Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Key to Darkness ❯ The Key to Darkness ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: We, the TwinShades, do not OWN anything that is in any way connected to Weiss Kreuz. The only thing belonging to us are the Original Chara's in our stories since we almost fried our brains making them up. We don't have money so PLEASE don't sue, this is nonprofit work and for entertainment only. Thanks

Daystar and Moonshadow Shade


Moon: Sorry about chapter three appearing, disappearing and reappearing again and again. I work with a Mac you see and it's just not willing to work with me at all. So I just decided, screw it all I'll use my mom's computer ^^ And here it is, hopefully this time for good. Sorry you all!!!


~*~*~

Moon: Well, welcome back. Nice to see that Day didn't scare you away yet.

Day: *glares* To your information, the readers like me more than you, so there.

Moon: Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuure

Day: Aya!!!

Aya: *doesn't move*

Day: *blinks* Aya? What…

Moon: I do so love my control collars *grins*

Day: NO FAIR!

Moon: DEAL! *turns around* Well, here we are with part three. Enjoy!

Day: And maybe some feedback too??? We like feedback!!

Nagi: NO! They don't need encouragement!

Day: Be quiet! *smiles* Have fun folks.

~*~*~

Lunaria would have smiled, if she could have. Unfortunately, horses, and therefore nightmares, don't have the physical capacity for a smile. So, Lunaria contented herself with simply feeling like smiling.

The Kin of the Morning's Glory was under their control. And Miaka had discovered a way to seal Riallara in her own little prison. The Queen of the Kin was sealed away from reality in a diamond. They were getting closer and closer to controlling the world.

A bit of the twilight disconnected itself from the sky and glided to land near her.

--Hello, Makoto. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit.--

--Why did you go to Miaka?-- the twilight dragon asked harshly.

--Because,-- Lunaria answered, equally harsh, --We needed a plan to keep Riallara from obtaining even half of the Keystone. We need the whole thing to release the Dark Lord. If our one half would have sufficed, we'd have release Saheal already. Why does it matter?--

--Now, Miaka is likely to think I'm incompetent. That is not the image I want to project.--

--I'm sorry,-- replied Lunaria, sarcastically,--I thought that you would prefer for us to have a working plan so that we could all obtain our share of the power that we all want.--

--Lunaria,-- Makoto hissed, --sarcasm doesn't become you--

--Quit worrying,-- Lunaria advised the twilight drake, --What's done is done. But that's okay, because we'll all end up with our share of the power--

Makoto nodded, --I suppose you're right. I must go. There is much to do, to capture our little scout.-- The drake spread his wings, flying away.

--Yes,-- Lunaria said to herself. --but some of us will have a larger share of power than others.--

~*~*~

Yohji entered the kitchen, yawning. After Ken and Aya had come back, the group had initiated a search for a larger apartment, and Yohji finally had a room to himself again. Brad was the other one to have his own room.

They had also, finally, contacted Kritiker with all these new, recent developments. Needless to say, Kritiker was not pleased. But they also realized that there was no other option than working with Schwartz. Manx had assured them that Kritiker agents were looking for any information on these new developments. Oddly, neither Schuldig, Aya, nor Ken had to change to prove their story to her.

Ken was sipping some tea when Yohji arrived. Omi and Nagi were the only other ones up, and were both involved in something on Omi's laptop.

Suddenly, Ken narrowed his eyes in a thinking pose, and cocked his head at Yohji.

"What? What is it, Ken?" Yohji asked, fidgeting under Ken's intense stare.

"Yotan, why didn't you tell me you were part mer?" Ken pondered with a pout.

"What?" asked Yohji, wondering what the hell his teammate was talking about.

"I asked you," repeated Ken, "why you didn't tell me you were part mer? That would have been nice too know."

"Part mer? What, like mermaids?" Yohji asked, his pitch rising with every word.

"Well, not a mermaid," grinned Ken, "More like a merplayer."

Yohji just stared at his friend.

"What do you mean, Yohji's a mermaid?" asked Omi, looking up. Nagi, also, was staring at them strangely.

"He's not a mermaid," corrected Ken, "Mermaids are girls. He's a merman."

"Who comes from the merfolk?" asked Schuldig, as he and Farfarello entered the room.

"Yotan," answered Ken, "I just never noticed it before."

Schuldig raised an eyebrow, "Wait a minute, you can catch it, but neither Aya nor myself could? That is a bit farfetched."

Ken lifted his chin a bit haughtily, "I," he began, "am an Earth Dragon. More specifically, a Natural Dragon. Of course I can catch it!"

"As opposed to being a processed dragon?" asked Nagi. Ken ignored him.

"Wait just a minute," began Yohji, "you mean there are different kinds of drakes?"

Ken looked at him blankly, "Well, yeah."

"So does that mean you don't breathe fire?" asked Omi, sounding disappointed.

"That's right," said Aya, as he and Brad entered the kitchen and the conversation. "Only fire drakes breathe fire."

"Drakes like you?" asked Nagi.

Neither Ken nor Aya said anything for several seconds, instead staring at Nagi, and then at each other.

Ken burst out into laughter, "Aya's not a fire drake, whatever gave you that idea?"

"Prolly," began Schuldig dryly, "the fact that he's red."

"Nagi," explained Aya, "color has nothing to do with what kind of drake a dragon is. It's just coincidence that Ken is both green and a Nature Drake. He could've just as easily been born a Water Drake or even an Air Drake."

"So, what kind of dragon are you, Aya?" asked Yohji warily.

"I'm an Ice Drake." responded Aya.

"You see," Ken explained to Nagi, "It has a lot more to do with perso-OW!" Ken rubbed his head where Aya had whapped him. The redhead was innocently whistling.

Nagi and Omi giggled. The others just smirked.

"Anyway, if we could please bring this conversation back to the original topic," asked Brad, "Yohji is a mermaid?"

Yohji glared indignantly. "Merman you mean."

"Well, not quite," said Ken replying to Brad, "But there is definitely a mer somewhere in his lineage."

"What good does that do us?" asked Yohji sarcastically.

"If you want me too," began Ken, "I can activate whatever magical skill you've inherited."

The others, bar Aya because he knew this was possible, stared at Ken.

"Wait a minute," began Schuldig, "I thought that if an ability didn't appear naturally, it wasn't possible."

"Why," began Aya, "do you think drakes tend to be some of the strongest mages in the world? Because some Earth Drakes-although it doesn't matter whether they are Stone or Nature Drakes-are born with the ability to activate latent talents."

"Ah." said Schuldig, "That would explain why there are very few drakes who are latents."

"So what ability would he get?" asked Crawford.

Ken shrugged, "I won't know until he uses it."

"You mean until you activate it?" asked Nagi.

"No," Ken corrected, "until he uses it. He could gain the ability to talk to fish, change into a merman, or just breathe underwater, to name a few."

"And how will I know how to use this ability?" asked Yohji, a slight panic to his tone, "Especially if I don't know what it is?"

"The same way drakes use their breath weapons...instinctively," was Ken's reply. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe."

"Uh huh..." Yohji sounded panicked, "Can I think about this for a while?"

"Sure," said Ken, "It's not like we've been able to put together a decent plan of action yet. So, what's for breakfast?"

~*~*~

Yohji sat by the river bank, staring down into the water. He'd escaped the apartment shortly after breakfast, needing to seriously think about this thing. He...he was a merman? No. That wasn't right. He had mer blood in him. That's what Aya had said. Probably a great to the many times grandparent was either a merman or mermaid.

Well, Yohji thought to himself, that would explain why he never had any fear of the water as a child. And his mother used to joke with him that he could swim before he could walk. Now that he thought about it, he'd always gone to water when he was sad, depressed, or worried.

Like now. Here he was, sitting on a river bank.

But...that was okay. Ken, and even Aya, would always go up to the roof of the Koneko when they were upset...a hangover from wanting to have open sky above them? Or, Ken would have escaped to the shop, to hang out with the flowers.

Yohji wondered if Ken could talk to them.

This was...too much. It wasn't like Yohji, to sit down and actually think things through. What could it hurt, to gain a new ability or two? And, what if they needed Yohji's mystery ability? Wouldn't he feel awful if they needed it and he couldn't use it? He'd only wonder...

"It'll be okay," said a new voice, and Bradley Crawford sat down next to him.

"I know. It was just...unexpected, I guess."

Brad smiled softly. "This has all been a bit overwhelming, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Yohji, offering Brad a cigarette. The American took it. "I mean, you knew all about it because you're a precog, right? And Farfarello...I suppose Schuldig told him. It's really not nice to keep secrets like that away from your lover."

Brad nodded. "I suppose. But you're wrong to suppose I knew all this would happen. My talent is limited. Subconsciously, I have to know a possibility exists. To be honest, my precognition is usually just a very strong inclination to do one or another action. I very rarely get full blown visions."

