn't helping.

 

“Rosencrantz might be too busy to bother with us right away.”

 

Everybody left in the room turned to stare at Farfarello. He'd been sitting so quietly in the corner, we'd forgotten about him. After all, we were having a serious conversation about a psychic event that had probably just screwed us all. What would a mad man have to contribute to that kind of conversation?

 

“Farf? You know something we don't?” Schuldig asked in surprise.

 

“Of course I do,” he said, amused. “Back to the subject at hand. My Talent flared and is a little stronger now. If Schuldig's range and strength has increased, then the amount of people who might suddenly have more than a whisper of Talent has probably increased, too, from that whatever it was that happened. We could hide in the chatter.”

 

Who knew the nut job had working brain cells or could actually come up with something that sounded so reasonable? He was starting to freak me out even more than usual.

 

“They'd still be able to triangulate…” Crawford turned to face Farfarello and asked intently, “Your Talent flared? Are you sure?”

 

Farfarello simply looked at the Oracle and waited.

 

“Yes, of course you'd be sure. Well, this makes things more interesting. I have some research to do. I don't want you three leaving this house or doing any more of whatever it was you did to cause that psychic burst. We don't need to draw any more attention to ourselves than we already have.” Crawford slid his glasses up his nose absently, frowning in the general direction of the shop. He glanced towards the door, then sighed and added absently, “Oh, Schuldig, you're being docked a month's pay for this asinine stunt of yours.”

 

“Crawford!” Schuldig whined with what sounded like real pain in his voice.

 

**As good as that was, I can't see Sascha wanting to do that again anytime soon, can you, Yohji? Although, it seems losing money is the more painful experience. ** Aya said with warmth and knowing laughter in his voice.

 

I snickered, earning a scowl from Schuldig and a raised eyebrow from Crawford. I could feel Schu's body protesting what had been done to him even though he'd really enjoyed it at the time. **No, I don't think Schu was going to be up for another piece of extreme kink like that in the near future. Even if it'd been hotter than hell. **

 

Aya did not respond, he was eyeing Farfarello, who was now looking out towards the shop. We both turned to follow the Madman's gaze as Schu confirmed helpfully, **Company. One of your friends, I think.**

 

Crawford deftly stepped aside to avoid being knocked down by Manx as she charged in. Talk about your bad timing.

 

 

“W…what…?” she stammered in surprise her eyes skittering around the room and settling on both Schuldig and Farfarello briefly before bouncing over the room, looking for more anomalies.

 

“We have some guests staying with us for a while, Manx. I believe you know Farfarello, Crawford and Schuldig,” Aya said in a calm voice as if it was a regular thing to have team Schwartz over for tea and cookies.

 

**She's confused and wondering if she has enough time to get to the gun strapped to her thigh and take some of us out before we get to her. You want me to stop her? ** Schuldig asked in an amused voice.

 

**Keep her from shooting anyone and don't hurt her. We haven't exactly been keeping her in the loop of what's been going on, ** Aya replied.

 

I watched Manx's hand creep up her thigh and her eyes continue to dart around the room. Panic filled her face when her hand stopped moving even though she visibly struggled to move it. I wasn't sure how Aya would take it if I told Manx that Schu was our lover and it really was okay for team Schwartz to be in our house. I didn't want to end up in the dog house Schu so recently vacated.

 

**Chicken, ** Schuldig sniffed.

 

**Fine, tell her. But don't make it sound… sordid, ** Aya said with a mental sigh.

 

“They aren't here to kill us, Manx. Schuldig, Aya and I are lovers. We have been for a while. It's a serious kinda thing between us. The rest of Schwartz is here for other reasons but we're operating under a truce. We… uh… we need something from each other and this is the best way to get it done.”

 

Manx stared at us, nonplused before she blanched at the news.

 

**She's thinking you two are being controlled by me. As if. I don't need to use my mental skills to get anyone into my bed. Just by standing there and breathing, I have people clawing at my door to get into my bed. I have my pick of anyone I want when I go out and strut my stuff. I am hot -, ** Schuldig said in an offended tone.

 

Aya reached an arm behind me and smacked Schuldig in the back of the head, hard.

