Hey, hey, hey! Just a few things before proceeding…um, this fic deals with character death…it also deals with reincarnation so, like, if that would offend your religious beliefs, you shouldn't continue. But otherwise, kick back, enjoy and r+r! ^.^
Prologue-End
"Please come back,
please come back
Like all the other ones do..."
-the Cure, 'the Top'
I remember Brad's screams. They will be forever embedded into my memory. And I know that if I hadn't been drunk on a mission, or if I had a second thought about trying to fight Balinese in my weakened state, maybe I wouldn't have caused Brad so much grief. The sensation of the wire around my neck, tight to cut off my air, that feeling will always stroke past my throat. The colors that flashed in front of my eyes as I could feel darkness taking over will always be there when I close my eyes. And the feeling of release, my final moment of life that was so swiftly jerked away, will always be etched in my mind. I felt nothing, but I could still see and sense what was going on around me. Balinese was gone and Farfello kneeled over me, shaking me, trying to wake me up. Nagi stood a bit behind, staring with concern in those wide eyes of his, trying to process what was happening, not quite believing what he saw.
So I stood and stepped aside, watching the two young men fervently trying to revive the redhead under them. His face was blue and his eyes were open, a fine line of blood creating a collar around his neck because of how tight the wire had been pulled, as if Balinese meant to actually sever his head.
I heard a gasp from behind me and turned to see Brad standing there, motionless, mouth agape. He had been on the front line of the battle and had just arrived back, outside of the colossal corporate building to see what had unfolded in his absence. I watched him closely as his bottom lip had begun to quiver, dark, typically emotionless eyes wavering. He curled both hands into fists and his whole body shook as he stared at the body before him, the one that Farfello and Nagi had backed away from, awaiting their leader's instructions. I wanted to badly to reach out and touch him, to tell him not to cry and I tried. My hand rested solidly on his shoulder and I softly applied pressure to it.
"Brad…"
But he didn't hear me. He just dropped onto his knees beside the shell of my former self and cried. I watched as the tears made trails down his cheeks and nearly silent sobs were admitted from his throat. He leaned down to softly place a kiss on cold lifeless lips and brushed a few locks of hair away so he could softly caress the face, the pain all too evident in his eyes.
"Schu…Schuldig…I'm sorry, this is all my fault…"
I gaped and shook my head, brows narrowed and crouched down beside him.
"This is not your fault, Brad! I did this to my own damn self! Don't blame yourse-"
I stopped as I realized this had no effect. Brad didn't see me or hear me. He had no knowledge of my presence, nor did the others. I was invisible to them, like a shadow. My cheeks felt flushed and I was overcome by a wave of hopelessness. I whispered his name, knowing he couldn't hear me, just wishing that maybe, just maybe, it would work this time. It still proved to be in vain and the American let out a howl of anguish, collapsing onto the body's chest, sobbing into the green blazer, soaking it with tears. I quickly raised my eyes to the others. Nagi's head had dropped, shoulders trembling and I actually saw Farfello look upon me with sadness in his one amber eye. Brad screamed, screamed over and over and people had begun to wander over to see what the commotion was about. The last thing I saw was Brad's face full of guilt and despair, clutching like a child onto my shirt sleeves, face up close to mine, a barely audible whisper echoing in his mind.
'Don't leave me, Schu…what am I going to do if I lose you?'
It was at that moment a bright light engulfed me.