Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Lives We Lead ❯ Black Blood ( Chapter 12 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
Chapter 12 Weiß
A six-foot tall woman, with firm features and tightly pulled back hair glared at the people in the room. She focused her black eyes on each door way as if trying to recognize some distinguishing trait.
Her mask hardly covered her features, and her ensemble was sleek and plain, it was obvious she did not come to draw attention. Her eyes fell on the curly haired heir to the Mafia throne and the American assassin. She smirked, “As planned, they're distracted.”
She made her way across the room to the door that, as predicted, was completely open to any outsiders now that the assassins patrolling it had left. Slipping inside she thought to herself, `Celica, every time it's too easy.'
As she touched the thick curtains of the room she felt a ghostly faint brush over her mind. She instantly closed her eyes and focused purely on the blackness of her eyelids.
After a moment the pressure disappeared. She whispered to herself, “As predicted, the telepath guards his property well. It's too bad he isn't this enthusiastic about protecting his job.” She pushed aside the curtain and grinned, “Or he may have been able to catch me.”
The room was filled with crime lords, about 50. They were the most exclusive and important ones. They'd separated themselves from the rest of the crowd to discuss important business offers within the black market and their own businesses.
Celica eyed them when she then noticed a tall blonde with frail features and large eyes. The girl came up and stated, “Excuse me mam, I'm afraid this is a private room, I don't believe you are a guest on the invited list for attending this meeting.”
Celica chuckled, “How cute, Schwarz set their little pet up against me?” she drew back her hand and slapped the young blonde before spinning around and kicking her. Chikaru fell to the ground.
The crime lords and ladies all looked up at the mysterious intruder. Her lips parted in a horrible grin. She lifted rosary beads from around her neck and clasped her fingers around them. She spread her hands so that the beads parted, exposing a thin wire.
The Lords and ladies all started to scramble, desperately trying to get away as fast as they could.
~*~
Arashi pushed Farfarello out of the way and started running down the stairs. It occurred to her that she was lost when her escape only succeeded in her finding herself on another rooftop.
She leaned against the cool surface of the columns to catch her breath. Suddenly a black clad figure came out from behind another column. Arashi glared at the masked Mastermind and leapt forward with her fist ready.
The Mastermind ducked beneath it but was unready when it came to the heavy boot coming rapidly towards his head. In a quick flash, Schuldig was standing unmasked, between the supposed Schuldig and Arashi.
Arashi gasped at her foot being held mid air by Schuldig. She looked down and realized who the one she was attacking must have been, “Oh! Abyssinian! It's you!”
Schuldig turned and glared at Arashi, “Didn't I just tell you not to kill anyone?” Arashi stared at him with a curious expression. He put down her foot and ordered, “Now keep it there, on the ground, that's where feet belong.”
Aya demanded, “What the hell is going on here?”
Schuldig turned and looked and Aya before pulling him to his feet, “Don't get killed damn it! I don't want to have to baby-sit the two of you, I was sure you'd be able to manage not dying.”
Aya raised his fists, “I don't know what you're trying to pull, but we're going to perform our duties and you wont stop us.”
The German smirked and waved his hand, “I'm not going to stand in your way if you decide to do your duties and deeds, if you know what I mean. Just don't kill anyone.” With that he turned and headed down the staircase leaving the two confused assassins in his quake.
Aya looked at Arashi and sighed, “This is almost as confusing as the time that Sakura girl gave me ice-cream…”
Arashi nodded though she had no idea what he was talking about.
~*~
Omi and Nagi were now sitting on the banister, the Weiß kitten only agreed to sit there as well because he made Nagi promise he wouldn't push him or let him fall.
Tsukiyono asked, “So… you can make really big stuff move? Like that tree over there?”
Nagi nodded, “Yes, I could, but it would be a bad decision. It would frighten a lot of people, you know?”
Omi nodded, “I guess it would… that's funny how I hardly know you but I'm so… comfortable with your ability.”
The brown haired boy nodded before asking, “You don't think you know me well?”
“Well, no. Considering you know more about my child hood and past than I do, because I go amnesia and you worked for the Takatori clan. I don't know anything about your past.”
The boy paused before replying, “You don't know it because it isn't important.”
“Your wrong.” Omi stated, “Where you come from is important, it's who you are. It's where you came from. You can't escape your past and you certainly shouldn't want to forget it.”
Nagi stared at the boy's wide blue eyes and remained silent in thought. Suddenly he looked over his shoulder with a shocked expression. Omi turned his head to see what caught his attention when he noticed Youji was standing in the doorway.
