Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Light Meets Darkness ❯ Enemies Revealed ( Chapter 5 )

Light Meets Darkness

Enemies Revealed

Disclaimer: All original characters are mine! Mine Mine Mine!

Chaosdreamer: I loved the picture of Schwarz from a convention that was sent to me by a

reviewer! I would've probably joined in at stampeding them.

Aya: You seem to have a habit of causing readers to drop their coffee mug or snort hot

coffee.

Chaosdreamer: *Winces* Don't remind me of that. I've only snorted Sprite, and man, that

was enough to last me a lifetime.

Oh! Once college is finished I'm going to be possibly working on some one-shots at request!

Nagi: Isn't that too much right now?

Chaosdreamer: It might be a while before I finish them, but I've had a lot of reviewers

who are happy with the characters and pairings so far in this fic! E-mail

me and we can discuss things! If you are not a Mediaminer member just post your request on a review, and if you want to supply an e-mail address so I can contact you to discuss the possible fic. *Laughs evilly, Weiss and Schwarz slowly

backing away*

Pairings and scenarios will be discussed seriously, since I can do any and

most pairings other than Omi/Ken or Ken/Nagi, etc.

Crawford: Why not those?

Chaosdreamer: *Sighs* Ken just doesn't seem like the type to be seme, but that's my

personal feelings. I've seen good fics with Ken/Omi and so on, but out of

all three of the guys, the only pairing I can honestly handle is Nagi/Omi or

Omi/Nagi. Any others are fine, but again, contact me and I will discuss the

possibilities!

*Starts bouncing around excitedly* Yea! Miko no Tears and Aya is doing

well with the fanart!

Yohji: What is she going to do?

Chaosdreamer: *grins mischievously* You'll have to ask for yourself.

All of Weiss and Schwarz: *Hey!*

Chaosdreamer: *ignores the peanut gallery* On with the fic!

In the center of the darkness, a small light appeared, beckoning Ken towards it. He squinted against the sheer brightness of the light, wanting to reach up and shield his eyes yet finding that he couldn't move his body. It was if he was hovering within an endless void, the darkness around him embracing him with perverse pleasure, leeching off of the warmth of his body. In desperation he gave himself a physical and mental jolt. "Wake up! This isn't real!"

Suddenly the darkness was awash with merciless streaks of white that tore through the phantom arms of darkness that greedily held him back from waking up. He was hurled forward into the pinpoint of light, the darkness behind him moaning its loss and begging for him to return to its cold embrace. Ken huddled away from the whispering shadows and continued to fall forward, the light engulfing him within its warmth and soothing promises of awakening.

Slowly the sting of bright light began to tickle the edges of his closed eyes, forcing Ken into consciousness, relieving him from the recesses of the darkness of his mind. He groaned softly, a faint inkling of pain at the back of his neck.

:Jeez, I'm starting to wonder if I have a sign on my forehead that says 'Kidnap me, I enjoy it!' I've gone through enough of this crap to last me several years: Slowly and carefully Ken pushed himself up to hover in a pushup position, his arms shaking slightly from the effort to hold himself up. That surprised Ken, since he knew for a fact that he was certainly not out of shape and that he had only needed to lift himself up by at least five inches.

:Strange, I feel so weak…my limbs feel weighed down: With an indignant grunt Ken forced himself up into a sitting position, the bed beneath him shifting from the sudden change of position.

Bed?

Ken almost gave himself whiplash as he twisted his head around to check out where the hell he was. The bed beneath him was large, far bigger than that of a king size. It took up a large portion of a brick wall opposite of a large wooden door on the other side of the room, thick black fabric hanging from several spots above the bed. The headboard was a deep cherry wood that looked as if it was brand new, the crimson and black sheets and pillows enriching the small threads of gold laced within the wood.

There was no other furniture in the room other than the bed, and lying next to Ken was-

"Omi!" Ken bolted to his limp friend's side, checking for a pulse and rewarded with the steady beat of life in his friend's body. Omi groaned faintly, his eyes flickering open briefly, the light seeming to hurt his soft blue eyes just as it had done with Ken.

"Ken-kun, I don't feel so good." Omi whispered, trying to push himself up as Ken but having a harder time getting various limbs to concede with his desire to move in a specific way. Ken helped Omi into a seated position, making sure his friend was as comfortable as he could get.

Omi winced as he touched a sore spot of his head courtesy of his fall onto the pavement sometime earlier, his bangs falling down to briefly obscure his eyes. "We didn't do so well, did we, Ken-kun?"