 

“Oww, Aya. What'd you do that for?”

 

**Yohji and I know you are attractive, we tell you often enough. Don't regurgitate back to us. Simply keep in mind if I ever discover anyone beside Yohji and me in your bed, you will never discover me in there again. I'm sure you're aware of how creative I can be when revenge is on my mind. I do not share what's mine and you and Yohji are both mine. Got it? **

 

Schuldig nodded and inched back from Aya ever so slightly, drawing me with him. I gave him a jab to the gut for trying to drag me between him and Aya. I wasn't a human shield for Schuldig to use in his defence against Aya. Didn't he realize that Aya would claw through me to get to him and worry about how badly mangled I'd gotten later? Seeming to be satisfied with the terror he'd just struck in Schuldig's heart, Aya settled back comfortably against the couch and rested his hand on my knee.

 

“You're both sleeping with the enemy?” Manx asked in a small voice as she groped behind her for a chair. She visibly flinched when Farfarello rose and offered her his seat like a gentleman before wandering from the room mumbling about making some scones to go with the Rooibos tea he'd been saving.

 

“We didn't plan for it to happen. I mean, neither one of us went looking for Schu or ever really thought about him in that way,” I said. There was no easy way to explain the relationship Aya and I had with Schu. It just was. I was pretty sure Aya'd kill me in the most painful way he could if I told Manx that he was in love with not only Schuldig but me as well.

 

**Speak for yourself, Yohji. Some of us noticed how handsome he looked even if he was the enemy. **

 

I know Schuldig and I were staring at Aya as if he'd suddenly grown two heads. That couldn't be right. Aya was the ice princess. Nothing fazed him. He wasn't distracted by anything on mission.

 

**I said I noticed, not that I was distracted. I am human and Schuldig is a tad flamboyant and rather hard not to notice under even the most trying of circumstances. **

 

I felt smug pleasure flow from Schuldig. Great. Just what he needed. Somebody feeding his ego. Schuldig laughed softly and kissed me noisily on the cheek. Aya gave a small smile and turned his attention back to Manx, our little exchange taking only heartbeats. Mental conversation was pretty damn handy shit. Manx was opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish at the kiss Schu had given me and the tiny smile Aya got from that kiss.

 

“I assume that the folder in your hands means that you have another job for us, Manx,” Aya prodded with a small nod.

 

Manx blinked and seemed to snap out of her daze. “I'd prefer not to reveal our intel to the enemy regardless of any truce you say you're working under. This is Weiss business. The rest of the team needs to be here for this, too.”

 

“Ach, we're in each other's heads all the time. As soon as they know something, I'll know it too,” Schuldig said in an off-hand way.

 

“That's true, Manx. We don't really have secrets between us. We can't. Besides, he's nosey enough that he'd go looking for the information in our heads anyway,” I said.

 

“Hey! I'm not nosey. I'm curious,” Schu said in an offended tone.

 

“And you don't have a problem with this?” Manx's lips pursed into a thin line. She surprised us all by reaching for the bottle of scotch somebody had put on the coffee table, twisting the cap off and taking a belt straight from the bottle. She squeezed her eyes closed at what probably burned like fire and set the bottle back on the table with a solid thunk.

 

“So you say. Alright, but if something goes wrong, it'll be on your collective heads and I will make it my personal mission to hunt each and every one of you down and make sure you die in the most painful, humiliating way I can dream up,” Manx said, pinning Schuldig and Crawford with a look that was scary in it's intensity.

 

**Ach, she means it. She'd really hunt us down. Whoa, be glad you can't see what she's thinking of right now. She thinks the Marquis de Sade had some interesting techniques that could be improved on if…. Mein Gott, her head is a pretty damn scary place. She and Farf would probably get on great, ** Schuldig shuddered.

 

“Please call or go get Ken and Omi. I'm not saying another thing until they're here as well. Regardless of what kind of… relationship you two have with Schwartz, there are certain protocols to follow. The whole team needs to be here for the mission details.”

 

**Tell Omi that Manx is here with a mission. Have Omi get Ken. I don't think Ken would appreciate you mentally summoning him, ** Aya sent to Schuldig.