"Really? Then how did you know...?"

"I'm also the many times great-grandchild of a mythological creature. I can trace my lineage back to the Oracle at Delphi." The American lit his cigarette. "I knew Eitiene was going to attack, because I knew there was always the possibility that Weiss could somehow get involved in magic, and that Schuldig was particularly on the lookout for him. I didn't specifically think that any of you were gryphons, or even drakes, until Aya told me."

"Tell me something, Bradley," said Yohji, "is that why you always want to prepare for every contingency?"

"Yes. If I know it can happen, I will know if it will, usually." Crawford took a drag on the cigarette, "For example, if I didn't know, subconsciously, that it was possibly for a person to be shot, I would never ever have a vision about somebody getting shot."

"Even though it happens all the time?"

"Correct."

"Did you know that I was part mer?" asked Yohji.

"No. Even though I knew it was possible there was a mer in your lineage somewhere, I did not know it was possible for latent abilities to be woken like that." Brad smirked, "Even Schuldig didn't know that, and he knows more about magic than I do."

"If it was not possible for those abilities to be activated...." Yohji wondered.

"I don't think Ken would have said anything. My understanding is that he sensed the latent talent, which allowed him to make a positive identification." Brad thought about it, "In fact, even if you are descended from a magical creature, you're not considered as one, or even part of one, if you don't have those abilities, even if they're latent."

"Well," said Yohji, sounding somewhat more confidant than when he'd left the apartment, "I guess it would be cool to be able to talk to fish."

Brad grinned smugly.

Yohji's eyes went wide in outrage, "You knew! You knew I'd agree!"

"Well, once I knew that it was a possibility..." Brad trailed of, as Yohji began to chase him through the park.

~*~*~

"I hope Yohji isn't too upset," said Ken from his bed.

"Don't worry about it," said Aya, changing his shirt, "I'm sure he's fine. That was quite a shock you gave him."

"Uh huh," responded Ken, cursing silently when Aya's shirt fell into place. "Then, you don't think Omi would care too know he's part elf?"

Aya paused, turning towards the other. "Well, I don't think that's any worse than calling Yohji a mermaid."

"That wasn't me, that was Omi!" Ken protested, "Besides, mers can be male or female-and they're not necessarily human, either"

"I know that, Ken," said Aya, "What do you take me for?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" asked Ken, grinning.

"Then I don't know what to tell you, Kenken," said Aya, grinning at Ken.

"Aya," Ken whined, "I can't stand just waiting around here. Who knows what Eitiene and the Dark Kin are doing to Riallara!"

Aya looked at Ken, "You're moody today. Are you going into heat?"

Ken sat straight up on the bed, launching a pillow at his roommate, "AYA! I'm not a girl!"

"You sound like one. You sound like you're PMSing."

"ARGH!" Ken stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He didn't even notice Omi and Nagi as he stalked past them. The pair looked at each other, before peeking into the room.

"Aya-kun," they began at the same time. Aya turned towards them, indicating they should continue. Nagi looked at Omi, before the telekinetic continued. "What's wrong with Ken-kun?"
"He's just PMSing. Don't worry about it."

"Oh." The two boy blinked, confused for a second but decided to just accept that explanation.

"Okay," the two boys left Aya alone in the room, retreating back to the living room to finish their movie.

~*~*~

Eitiene glared at the image in the mirror. Currently, he was in his human guise, in which his hair was a stormy gray and his eyes were that same color. Only now, he had five lovely scars, starting at his right temple, digging into his eye, and down his cheek. The scars traveled down his neck, and ended at his left collar bone. The healers told him he was lucky to still have the use of both eyes.

He growled deep in his throat. That damn Schuldig! The orange-red gryphon had found his way to the top of Eitiene's most wanted list. If he wasn't dead by the time Lord Saheal was released, then Eitiene would ask the Dark Lord to do it for him. Then Schuldig would be begging for death.

Between Schuldig and Ken, Eitiene had suffered enough humiliation to ruin his reputation! And Eitiene would see to it personally that both of them suffered greatly. He just needed to figure out how to do it without letting Makoto, or, even worse, Lunaria, know. Both of them were foolishly convinced that, the emerald scout, at least, had more value for them alive than dead.

And both Makoto and Lunaria treated him as if he were an idiot or fool. Hadn't it been himself, Eitiene, who had found the Keystone half after it had been missing for over fifteen years? Was he not one of their best trackers? And they were tossing him to the side, leaving him out of their planning sessions, because of the unexpected attack by some random gryphon that had the gall to attack him? If he'd been ready for the attack, he'd've been fine!

But did Makoto believe him? No. Expect the unexpected, Makoto said. You should've been able to defeat him, whether you expected him or not, the twilight drake had said.

But what did that little drake know. Schuldig must have been from the old school, judging from the attacks he had used. That would make the disgusting red gryphon at least 1200 years old if not older. No one could beat a student of the old school unprepared, no one. Not even the dark lord himself.

Tracing a finger along the topmost of the five scars, Eitiene made a grim vow. He would make that sparrow pay for what he had done to his beautiful face.

~*~*~

Ken gave Yohji a searching look. "And you are absolutely sure you want to do this? I mean, once activated I can't undo your powers again."

Yohji snorted. "Kenken, it sounds like you're trying to talk me out of this. I made up my mind, and if, by any freak chance, I should not like my powers, I just won't use them. That simple."
Ken nodded. "Alright, if you say so, Yotan."

Looking over his shoulder the green drake made sure that no one was in sight. Closing his eyes he changed into his dragon form and looked up at Yohji, who looked like he was fighting laughter.

Ken asked, cocking his head.

Yohji's eyes teared up and finally he gave in, laughing uncontrollably. "Oh my God... Ken... you, you are so... tiny!"

--TINY!?-- Ken squawked, outrage in his mental voice.

"Tiny is good, this way he can hide from sight easily." Farfarello commented.

--At least one person who sees the advantage of smaller bodysizes.-- Ken muttered. --Now Yohji, I need you to relax and open your mind.--

Yohji sat down in the grass, brushing mirth out of his eyes. "If I relax any more I'll melt. Let's get on with this."

Ken nodded and fixed his sea-blue eyes on Yohji, staring intensely. This went on for quite a few minutes before the smaller drake slightly sagged into himself. Aya was at his side instantly, giving as much support as he could. Ken gave the tall man a grateful look. --I'll be alright in a sec. This spell just takes a lot out of the caster is all.--

Omi looked at Yohji. "So, feeling any different?"

Yohji looked thoughtful. " Actually, no. Ken, are you sure you did that spell right?"

Ken glared at him. --You are not supposed to feel anything yet. And how would you know whether or not I did anything wrong, after all, you're as dense to magic as a…. a… human!--
Yohji gave Ken a no-duh look. "What do you think I am Kenken?"

--You're NOT pure you idiot!--

Next to them Schuldig chuckled. "I'd say THAT'S a given."

"I don't think this is the time to discuss Yohji's private life." Omi said, blushing furiously.

"Anyway," said Ken, now back to his human form. "let's see what powers you have Yotan."
Yohji raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking abou… Aya… WHAT ARE YOU DO-"
SPLASH!!!!!!!!!!

Aya grinned and stepped back from the lake he had just pushed Yohji into. "What better way to test his powers than letting him take a dive."

Behind him the rest of the group just smirked.

~*~*~

Yohji's immediate anger at Aya was replaced by sudden panic as water started to fill his lungs. He needed to get back up fast but his soaked clothes started to pull him down deeper into the dark water. After struggling for a few minutes he suddenly realized that he didn't feel the burn of asphyxiation but he actually felt quite comfortable.

'Well, looks like I really CAN breathe underwater.' Yohji looked up, seeing the last rays of the setting sun dancing over the surface. 'This is actually quite fun.'

//Is that a twolegged landling?//

Yohji spun around. 'What the heck?'

//Can't be, he's been down here for far too long, he'd be dead.//

//But what is it then?//

'Damn… I need to ask Schuldig how to talk telepathically.' Yohji thought. He watched the fish swimming by, seeming to be much more comfortable around him. 'So they are like humans, afraid of what they don't know.'

//It sure looks human.//

//But it can't be, can't you feel it breathing?//

//Of course I can.//

Yohji smirked and watched them as they passed judgment. 'This is SO cool.'

~*~*~

'I can't believe how stupid he is.' Eitiene thought to himself as he watched the group of young men standing by the lake. 'Last time I only managed to spot him because his friend changed into his true form. Of course I would sense him, too.'

Straightening his leather jacket he dug his hands into the pockets and casually strolled over to the group. 'I don't know how humans can be so comfy. No natural insulation, no natural weapons… they basically serve themselves on a golden platter for any hunter.'