"Did you hit any of our attackers with your darts?" Ken asked, curious to see if he friend had at least injured one assailant.

Omi shook his head minutely, careful to avoid any further pain by jolting his head any further. "No. I managed to throw at least four darts, but they dodged all of them as if the darts were just hanging still in the air."

"Were they using illusions to make themselves look like they were moving faster than they really were?"

"No. It was raw speed, no mind tricks necessary."

That didn't comfort Ken. If what Omi said was true, and Ken could say that the younger assassin was likely a hundred percent correct, then it appeared that their attackers didn't have any need for abilities beyond their natural physical capabilities in order to take either assassin down under a minute's time. Their attackers were obviously not human, given their speed and the general 'feel' of them, but something about their assailants put them and an entirely different level than that of Weiss or Schwarz. Ken was sure that he'd rather not deal with anyone outside of Schwarz, given that Schwarz was a handful all on its own.

Muffled laughter pulled Ken out of his thoughts, the older assassin taking notice that Omi was desperately trying to smother laughter, his cheeks tinted pink from the effort.

"What?!" Ken demanded, not really seeing what was so funny in their position, given the fact that they had just been kidnapped and had no idea where they were.

"Your clothes, Ken-kun."

:Eh?: Ken looked down at his attire, thankful that he wasn't naked, but not too sure if this was any better. Instead of his casual wear of shirt, cargo pants, and tennis shoes, he was sporting an outfit that he would rather burn then ever submit to wear. Dark pants molded to Ken's legs, defining the lean strength of his limbs without managing to be too constricting. A sleeveless shirt with a warped black dragon on a red background accented the red armband on his right forearm, the band covering him from his wrist to an inch from his inner elbow. The boots were strange, if you could call them boots. They were not much thicker than socks, but the material resembled that of patched leather and Ken could feel the toughness of the black material, realizing that this strange footwear was capable of being used for casual wear or for on the go.

:These clothes look like something Yohji or Schuldich would wear! Screw this, where the hell are my clothes?: Ken grumbled angrily to himself, pissed off as to not being able to find where his original clothes were. Hearing the continuing laughter coming from his friend, Ken smirked once catching a better glance at his shorter friend. "Your outfit isn't any better."

It was remotely true. Omi wore the exact same outfit except the shirt had a blue background instead of red, and the blue armband was on his left arm instead of his right.

Omi yelped faintly, ineffectively trying to cover himself from Ken's gaze. Ken laughed softly, "Payback, chibi."

"Mou, Ken-kun! Don't call me chibi!"

"Chibi."

"Ken-kun!"

Their verbal battle was interrupted by the sound of a lock turning in the keyhole from outside the room, the wooden door from before softly swinging open, coming to a smooth halt against the wall. Kikaya stood framed in the doorway, two other indistinguishable forms behind him, blocking off whatever hopeful chance of escape the two assassins might have had.

Kikaya looked pleased at seeing the two men awake and well, his pleasure easily deciphered from his voice and from the faint lines of amusement on his face. "It is good to see that you are both awake. You have been asleep for over two hours."

Two hours? Ken couldn't believe that it had been that length of time. He also couldn't understand why a single hit could have knocked them out for so long. Sure he and all the members of Weiss had taken a beating during the occasional mission, but not enough to knock the out cold without the aid of handheld weapons or explosives.

"I am sure you have noticed the fatigue in your bodies. I had to administer a chemical into your bloodstream that forces you into immobility for a short period of time. But don't worry," Kikaya held up his hands, trying to sooth the horrified expressions of his guests, "The chemical is hardly dangerous. We did not wish for you to wake up while we carried you here. We feared you injuring yourself further if you startled one of my men into dropping either of you."

"You can offer your apology by giving back our clothes." Ken offered, not really comforted by the fact that ANY chemical had been in his body. That was as comforting as a doctor with a needle behind his back saying `Don't worry, it won't hurt at all.'

Yeah, right.

Kikaya frowned, for the first time appearing at unease. "I am sorry, but we burned your previous attire."

"WHAT?!"

Ken and Omi's united voices startled the dark-haired man, the two forms behind him appearing just as equally surprised by their guests' distaste of their new clothing.

"Why did you do that?" Omi demanded, not really upset about his clothes as he was several seconds ago, but more affected by the act behind burning the two assassin's clothes.

"Master Dameon ordered that you were to be clothed, effectively bearing his mark on your person. It will soothe the individuals within this area to know that you are not intruders. If you were to walk around without the clothing that you have on now, you would just be easy food to them."