Omi gasped, “Balinese!”
Youji demanded, “Come on, the assassination is almost in place! What the heck were you doing up here?”
Omi looked next to him to see that Nagi was gone. He pursed his brows together and stared in shock and confusion. He looked down and noticed that Nagi was standing on the wall… of course he was using his telekinetic abilities to do so.
“I was… with… fighting with… Na- the Prodigy.” He responded after a while.
Youji asked, “Did you see where he went?”
Omi stared at Nagi and slowly answered, “He went away.”
The two stared at each other for a moment before Youji commented, “I think your lack of clothing is affecting the way you think. Now come on.”
Omi jumped off the banister and rushed towards the door, blushing and ducking into the hallway, still embarrassed by what he was wearing.
~*~
Schuldig was walking down the stairs grinning, quite pleased with his ability to leave the two assassins in utter shock.
He checked into Crawford's mind only to run into a barrier. The German sneered at the reverberating and sharp pain from running into it, and then pried harder at cracking into the American's mind.
He finally wormed his way in and was shocked to discover what the man was trying to hide. Schuldig thought to himself, `Holy shit! He's friggin making out! With Malvaguita!' The German began to laugh to himself at the thought of this.
Schuldig slipped into Chikaru's mind to see if she'd seen any of the action. What he saw within her mind was blood and death. The German grit his teeth as he realized that she was in the room of the high crime lords and ladies.
Schuldig burst into Crawford's head, `Crawford! Snap out of it!' he quickly explained, `Someone breached the private room.'
Crawford, out of shock from the voice, squeaked… into the mouth of Mal. Mal drew back and stared at him. Crawford quickly said, “Did you hear that?”
As if on que there was a high pitched wail from behind the curtain. A bleeding woman ran out of the room screaming. There was a flash off a thin wire around her neck, then she suddenly came to a halt and fell, her head rolling away from her body.
Mal gasped and stood up, ready to pull her gun if anything seemed to threaten her well being. Crawford slipped away and headed for the room, meeting Schuldig along the way.
Crawford snapped, “I told you to keep an eye out!”
Schuldig replied, “You said nothing would happen.”
“I told you if you slacked off something surely would happen.”
“You did not! I bet you didn't even see it coming!” Schuldig retaliated.
Crawford growled then ordered, “Tell the others to get down here right away.”
Schuldig nodded, “I just did.” The two then threw open the curtains and dashed inside. Their eyes fell on the young blonde Bombay from Weiß. Schuldig glanced down to see Chikaru pulling herself to her feet, a small pout on her face, and a bruise already forming on her cheek. Schuldig snapped, “Why you little bastard!”
Omi jumped, “What? No! I didn't do this! She did!” he pointed to the woman in leather across the room strangling the life out of the last lord in there. “Who is she?”
Crawford snapped, “She isn't with us!”
Schuldig pulled up Chikaru and whispered to her, “Go get Farfarello and Nagi.”
Chikaru nodded and headed off to find the Berserker and the Prodigy.
~*~
Aya and Arashi looked at each other, the confusion still written across their faces. Aya asked, “Why did you think I was that freak?”
Arashi blushed and felt embarrassed about attacking him, “Well, I think he read your mind or something, no way was it coincidence, he had your same costume.”
Aya pondered this then asked, “You didn't notice the difference in our hair? Faces? Height? Anything?”
The raven-haired girl shook her head, “No, he had the mask on, and your eyes are kind of shaped the same. From across the room, you guys looked very similar. And his hair-”
“I saw, he died it red. I guess it was to confuse you.”
“Yeah, he even pulled it into that hat, so I only saw a few strands. I really thought it was you.” Arashi offered a weak grin, “Sorry.”
The assassin shrugged, “Its okay, I understand how it happened at least… so that means you thought I was the Mastermind? And that's why you attacked me? That must have been his plan, to confuse you and turn you against your own team.”
“No.” Arashi stated, “That couldn't be the case. Remember? He grabbed my foot and stopped me from breaking your neck. If he wanted to turn us against each other he wouldn't have rescued you. If anything, he would have used telepathy to stretch reality further and create some sort of catastrophic event.”
“True. But it's a lot of work for nothing. He dressed up like me, and it succeeded in him luring you away…” he looked at Arashi and asked, “Did he do anything to you?”
She blushed deeply and shook her head, “No! Of course not!”
“Then what happened?”
“Why?”
“He might have done something and you don't know he did it. I've been his adversary longer than you have, I know more of his tricks.”
