Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Blackest Sea ❯ Feeling Invincible Like Death Itself ( Chapter 2 )

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

Disclaimer: Not mine. Takehito Koyasu's. Darn.

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Chapter Two: Feeling Invincible Like Death Itself


Schuldig was feeling unwell. He had his eyes closed tight but he knew that he was lying on his back, his mouth tasted like Sahara after the camels had had a break in there and his head hurt like a bitch. This wasn't anything new, since he was used to waking up with a serious hangover, but new was the feeling of cold breeze on his face. Had he climbed in through the window again? Crawford would be so pissed...

"He isn't here, Christoff."

Schuldig's eye's snapped open and he instantly cursed out loud. "How in the hell you know my name?" he yelled and tried to get up. Little green men, who apparently had a pool party in his stomach, convinced him to do otherwise. He lay back down and tried to find the stranger with his talent instead. When he did that, more horrifying fact than that the stranger knew his name, hit him like a jackhammer.

His talent was gone.

There was absolutely no voices in his head except his own: lonely and lost. Even the familiar buzzing that had always been behind his shields was gone. Like there were no other people at all. Not even the stranger. When he tried to reach out, nothing happened. Suddenly, he felt very, very trapped in his own head.

Schuldig was now really pissed, because he hated to be scared. And at the moment he damn well was.

"There's no need to be afraid, Christoff." The stranger stood closer now, apparently not offended by Schuldig's cursing at all. His voice was a soft one, all holy-sounding and... No. No no no.

The telepath - or rather, the ex-telepath - forced mentally his stomach to calm down and turned around. He stared at the ground, surprised: there was nothing but white, smooth surface. It was cool and glass-like when he touched it carefully with his fingers. "Where am I?" he thought out loud, wondering if this place really was--

"You're In Between, Christoff."

Not the Heaven, then. Well, he had never thought he'd go straight to Heaven, anyway. Schuldig tried to organize his thoughts and rouse to all fours. After he shooed the remaining little green men away from his stomach, he stood up, still swaying a little, and looked around.

The stranger was a young man, standing in front of him and wearing a white robe. His hair was dark brown and he had chocolate-coloured eyes. His look was calm and sincere when he looked at the German with slight concern in his eyes. "Are you okay, Christoff?" he asked, his voice low and soothing. "I assure you, I'm not gonna harm you..."

Schuldig was holding his robes in seconds - though his speed had only been the one of the normal people. What the hell had happened to him? "I sure as hell I'm gonna harm you if you don't tell me where the fuck I am!" he snarled and shook the man.

The other man broke his grip with amazing ease and removed his hands from his clothes. "I told you already, Christoff. We're in between. My name is Daniel."

"Daniel, huh?" Schuldig asked, wary. He'd have to find a way out of this place, find out what the maniac in front of him had done to him and go home. He felt like he could sleep for days. The man ran a hand through his fiery red hair. "In between", he said experimentally.

Daniel nodded his head, relieved. "Yes, Christoff."

The answer was short and curt. "Schuldig."

"Schuldig", Daniel agreed with a small, exhausted sigh. "I've been sent here to explain you what will follow, since you're a talent." He gestured Schuldig towards a wooden bench he hadn't seen before. "Let's sit down."

Schuldig followed the man to the bench and sat down. "What do you mean, 'what will follow'? Am I... Really?" He swallowed and turned his eyes quickly towards the ground, searching answers from its glassy surface.

If he really was dead... But damn, Brad had pissed him off last night! He had taken another black beauty just to make sure he would be far away in the La-La-Land before the all-mighty leader of Schwarz would come to reprimand him. He hadn't been in the mood to listen Brad's complaining.

Guess it was one pill too much, then.

Daniel leaned towards him and patted his shoulder lightly. "Yes", he said sadly. "You have left the world of the living. But, like I said, you're a talent. You have... several options... after death." He looked uncertain, as if he wasn't sure if he should've been telling this to Schuldig. Who was, as he had always been, the wild card. Even in the place between Heaven and Hell.

Nonetheless, that got the German's attention. His head shot up and he looked intently at Daniel. "Options, you say?" he sounded hopeful. "What are they?"

The angel sighed. "There are three of them. The first one is that you continue on. To Heaven or Hell. Which one, that depends on your actions before your death."

A bitter smile graced Schuldig's delicate features. "I'll pass that, if you don't mind. I know pretty well where I would be going and I definitely dislike the idea. Demons, torturing for the rest of the eternity... That's not my kind of a kink." He leaned on the back of the bench. God, how he missed his cigarettes. "And the other two?"

"The next option is that you fade away." Daniel looked apologetic. "Not many choose this, because that removes them from total existence... There's nothing after you fade. No body, no soul, no consciousness... Nothing. It's pretty much like you never existed."

The thought of just leaving the whole universe tempted Schuldig for a while. But then he shook his head. "No. That would be a huge anti-climax, wouldn't it?" he smirked. "I want something out of my life." He thought about it for a second. "Well, death."

Daniel rose one perfectly-shaped eyebrow. "You sure? Many... unfortunate people choose fading away."

Another shake of head, most definitely determined this time. "No."

"Fine, then." Daniel straightened his back: it was obvious that he was going to keep a lecture. "The third option is that you continue your existence on earth, not as a human but kind of a ghost. You will be able to see other people, hear them, even with a little effort to read their thoughts - almost as you did when you were alive. But there are two rules: you cannot speak to them, and you must not reveal yourself to anyone, ever. If that should happen, you will be judged again and, without any exception, faded. Do you understand the rules?"

The ex-telepath had listened to Daniel with slowly growing eyes. He hadn't thought he couldn't... But now that he turned it around in his mind, it was almost understandable that he couldn't speak with other people - the living.

First of all, he would scare the shit out of them. Secondly, what an advance it would be to Schwarz if he could read other people's thoughts with no limits... The mere idea of it was intoxicating. He could find out what was going on in Rosenkreuz itself, could read the Elders' thoughts, maybe even Crawford's thoughts, for God's sake! Surely it wouldn't be that bad if he left a note somewhere, an innocent sign that only the others would understood...

But even though the temptation was great, Schuldig nodded. "I understand the rules", he said, burying the thoughts of world-domination to the back of his head. It was a foolish goal, anyway.

Daniel searched something from his eyes for a moment and answered his nod. "Then you shall go back. It'll only be few hours after your death in the real world."

When the place started to slowly fade around him, Schuldig felt pain.

Lots of pain.

It was suffocating him, making him gag and gasp for air at the same time. His ribs were shifting closer to each other, squeezing him and emptying his lungs. He tried to reach Daniel - had the son of a bitch tricked him? - but the man was already backing further away from him. "Don't worry", he heard Daniel say, "it won't hurt much." He smiled, as serene as always. "Think it as being born again."

And in a way, Schuldig was.

xxx

- end of chapter two.