Ken frowned at that statement. :This Dameon obviously thought this out. Not only is it a mark, but it prevents us from trying to escape. If we were to try to leave this place even when carrying this mark, we would probably be dragged back. We may be guests, but that doesn't mean that we'll be allowed to leave on our own free will:

Kikaya laughed at their disgruntled faces, moving to allow the other figures to enter the room. "Do not worry, I did not have a hand in undressing either of you. These two took care of fitting you into your new attire."

Ken wasn't too excited by that new revelation, given that both figures were decidedly male and carried the same markings as Kikaya. They were both the same height and stature, one man having short cropped blond hair and the other had brown hair that reached down to his shoulders. As both men moved closer to the bed that the youngest members of Weiss occupied both assassins jumped, Ken shuffling backwards, shamelessly pressing his back against the headboard.

"Slow down, boys. Shoo! Shoo! Go chase a moving car!" Ken ordered, sorely noting that neither man seemed to heed his voice. With relative ease both men pounced on the two assassins, Ken finding himself wrestling with the blond haired one, not faring much better than Omi, the younger assassin fated to being squashed by the larger man.

Forgetting everything that he had been taught about self-defense Ken began to thrash desperately against his own assailant, managing to elbow the blond man in the chest. He kicked out reflexively with his legs, toppling the surprised man off of the bed completely. Before he could turn to help Omi the blond man rose up in a blur of speed and was suddenly back on the bed and pressing Ken against the mattress, Ken's hands forced to either side of his body.

"Vincent, no!" Kikaya barked, his voice unheeded through the blond man's raised ire.

Ken winced in pain, the man above him exerting enough force on the brunette's wrists to make it feel like his bones were grinding together. The blond man snarled at the trapped assassin, thinning lips pulling back to reveal elongated fangs and glistening white teeth. Ken pressed himself further into the mattress, the presence of the man above him beating at the edges of his empathy. He couldn't smother back a sharp cry when a specific burst of malice shot through his body, the man above him wanting nothing more that to make Ken pay physically for kicking him off of the bed and humiliating him in front of two members of his group.

Surprisingly Ken was saved from further harm, the onrushing presence of Kikaya flooding his senses. In shock he watched Kikaya appear within his field of sight, the fury within the man's eyes and face making him take on a more bestial appearance. With a shriek of rage that made the hair on Ken's neck stand up and made a full-grown wolf cower Kikaya ripped the blond-haired man off of Ken, harassing Ken's assailant away into a far corner with angry swipes and furious snarls..

The display of fury lasted only for a few seconds, the blond hair man not even having a chance to defend himself against the taller man's attack as he was backed against the wall, his hands raised in a last attempt to defend himself. With casual ease Kikaya ripped the blond man's throat out with a sharp swipe of his right hand, blood and meat splattering across the floor in front of the stunned and gasping form. The blond man opened his mouth in a silent cry of shock and pain, both hands raised to clutch at the remains of his throat, desperately trying to stop of stream of blood pumping out of his torn flesh.

Ken groaned in dismay, the sheer violent and ferocity of the act enough to almost turn his stomach. He didn't fight the remaining man when he urged Ken to his feet, the other man far more gentle when dealing with his hesitant guests than that of the blond one. The brunette urged both assassins to their feet, gently pushing them towards the door, positioning himself between the two men and the bloody sight of the fallen man.

"Why?" Omi moaned pitifully, clinging to Ken's arm, burying his face against Ken's shoulder in a vain attempt to smother the wet gasps coming from the bleeding man lying back against the wall, the open wound on his throat shifting like an extra mouth in a blind effort to retrieve air.

Kikaya hissed furiously at the defeated man, flicking stray blood and flesh off of his leather glove with a look of disgust. "The fool knew he was not allowed to harm either of you. He will survive, though he may wish for death when facing Lord Dameon's wrath."

"I hit him first." Ken inserted ineffectively, feeling like he was a child and having his parent explain to him 'Yes, that's the way we behave.'

"It was his impatience that caused his fate. Both men understood that you would be fairly agitated once you woke up. They were warned of the consequences." He moved to peer at Ken curiously, raising Ken's wrists to examine the slight bruising on his light golden skin. Appeased that there were no broken bones or any other injury to either assassin Kikaya led the three men out of the room, leaving the other man behind with nary a glance back.