She sighed and began, “Well, I followed him up one of the roof tops and when I got to the top, I asked him what was going on. And he took off his mask… uh… then I was about to run away when Farfarello-”
“Who?”
“The Berserker.”
“Oh.” Nodded Aya.
“He jumped out and they said I couldn't leave because they didn't want me to kill anyone. He said he just wanted to hang out with Chikaru or something, instead of doing his job.”
“Did they attack you?”
“No. But I attacked the Berserker with some of my hidden knives. Then I ran, I got to this roof top, you must have been lost too, and that's when I attacked you.”
Aya nodded, “Wow, it seems so simple.” He paused then asked, “So where do you think the Berserker is now?”
A blur appeared before between the two, it said, “Get off the roof” as it disappeared down the stairs.
The two looked at each other in silence, Arashi then answered, “I think he's getting off the roof.”
“We should follow. If even he's running, then either something big is about to go down, or it already has.” The red head stated.
~*~
Malvagita at this point was looking around for Crawford, “This is ridiculous, I should have found out what he was wearing.” She looked around then thought aloud, “Maybe he's still up in his room.”
She tossed the butt of her cigar and headed for the stairs.
~*~
Crawford glared at the woman across the room, “Who are you?” he demanded.
She had her back turned to them; she was gazing down at the blood covered rosary beads. They looked like fat tears of blood, held together by a thread of angel hair. She slid her fingers over the beads and brushed off the crimson fluid, then placed the beads back on her neck.
“What is your name and what is your business here!” Crawford demanded again.
After smoothing out the beads around her neck, the woman started walking down the hall at the back of the room, paying no attention to the yelling American.
Omi pulled out his needles and threw them at her, she stepped to the side of them and turned. “I have no wish to fight you.” She stated.
“Why's that?” demanded Youji.
“Because if you sacrifice all your pawns at the beginning of a chess game you'll lose.” She paused then stated more clearly, “I have better plans for you.”
Crawford pulled out his gun and stated, “I'm afraid you've interfered with my plans. The penalty for such intrusions is death.” He cocked it and fired 6 bullets at her.
She remained perfectly still but the bullets all slowed and came to a complete stop before coming within 2 feet of her. Crawford glared, “Nagi, what the hell do you think you're doing?”
Nagi was silent for a moment before explaining, “It wasn't me.”
The woman chuckled, her blood red lips curling in sick pleasure, “I'm a telekinetic… as well as a pre-cognitive, a telepath and so much more.”
Youji laughed, “Then I guess we'll have to get rid of you before you can pose a threat.” He launched his wire towards her.
Omi shot his darts, hoping that multiple people attacking at once would confuse her. Nagi seemed to have the same idea, his eyes began to glow white as his hair lifted as though there were wind, he was making an effort to bind the girl within his grasp.
Schuldig wrapped his mind around hers, forcing it to submit to him. Crawford reloaded his gun and started shooting more.
Farfarello, Ken, Chikaru, Aya and Arashi all watched for the moment, not wanting to get in the way of anyone's' attacks.
She laughed once more, and manipulated the wire to spin, forcing away the darts. She made the bullets drop to the ground. “Fools, do you not understand.”
The woman charged, attacking the closest person. Youji tried to defend himself with his wire; the woman grabbed it and broke the spool off his watch with telekinesis. “You can't fight me with material objects.” She kneed him in the face, then spun to deliver a heel in Omi's face. “Because I control them.”
Nagi called on a chair to block her attack on Omi, she proceeded in the attack and sent the chair hurling towards Nagi, crushing him against the wall.
Crawford lunged to attack her. She laughed and engaged in a fight with him, which lasted some time, “I can beat you Crawford. I'm a pre-cog, I can see the future and change my own fate.”
“I can see it too, I can protect myself.”
She laughed, “This is why fights between pre-cognitives are so amusing. Each one changes the attack they were going to use, changing the future, so neither one can see the others attacks before they come.”
“I might not be able to see yours.” Crawford stated, “But you can't see mine either.” He swung around with a back kick.
“Which means it all comes down to who the better fighter is.” She stated, jumping above his leg and kicking.
He moved his head and gripped her leg, squeezing hard, “In fighting, there are still more advantages you overlook.” She winced at the strong hold though she tried to keep fighting despite her captive foot. Crawford continued, “As a male, I have more raw muscle power.”
She pried free her leg and boxed his face; he flipped backwards, avoiding the attack, “Perhaps your right.” She started a diving handstand that resulted in her walking on her hands and kicking rapidly at him simultaneously, “But one strong hit can end the fight.”