 

I felt mischief ooze from Schuldig. I gave his thigh a squeeze in warning. I don't know why he liked to torment Ken so much although, to be fair, Ken liked to needle Schuldig every chance he got.

 

“Omi said to give him a few minutes and he'll grab Ken on his way,” Schuldig said with only a little sulk in his voice.

 

Crawford, proving he was a very smart man, nodded politely at Manx and excused himself from the room. Manx relaxed slightly but narrowed her eyes at Schuldig. I could tell she was waiting for him to take the hint and leave. She obviously had no idea how annoying Schu could be. Omi entered the room with Ken in tow, each taking a seat and waiting for the information Manx had to give us about the mission. Manx shot one more pointed look at Schuldig before realizing that he wasn't about to go anywhere and made a low noise of annoyance before launching into the mission details.

 

“The target is a warehouse. Our information says that drugs and weapons are being shuttled through there. There's paperwork and computer data in the office we need to tell us where the point of origin is for the drugs and the weapons as well as the buyers for those things. The warehouse and everything in it is to be destroyed once you've retrieved the information we need.”

 

“Timeline?” Aya asked, slipping into mission mode.

 

“Before dawn. We believe they'll be moving locations then and if they shift their base of operations before we hit the place, it'll take us weeks to track them down again. They're slippery bastards. We need this to happen tonight. There's supposed to be some military grade weapons stored there right now. We'd like to prevent those from hitting the streets.”

 

Aya nodded and moved from his place beside me on the couch to stand in front of Manx, holding out his hand for the folder. She stood as well, able to look Aya in the eye with the added height of her heels. After staring intently at Aya for several minutes, she handed him the folder.

 

“I'll expect a full accounting of not only this operation but everything else that has gone on here in the last little while. I don't like being caught flat-footed like this.”

 

Manx nodded curtly at me and gave one final glare to Schuldig before leaving the room. He didn't help the situation by making kissy faces at her. I was so not looking forward to having that conversation with Manx about Schuldig and team Schwartz. I heaved myself to my feet and noticed the expression on Aya's face as he looked at the folder. Now that Manx was gone, he looked like he was waiting for the folder to turn around and bite him.

 

“Aya?” I asked softly.

 

“This is probably the job we were waiting for. While I'm glad the wait is finally over, it also means that somebody is going to kill you tonight unless we can stop whatever Crawford Saw from happening.”

 

My stomach lurched and I sat back down abruptly. I'd conveniently let that little fact slip my mind. Schuldig pulled me to his chest and kissed my temple. Aya looked torn between wanting to comfort me and maintain his stoic mission face. He caved when I looked at him with pleading in my eyes and after flipping the mission folder to Omi, joined Schu and me on the couch. We each got a quick, hard hug that was full of love and steely determination that I wasn't going to fall victim to anyone that night.

 

 

~Schuldig~

 

I'd thought my biggest argument of the night was going to be getting Aya to let me tag along on their mission. Instead, he'd given me this look that said “Of course you're coming, idiot”. Who knew my big fight would be with Crawford over the clothes I was wearing? Brad was insisting that I wear the Schwartz uniform of white pants and jacket. I said since it wasn't a Schwartz job, I could wear whatever the fuck I wanted. And, I pointed out again that white was a dumb-ass colour to wear when you were going to kill somebody or sneak into a place in the dead of night.

 

Eventually, I won. I was dressed in head-to-toe-black and borrowed one of Yohji's trenches. I wanted Aya's with all the cool silver buckles and zippers but it wasn't broad enough in the shoulders for me. Yohji's was a better fit and I looked damn fine in a dark and dangerous way. I got the unexpected compliment from Farf that I looked like a flame-haired harbinger of death and that even a banshee would approve. At least, I think it was a compliment.

 

I was currently playing psychic lookout for Weiss. Farf was skulking around the building, when he surprised a guard. Poor bastard didn't stand a chance against our resident psycho and I kept the lightest possible touch in Farfarello's head as he started to play with the guys innards while the guy was still alive. If I didn't need to see what Farf got up to while he went about his business, I wasn't gonna. I swear a good chunk of the bad, nightmare shit in my head was directly because of what he did to amuse himself.