As Omi and Ken were lead out of the room, the older assassin couldn't help but wonder if Kikaya was a ruthless as he was, then what would his leader be like?

Neither Ken nor Omi were harassed any further on their way through the mazes of hallways, but Ken could sense the eyes that followed their every movement, gazes curious and amused, a perverse form of hunger dwelling in certain remote stares. He shuddered, his empathy seconding his action. It appeared that the chemical administered by Kikaya had not harmed Ken's empathy, but the assassin vainly wished that it had at least dulled it. Without Schuldich or Farfarello within the general area, he could feel his power beating against the mental barrier, the touch as vague as a butterfly's wings yet the presence equal to that of a hammer.

Thinking about both of his lovers brought upon a mental whimper, a distant child-like part of his mind desperately crying out for the comforting heat of the German and the cool presence of the demon.

:Schuldich? Farfarello? Can you hear me?:

There was no answer, only a background of gray that smothered the bond between the three men, the thickness of it almost physical to the touch.

:Please answer me! Schuldich?! Farfarello!?:

Nothing. There was no connection, no solace from his internal solitary agony.

:Please…:

Alone. Such a simple word invoked such a powerful feeling inside the empath. For the first time in the past 36 hours, Ken was alone in such a sense that he felt cold right down the core of his body. The fear and confusion fluttered blindly within his mind, the mental barrier responding to the heightened emotions and slowly beginning to break down, reacting to the man's fears and preparing to act in order to defend the frightened empath if the man could not handle further stress.

"Ken-kun? What's wrong?" Omi whispered, seeing the pained gaze from his taller friend, the man's eyes alight with a certain morbid understanding that was tearing him apart from the inside out.

"I can't feel them."

"What?"

"Schuldich and Farfarello. I can't feel them at all." The last part was almost a dry sob, the withdrawal effects from Ken being away from his steady source of comfort slowly gaining control of the pained man. In a distant part of his mind he felt a slight tinge of disgust for needing either of his lovers when he should be able to take care of himself. It was, however, overrun by the part of his mind desperately begging for some sort of response, any response, from his lovers.

Kikaya and the other man stopped suddenly, Omi and Ken smashing into their backs in surprise. From deep nooks and corners of the large area around them soft laughter rang out, the sounds ancient with a tint of untouched knowledge, the voices amused by the clumsy movements of the lost lambs within the land of wolves. Ken felt Omi shiver next to him in response to the thrum of laughter, Ken pretty sure that his body wasn't too steady either.

"We have arrived." With that Kikaya pushed open the huge black doors that had appeared before them, the glistening as if it had been polished every day of its existence. The cuts and groves in the wood formed a broken picture of dragons setting fire to the earth below them, their mouths agape in silent triumph at their burning conquest, wings unfurled in a broad spread of pleasure during their flight of freedom and glory.

The room just within the opened doors was decidedly bare, the floor a rough crème color, the stone looking as if it had clearly lived through a handful of centuries with many bodies passing over its ancient surface. Towards the center of the room a similarly colored wide pillar occupied a portion of the room, pale stone steps leading up to a throne made entirely of gray and black weathered stone.

Occupying the seat was a man well over six feet, layered hair reaching down to waist level. The man's hair was a pitch black with emerald highlights running through his hair as if an artist had airbrushed the strands of hair at the man's birth. He was covered in black material, armbands noticeable on both arms, leather gloves covering both hands. An emerald green dragon was painted on his sleeveless shirt, the dragon curling around his torso to travel around and behind him, its head coming over and forward to rest over the man's shoulder, claws clutched around the man's waist, silver eyes staring outward in a mock gaze of interest. The man was sprawled out gracefully in his throne, legs spread and arms resting on the throne arms as he viewed the arrival of the four men before him, his silver eyes alight with the burning gaze of amusement.

"Lord Dameon." Kikaya bowed low, the other man following suit. Omi and Ken remained standing. Honestly Ken thought that he was too emotional strung to gain full control over his body in order to bow without falling on his face.

Ken's empathy was in a frenzy. It was practically screaming `Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!' Whatever this Dameon was, Ken wasn't too sure, but he knew from the aura surrounding this man clearly signified the rolling mass of immense power within his form. In truth, the man he was seeing now was not within his true form. Dameon's entire body appeared slightly blurred around the edges, as if the vessel of flesh was having a hard time containing some undefined mass of power within it, the power more of a bestial quality as old as the stone and earth around them.