“True. The only problem is landing the hit.” He ducked and kneed her spine; she spun away from the attack just in time to avoid it.
Schuldig chuckled, “There's one more advantage you over looked. His being on a team, means he has members to assist him.”
The Mastermind closed his eyes and put a hand on a chair, to keep full concentration, he then forced his way into her head, putting all of his effort into tearing down the strong barriers erected.
Farfarello jumped in and started attacking the woman with both of his knifes, constantly extending and retracting them with expert precision. It became a complicated dance of avoiding the moving blades, which continually adjusted.
Aya at this point decided it was his turn to help, if this person could defeat Schwarz, then Weiß would definitely have their hands full. Considering this, he found it best to team up temporarily.
The woman spun just in time to clap her hands together on the blade. Aya pushed harder and she kept her hands pressed together, suddenly, the entire blade shattered.
She laughed a deep and bone-chilling chuckle, “With all the powers I possess, you don't think I've learned to use them…” she grinned, “simultaneously.”
Schuldig's plain face suddenly wore a hint of pain. She turned to hold off Crawford's attack when she turned her face towards Farfarello. Little by little Schuldig's look of pain greatened, he lifted his hands to hold his head, at this point, he was trying to keep her out of his head.
A small trickle of blood dripped from his hairline when he screamed and fell to the ground.
Farfarello lifted his blades when his head was suddenly filled with the ear-splitting loud noise of church bells. He growled and tried to block it out, when thousands of church bells rang in his ears.
He screamed and threw his swords, ducking and covering his ears. He continued to scream, trying to block out the noise, but he couldn't even hear his own screams over the sound of the bells.
The woman threw Crawford across the room, and picked up one of the knives and threw it at Farfarello, sending it sinking into his side. She put her hand on Aya's chest, and he levitated.
She smiled, “I could kill every one of you without twitching my little finger.” She dropped him and stated, “My name is Celica. And I'm killing what stands between me and power.”
Celica turned and walked down the hallway, slowly disappearing. Ken suddenly stated, “Oh shit, explosives.”
They looked around the room and suddenly noticed the explosives planted everywhere. Crawford ordered, “Everybody out now! This entire place is going to blow.”
Everyone got up and started out, some with trouble, some being carried. Crawford held his head and tried to think through what was happening, he had the worst feeling that he was forgetting something.
~*~
Malvagita was now wandering around the rooftops. She stopped and crossed her arms, “Where in the hell am I?”
She crossed her arms and sighed, “Its so quiet out here.” She sighed and leaned over the banister. As she gazed out at the moon, and the large pond that reflected in perfectly she began to think back on her earlier kiss.
The Italian smiled playfully and brushed her fingers over her lips upon recalling the event. She was suddenly roused from her musings by an ear-shattering explosion. She instantly turned around and started for the doorway.
The ground before her began to rise, pieces of the ground jutting up right where she was about to step. The balcony tilted, causing her to start sliding down the marble tiles.
She started trying to gain her footing when another explosion erupted, the intact part of the balcony rose beneath her, then suddenly dropped out, leaving her temporarily falling through the air.
Because of the momentum she gained from sliding, she was rapidly moving towards the banister… or over it to be more precise.
Desperately she reached out her hands, hoping to latch onto something, her hand hit the railing, she held on desperately, but she was slipping due to the smooth and faultless surface of the marble.
She looked beneath her where rubble lay over 3 floors below her. Panicked she screamed for someone to help her. She tried to kick up her feet to hold onto one of the balusters.
This resulted in her sliding more, “No! Someone! Help me!” she looked down at the ground again and bit back a choked sob, she tried to fight back the tears already rolling down her face.
She felt herself slowly slipping, so slowly it seemed as if death was taunting her for sadistic pleasure.
She chanted to herself, “No. No. No. No. No.” she slipped over a ridge, “Oh God! Please. No. No. No. No. SOMEBODY HELP! Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God.” Her fingers slipped off the last decorative ridge.
Instantly, the sick feeling of weightlessness sunk into her body as she felt her dress lifting, being less heavy than she was. But it only lasted a second…
A strong hand clasped around her own. Mal looked up to see Crawford, “Oh God, thank you!” she cried out, too grateful to have any sarcastic remark.
Brad heaved her up and looked over his shoulder, “The door way is blocked.” Mal clutched the front of his clothes with a death grip. “I wouldn't have gone that way anyways.” He then stated.