Upon reaching the group, he leaned forward and mimicked them watching the water. After a few more minutes of silence, he straightened again and cocked his head at the group. "Wha's so interestin'n th' lake fellas? Did'yer lose somthin' 'mport'nd?" He asked, using a way of talking he had heard a while ago.

The red-head, Schuldig, shook his head and slowly looked up. "No, not really, it's just…" He froze. "Oh shit…"

~*~*~

'Okay, enough fun for today. I bet the others are wondering what I'm doing down here' Twisting his body with a grace he never knew he possessed, he headed back towards the surface.

Shortly before he broke through he noticed something weird going on up there. It seemed like someone was attacking the guys. Yohji narrowed his eyes. 'Just wait till I get there.'

With his newly gained abilities, Yohji reached the surface in no time and literally jumped out of the water and unto the shore. 'Oh wow, that must look so cool. Now to get to that ass who is messing with my friends.'

But midstep he suddenly collapsed, coughing violently. 'Oh crap.'

~*~*~

After Schuldig's first reaction of seeing Eitiene, the slate gryphon hadn't wasted time attacking. Using a simple energy spell, he knocked out the group, well almost, Schuldig and the red-haired drake had managed to dodge the blast, but that was all for the better. He had special plans for that red-haired sparrow that had scratched him so badly.

The drake proved to be a fiery spirit, a second after his spell had worn off he had charged forward, fists raised. Eitiene had taken care of him quickly by knocking him over the head with the hilt of his sword. The human weapon had turned out to be quite useful in this body.

Laughing darkly he turned to face Schuldig. "Well well well sparrow, we meet again. I really have to thank you, I received your present from the last fight." His features darkened. "However, I have to say I didn't really appreciate your rearranging my facial features. I was beautiful enough from the start."

Schuldig's snarled. "To bad my claws didn't go deep enough to take care of you. I really regret being nice to you and spare your pathetic life." And with that Schuldig charged, using all he had for a full blown body slam.

Eitiene grinned, Schuldig had reacted as he had expected and this time he knew a way to counter the attack. Crouching, low he waited for the perfect moment and shot up, grabbing Schuldig by the throat. In this body, Eitiene proved to have a great advantage over Schuldig. Built more massive and about a head taller than the redhead, he lifted Schuldig off the ground easily.

The German's eyes went wide with surprise, the damned peacock had found a weakness in his attacks. --Damn you!--

"Oh I don't think I'll be damned, since I'm not the one to die. You, however, will go straight to hell, little sparrow."

--Don't call me sparrow!-- Schuldig narrowed his eyes, trying to claw at Eitiene's hands.
Suddenly, with a splashing noise another man appeared out from the water. Eitiene glared at the intruder and wondered if it would be too much trouble to take him out. But before he could do anything, the young man collapsed, hacking up water violently. 'Pathetic….'

Eitiene turned back to Schuldig, "Time to die, little sparrow, oh, and don't worry, I'll take really good care of that green scout and the Keystone, I promise." With that his grip on Schuldig's throat tightened.

'Verdamt! Nicht so, ich kann nicht so sterben!' (Damn! Not like this, I can't die like this.) Schuldig fought for air, knowing that it would be over soon. Closing his eyes he willed his body to relax and then… the hand on his neck was gone and he could breathe freely again. Crashing to the ground, he took a sweet deep breath and looked up, his eyes widening.

~*~*~

Yohji muttered under his breath finally able to breath again. 'That just was craptacular. I hope I won't have to go through that every time I take a dive.'

Pushing himself up he took in the situation.

To his right Schuldig was struggling against a man that Yohji didn't recognize, but that didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was that the stranger was holding the German off the ground by his neck. Schuldig struggled one last time and then let his arms drop as if surrendering.

"Time to die, little sparrow, oh, and don't worry, I'll take really good care of that green scout and the Keystone, I promise."

Out of reflex Yohji attacked, releasing his wire from his watch instinctively. In less than a second he had the thin metal wrapped around the strangers throat, pulling him back violently. Startled the man dropped his victim and his hands shot up to his own neck, trying to get a hold of the wire that was choking him.

Yohji ignored those futile movements and looked at Schuldig, making sure that he hadn't been too late. Luckily the German was still breathing, in fact, he was directly looking at him with wide eyes.

--Yohji, finish him! That's Eitiene's human form. If he gets away again he'll just cause us more trouble. KILL HIM!--

Just then Yohji could feel a tingling as if someone had connected him to a small battery . Looking down at Eitiene he saw the man's hands raised and aimed at Schuldig, a small ball of glowing white energy forming. There was no doubt in Yohji's mind that this little missile was deadly, and that Schuldig, in his current state, would not be able to escape this attack in any way. Using his reflexes and instincts, developed from being an assassin for so long, Yohji pulled the wire tight and snapped it back, breaking Eitiene's neck in an instant.

Letting the body drop to the floor he walked over to Schuldig and rested a hand on the German's back. "Are you alright."

Schuldig nodded breathlessly. --Yeah, just a little out of breath. I'll be back up in a sec, I don't know about the others though. They got knocked out by that energy blast. Crawford and Omi have been the closest to him, I don't think they came to serious harm, or let's say, I hope they didn't.--

~*~*~

His head felt like it was going to explode. Opening his eyes he looked around and realized that he was in his room. Funny, the last thing he remembered was being at the park with Schwarz and his comrades. Then a stranger had shown up, unsettling Schuldig and after that... he had woken up in his room. Strange.

The door opened and he turned his head, wincing as it intensified the pounding in his head.
"So Schuldig was right," Nagi's voice came from the door. "I thought he was joking when he said you woke up."

Omi smiled and sat up, slowly. "How long was I out?"

Nagi shrugged and closed the door behind him, using his telekinesis to turn the small lamp that was placed on the computer desk. "A little over 24 hours. Schuldig said that was quite usual, since you and Crawford had been closest to the blast."

Omi frowned. "Blast? I'm sorry, but I'm totally lost."

"Eitiene was the one that attacked us. He was out for revenge on Schuldig, but in the end it was Yohji who took care of him."

The older boy nodded, thinking hard. "I see. I just wonder how he spotted us..."

Nagi sat down in the computer chair, resting his arms on the back. "The way Schuldig explained it he must have felt Ken change. He must have been able to sense magic or something like that. From what Aya said, dragons, gryphons and the like stand out like magical beacons in the calm sea of human ignorance."

Omi snorted. This was all too complicated to understand from one day to the next. Heck, about two weeks ago or so he had believed dragons and other mystical creatures to be fairy-tales, nothing more. He really needed to sit down and think this whole thing through thoroughly. But not right now, with this headache.

As if Nagi had sensed his thoughts he got up from the chair and walked over to Omi. "You better get some rest, Crawford is sleeping again, too. He woke up about an hour ago and Schuldig made sure he went straight back to sleep. You want me to get you an aspirin?"

Omi nodded and watched as Nagi left the room before settling down into the mattress. It felt good to have a friend. Not that Ken, Aya and Yohji weren't his friends, they were actually more than that. They were his family. But they weren't the same like a friend that was close to his age, like Nagi was.

Lost in thoughts like this Omi didn't notice when drowsiness overcame him. By the time Nagi came back with a glass of water and the pain-medication Omi had already fallen asleep.

Smiling, Nagi left the water and the medicine on Omi's night-stand and with a last glimpse at the teen, Nagi tiptoed out of the room.

~*~*~

Ken sat on the windowsill, staring out at the city. A city which never slept, not even at one in the morning. The others were all asleep this late at night, well, all except Yohji. The tall blonde had done his best to make up for the time he had been more or less imprisoned in the Schwarz apartment. He was out clubbing and most likely wouldn't be back until three or later.

He let his eyes wander through the room and to the door that led to the hallway. The house was silent, leaving Ken to his musing. After talking to Schuldig he had come to understand that it had been his transformation that had led Eitiene right to them. It was his magic that had shown the rouge gryphon the way like a light-tower would lead a ship to the safety of a harbor.

Ken buried his head in his knees. It had been his fault that Schuldig had almost been killed. Luckily Yohji had managed to rescue the German, otherwise Farfarello would have hacked him to pieces the moment he had woken up, Ken had no doubt in that. And on top of that Crawford and Omi had been hurt too. Granted, there hadn't been any kind of physical injury, but they both had had a big headache for about a week. And all that just because he hadn't been more careful.

"There you are."

Ken jumped at the sudden noise and turned around to see Aya leaning against the doorframe, wearing nothing but boxer-shorts. "Aya, by the lady, you startled me."

"Now you know how I felt when I woke up and you weren't in your bed." Aya said evenly, walking over to him. "What's wrong Ken? You're usually not a night person."

"I couldn't sleep," admitted Ken, once more gazing out the window. "Too many things I need to think about."

Aya frowned. "What things?"