`Dameon' stood up with boneless ease, the power around his dark form sighing in a soft breath of air. He smiled down at the wary gazes of Ken and Omi, their uncertainty and hints of fear easily reaching his acute senses, the taste of their emotions heady as the scent of freshly spilled blood.

"Leave us, Armal. See to Vincent." Dameon ordered, his voice soft yet heavy, clearly signifying that any utterance of denial would be instantly dealt with. This man ruled with respect and fear, a potent mixture that underlined the fact that he was not a passive leader that would accept nothing other than honest effort from his followers.

Armal bowed once again, smoothly turning and striding out of the room, the doors closing behind him in a deep sound of finality. Ken had to hold back from asking if he could go with the other brunette. As if sensing Ken's thoughts Kikaya moved to stand in front of the closed doors, crossing his arms across his chest, clearly looking as if he was daring anyone to try to get past him.

Dameon didn't waste time with pleasantries. "You want to know why you are here." Not a question, more of a statement. Well, if that's the way it was going to be played…

"It had come to mind." Ken answered after a brief silence, not too sure how to really interact with the man who was sending his empathy in circles due to the power flowing across his senses in a fluid touch. The man's power almost seemed to dig against Ken's own in an action of the blatant fact that the man could simply do so, as if teasing Ken with 'What are you going to do about it?'

Dameon smirked at Ken's hesitancy, taking the steps slowly down towards them with the slow tread of a lazy predator. "I have known about both of your abilities for a long time now. We have been observing both of you for at least a year's time, considering when it was best to acquire you. The other two members of Weiss have significant powers as well, but it would harder to acquire them due to their nature in personality and abilities."

"Acquire?" Omi mumbled, not liking the use of the terminology.

"You make us sound as if we are property." Ken hissed angrily, not pleased at the reference on Dameon's part.

Dameon laughed at their indignation, coming down off of the final step to stand in front of the two assassins, Ken's head level to his collar bone, the painted dragon's gaze staring back at the assassin. "I apologize. In truth you are both far above humans." Ken wasn't too sure if the apology was meant to be sarcastic or sincere, given that the way the man phrased the word 'humans' as if the term was a foul piece of garbage.

"If you didn't mean it in that way, then what were you trying to say?" Omi asked hesitantly.

"Your abilities are by far rare and useful. Also, with your abilities and nature you are fitted to act as a focus of power for a specific individual or group of individuals. You are not fit to lead, but fit to follow." Dameon explained calmly, giving the two men a look as if the information was completely redundant.

"We are not pawns!" Omi yelled in denial, also noting the blasé tone of the larger man in front of them.

"No." Dameon moved to the side and bent down, putting himself to eye-level with Omi. "You are tools." He grinned at the indignant look on the boy's face. "Silly little boy, you have no idea what you are and what you are capable of. It would be simpler to just kill you in order to avoid further annoyance given what your abilities entail, but I like you. You don't grovel like a dog, and I by far hate subservience unless it is absolutely necessary."

"You know what my ability is?" Omi asked softly, somehow not able to find a way to pull his gaze away from the other man.

Dameon laughed softly, the sound a deep purr within the man's chest. "You, little boy, are a Tamer. The ability that you possess is the potential to soothe and control beasts of any nature, mainly predatory beasts. However, like I said, the potential ability. Your ability works mostly in a way that you can communicate with large predators and take on certain aspects of their beasts once you have learned to control your ability through time and practice."

"How do you know all of this?" Omi demanded, his shoulders tense, the confusion obvious in his blue eyes.

There was that laugh again. "I have been lenient to give you so much information as of now. You should appreciate what you get, since both of your abilities are used for the main purpose to aide other individuals of power."

"It sounds as if you are referring to us as property yet again." Ken muttered, the manner in which Dameon spoke of them vaguely insulting.

Dameon scoffed at that, turning from Omi and back to Ken, catching the brown-haired man's chin and forcing Ken's gaze up to his. "You are tools because you fit and mold to your environment as you so desire. You also mold to the desires of your leader or leaders." Dameon butted his forehead against Ken's, his pale silver gaze meeting that of the wide brown eyes, further enforcing Ken to match the man's gaze. "This is why we observed both of you for so long, waiting for the opportunity to act in order to retrieve you for our desires."

"You are not our master." Ken said softly, his entire focus swallowed up by the cold heat of the pale gaze staring at him, through him, seeming to weigh his worth as a person and as a living being.