As the banister started to crumble, he picked Malvagita up in his arms, holding her chest close to his own and her head within the nook of his neck, a frail attempt at protecting her, but assuring nonetheless.
He headed up some of the crumbling rocks. He stepped off each rock seconds before it crumbled and gained footing right at the perfect second to move on with out fail. When Mal opened her eyes again she screamed, “Why the hell are we on the top of the building! We want down!”
Crawford was still swiftly moving from rock to rock, “We do, but if we go down too soon, we'll get injured.”
“You're logic sucks!”
“I assure you, A pre-cog is never wrong.”
Mal rolled her eyes and hid her face, “That doesn't comfort me much.”
“You've heard the story of the mule in the hole, correct?” Crawford asked.
Mal thought about it. The one where a mule fell into a hole a farmer needed to fill up. The mule couldn't get out of the deep hole but as the dirt fell, it shook it off and too a step up, in no time, it was able to walk right out of the hole. “Yes…”
Brad nodded, “Good, this is like that, in a twisted sort of way. The building is going down, and I'm riding it down, since it will all be a big heap eventually, it shouldn't be that hard.”
Mal grasped his clothes more tightly, “Just tell me when its over.”
~*~
Back at the Koneko, Arashi scooped out ice cream for herself, deciding she needed it. Before she put the tub away, Aya reached out and took it. Arashi looked at him, “Want me to make you some ice cream?”
Aya shook his head, “No, its one of my few food professions.”
“You cook?”
“No. Youji makes fun of the fact that I can prepare filet minion better than most gourmet restraunts, but I cant hard boil and egg to save my life.” He started scooping and continued, “Ice cream is one of the few things I can make well.”
Arashi sat down by the table and asked, “Well then, how well can you make it?”
Aya paused then shrugged, “I guess you can decide on that.” In moments he turned around and had both bowls filled with strawberry and vanilla ice cream. There were swirls of hot fudge, and a crown of whipped cream and a cherry on each.
Arashi swooned, “Those look so good.”
Aya passed one to Arashi and suggested, “We can eat these in my room. You don't feel so much like a gold fish in a tank once you're away from these windows in the shop.
Arashi nodded and followed him up the stairs, “So, what do you think of that Celica girl?”
Aya sat down on his bed, “From a professional point of view? She attacked our targets, since we didn't kill them we don't get paid. Not only that, she blew the rest of the mission by blowing the place to the ground. So, I pretty much want her to drop dead.” He paused to eat some food and then added, “But she was strong, so, if she became a member of the team, that would benefit us.”
“Then, from a non professional point of view?”
“I want her to drop dead. Period.” Aya stated.
Arashi smiled, “Good answer.”
~*~
The members of Schwarz stumbled into their home, feeling like the living dead. Chikaru was marching off towards the stairs stating how she would tend to Farfarello's and Schuldig's booboos, and make them all better.
Mal yawned and sat down at in one of the chairs, “I am so tired. By the way, where is Nagi?”
Crawford sat down and shed his jacket; “He fell asleep in the car, so I left him there. Why wake him up and end up making him unable to go to sleep?”
The Italian tugged at her dress, “I know this is stupid sounding, but do you have anything I can wear?”
The American laughed, “You're right that is stupid. I'm sure if I pulled out some shorts, and hemmed them, they'd work for you.”
“You ass hole! I'm not that short!”
The man stood up and ruffled her hair, “I know, you're just foreign.”
“Hey!”
“Come on, I've got clothes in my room.” The two made it up the stairs and Crawford pulled out a cotton shirt that was so cozy, it felt warm to the touch. Mal grabbed it and a pair of boxers he held out and ran into the bathroom.
Crawford turned and started on his own garments. When Mal came back out he was neatly folding his socks before putting them away. Mal laughed, “You fold your socks?”
The American looked at her as though she's suddenly grown antlers, he finally shook his head, “Europeans, no idea of decency.”
Mal huffed then looked over at the bed, it was huge, just as she remembered it, slightly larger than a king sized bed. She gathered her breath, “I call the bed.” Crawford beat her to it.
The Italian glared at the man who was now in the rest room, washing his face. Malvagita got in the bed anyways and pulled the sheets over her. Crawford called from the next room, “I called the bed.”
She grinned, “Well, because I lost, I've decided you should share.”
Crawford removed his glasses and put them on the desk then turned to get in the bed. He grumbled, “Fine, just stay on your side.”