Ken shrugged. "All sorts of stuff. My life, the future, the past and... and how thanks to my stupidity the Keystone is in pieces, my Kin is trapped, and even worse, how I almost got my friends killed."

Aya shook his head and sighed. "Are you still blaming yourself for this Ken?"

"Who else is there to blame? I should have known that Eitiene could sense my magic. It was stupid of me to change-"

"Ken," Aya interrupted him. "There was no way you could have known. There aren't many of us who can sense powers the way Eitiene could. What happened isn't your fault. So stop beating yourself up about it."

Ken shook his head sadly. "I still think I should have noticed. After all, he managed to find me after I reclaimed the Keystone for my Kin. And then he was there once you changed, the signs were as clear as daylight Aya."

"Will you shut up Ken!" Aya said a little harsher than he had meant to. "How often do we have to tell you that this isn't your fault." He narrowed his eyes. "Or is this what you want? To be pitied and have all the attention focused on you."

Ken stared at his friend wide eyed. "I... you... Do you really believe what you just said." He rose to his feet shakily, his hands clenched into tight fists as he tried to control his anger. "Do you really believe I'm that self centered to want to be the constant center of attention!?"

Aya's eyes narrowed. Of all the guys around him, Ken was the closest to him, but right now the you man was more than just annoying him. "It certainly seems that like it with the way you've been acting the last week."

Ken glared at Aya, trying to keep his voice level as his eyes stung with unshed tears. "How dare you accuse me of putting myself before my Kin or my friends. You have no idea of how hard it is to be separated from them for about 15 years!" Hot tears ran down his cheeks and he brushed them away angrily. "And who are you to judge me anyway. You don't know me, you don't know me at all!"

Already Aya regretted his harsh words. He hadn't meant to hurt Ken in any way. His temper had gotten a better of him and now he had hurt the trust the young scout had had in him. Maybe even beyond repair. He sighed and reached for him. "Ken-kun, I'm so-"

"Don't you dare!" Ken snapped, slapping Aya's hand away. The blue eyes narrowed. "I don't need support or pity from someone who thinks that low of me!"

And before Aya could stop him Ken rushed out of the room. He headed straight for the little wardrobe in the hallway, blindly groping for the next-best coat and was out of the door.

~*~*~

WHAM!!!

Aya winced as the door slammed into its lock. 'Great going Aya.' He scolded himself.

"What the fuck is wrong with you guys! There're people in this house that are trying to sleep!"
Schuldig glared at Aya, his hair messy from sleep.

Aya growled, this was definitely not his night. The German looked at him questioningly. He narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Schuldig crossed his arms. "I'm waiting for an explanation for this late night ruckus."

Aya shook his head. "Ken and I had... a misunderstanding."

Schuldig looked a little surprised. "Oh? And where is our baby-drake?"

"He stormed out." Aya said flatly.

Schuldig's eyebrows shot all the way up to his hairline. "Are you telling me our baby-drake is out there, all by himself, with half of the Dark Kin out looking for him."

Aya just nodded.

Schuldig rubbed his temples eyes closed. "Verdamte Scheisse!" (Literary: Damned Shit! But since this won't make sense just think of it as a real emotional curse)

~*~*~

Ken stopped and leaned against a tree, out of breath. He didn't know for how long he had been running, but he was a good deal away from the apartment, of that he was sure. He took a deep breath and looked around, trying to figure out where he had ended up.

It didn't take him long to figure out that he was lost. He cursed under his breath. Damn that Aya, damn his own temper, damn the whole screwed up situation. Screaming with frustration Ken swung out and slammed his fist against the tree.

He gasped at the pain and slumped over, holding his throbbing limb. Sitting down at the base of the tree he looked up at the stars, his mind now painfully clear. He had screwed up major today. He had no right to be angry at Aya, however, Aya, and the others as well, had all the right in the world to be angry at him. All this time he had been busy wallowing in self pity instead of bringing forth effort to solve the situation at hand.

'Nice going Ken, you let them down the moment they needed your input the most. And then you wonder why Aya got mad at you.'

Tears of anger, this time focused on himself, threatened to spill once more, but Ken bit his lip and held them back. He wouldn't start pitying himself again, that had brought him in this situation in the first place.

Slowly he got back to his feet, looking around again. But the situation hadn't changed, he was still lost. He frowned. "Alright Ken, time to show why you've been made Morning's Glory's best scout." He muttered to himself. "What kind of scout would I be if I couldn't even trace my own way back home?"

But to retrace his own steps in a city like Tokyo he needed at least a little magic, there was no other way. 'I should be fine as long as I change only partly.' He thought and looked over his shoulder. 'And this time, the others aren't with me so I can't risk them either.'

Standing up straight Ken took a tight hold on his changing magic and slowly let go of his human guise. The moment he felt that he could reach his magic more freely his held his transformation right at that point. 'From here it should be easy.'

Reaching inside his innermost being he drew into his own power and conjured the simplest tracking spell he knew.

--Ken!? Ken is it really you!?--

Caught completely off guard by the mental inquiry Ken stumbled backwards and landed squarely on his behind. Someone had spotted him, again? But how?

Ken's eyes widened considerably as an indigo drake landed right in front of him, craning his neck to be able to look right into Ken's eyes. --Don't tell me you have forgotten me already Ken.--

Swallowing dryly Ken reached out as if to touch the small drake, but stopped short right in front of the snout. "Ma-Makoto?"

~*~*~

"Of all the millions of other things in the world you could have said to him, Aya, you had to go and question his draconic loyalty?! And to his Kin!?" Schuldig yelled, "Honestly, Fujimiya, I would have thought you had more sense than that!"

Aya didn't reply to Schuldig's harangue, instead choosing to examine the extremely interesting stains on the floor. When the silence became unbearable, Aya spoke, "Crawford doesn't see anything bad…"

"Brad," spit out Schuldig, "is not as versed in all the possibilities as you or I. And you know very well the limitations of the present oracles!"

Aya had no response to that, because it was true. And he knew Ken, better than either of these three…nobody was better at finding seemingly impossible trouble than Weiss's very own Siberian.

"Schuldig, calm down," suggested Crawford, "I believe Aya has realized what a mindless troglodyte he's been recently. Yelling at him any further will only make him feel like a worthless pixie, when we are going to need him operating at peak performance."

Before Aya could respond to the double insult, Farfarello decided to put in his two cents worth.
"Don't you think that instead of sitting here wasting time, we ought to go look for the little lost drakeling?"

Everyone stared at the crazed Irishman.

"Best thing I've heard all night," said Schuldig, glaring at Aya, "but I suggest we let Nagi and Omi sleep still…two teens are going to look out of place this late at night, and somebody should get a good night's sleep."

The other two agreed, and the group got up to put on their shoes. Before they could head towards the hall, they heard the door open and close.

"That must be Yohji," mused Crawford, "If he's not too drunk, we should recruit him for our search."

"Oh, man, Maki, just wait 'till you meet the guys! You'll love'em!" Ken's voice rang down the halls, confusing the four would-be searchers.

Deeper laughter, "I'm sure I will, Midori. After all, any friends of yours are friends of mine."

"What the-?" Aya mouthed to Schuldig. The telepath just shrugged.

At that moment, Ken practically fell into the room, tripping another someone, and the pair landed in a heap on the floor. The stranger was a well built male, with long platinum blonde hair held in a shoulder-length ponytail and the deepest indigo eyes Aya had ever seen on a person.
"Oh, hi guys!" said Ken, cheerily staring up at the group, "What's up?"

"Are you alright, Kenken?" asked Schuldig.

"Never better, why do you ask?"

"Well, that idiot over there-" began Farfarello, pointing at Aya.

"Oh, him," said Ken, frowning for a moment, "no big deal, right? I'm back, after all!"

"So we see," began Crawford, staring at the stranger, "And you've brought back a friend."

"Oh, yeah, umm…." Began Ken, pushing himself to his feet. "This is Makoto."

The tall blonde pushed himself up, standing proprietarily near Ken. "Just Makoto, Midori-chan?" he purred, sounding hurt.

Ken blushed, "I am not a girl, Maki!"

"I know that, Midori. I know that very well…"

Ken's blush, if possible, deepened, leaving the others with little doubt as to Ken's relationship with this "Makoto" character.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" asked Aya, staring at Makoto.

"Well, yes…I guess I should, shouldn't I?" said Ken, flustered, "Um…Maki, this is Aya, Schuldig, Crawford, and Farfarello. Guys, this is Makoto. He's…kinda…well... Whenwewerelittlehisfatherandmyfatherdecidedthatanalliancebetweenourfamilies wouldbeverybeneficialandsohe'smychosenfromwhenIwaslittleandstilllivingwitht heKin!" He said, taking a deep, deep breath.

Silence.

"HE'S YOUR WHAT!?" yelled Aya, completely losing his cool.