Dameon's laughter was nasty, Ken's sensing screaming of the lurking danger within arm's length. "True, I am not your master." Slowly the taller brought his mouth to brush along the edge of Ken's jawline, long strands of hair tickling along Ken's front, blocking the proceeding from Omi's worried gaze.

"You…smell of blood and earth. Your power tastes like a fine wine, one that makes me feel as if I could roll the taste of it along my tongue in order to linger within such a heady rush." A light pink tongue flicked out to tease along the shorter man's jawline. Ken shuddered from the cool touch, attempting to draw away but finding his body unable to move. If he had been standing in Omi's position and using his empathy he would have clearly seen strands of the silver gray aura surrounding Dameon twining with his own silvery-blue, forcing the smaller man's physical body into submission without the smaller man realizing his confinement until it was too late.

"Stop it." Ken hissed, wincing when Dameon tilted his head in order to brush his mouth closer to Ken's ear, green-highlighted hair mingling with Ken's dark brown in a similar style as that of their two auras.

"You are bound to two men."

Ken felt as if a large chunk of ice had instantly formed in his stomach, his body shivering from the instilling fear. "How-"

"One is a demon, the other…hmmm…another empath? No, a telepath. It appears as if there is competition already among who has your loyalty and trust." Dameon lowered his arms to cross them over the shivering form in front of him, one hand reaching to cup the back of Ken's head.

The larger man grinned against the cool skin of the man pressed against him, taking a slight amount of satisfaction in the ability to affect the smaller man to such a degree. "Do you know how easy it would be to break that bond between you and your two lovers? I could do it right now."

:No…: A razor-like pain shot through his head and Ken screamed, not having the chance to hold the involuntary sound back. His empathy trembled in pain and confusion, not able to immediately comprehend where the pain had originated from. Surprisingly he finally had gained control over his body even with their entwined auras, managing to push his hands flat against Dameon's chest in an effort to push the taller man away, sadly not succeeding in pushing him back even an inch.

"STOP!" Ken cried, a spasm jolting his body from a particular wave of pain.

:Oh Gods! It hurts! It feels like someone is running razor blades across my skin!:

"STOP IT!"

"No." With that Dameon's power thrust itself against Ken's, tearing through Ken's empathy as if it were a mere sheet of paper. With a harsh cry Ken felt himself falling, his back hitting the rough stone floor beneath him, Dameon following Ken's descent to the ground to hover on all fours above the fallen assassin.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" Omi screamed, fighting against Kikaya's grip, the taller man relieving his early spot, easily holding the small assassin back from interfering.

"…why…?" Ken whimpered, the pain seeming to flood into his entire body, his limbs becoming numb from the amount of pain within his trembling form, his body trembling from the pain. It felt as if he had been slashed open across numerous parts of his body yet he did not bleed.

:I'm not wounded, yet it feels as if I'm bleeding away…:

Dameon leaned forward, twining his fingers with Ken's right hand, forearm pressing against the red armband, heated flesh pressing against the cool flesh of the trembling form beneath him. He crouched over the smaller man like a predator over its defeated prey, relishing in its imminent defeat. He cupped the side of Ken's face with his other hand, not allowing the trapped man to pull his face away. "This is merely a lesson. You shall realize how truly weak you are and how desperately you need to be protected by others stronger than yourself."

With that warning Dameon relaxed his jaw, mouth opening, power pouring out from between his lips in an invisible liquid rush. It spilled into Ken, his own jaw forced open by the stronger man's grip. He struggled ineffectively against Dameon, his body sluggish and not seeming to react well enough to possibly push the man away, his arms and legs slowly growing limp.

:It's too much…: Ken's mind cried out desperately, the foreign sensation of the man spilling into his mind, his own aura shying away from that of Dameon's. Ken felt the distant echoing of a heartbeat, dizzily realizing the sound as his own, the sound surprisingly steady and deep. Far off in his mind he heard an echoing beat of another heartbeat, both rhythms merging to form as one united sound.

Slowly the bond Ken shared with his two lovers began to form in his mind, the strands of color wound tightly together in a long strand of iridescent light. For a moment he was calmed, soothed by the fact that the bond was still intact. His small moment of serene thoughts was ripped away when a shadowy form of that of a dragon suddenly uncurled and formed within his mind, hovering over the bond with a toothy grin. It drove its claws into the bond, gripping the delicate strands of power.

Ken's whole body jerked, a soundless scream echoing from his mouth, Dameon's power heedless of his suffering as it continued to pour into the prone man. Dameon's mouth hovered a fraction over his own, not even half an inch separating the two men from the intimate position that was a cruel illusion the smaller man's pain.