 

Nagi and Omi were ahead of us and already making quick work of breaking into the computer files. I could hear their snorts of disgust as they whispered to each other about some type of codex that only an idiot would use and how, if they wanted to keep the information safe, a randomized matrix utilizing blah, blah, blah… I turned the volume down on their conversation already bored to tears. Crawford was standing lookout in the office with the computer nerds in case somebody managed to sneak past me and Yohji patrolling the warehouse before they were done.

 

Ken and Aya were setting charges to blow the place sky high once we were out of range. It could've been a one-man job but, Ken was still a little pissy so Aya went with him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Like slashing up any guards he might have come across to vent some of that anger of his at kissing Crawford. Okay, so Farf was already doing that but we knew he'd do that anyway. Expecting Farfarello to not kill someone would've been like asking a starving wolf not to eat a fat, juicy rabbit. Someone always ended up dead on our missions. Farfarello would've been disappointed if he didn't get to dip his blade in fresh blood and a disappointed Farf was seven kinds of creepy psychotic.

 

Yohji was out of my visual range but I knew exactly where he was and where every living soul was in a good five hundred yard radius of the warehouse. Mein Gott, there were more rats than you could shake a stick at around us even though I couldn't see a single one. Why weren't all those stray cats slinking around the building chasing them down? Were they to lazy to chase down their supper?

 

I'd given myself one hell of a headache when I first tested out just how sensitive I now was. First time ever I was dropped to my knees by the sheer volume of… things in my head at once. I swear to god, if Aya hadn't been as fast as he was in slapping a hand over my mouth, the entire sneak-into-the-building thing would've been shot to shit with the scream that tried to escape me.

 

Spiders are icky, icky things and having their creepy-crawly thoughts in my head, little mental hairy legs walking over my brain…. I shuddered again from the remembered feel and swallowed hard. I just knew I was gonna have nightmares about that sensation. But, a valuable lesson was learned. I now knew better than to ever do something that stupid again. Obviously I needed to re-tune my mental filters after taking energy from Yohji so many times. Talk about a steep learning curve I could've lived without testing.

 

Twenty minutes later, I heard Nagi and Omi say they'd gotten what they needed and that they were packing it in. Farf was finally finished playing with his dismembered friend. Ken was still pissed over the kiss and, once he was told that we were done here, angry that he didn't get to gut anyone; that anyone being yours truly. Aya was relieved that nothing happened to Yohji even as he was worried what that might mean. They'd finished setting the charges and were making their way back to where we were to meet up. I was heading back towards Yohji when I staggered into a crate with a gasp.

 

Brad was having a vision and because I was in his head, I was getting swept along with him.

 

I saw flashes of things too fast for my brain to process until I saw the picture of a knife coming for Yohji. I couldn't stop the show in my head as the knife flashed in a slow motion arc into Yohji's back. The knife was jerked back with a spray of blood before slashing back into Yohji's flesh. Brad's vision moved into fast forward again and was gone as quickly as it came, leaving me panting and wanting to puke. My head pounded and I had one thought in my mind.

 

Find Yohji and get the hell out of here before that vision came true.

 

I was rounding the corner to the aisle where Yohji was when all hell broke loose. There was a deep whump of noise that made my ears ring. Pieces of wooden crates went flying everywhere. My first thought was that Ken had been so focused on his anger at me that he'd fucked up the timer on the charges. Then Ken started yelling that a guard dropped a grenade into a box of ammo just as the rapid fire sound of hundreds of rounds going off at once rattled through the air. I felt a bullet whiz past my hand and swore in every single language I knew. I smelled smoke and saw the orange glow of fire from the corner of my eye. Panic bloomed in my chest.

 

Fire at night. Brad's vision was starting for real.

 

 

~Aya~

 

**It's starting, Ran. Get your ass over here, ** Schuldig shouted into my head making me wince.

 

I looked at Ken. “If it gets in your way, kill it. Get the hell out of here and meet up at the drop point. Go. Now.”

 

Ken gave me a feral grin and I heard the soft snick of his bugnuks coming into play. I had the feeling that he was about to go out of his way to find someone to kill but didn't bother to stop him. I needed to get to Yohji and Schuldig before that vision of Brad's came true. I felt like my heart was trying to climb out of my chest as I ran to where Schuldig directed me. I'd only had Yohji's love for a few hours. I wasn't going to lose it to some stupid accident we could prevent.

 

I skidded around a corner, almost losing my footing in something that smelled suspiciously like oil that slicked the floor. The snap and crackle of the fire made my mind leap in panic. Brad said Yohji dying started with a night of blood and fire. I saw Yohji down the aisle and put on a burst of speed, slipping and sliding on the crap on the bottom of my boots. Rapid gunfire sounded again and Yohji staggered into some crates clutching his side. Sharp pain blossomed in my side making me stumble. A shadow rose up from behind the crates Yohji hit and I saw the glint of metal reflected in the fire that was getting closer.

 

**Yohji, behind you! Sasha! Where the fuck are you? ** I screamed mentally at my lovers. This was not happening. This couldn't be happening.

 

Yohji clutched at his head and the blade continued its downward curve towards Yohji's back. I was too far away to do anything. I was going to be too late to save someone I loved. Again. A scream of frustrated rage left me at the same time that I saw a dark blur slid between Yohji and the knife wielder. There was a sound like a melon hitting concrete seconds before a fountain of blood exploded from what used to be a person's head. The body pitched forward and toppled off the crate, landing on top of Yohji and the dark blur that had been Schuldig.

 

Pain ripped into my chest, dropping me to all fours. Breath burned like fire in my lungs and I'm sure only sheer stubbornness got me standing again. I switched my attention from the pain in my side and chest to getting to my lovers and getting us out of the building as quickly as possible. I stagger-ran to where Yohji and Schuldig lay, shoving the decapitated corpse off them. I felt the blood leave my face in a rush. The handle of a knife stuck out of Schuldig's chest. No. This wasn't happening. This couldn't happen. I put the brakes on my spinning thoughts, wrestling them back into mission calm as I shifted Schuldig off Yohji trying not to jostle him too much. Yohji didn't move and there was a growing pool of god knows who's blood under him but he was breathing. I shouted to Yohji mentally but got no response. Schuldig's eyes fluttered open.

 

“Yohji?”

 

“Alive. He's unconscious. I think he's been shot. Just over the hip. At least that's what I assume that pain I felt from him was about. I don't know how bad he's hurt. He might have hit his head when you landed on top of him. We need to get out of here, Sasha. The place is burning, the charges we set are going to go off shortly and I'm sure the cops are on their way. Are you still in touch with Schwartz?”

 

“Nein. Ja. I… I don't….” Schuldig started to say only to be stopped by a cough flecked with blood. His face turned ashen and his eyes started to close.

 

No! I looked around for back up and found none. Our electronic communications could trigger the explosives prematurely and simply screaming for help would more likely bring someone uninteresting in our survival. I couldn't carry both men and I found myself unable to even consider choosing who would live and who would die. If something wasn't done soon, I wouldn't have to make that choice; all three of us would be gone.

 

Unacceptable.

 

I slapped his cheek hard making his eyes fly open. “We are going to get out of here but I can't drag both your asses out by myself. I don't care how you do it but, wake Yohji so he can help me carry you.”

 

Schuldig frowned in concentration for several seconds before shaking his head. “The wall is still there. I push too hard and it won't matter if we get out of here alive.”

 

“Call your team. Get their worthless asses in here now. Or call Omi and Ken. I don't care who helps me get you two out of here but I need somebody here now.”

 

“Ach, cut me some fucking slack, Ran. I've got a knife stuck in my chest,” Schuldig snapped before coughing more blood up.

 

Shit. The knife probably nicked a lung. As tempting as it was to remove it, it might be keeping the bleeding to a minimum. We didn't have time to argue but at least when I made him mad; there wasn't any danger of him passing out on me.

 

“Can you contact anyone or not?” I demanded.

 

“This fucking hurts, Ran. I can't focus. It's only because of the fusion between the three of us that I can talk to you in your head. I can feel Yohji's wound and my head is pounding from going along for the ride on Crawford's latest vision. I wanna puke and in case you haven't noticed, I have a fucking knife in my chest!” he snarled before coughing again and groaning.

 

I gnawed on my bottom lip. Think. There had to be a way. There was always a way. Schuldig can't focus to call his team or mine. I can't carry both of them. Schuldig can't wake Yohji without scrambling his brains. He can't help me carry Yohji out either. I fisted my hands on my thighs and drew in several deep, calming breaths. Focus. I needed to focus on the problem. Everything was solvable if you focused on what resources you had and how to use them. My eyes widened when a possible solution hit me. If Schuldig could do it, it'd probably save us. I had no idea how he could do what I was about to suggest but that wasn't my area of expertise; it was Mastermind's.

 

“Use me,” I demanded.

 

Schuldig stared confusedly at me. “What?”

 

“You said you need to focus but can't. You've told me you envy my ability to mentally focus and said I'd be damn dangerous if I was a Talent. Use me to focus your Talent. You can do that, can't you? You've been inside my head enough. It's probably our only chance. Use. Me.”

 

Schuldig's mouth opened in a stunned little oh. I had to give him a tiny, careful shake to get him to snap his mouth shut and pay attention. The fire was getting closer and we were running out of time.

 

“This'll probably hurt, Ran. I've only done this a few times and it was always with a trained Talent. I'm feeling a little ragged around the edges and my control isn't the best right now. This might not even work because you're not a Talent.”

 

I ran my fingers gently through his hair. “Doesn't matter. I'll deal. You don't try this and we're just as dead. I'll take a small chance over no chance. Do it.”

 

Schuldig nodded his head and closed his eyes. Instead of the light touch I was used to feeling, it felt like he was stomping around my head with combat boots on. I ground my teeth together and tried to stay open and relaxed until he told me what to do. We needed this to work.

 

**Pick somebody familiar to talk to. Either Omi or Ken. Get a mental image of them in your head and hold that picture tightly. **

 

I called up Omi's face in my mind figuring he'd be the more receptive of the two to Schuldig's mental communication. I felt Schuldig's mind spear out through mine for the target, tears leaking from my eyes at the sudden pressure in my head. Seconds seemed like hours before I heard/felt Omi startle. It worked!

 

**Omi, we're stuck in the warehouse. Yohji and Schuldig are hurt and I can't carry both of them. I need you, Ken and any of Schwartz that wants to come here to get them out. The fire is getting closer, the explosives we planted are going to blow shortly and Schuldig is coughing up blood because of a knife in his chest. Yohji's been shot and is unconscious. You have to hurry. **

 

Omi, thank god, didn't ask any questions. He snapped out that he was on the way and that was that. Schuldig cut the connection and my head started pounding like a bass drum. The pain of Yohji's wound in his side hit me and made me gasp. The wound in Schuldig's chest had me curling over and forced a groan past my lips. Schuldig let out a shaky breath and sagged against me, his face paper white. I called his name verbally and mentally and got no response. I thought I heard sirens in the distance. Yohji groaned just as I saw the familiar shapes of Omi and Ken running towards us through the thickening smoke, team Schwartz right behind them. Crawford directed Nagi to float a now unconscious Schuldig from the warehouse. Ken carried Yohji and Crawford of all people supported me as we fled the burning building.

 

We'd barely got Schuldig into the waiting van when the charges Ken and I set went off. The shock wave knocked me against the side of the van. Ken, turned to shield Yohji as best he could but ended up crushing him between us. Omi, already behind the wheel, shouted for us to hurry. Crawford and Farfarello tossed us all into the van and jumped in, slamming the doors just as Omi pulled away. He drove sedately past the fire trucks and police cars rushing to the scene, pulling over to give them access. Obeying traffic laws at that point struck me as wildly funny and I realized I was going into shock.

 

Once a safe distance from the burning building, police cars and fire trucks, Omi hesitated only a fraction of a second before tromping on the gas and turning the van in the direction of the Magic Bus. Schuldig needed real medical help. Probably major surgery. Yohji's wound was still bleeding sluggishly and he was disorientated, probably from a concussion judging by the goose egg on his forehead. Until he saw a doctor, we wouldn't know what damage the bullet had done. If we were unbelievably lucky, it wouldn't be anything serious internally.

 

We were in rough shape but Yohji was alive and so was Schuldig.

 

That was enough for now.