Malvagita move back onto `her side' and pulled the covers up. Crawford got into the bed and lay down, he closed his eyes and was about to go to sleep when there was a small poke on his ankle, followed by a whisper, “Got you last.”
Crawford shifted his foot and tapped Mal's foot with his own, “Got you back.”
She poked him and he poked her. It eventually erupted into a poking fight, each trying to brush or touch the other discreetly. This game lasted about a half hour till Crawford finally just took the last tap and let it drop.
Mal went to sleep with a smile on her face from winning. But Crawford was still awake. When he was sure that his `friend' was definitely asleep he propped himself up and looked down at her face under the glow of the moonlight.
He slowly leaned forward and gently kissed her lips; he leaned back onto his pillow and whispered to himself, “Got you last.” He turned over and went to sleep, never seeing Mal crack open and eye and smile as she reached up and brushed her fingers over her lips again.
~*~
Schuldig complained, “I can't believe she fell asleep, here I was looking for a bit of fun.”
Farfarello shifted so the figure lying on his shoulder wouldn't wake up, “Of course she fell asleep, she's still young.” He picked her up and stated, “I bet the only reason she stayed awake longer than Nagi is because you were terrifying her with mental images.”
The German whined, “You make me sound like such a sadist.”
“And what would you call yourself.”
“Devilicious.”
Farfarello refused to acknowledge the statement and instead lay Chikaru down in a bed. Farfarello started walking towards the door when Schuldig dashed by him. He watched as Schuldig loomed over the bed.
The German leaned forward and kissed Chikaru on the forehead, “I'll see you in the morning beautiful.” The blonde smiled and cooed in delight, before turning over and grasping her pillow with a wide smile on her face. Schuldig smiled too as he drew his fingers threw the silky locks a few times.
Farfarello watched but eventually had to leave the room. The only thing in his head being, `Fate mocks me; it brings something so close and then takes it away. Every time. Damn it.'
~*~
Aya, finishing last, put down his bowl. Arashi commented, “You eat slow.”
“Who says you don't just eat fast?” Aya asked playfully as he poked Arashi in the side.
Arashi yelped before quickly reaching up and covering her mouth. Aya looked at her before spreading a wide grin, “What was that?”
“Nothing.”
He poked her again, “I think it was something.”
Arashi yelped again before growling, “Hey stop that!” she poked him back. Aya
gasped and bit back a chuckle. Arashi laughed, “Hah! You're ticklish too!”
gasped and bit back a chuckle. Arashi laughed, “Hah! You're ticklish too!”
“No!” Aya poked her side a few times.
“Oh yes you are!” she laughed as she attacked him.
He tried to suppress his laughter but finally attacked her sides and tickled her as well. Arashi tried to push him away and eventually rolled on top of him to get the upper hand.
After a moment they were in a full on giggle wrestle match. It was separated after some time by three blank stares in the doorway.
Arashi and Aya paused, their hold still on each other's sides. Arashi finally snarled, “Hey! This is a private party! Get!” The three assassins instantly fled.
~*~
“And you open the door and you step inside. We're inside our hearts. Now imagine your pain is a white ball of healing light.”
Mal sat up and stared at Brad. “Crawford? Are you asleep?”
“That's right, your pain, the pain itself is a white ball of healing light... I don't think so!”
“Crawford, are you talking in your sleep?” Mal questioned.
“This is your life, good to the last drop. Doesn't get any better than this, this is your life and its ending one minute at a time.”
Mal stared in awe and shock as Crawford recited this `speech' in his sleep.
“This isn't a seminar, it isn't a weekend retreat! Where you are now you couldn't even imagine what the bottom looks like. Only after disaster can we be resurrected. It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything. Nothing is static. Everything is falling, everything is falling apart. This is your life, this is your life, this is your life, and it's ending one-minute at a time. Doesn't get any better than this. This is your life and its ending one minute at a time.”
Mal's eye twitched, “Such cheerful dreams.”
“YOU ARE NOT A BEAUTIFUL AND UNIQUE SNOWFLAKE! You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else! You are all part of the same compost heap. You are the all singing, all dancing crap of the world. You are not your bank account. You are not the clothes you wear. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not your bowl cancer. You are not your Grande latte. You are not the CAR YOU DRIVE! You are not your f*cking khakis.”
Mal could only say one thing, “…?”
“You have to give up. You have to give up. You have to realize that some day you will die. Until you know that, you are useless. I say, let me never be complete. I say, may I never be content. I say, DELIVER ME FROM SWEDISH FURNITURE! I say, deliver me from clever arts! I say, deliver me from clear skin and perfect teeth! I say, you have to give up. I say, evolve, and let the chips fall where they may.”