"I'm his Chosen," replied Makoto, pulling Ken against him. "Aya, is it? Calm down. You look like you're going pop a vein."

Fortunately, Nagi and Omi chose that moment to race into the room, "What's going on? We heard shouting and we…" They stopped, staring at the tableau. First they stared at Aya, then at Makoto and Ken, and then back at Aya.

"What's going on?" asked Omi, very obviously confused, "Ken-kun…who is that?"

"Hey, Omitichi," said Ken, stepping away from Makoto, "What are you two doing out of bed?"

"Like we said earlier, we heard shouting…" Nagi trailed off, "We were worried."

"Nothing to worry about-," Ken reassured them.

"Just Kenken bringing over his uninvited fiancé," ground out Aya, earning a glare from the younger drake.

For the third time that night, the room was covered in silence.

"Fiancé?!" shrieked Omi, "What? I mean…I'm confused…"

"Don't worry," said Schuldig, "You're not the only one. I think Aya's the only one of us actually understood Ken's explanation…"

"This," Aya gestured towards Makoto, "is Ken's Chosen."

"And that means…" asked Schuldig.

"Ken is my mate," Makoto smiled pleasantly.

"It was an arranged union," explained Ken, "for the benefit of both our families."

"And of course, you're always the dutiful son, aren't you Ken," asked Aya, somewhat sarcastically.

"What's your problem, anyway, Aya?" asked Makoto, "You're a drake…you should understand the importance of duty."

"What about one's duty to oneself?" returned Aya, "Are we not duty-bound to try and find our own paths in life?"

"What's wrong with getting some help from your family?" Makoto challenged, meeting Aya's glare with one of his own.

The rest of the room watched the silent duel of wills, not certain how to stop this senseless bickering. Ken had it the worst of them all, like everybody else he sensed there was a tension between the two drakes, but unlike the others he had no clue at all to what had caused this misunderstanding.

Before anything bad could happen, the group heard the front door open and close once more and a few seconds later a very tipsy and happy looking Yohji stumbled through the doorway.

"Hey guys, whazzup!?"

Ken jumped on the chance to break the tension, "Hey, Yotan! You're back late." The brunette jumped to help keep Yohji on his own two feet, "Why don't I help you get to bed?"

Yohji blinked but then nodded. "Thanks Ken… I always knew you've had your heart in the right place."

Ken just nodded in agreement and guided Yohji out of the living room into his bed, thankful to be away from the group.

Omi smiled. "How 'bout we take this as a clue and we ALL go back to bed?"

"I'm cool with that," grinned Makoto. "Midori and I have a lot to catch up on."

"You're not staying in the same room as 'Ken' without a chaperone." Aya growled.

Makoto narrowed his eyes. "Well, you won't stay in a room with him either, lizard."

Aya took a threatening step forward but Crawford stepped in between them hurriedly. "How about Ken just stays with Yohji tonight and you guys share a room?"

--Are you sure that's such a good idea Crawford?-- Schuldig inquired, looking doubtful.

--Do you have any better ideas?--Brad thought, knowing that the telepath would take the reply from his mind.

--No. Not really.--

Aya shot a last glare at Makoto before looking back at the others. "I don't necessarily like this, but… it beat's the idea of letting him share a room with Ken." Aya crossed his arms. 'Especially since I have the strong feeling that, if given the chance, he'd share more than just a room with Ken.'

"Whatever keeps him away from my Midori-chan," was Makoto's reply.

~*~*~

Ken had tucked Yohji into his bed, and was hesitantly standing outside his room when Schuldig came down the hall way.

"Hey, Schu, what's up?" he asked softly.

"Well…we didn't quite get anything settled, but for tonight, you'll be rooming with Yohji. Unless, of course, you have a problem with that?" Schuldig raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Not at all, but…where is Makoto going to sleep?"

"He and Aya are going to share your room tonight."

Ken's eyes went wide, "Is that wise? I mean, they wanted to kill each other…Schuldig, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why would they hate each other? It's not like they've ever met before."

Now it was Schuldig's turn to go wide eyed. "Are you serious, Kenken?"

Ken huffed, "Would I ask if I weren't? I mean, it doesn't make any sense…"

"On the contrary," replied Schuldig, "it makes perfect sense. If I recall, drakes, as well as being very loyal, are also known for being…how shall I put this…protective…of the things they consider theirs."

Ken rolled his eyes, "I know that, Schu. After all, I am a drake!"

Schuldig suppressed his laughter, "I know that, Kenken…it's just…nevermind. Just go to sleep. I'll explain things when you're old enough, drakeling."

Ken protested as Schuldig pushed him back into Yohji's room, "I am not a baby!"

"Yeah, right," replied Schuldig, laughter threatening to bubble up, "I believe you, Kenken. Yup, that's it. I believe you."

"No, you don't!" Ken glared at Schuldig, "C'mon, quit treating me like a hatchling!"

"Kenken," began Schuldig, "I'll stop treating you like one when you're not one anymore. Now go to bed." And with that, Schuldig firmly pulled Yohji's door shut.

~*~*~

Crawford rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. He looked up and noticed Schuldig standing outside of Yohji's room.

"Hey," began Schuldig, "any problems?"

"Not since I brought this out with me," said Brad, showing Schuldig Aya's katana. "Makoto didn't trust Aya with it there. You?"

"Not really." At Crawford's look, Schuldig explained, "I don't think Ken really wanted to see either one of them tonight. He's so naïve, it's sweet."

"Who, Ken?" asked Brad.

"Got it in one, fearless leader," laughed Schuldig, "He has absolutely no clue as to why the two were fighting tonight. Tell me, Brad, do you think this is going to be a problem?"

"I don't know…I always though that Aya and Ken had a thing going," mused Brad.

"You and me both," grinned Schuldig. "Personally, I'm kinda siding with Aya on this one. I don't trust Makoto…"

"Yes, he did seem rather…possessive…" trailed Brad.

"Nah, that's just a typical draconic trait," Schuldig shook his head, "And so was Aya's reaction. For all that drakes tend to be loyal and duty-nuts, they're extremely protective-slash-possessive."

"Both?" asked Brad, eyes narrowed in thought.

"Not usually." Explained Schuldig, "Usually, a drake is either really protective or really possessive." The telepath shrugged, "Anyway, I've had enough for tonight. I'm going to bed. See'ya in the morning, fearless leader."

"Goodnight, Schuldig."

~*~*~

Yohji groaned, the harsh sunlight causing his hungover self to suffer an intense headache.

"Somebody, please turn th'light off…" he mumbled, before pulling the covers firmly over his head.

The pain-filled muttering woke Ken, who had been curled up on the floor. Schuldig had kindly brought the emerald scout a sleeping bag, having been told the unexaggerated tales of Yohji's sleeping habits.

"Huh?" Ken muttered intelligently, "Where am I? This isn't my room…" Ken looked around, blushing at the various items he saw. 'That's right,' the soccer player thought to himself, 'I spent the night in Yotan's room.'

Ken pushed himself to his feet, smelling the breakfast that someone was preparing. Thinking, he remembered that it was Aya's turn to cook…Aya's omelets-yummy!

"Yohji, wake up!" Ken shook the mass of blankets he thought was the playboy. "Yohji, it's time for breakfast!"

"Just five more minutes, mommy…"

Ken rolled his eyes. Taking the blankets firmly in hand, he gave them a harsh tug, "Yotan, it's morning, and Aya's making omelets!"

"What?" asked Yohji, finally opening his eyes, "Who's doing what with the where?"

Ken shook his head, smiling at his hungover friend. "Aya's making omelets with the eggs in the kitchen, now come on!"

"I'm up, I'm up," said Yohji, from where he landed on the floor, "Yukon, Ken, you really need to work on your people skills."

Ken laughed, "Just because you're drunk, that gives you no excuse to blame your headache on me! Now come on, let's go get breakfast."

~*~*~

"Morning," Ken greeted his friends cheerfully as he walked into the kitchen, followed by a tattered looking Yohji.

The rest of the group was already in the kitchen, either seated around the large table, raiding the fridge, or leaning against the counter. A typical morning scene, except...

"Morning, Midori," said Makoto as he walked over to Ken, pulling the smaller man into a gentle embrace. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept alright besides the fact that the floor was rather cold." Ken blushed furiously and politely freed himself from Makoto's arms before sitting down in his usual place. Aya wa glaring at him, making Ken wonder what he had done now. But instead of saying anything the redhead just turned back to the stove.

Crawford sat his coffee mug down. "Don't worry Ken, tonight you'll have a mattress."
Ken blinked. "Huh?"

Yohji frowned. "You saying he's gonna bunk with me now?"

Crawford nodded.

A clang made them all turn and face a furious looking Aya. "Are you telling me that I'll have to keep sharing a room with this!?" He pointed at Makoto.
The other drake had about the same facial expression as Aya. "Hey! It's not like I'm happy about this arrangement either!"