A muffled explosion of noise sounded from outside the room, both Kikaya and Omi jerking in surprise and shock. The black doors groaned under an unseen force, the center part of it bending inward in a bubble of straining wood. In one moment of amazing power the entire set of doors exploded in a rain of broken shards, the pieces a mockery to its early brilliance.

Through the explosion of wood and debris numerous figures rushed into the room, the two in front radiating their blood rage, eagerly searching out any who wished to die by their hands.

Schuldich and Farfarello burst in the room, their gazes instantly falling upon the scene before them, quickly taking in the unknown man hovering over their shockingly pale lover, both forms radiating a large mass of power heavy enough to choke on. A red haze of rage filled their vision at the pain-dulled eyes of their lover, several tracks of tears staining the man's cheeks from the effort not to loose himself in the pain that threatened to pull him into a state of nothingness.

In a flurry of movement Farfarello rushed at Dameon, the long thin blade of his sword raised to slice through the obstacle of flesh and bone between him and his angel.

Dameon glanced up at the demon's rush, pulling away from Ken and rewarding the demon with a warning smirk. "If you want me to break his neck, continue moving forward."

Farfarello came to a dead halt in midstep, his stance rigid, blade still raised, only twenty feet of space separating him from the man he so eagerly wished to kill.

Dameon was slowly losing any semblance of humanity he had once contained, his eyes glowing with intensity rivaling that of liquid metal. His teeth had all elongated to points, the toothy grin enough to make a full-grown man shudder. With a wet crack a damp black spine of bone rose from Dameon's back covering from mid shoulder-blades down to his tailbone, the edges as sharp as scythes. Similar yet smaller spines broke through the soft flesh of outer arms and the material of Dameon's armband, the skin along all black spines hardening to a degree unbreakable by any metal known to man. Where his fingers had once been long sleek black claws dug into the leather gloves, the smooth claws coming down to brush carefully across Ken's face, careful to use only the back of the dangerous claws to avoid rendering the man's face to shreds.

"Don't fucking touch him." Schuldich ordered, his gun raised and pointed at Dameon's head yet he made no move forward.

"Schuldich?" Nagi questioned, his telekinetic abilities easily holding Kikaya in place, forcing the man to loosen his hold on Omi without the need to break both of the man's arms. With a stumbled lurch Omi jerked away from the immobilized man, Nagi managing to snag him and mid-fall and pull the boy to him with further help of his telekinetics, hastily pulling Omi out of danger, his arms wrapped around the older boy's shaking shoulders.

Dameon's laughter echoed in the chamber, his body leaning down to press more firmly against Ken's in a silent taunt to all of the assassins within his chambers, his gaze steady on the intruders, surprisingly calm with the various weapons aimed at his head. "It seems that we are at a standstill."

"Not quite." Yohji interrupted, coming to stand beside Schuldich, his assassin attire marred by several rips along the sleeves, his black frames slightly dusty from the early debris. Yohji raised a hand and aimed his flat palm at Dameon, the Wind Master slowly beginning to focus his abilities, feeling the edges of his power curling within the center of his palm.

Dameon's body suddenly grew rigid in his crouch, the spines along his back straightening, his lips pulling back in a furious snarl, scenting the power forming due to the blond assassin. "You wouldn't dare. Your powers are so raw and uncontrolled that it's almost an insult."

Yohji smirked at that, his entire focus on Dameon, ignoring the others around him. "Do you want to test that theory?"

Dameon matched the Wind Master's smirk with his own, in an instant of unseen moment suddenly on his feet and standing over Ken's prone form. "Show me what you got."

"Bastard, get the fuck away from Ken!" Yohji yelled, his power emitting a hollow explosion of air, the sheer blast of it throwing both Dameon and Kikaya off of their feet, the amount of force behind the Wind Master's powers tearing deep grooves in the floor beneath them. Dameon flew back and slammed into the stone steps behind him, his body digging into the stone several inches deep. Kikaya slammed into the ground, falling onto his side. He didn't get back up.

Farfarello and Schuldich were moving towards Ken the instant Dameon had moved, Farfarello placing himself between the fallen Dameon and the two men behind him. Schuldich bent over Ken, carefully running his hands over Ken's face, wincing in sympathy at the pain throbbing with the entire man's body.

