The darkness was warm and comforting, but Sylvia could feel the impending vision advancing. A precognitive's nightmare; Visions of the future assaulting them while they slept, twisting their dreams into terrifying scenes.
The comforting shadows of sleep released her as the vision unfolded and Sylvia was paralyzed by what she saw.
Joey sat on a an unkempt bed in a dingy room, crying but stifling his sobs in an attempt to stay quiet. Gun shots split the air repeatedly and he whimpered loudly at each new report. "Joey..." Sylvia reached out with a figmentary hand as if she could comfort the boy that she had helped raise. The door burst open just as she seemed to reach him, several Esset agents storming in and training their guns on the boy. Behind them, another agent followed, restraining a bound man that didn't look like he needed restraining at all.
"Oh god... Brad...!" There was no denying that it was him, not with the sharp cut of his cheek bones or the angular face. But he no longer held himself with the unconscious arrogance and pride that had been his trademark. His posture was slumped in defeat, shoulders stooped and head bowed, waiting for a punishment he knew he couldn't avoid.
"Brad?" Joey's eyes were wide with childish concern and worry. Though he didn't like the man, he knew there was something serious happening around him and that his father was involved in it.
The man holding the precognitive cuffed him across the back of the head roughly. "Say what you want so we can get this over with." With an unexpected shove, he propelled Brad towards the bed. The precognitive stumbled, arms coming up for balance and Sylvia felt herself pale. Because of his dark shirt, she hadn't seen the wound or the blood from it on his side. From just below his arm pit to the top of his hip was a mass of lacerations and raw flesh surrounded by charred skin. The edges of the hole in his shirt stuck to the wound and broke away as he shifted, creating fresh trickles of blood. Work of a pyrokinetic.
He caught himself in front of the bed, bending slightly to catch Joey's eyes. "I'm sorry Joey... Remember that. Tell your mother I'm sorry as well... I-"
"That's enough! You've said what you told us you wanted to tell him, so time's up!" The man who had restrained the precognitive snapped impatiently, drawing a gun and aiming it at directly at Brad. "Let this be an example to anyone else who dares oppose us!" The gun recoiled as it went off and the vision seemed to slow, a scream reverberating in Sylvia's ears that she would later identify as her own. Her brother staggered back as blood blossomed on his chest, his face falling slack in surprise, then swiftly losing all motion as his lifeless body fell backwards onto the dirty bed, crimson blood staining the rumpled sheets scarlet. Joey stared at the body wide eyed and pale faced, silent tears of horror trailing down his cheeks. Vaguely Sylvia registered tears on her own face, but was too shocked to wipe them away.
The scene in front of her faded out, the vision spent. Had she been awake, she would have fallen to her knees in shock from what she'd seen. "No... That can't happen... I won't let it..."
"It will." An amused voice cut through her shock, neither male nor female. "All that you save seen will transpire whether you wish it to or not if you don't leave now. Schwarz, Licht and Weiss will never agree to help Rot. Your own team won't be able to do it. Moira won't see the point since she doesn't remember and Gwen's not a fighter. You're on your own.
Eyes that would have widened had the bearer been awake twitched behind closed lids. "No... Both Eden and Bombay said that they'd help!"
"But Bombay is not Rot and Eden has left you for Weiss. How can you depend on them?" The voice snickered softly before continuing. "You were desperate enough to kidnap Kudou, hoping a belief that Weiss no longer existed would win him to your side. Idiot."
"I..."
"If you leave now, you might make it in time to stop them."
"But I can't..."
"Do you want to be responsible for Esset capturing Joey and for your brother's death?"
"I... No..."
"Then you know you have to leave." The voice was amused, as if it were watching all the plays of a game go perfectly.
"Yes... But..."
"No buts... You know what you have to do."
Sylvia nodded, still unsure. "But..." No answer was forthcoming, the shadows of sleep fading into the normal darkness that covered her sight when she closed her eyes. Biting her lip, Sylvia curled up as tight as her position on the couch would allow, finally giving in to the frustrated tears that she had been holding back since Eden had refused to return. "Damn it..."
Then the only sound in the darkened living room was muffled sobs and uneven breathing.