Yohji looked at them. "Would you mind explaining this to me? What's going on and.... who's this?" He pointed at Makoto.

Aya growled. "Well, if someone wouldn't have been out all night, trying to find a one-night-stand and getting drunk off his ass he would know what's going on here."

Yohji raised a calming hand. "Chill Aya. No need to bite my head off."

The older assassin sat down next to Crawford and sighed. "Man, he sure is in a pissy mood this morning."

Crawford just gave Yohji a funny look before opening the newspaper, telling everybody that at this moment they better had a darn good reason if they disturbed him.

Yohji frowned. 'What is it with everybody?'

~*~*~

Lunaria had decided to call it a night. She had been spooking humans dreams all night long and she decided that she deserved a rest. But just as she had laid down she could hear someone calling her name.

--Who is it and what do you want?-- Thee nightmare asked, somewhat disgruntled.

--Better watch your tongue Naria.-- Makkoto's voice was faint but there.

--Makoto? Where by the Dark Lord are you?-- The nightmare asked, not bothering getting up. Right now she was way too comfortable.

--I'm with Ken.--

If Lunaria could have frowned in this body she would have. --And that is supposed to tell me what exactly?-- She asked, trying to keep her annoyance out of her mental tone. --For your information Makoto, not everybody is interested in your private life.--

--Don't be ridiculous!-- Makoto snapped. --Ken is the name of the scout who currently guards the second half of the Keystone.--

That caught Lunaria's interest. --How did you manage to get to him?--

Makoto's voice was smug. --Let's just say, he and I are old acquaintances.--

--Oh really?-- said Lunaria, her curiosity at its peak. --How so?--

--Our fathers both decided that it would be a smart thing to unify our families. So we were promised to each other.-- Makoto explained.

Lunaria chuckled. --And you're really planning to stick with that ancient decision?--
Makoto snorted. --Don't make me laugh Naria. I'm long past listening to my father. Ken is, however, quite a beauty. I think I'll keep him.--

Lunaria rolled her eyes. What was it with drakes and their possessiveness. --Whatever you do, make sure you get the Keystone. That is our priority.--

--I am aware of that you...--

Lunaria frowned, what had caused Makoto to pause when he was about to go into a full rant?

--I have to leave it at this for now. Someone's coming. I'll talk to you as soon as I have some sort of progress.-- And with that Makoto's presence was gone.

Lunaria sighed. So much for taking a nap. She had to report this development to the Lady Miaka right away.

~*~*~

Aya was, to put it in Yohji's words, in a pissy mood. And to make matters worse, he didn't really understand why. Makoto was Ken's Chosen, and Ken really seemed to like the other drake, so Aya should be happy for the young scout. There hadn't been many good things happening to Ken lately, so this change should have been welcome. Right?

The problem was that Aya's instincts were all flashing red alert every time Makoto was around. Something about the other drake didn't seem right, and Aya knew that the others agreed with him. Ken was the only one in the group who didn't think that it was fishy for Makoto to show up at a time like this. The young scout was just too happy to be with someone of his own Kin again.

After the group had explained Yohji what had happened the night before they all had agreed to keep a close eye on their visitor. When, and Aya was pretty sure that it was 'when' and not 'if', the strange drake should reveal his true intentions they'd be ready.

'If that stupid winged lizard wants to mess with Ken he will have to get through me first. There is no way I'll let him be hurt any more.'

With that thought in mind he opened the door to his room to find Makoto sitting on Ken's bed. Aya narrowed his eyes as he noticed how Makoto's body finished to shift to its human guise.
'And what were you doing in your draconic form?' Aya mused, fixing Makoto with a glare.
The indigo eyed man glared right back. "What?"

Aya growled. "I do not yet know what you're up to. But if I were you I'd be careful. Ken might be blind to what you're doing, but the others and me aren't. Once we figure out-"

"Is that at threat?" Asked Makoto, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, Makoto of the Morning's Glory, this is a promise." Aya answered, a grim smile on his lips.

~*~*~

Day's passed quickly and soon a certain routine settled over the apartment again. Now no one paid heed anymore when Aya and Makoto were lost in a heavy battle of insults or Ken complained about Yohji's impossible sleeping habits. Life was just going its normal way, or, as normal as it was possible for a group that had four mystical creatures living with them.

"Nagi's cooking skills sure have improved haven't they?" Schuldig asked, pointedly ignoring the argument going on to his left.

Crawford nodded. "Looks like Omi is a real good teacher."

"Yep, next to Aya he is the best cooks in Weiss." Yohji agreed.

Farfarello grinned. "I don't have a hard time believing that considering what you did to our old kitchen it's a miracle anyone lets you get close to any appliances at all." Yohji gave the Irishman a nasty look. "It's not my fault that I never cooked with gas before. And if I remember correctly, weren't you the one who broke four blenders the first week we moved in here?"

"Calm down you two," mediated Crawford. He didn't want another argument to break out at the table. One was enough. "Besides, shouldn't we be trying to figure out what to do about the Keystone?"

"Probably," agreed Schuldig, "but how are we supposed to do that, with dumb and dumber over there, trading insults? It's a wonder Ken just doesn't dump the pair of them."

"Besides, which," broke in Yohji, "Maki won't let us drag Ken away for a team meeting."

"Well, Maki will just have to deal with that, won't he?" asked Schuldig evilly.

"Agreed," decided Crawford, turning to the fight, "Makoto, Aya, if you will please act your age and quit hurling grade-school insults at each other, we'd like to have a team meeting."

The pair quieted down, "Sure thing," said Makoto smoothly, "I'd like to know what you are planning to do to keep my Chosen safe."

"You," said Aya coldly, "are not a member of our team."

Before Makoto could reply to that, Ken broke in, "Technically, he's right, Maki."

"Don't you trust me, Midori-chan?" asked Makoto, sounding hurt.

"It's not that I don't trust you," Ken temporized, "but..."

"I see how it is," Makoto said, leaving the room, "Don't worry, Ken. I do understand."

Ken glared at the others after Makoto left. "I know you guys don't trust him, but would it honestly be that bad to include him a little?"

"Yes," spat out Aya, glaring at Ken.

"Ken, calm down," said Yohji, "Makoto's included in a lot more than you, or he, realizes."

"Yeah, but…"

Crawford looked up at the emerald drake, "Ken…my instincts are to not trust him, and as a descendant of the Oracle, my instincts are seldom wrong."

Ken looked at his lap, "I know…but…"

"He'll get over it, Kenken, don't worry," said Yohji, "but, now that he's out of the way, I think we ought to have a little strategy meeting."

Omi pulled up his laptop, setting it on the table, "Well, we really don't have that many options. There's nowhere for us to go with the Keystone. If we're going to eliminate this threat, we're going to have to do a few things. One of which is to free the Kin of the Morning's Glory. We don't know anything at all about the layout, so I don't know if that is feasible or not."

"Second," took up Nagi, "Another thing we will have to do is kill Lord Saheal. I don't know about you guys, but I do not like the idea of him alive, and able to come after us at some time in the future."

"Nagi's got a point there," said Schuldig, "But I thought he was impossible to kill."

"Not impossible, Schu," said Ken, still obviously upset, "Just very, very difficult."

"How so?" inquired the telepath.

"The methods are lost to us now…" began Aya, "but the very old, powerful drakes would safeguard their lives…usually by replacing their heart with something else. I believe we already went over this."

"If we knew what to attack," continued Ken, "it would be easier."

"But we don't know, do we?" said Crawford. "Is there anyway to find out?" He looked from one drake to another. Neither Ken nor Aya knew.

"I suppose," began Ken, hesitantly, "that we could ask King Yuuto."

"Who?" asked Crawford, at the same time that Aya straightened up, "Of course!"

"King Yuuto," began Ken, "and the Kin of the Star's Rising-Aya's Kin-are traditional friends of Queen Riallara and my Kin."

"In fact," added Aya, "he may know more about this situation than we could find out in a hundred years of research. He was there when the Dark Lord first broke off ties with Riallara, which means…"

"An eyewitness account," crowed Omi, "He may even have a safe place for us to keep the Keystone half until we can get it back to Riallara!"

"Well, now," commented Schu, "things are looking up."

~*~*~

"So, where are we going?" Makoto asked, watching the guys pack up their gear.

Aya turned. "We?"

--Easy little friend. Where is your famous coolness?-- Schuldig's voice rang in his head. --There's no harm in taking him along.--

Aya narrowed his eyes at Schuldig. --No harm except him knowing where exactly my Kin is!!!!--

Schuldig winced, even though no one noticed besides Aya. --Don't yell. I can hear you well enough. And what's the big deal about Makoto knowing where your Kin is? You are willing to show Ken.--

--Yes, but I *trust* Ken!-- The redhead replied agitated.

Schuldig nodded understanding Aya's point. He wouldn't want to show his Hort to the drake either. Something was wrong about him. Even now the German still wondered how Makoto had managed to escape capture and seclusion which the rest of Ken's Kin had fallen under. Of course, he could have just been away, like out for a hunt. But the odds for that were very unlikely. No, Schuldig felt that something was up with Makoto.

Once more Schuldig cursed the fact that it was almost impossible to read a shielded mind. Naturally, all magical inclined beings learned how to shield their mind especially the more powerful ones. The stronger the magic-user the stronger the shield would be. Schuldig himself was famous for having unbreakable shields as well as being able to tear down weaker ones by will power alone. But Makoto's shields were just too resistant.

The German looked Aya eye to eye. --I don't know.... I can't sense anything he's thinking, his shields are just too strong.-- His gaze wandered to Makoto. --How about blindfolding him, like the ambassadors?--

Aya shook his head. --I don't think Makoto would agree. Not to mention that Ken would go on about treating his chosen unfair again.--

Schuldig grinned. --Then why don't you say you'll blindfold us all, but then only do it to Ken and Makoto? None of the two would know any better.--

Aya blinked before giving Schuldig a small smile. --You know, if you weren't so damn annoying at times I would consider you to be a genius.--

Schuldig's grin just widened. --Don't try to flatter me drake. Normally I don't help people, goes against my principal. But I do have my.... let's call them, sentimental, moments.--

~*~*~

As it turned out, Aya's Kin couldn't have been farther away from Tokyo if they had tried. By air it wouldn't have taken long, especially since the Sky holes were providing so many useful shortcuts. But with nine people in total and only four of them with the capability to fly the only option was going by car which would take them several hours.

After a long discussion the group decided to rent a van and set out for Aya's Kin early the next morning. The bill was courteously handed to Kritiker to be taken care of, even though it took some convincing from Schuldig and Crawford on that part. But in the end they had won the argument and the plan was set in motion.

The next day by sunrise the group left their apartment, leaving the city. Designated driver was Crawford with Yohji in the passenger seat. Next row was occupied by Aya, Ken and Makoto, while Omi, Nagi, Farfarello and Schuldig were occupying the back.

Ken had scrunched himself as small as possible between the two drakes. The tension between the two was really, really starting to bother the younger drake to the point where he didn't want anything to do with either of them. To be sure, Ken's own emotions on the point were very murky. He was bound by duty to bond with Maki, but he didn't feel with Makoto what he felt with Aya.

Makoto usually made Ken feel insignificant and unimportant. When he was with Makoto, he was always afraid of doing anything wrong or saying the wrong thing. Aya made him feel completely comfortable, even when he tripped over all those dangerous dust particles. But there were times when Makoto had made Ken feel safe and wanted. When he made Ken feel like a million bucks. And there were times when he felt Aya was disappointed in him, like Ken deliberately preformed sub-par.

And their glaring was really getting on his nerves.

"I can't wait to see the famous Kin of the Star's Rising," Makoto remarked, semi-scathingly. "I've heard soooo much about how disciplined their warriors are. Of course, I'm sure it's nothing like Morning's Glory."

"Makoto?" asked Ken, wondering what the hell the twilight drake was up to.

Aya grit his teeth and remained silent. On the one hand, he wanted to discs Makoto's Kin the same way Makoto was dissing his. On the other hand, Makoto and Ken were from the same Kin, and that would kill any chance the red drake had with the emerald scout.

Makoto saw the tightening of Aya's jaw out of the corner of his eye and grinned smugly, much like a cat who had caught the canary.

"Didn't you know, Midori-chan?" the drake asked lazily, "Star's Rising is famous for their soldiery. Of course, that's because all the drakes have time to do there is practice. There layout is nothing like our own gorgeous Kin."

"I'll admit," ground out Aya, "that Star's Rising does not have the wide variety of gardens your home Kin sports, but we are hardly the unaesthetic spinsters you paint us out to be."
Makoto raised an eyebrow. "Why is it that, among all Kins, yours and yours alone never has a bloom for the Spring Festival?"

Schuldig's eyes went wide in the backseat, and telepathically, he warned the others. --This is going to get bad. The Spring Festival is like Christmas to the drakes…Everyone wants to compete in every event-and win it, too.--

--So, Maki is insulting Aya's Kin?-- thought Yohji.

--Yes,-- replied Schuldig. --I feel sorry for Ken, stuck between them like that.--

--Maybe,-- began Crawford, --he shouldn't be. I do not see this ending well.--

Schuldig grinned to himself, "Bradley, I'm hungry!"

"Me too," complained Nagi, seeing what Schuldig was trying to do. "Can't we stop somewhere to eat?"

Crawford pretended to glance at the clock, "There should be an American restaurant up ahead. We'll stop there."

Ten minutes later, the waiters and waitresses of the 'Round the Clock 50s Style Diner were treated to the rare sight of nine-count them, nine-bishounen trying to eat breakfast with some semblance of sanity.

Poor Kenken was, again, wedged between Aya and Makoto, who were each glaring daggers at each other. Omi was next to Aya, and was having a deep, philosophical discussion with Farfarello about the merits of strawberry syrup and its use on eggs and other disgusting-sounding conversations. Next to them, Schuldig, Yohji, and Nagi were having an intense discussion about fish and there relative intelligence. Brad was just quietly drinking his coffee, trying to ignore the noise surrounding him.

"Hey, pass me the coffee." Schuldig asked.

"Sure thing." Ken replied, forcefully cheerful. "Man, American breakfast is great. That was a really good idea Crawford."

The leader of Schwarz didn't reply and Ken didn't bother to nag as he passed a cup of the black, hot liquid to the telepath.

Schuldig took it with a grin. "Looks like we need to buy foreign food more often. Aya and Makoto seem to be quiet for once."

A second later Schuldig wished he kept his mouth shut, as Aya and Makoto started to argue about the last Hashbrown.

"Leave it Aya, it's mine!" Makoto said attempting to grab the plate with the Hashbrown first.
Aya proved to have good reflexes as he took hold of the plate at the same time as Makoto and a tug-o-war started between the two.

"Hey guys, how about you just share?" Ken asked looking from one to the other. He was wedged right in between them and he knew from experience that when two were fighting the third one got hurt.

"Why?" asked Aya, glaring at Makoto. "He had two already."

"So did you!" the other defended himself, but a smug grin was plastered on his face.

Aya narrowed his eyes, not willing to give up when Makoto suddenly let go of the plate. Caught off guard Aya was sent tumbling backwards into Omi. Unfortunately, his legs bumped the table, sending hot food and coffee everywhere.

"AHHHHH!!! Hothothothot!" Ken pushed himself back away from the table, the burning coffee already scalding his thighs.

Makoto glared at Aya, while calmly gathering the smaller drake to him, "Calm down, Midori-chan. I'm sure he didn't mean it. But you know that the Star's Rising is known for having clumsy drakes."

Aya's eyes narrowed, and he pushed himself to his feet, completely ignoring Omi. The poor kid had eggs and strawberry syrup all over him.

"That is enough, Makoto," gritted out Aya, "that is more than enough, and I will not put up with you insulting my Kin any longer."

"Uh, guys…" said Yohji, glancing around. The group had already caused a large scene…they needed to make a get away.

"What are you gonna do about it?" asked Makoto, holding Ken close to him. Yohji noticed that the youngest drake looked dazed and more than a little frightened.

"Brad," Yohji whispered, "we need to stop them."

"How?" asked Crawford, "I'm open to suggestions, but I have not idea how to prevent-or rather, stop-a fight between two drakes."

"I don't know, but we need to stop them now. Ken…"

Crawford nodded, and took a deep breath. "Aya, Makoto, can we please settle this like civilized beings? Before someone gets hurt?"

"No!" the two chorused, and the next thing anyone knew, Makoto had thrown the pot of hot coffee at Aya. Aya ducked, and the pot hit Omi, scalding the young teen.

"AAAIIIIEEEE!" Omi screeched, before flinging the container of syrup at Makoto, at the same time Aya flung a glass of water. Both hit their target dead on, and, pushing Ken behind him, Makoto retaliated by dumping the contents of his plate on Aya's head.

From there on out, it was utter chaos, as food and dishes were flung from one drake to the other. Aya ducked a well aimed pancake, the man it hit retaliated by flinging a pie at Aya. Both Aya and Makoto ducked, so the pie hit Ken right in the face.

By the time the whole mess was sorted out, all of the assassins had some form of food on them. The manager of the restaurant had been contacted, and was currently involved in adding up the total damages incurred by the fight.

"Now," the man said, glaring at all of them after giving Crawford the bill, "I want the eight of you out of here, and by all that's holy, never step foot in my restaurant again."