"You…didn't answer…" Ken whispered, managing to offer a pained smile to the German hovering above him, hoping to relay some comfort to the telepath's distress. Schuldich offered a slight smile at the younger man's effort, bending down further to wrap his arms under Ken's knees and around his shoulders. Ken wrapped his arms around the telepath's neck as he was lifted up, clinging to the man, wanting to bury himself in the heat and the smell of dust and metal surrounding the German.

With nary a sound of pain Dameon rose to his feet as casually as could be, dusting himself off, appearing offended by the damage done to his chambers. "How unsightly. You rushed headlong into here. If I had truly wished to protect this area, none of you would have made it past my followers unscathed."

"What was the point of this, then?" Crawford demanded, his own pistol remaining aimed at Dameon, Aya standing at his back to guard against any sudden attacks from the doors they had just busted through.

"This was merely a way to show all of you that you've got a lot to learn before you can handle the big boys." Dameon smiled condescendingly at the various looks granted towards him, most likely all of the men wishing to separate his head from his body. "There are bigger enemies out there, children. This was simply a calling card. Compared to others, I was playing nice."

"You call this nice?" Aya demanded softly, his voice clearly enraged by the longhaired man's statement, taken in the shivering form of Omi huddled in Nagi's arms and Ken's desperate grip on Schuldich.

Dameon granted Aya with a patient smile. "I didn't bleed or break either of them. I was relatively merciful compared to the enemies you shall meet." He looked to both Farfarello and Schuldich, assessing both men silently. "You two had better hurry up on cementing the bond between the three of you. If I was capable of breaking the bond, then there are others out there who wouldn't need even half the time I was using to enter his mind."

Farfarello growled deeply in his chest, slowly walking backwards in a tight crouch, urging the telepath with him. He ran the tips of his fingers of one hand across Ken's arm, further enraged by the shivered response he received from his angel. "Know this, Dragon. If you try such an act again, your precious teeth and scales will not save you. Metal may not pierce your flesh, but I have teeth and hands that will make due."

Dameon smiled at that, pleased with the demon's righteous anger. "Do not worry, I will not attempt such a thing ever again." To their utmost surprise Dameon granted them a low bow, throwing his arms out wide to his side.

"I, Lord Dameon of the Dragon, Master of Tooth, Fang, and Blood, hereby greet all of you with my respects and bid you a momentary farewell. I will be seeing all of you again under hopefully better circumstances."

"Better circumstances." Yohji muttered underneath his breath, slowly beginning to follow the retreat of the other assassins, clearly watching the crouching shadowed forms of other creatures lurking around the edges of his sight, the dark forms held back by the silent command by their leader to let the trespassers go.

"Oh and gentlemen!" Dameon called after them, the assassins turning back to glance at him in surprise, not seeing anything else left to discuss at the moment, wanting to return to the Koneko immediately.

Dameon granted them a pleasant smile, fully returned to his previous human form, looking as perky and upbeat as if he had just drank an entire pot of coffee. "When you decide the pay me back for the damage to my throne and chamber doors, I will accept either cash or check."

Chaosdreamer: Wheeee! Finally done!!! Reviewers, tell me what you think of Dameon,

since he's going to play a big part in this fic! ^_^

Ken: Why am I being tormented so much?

Chaosdreamer: *huggles Ken* Because I love you so much!

Actually, I can not really dislike any members of Weiss Kreuz. Other then

the girls in the flowershop maybe.

To all reviewers, I love you! *Pounces of various startled reviewers, tail wagging excitedly*

Yohji: Stop harassing them!

Chaosdreamer: *Sighs* I apologize that it has taken a while, a lot of reviewers have

asked for me to update soon. I even had one reviewer give me puppy dog eyes. *Shields eyes from vision* Cannot…resist…

I'm in college and have three research papers at the moment, so it may be at least two weeks before I can get the next chapter on a roll. That's why I tried to avoid a cliffhanger with this chapter.

Schuldich: You're abandoning us?!

Chaosdreamer: NO! I just have so much to do! Ahgh! So much stress! *Foams at the mouth and falls over, various limbs twitching from college stress* Be patient, I will prevail!

Oh! I took a personality test in my Psychology 1 class, and guess what category I fell in?

All: Which one?

Chaosdreamer: *Grins* I'm Mastermind!

Schuldich: No, I am!

Chaosdreamer: No, really! That's the category that I was listed in! It's so cool! And my e-mail address has the term Prodigy in it. *Sighs* It was destiny for me to come across Weiss Kreuz.

Yohji: Don't get too emotional.

Chaosdreamer: Quiet! *Hits Yohji over the head with frying pan*