Crawford chuckled lazily in his sleep then continued with a dictator voice, “This is your life! It doesn't get any better than this. This is your life. And it's ending one-minute at a time. You have to give up. You have to give up-”
“BRAD!” Mal finally yelled.
“What?” Crawford demanded, sitting up instantly.
“Were you asleep.”
Crawford looked at her like she'd had her frontal lobe removed, “Yes, I was Mal, thanks for waking me up to ask me that. I was having a very nice dream.”
“You sounded like Big Brother.”
“From 1984?”
“Yes.”
Crawford contemplated it, “You know, I do respect him. But I was actually quoting Brad Pitt.”
Mal rolled her eyes and turned over, then took his pillow and put it over her head. Crawford looked at the clock, “Its 4:55, I'm going back to bed.” Mal mumbled to acknowledge the statement.
In mere moments, acoustics and electric guitars started playing in the front yard obviously on top volume. Mal grumbled, “I didn't know you had damn hooligans in this neighborhood… oh God, I sound like an old woman.”
Crawford sighed, “Its just Schuldig. He'll go away when the song is over.”
Mal asked, “Does that sound like `Scotty Doesn't Know' to you?” The music was playing so loud; the windowpanes were vibrating to the beat.
Brad was about to reply when Schuldig started belting his re-make of the lines:
Crawford doesn't know
The Malvagita and me
Do it in my Van every Sunday.
She tells him she's at Church
But she doesn't go
Still she's on her knees and
Crawford doesn't know, oh
Crawford doesn't know-oh
So don't tell Crawford
Crawford doesn't know
So don't tell Crawford!
Malvagita says that she's out shoppin'
But she's under me and I'm not stopping
Cause Crawford doesn't know,
Crawford doesn't know
So don't tell Crawford.
I can't believe he's so trustin,
While I'm right behind her thrustin
Malvagitas got him on the phone
Yeah she's trying not to moan-
“Hey! Hey! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!” Schuldig yelled as Mal and Crawford both fought for the window to kill him… slowly. While Schuldig did the dance of dodging, Chikaru made her way out to the porch to get the newspaper and mail from the previous day.
She called up to Crawford and Mal, “Celica has sent a message!” Instantly all was silent as everyone examined the black envelope with the blood read seal dripping down the front.
Mal turned to Brad, “She knows where we live?”
Crawford nodded, “Obviously. I knew we were dealing with a professional, she's obviously done her job, to be able to find us that is.”
Mal hit his arm, “You sound like you're admiring her.”
“Well she's certainly a worthy opponent. And there are very few things a professional will send in a written letter.”
“So?”
“One of those things is a request for alliance.” He looked down at Mal, “By working with this woman, we stand a greater chance of being able to overpower Esset.”
Mal looked confused for a moment, “But… don't you work for Esset?”
“Against our will.”
The two began to change, Mal shook her head and in mocking voice stated, “I'm disappointed in you. They can't make you do anything.”
Crawford nodded, “That's true. But they can persuade us.” He looked at her, “Even you have not been exposed to the horrors Esset is capable of.” He straightened his tie; “There are things worse than death you know.”
The Italian asked, “Didn't you kill the leaders already? I thought I heard about something of that sort in a conversation with some fellow Crime lords.”
“You did. We thought we defeated them, we all attacked with our abilities, and we had thought we won. Turns out it was just a trick.”
“A trick? How does their death become a trick?”
“One of them foresaw the event. So they had shape shifters take their place, which is why `they' were hardly a match for our skills. It was only after we thought we were free of their hold that they revealed themselves once more.” He closed his eyes as though trying to block out a memory, “We stupidly `bit the hand that fed us' and like a whipped dog we were forced back into submission.”
Malvagita questioned, “What did they do? What could they possibly do to you guys? Farfarello's got enough problems. Nagi's just a kid-”
“Esset doesn't care. Nagi was punished as severely as the rest of us.” He paused, “Even Schuldig refrained from disrespect and feared the result of acting out for some time.”
“That seems impossible! They're just sick minded!”
“I know… I can't stand working for them or beneath them any longer. Schwarz is practically their dogs!”
“Do you think Celica can defeat them?”
Crawford shrugged, “I'm going to have to use every dirty trick in the book to catch them off guard and betray them. I just hope that with her help it will be enough.”
~*~
Aya opened the letter and read it, “It's from her.”
Arashi looked over his shoulder, “Who?”