Crawford assured the man that they wouldn't, and ushered the group out towards the van.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," said Yohji, refusing to get in.

Crawford rolled his eyes, "Not now, Yohji."

"No, no…The man said eight…but there's nine of us."

Everybody looked around…they were short one emerald scout.

~*~*~

"Lunaria? I know you are around, I need to talk to you."

The nightmare emerged out of the shadow and bowed to Miaka. "You called me Lady?"

Miaka narrowed her amber eyes and impatiently brushed a blood red lock out of her face. The drake enjoyed being in her human guise, but her long hair sometimes got in her way.

"Have you heard anything from Makoto yet?"

The nightmare shook her head, her black hair framing her face prettily. Even in her human form the nightmare had an exotic air about her self that seemed seductive and aggressive at the same time. "Not since the last message days ago my Lady. I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Miaka smiled. "You don't disappoint me Lunaria." The drake crossed her long legs radiating self-confidence. "But time is running out. Lunaria."

"Yes my Lady."

Miaka leaned forward in her seat. "I want you to find that drake and bring him here. We can't wait too much longer or we'll never be able to free Saheal."

Lunarie nodded and got up to her feat. "As you wish my Lady. I won't fail."

Miaka nodded. "I know you won't Lunaria."

Knowing a dismissal when she heard one Lunaria transformed into her true form and vanished from the great hall. She had wondered when Miaka would loose patience with Makoto and she had been surprisingly patient with him in general.

It didn't take a genius to realize that the nightmare didn't have much respect for the indigo drake. He was arrogant, foolish and by far less intelligent than he believed himself to be. On her list he came just a couple of places higher than Eitiene had been, and the now dead gryphon hadn't been worth anything in Lunaria's mind. Luckily the other gryphon, Schuldig, had taken care of that small problem.

Lunaria snorted. It was an insult that she had to work as one of Makoto's underlings, but Miaka had wanted her to spy on the drake and this was the only plausible cover the nightmare could have taken. Well, if she had any luck, this situation would change pretty soon. An evil gleam came to her eyes. Maybe, if she succeeded in getting that scout and the Keystone, the Lady Miaka would allow her to get rid of Makoto in a very special way.

~*~*~

It didn't take long for Ken to realize that staring at the clouds would not help him solve his problems. He had snuck away from the insane people he called his friends shortly after the pie had hit him in the face. Fortunately it hadn't taken him long to get cleaned up and to even more luck no whipped cream had gotten into his hair. From the bathroom he then had disappeared to the area behind the restaurant which turned out to be a small grass area, perfectly hidden. There wasn't a chance for anyone to spot him from the parking lot.

The emerald drake sighed. The tension between Aya and Makoto was wearing him down more than he cared to admit to himself. He knew that it couldn't keep going like this. If he could just find out what exactly the problem between the two drakes was.

'Well, one thing is for sure, I have to tell Makoto to stop badmouthing Aya's kin. Aya never did anything to Makoto - besides the foodfight - and his Kin has been helping Queen Riallara so much.'

Sitting up again Ken pondered if he should go back just quite yet. He knew that by now the others had realized that he was missing and most likely they worried about him. He hugged his knees, he didn't want to go back to listen to Aya and Makoto bicker again.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that someone snug up behind him until that person spoke up.

"Hello little drake. Why so alone?"

The voice was smooth as silk and lovely, but all this went unrecognized by Ken for his brain was going 100 miles per hour. There were only few that knew that he was a drake and even fewer that knew how his human disguise looked. These few were his seven friends of Weiss and Schwarz, his Kin, which were all locked in their own alcove, and Eitiene, who was dead. This only meant that this voice belonged to someone that Ken definitely didn't want to get to know closer.

Not loosing any time Ken scrambled to his feet and turned to face his opponent. The woman in front of him could definitely be classified as beautiful. Long black her and the same color eyes and a figure that other women would kill for. But all that didn't matter to Ken right now. He was more worried about the fact that this woman couldn't in any possible way be a pure human.

His fears were confirmed as the woman started to reform her body and changed into, what Ken believed to be, her true form. But when she was done changing Ken wished that this was just one of her other disguises. Of course that wasn't the case and Ken had to accept that right in front of him stood a real, living and breathing nightmare.

These creatures, not naturally evil but definitely inclined to it were capable of intruding any mind they wished no matter how shielded and cause helluva mess. Nowadays they were rare but still feared opponents, and Ken had no doubt that she was much more powerful than him.

He took a step back, frantically trying to find a way to get around her and to the others.

The nightmare took a step forward. --Why so afraid little dragon?-- There was no way anyone could miss the icy chill in her voice. --I came to fetch the Keystone.--

"Well, you can't have it. And without me changing there's no way you can get to it either." He narrowed his eyes.

--We will see about that little drake.--- Was her only reply.

Ken froze in place as he felt something intrude on his mind, going deeper into his most private thoughts. He tried to fight, but the nightmares will proved to be much stronger as she moved through his head and broke down every single barrier that he had built throughout his life. The power released was strong enough to cause him mental and physical pain and Ken did the only one he felt capable of doing. He screamed.

~*~*~

"I can't believe you lost him!"

Aya glared at Makoto, absolutely in no mood to put up with the meddling drake. "We lost him? With you practically forcing him into your lap 24/7 I'm surprised that you don't have a leash on him by now!"

Before this could break out in a fight once again Nagi stepped in between the two. "We have NO time to listen to your pointless AND endless arguing. Right now we have to find Ken and the Keystone that's with him."

"We wouldn't have to look for him if this red ape hadn't lost him!" Makoto huffed.

That was the last straw for Aya, grabbing Makoto's collar he pulled back his right fist, intending to teach the puffed up outsider a lesson or two. To everybodies disappointment it never came to that.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Everyones head snapped up.

"Didn't that sound an awfully lot like Ken?" Omi asked, his face sporting lines of worry.
A second later all eight of them were running around the restaurant were the scream came from and seven of them stopped short as they saw what exactly it was that had caused Ken to scream like that.

"What on earth is that?" Yohji asked pointing at a black horse with flaming mane and tail.

"It's a nightmare." Aya whispered, eyes wide.

Omi swallowed. "Is it really that bad?"

"No Omi," Aya said, "it's a nightmare. A mystical creature that-"

"Save the explanation for later," interrupted Schuldig. "After all, she's attacking Ken!"

Exactly that moment Ken went to his knees, his head clutched between his hands, eyes closed tightly in pain.

"Lunaria!! What by Lord Saheal are you doing!!" Makoto yelled running towards her.

--Acting on Lady Miaka's behalf. Now get your butt in gear and help me. He's almost unconscious and I know how to get to his part of the Keystone as well. Let's get back to the caves and finish this up there.-- The Nightmare turned on her rear-legs looking directly at Makoto.

The twilight drake glared at the nightmare. This hadn't been how he had planned this. But now it was too late. Lunaria had attacked and his cover was blown as well.

--GET MOVING!-- yelled Lunaria, backing away from the group until she was standing right next to Ken who by now had lost consciousness.

Not waiting another second Makoto leaped forward and grabbed Ken by the waist. He turned and grinned at Aya. "Looks like I'll get him after all!"

After throwing Ken over Lunaria's back he climbed up himself and shot a last glance at the group. "Let's go 'Naria, our job's done here."

The nightmare didn't have to be told twice. She whickered, and then leaped, creating her own skygate. She was gone in an instant leaven seven very confused looking assassins behind.
"How the hell did she do that?" Yohji asked, eyes still wide with bafflement.

Schuldig groaned. "She's a nightmare. They are one of the oldest creatures under the sun. Not even the gryphons, another of the old races, can come close to their power."

"And we have to fight that?!" Nagi asked. "Are you insane?!"

Aya glared at him. "They have Ken. And if we don't hurry they'll have the Keystone as well."

"But I thought Ken has to change to his drake form to get to it," pondered Crawford, "I don't think he'll change just because they tell him to."

Schuldig sighed. "With a nightmare on their side they can get to the Keystone without him ever waking up ever again."

~*~*~

Moon: *saves and turns off the computer*

Day: O_O WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! I WANT MY KEN BACK!!!

Moon: *holding her ears* Day! Calm down!

Ken: *behind Day* Uhm… I'm right here…

Day: *latches onto Ken* DARLING! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!!!!!

Ken: *turning blue at a rapid pace*

Moon: *shakes head and leaves the room* Nutcases, all of them.

Farf: That's not nice to say. She's your sister.

Moon: Do I look like I care??

Farf: You should.

Moon: Farf…. Shouldn't you be out hurting God, or kill people or something.

Farf: Did that yesterday, today's Sunday.

Moon: *raises eyebrow*

Farf: The day of rest.

Moon: For someone who wants to hurt God you obey his rules quite well….. anyway. See ya'll in part 4 *waves* Bye!!!!