“Celica?” Omi asked.
Aya nodded, “We're supposed to meet her tonight to discuss and alliance.”
Arashi asked, “An alliance? With her? You've got to be kidding me! Tear it up and burn it already. We want nothing to do with her.”
Youji disagreed, “She was able to kill all the targets quickly and accurately.”
Arashi added, “She also killed every other person in there.” She turned to Omi, “You know the other people back stage with you? Did any of them seem like evil people we needed to assassinate?”
“Um… no, they were really nice, and just doing the job they were bought to do.” Omi meekly replied.
“Well they're all dead because of her. She killed every person in there, guilty or innocent! We don't want a person like that on our team.” Arashi stated.
Ken argued, “She said she was killing the people that got in her way. It makes sense.”
Arashi shook her head, “But half the people there wouldn't pose any threat to her position in power. There were crime lords children there, who just came along for the party. There were completely innocent workers there just serving drinks or dancing to pay off a debt their family had.” She looked at Aya, “Celica mercilessly killed them. That isn't a trait we want!”
Youji stated, “We're assassins, we mercilessly kill. Does that make us unsuitable for this team?”
The raven-haired girl glared, “We are assassins, not murderers. We only kill the people that are causing thousands of unjustifiable deaths.”
Aya stood up and started to leave the room. Arashi turned to him, “Aya? Aren't you going to back me up here?”
Aya paused, “No.”
“Why not? Don't you see that she's a bad person?”
“Yes. But that's not the matter right now.” He turned, “She was strong enough to hold of us and Schwarz. That's 8 trained assassins. We can hardly hold of Schwarz even when we ambush and have an advantage. Her alliance will make us 3 times as strong. We can defeat Schwarz and call off our alliance with her.”
Arashi glared at Aya and he glared back. Both were firmly confident in their points. Arashi finally huffed, “Fine.”
And this is a random sad little song…
You can't really tell its sad cause you can't hear it
Im Sturz durch Raum und Zeit
Richtung Unendlichkeit
fliegen Motten in das Licht,
genau wie du und ich
Irgendwie fängt irgendwann
irgendwo die Zukunft an
ich warte nicht mehr lang
Liebe wird aus Mut gemacht
denk nicht lange nach,
wir fahren auf Feuerrädern richtung Zukunft durch die Nacht
Gib mir die Hand, ich bau dir ein Schloss aus Sand
irgendwie , irgendwo, irgendwann
Die Zeit ist reif, für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit
irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann
Im Sturz durch Zeit und Raum,
erwacht aus einem Traum
Nur ein kurzer Augenblick
dann kehrt die Nacht zurück
Irgendwie fängt irgendwann
irgendwo die Zukunft an
ich warte nicht mehr lang
Liebe wird aus Mut gemacht
denk nicht lange nach,
wir fahren auf Feuerrädern richtung Zukunft durch die Nacht
Gib mir die Hand, ich bau dir ein Schloss aus Sand
irgendwie , irgendwo, irgendwann
Die Zeit ist reif, für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit
irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann
Gib mir die Hand, ich bau dir ein Schloss aus Sand
irgendwie , irgendwo, irgendwann
Die Zeit ist reif, für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit
irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann
irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann
irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann
Richtung Unendlichkeit
fliegen Motten in das Licht,
genau wie du und ich
Irgendwie fängt irgendwann
irgendwo die Zukunft an
ich warte nicht mehr lang
Liebe wird aus Mut gemacht
denk nicht lange nach,
wir fahren auf Feuerrädern richtung Zukunft durch die Nacht
Gib mir die Hand, ich bau dir ein Schloss aus Sand
irgendwie , irgendwo, irgendwann
Die Zeit ist reif, für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit
irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann
Im Sturz durch Zeit und Raum,
erwacht aus einem Traum
Nur ein kurzer Augenblick
dann kehrt die Nacht zurück
Irgendwie fängt irgendwann
irgendwo die Zukunft an
ich warte nicht mehr lang
Liebe wird aus Mut gemacht
denk nicht lange nach,
wir fahren auf Feuerrädern richtung Zukunft durch die Nacht
Gib mir die Hand, ich bau dir ein Schloss aus Sand
irgendwie , irgendwo, irgendwann
Die Zeit ist reif, für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit
irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann
Gib mir die Hand, ich bau dir ein Schloss aus Sand
irgendwie , irgendwo, irgendwann
Die Zeit ist reif, für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit
irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann
irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann
irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann