Author's Note: This is my first Weiss fanfic so please be nice. The pairings BradXSchu (waves banner around) cause I adore those two. Lots of others like AyaXYohji, NagiXOmi and maybe even FarfarelloXKen???? So all those homophobes out there must not read this story. I'm a teenager, the hormones wont give me rest till I do something like this.
Ken: NOOO!!! She's evil! Save us!
PM: *bops Ken* Sorry bout that! Escaped bishounen!
Crawford : Why did _I_ get kidnapped?!?
PM: Cause your my faavoooritte!!!
Schu: Don't worry Crawford! I'll save you!
Crawford: I am in _hell_.
PM: Oh, and Weiss does not belong to me. If they did then Schwarz would be ruling the series by now...
Weiss: HEY!
PM: Errr... gotta go! *runs away from Aya's newly polished katana*
Part 1 : Taking Perfection
for the love of something unattainable...
"Give up now, Oracle. You have no chance of winning this now," the man said coolly, gun trained on Crawford's head, while ten other's where trained on different parts of his body. His visions earlier told him that this was going to happen, but he let it anyway, knowing full well that they would get him eventually.
"All right,"
**************
"NOOO!!!"
Schuldich almost leaped up in his bed as he heard the flashes of conversation flash through their minds. He felt their smugness that they captured Rosenkreuz's Oracle, Schwarz's Leader...
Perfection.
Crawford, no. This can't be happening. Is that why you left all of us today? You said you were going to a fucking meeting! You did this so what? We wouldn't get killed?
Schuldich punched the wall in his room as he hurriedly pulled on his pants. A sick anger was burning in Schuldich's gut as he heard one of them men commenting in their head how pretty Crawford was.
Over my dead and rotting body, assholes!
He nearly knocked the door down in his hurry to get out of the apartment. If he was thinking rationally, he would have noticed that the other's doors were open, and they didn't have a sound coming out of them. If he was thinking logically, he would have felt the presence of four other people who were definitely NOT Schwarz. But he wasn't, so it was no surprise that a dart laced with tranquilizer hit him right in the neck, making him fall to the floor as unconsciousness slowly crept through his body.
"No..... Crawford... please.... don't leave.... me," he uttered as he fell into sleep.
**************
The next thing he knew, he was strapped to a table, half-naked, and faced with instruments that could have put a Hollywood horror film to shame. Needles, scalpels and knives lined his bedside as unrecognizable items hovered inches above his face.
"So, you are awake,"
He turned his head slightly to the side, and found a white haired man looking at him from a desk. He was mixing and switching different colored fluids into a small little test tube.
"Why am I here?"
The "mad doctor" smiled at him, as though pitying him for being an ignorant student caught daydreaming.
"Rosenkreuz called you Volkommenheit in their files, are you aware of that? The perfect student that came only once every ten thousand years. They knew they'd never find another mind quite like yours, so they trained you to become better than the best, even more than that. And still, you surpassed their expectations. You were their finest creation, and they gave you to the highest bidder at that time, Esset. And they gave you away for more money than you can ever imagine Crawford. So many wanted the best that the best could give. Your skills became legend in Esset, something the others aspired to. You were invincible then. Perfect..."
Crawford just watched him, eyes following his every movement. He didn't know why they wanted him, his visions only told him that they were out to get him.
"And so our group, Enders, decided to claim you..."
Crawford's eyebrow arched. Claim him? He was no mere object.
"... and use you for a test subject, with your permission or without,"
Slowly, things cleared in Crawford's hazy mind. He was going to play dummy to Mr. Frankenstein. No way.
"How do you know that I am what you are looking for?"
"Our recent test subjects never made it through the experiments. They became defects. We think that what Rosenkreuz calls Perfection will amount to much more,"
The liquid he had been stirring now became colorless, very much like water, but he knew that if it got injected into him somehow, he'd never be the same again.
He struggled vainly against his bonds, but they had him tied with chains dammit! Even he couldn't break it.
The man just sighed. "Why do you struggle? It'll be better for you once you live through it, don't worry," and the man pulled out a piece of cloth and stuck it over his nose. Chloroform, oh shit.
The world was starting to blur and he couldn't stop it. He last caught sight of the sickeningly long needle before he became unconscious.
**************
Brad was always alone. He was an orphan, left by his mother on the steps of an orphanage that screamed "Poverty!" They said the woman left a letter in his hands, stating "Brad Alexander Crawford. Born April 5," It hurt at first to realize that your mother left you in a dump, that she didn't want you, that maybe, nobody would want you.
It continued to be that way until he was three. When in the back way alleyways of the streets, he sat, crying as to why everyone hated him because he Saw what was going to happen. He learned very early that he was the only one who could do this, and he was beaten every time he told a soul about what he Saw. This was one of those times, painful welts adorning his back like the wounds they said God received when he was scourged. Interesting, that thought
"Hey kid..." a voice said from behind me.
Brad slowly turned around and found a pair of the greenest eyes on the face of the planet staring back at me. They belonged to a brown haired man, and he seemed to be about 20 or so.
"What are you crying about?" he talked again in a strangely comforting voice, soft and low, as though he where whispering to the most precious thing in the world. He handed Brad a white handkerchief, like his suit.
Brad just shook my head.
"I don't want to be alone anymore..." Brad said to the man before him.
"You won't be. I'll take you to a faraway place where they will teach you how to be Perfect,"
"Perfect...?"
"Yup, Perfect. I see great things await you kid. I have the same ability that you do,'
"Really, Mister?"
"Call me, Damien. What's your name kid?"
"Brad. Brad Alexander Crawford,"
"Brad... that names too vulnerable for someone Perfect. Alexander is too flashy, the Elder's will never approve. You'll have take Crawford from now on,"
"Crawford... yes. I will be Crawford,"
And that was how Brad Crawford was recruited by Rosenkreuz.
**************
Nagi opened his eyes slowly, and a slight frown appeared on his face as he registered the room. The window was on the wrong side of the wall and it was a whole different color. Hell, this wasn't even his house!
Then the events of the past few hours returned to him.
Weiss.
He tried to stand up and kill those worthless people who knocked HIM up when he found out that his legs were tied. So were his arms. He cursed while he surveyed his situation.
Schuldich was still passed out on the otherside of the room. Farfie was awake and in his straightjacket, mumbling again. Slowly with his telekinesis, he shook Schuldich awake.
//Brad ? //
// It's me, Nagi. //
// They've got Brad, Nagi. They're going to hurt him //
// Don't worry Schu. We'll get him back //
Nagi knew he had to calm Schuldich down. The telepath was dangerous when mad, and even now he could feel the anger collecting in the room. If Weiss should show up when Schuldich was fully healed, they'd all be dead.
And speak of the devil.
The redhead called Aya entered the room first, glaring at Schuldich. Schuldich just smirked back, but he could feel the hate again, and it was rising. The blond, Yohji followed next, as did Ken and Omi. They could feel Schuldich's hate, the other was too weak to construct his mental barriers properly, and his feeling were leaking out.
"Where is Crawford?"
Schuldich almost charged when Aya mentioned Crawford's name.
"Why would you care Weiss?" I said coolly, staring at Aya.
"What is his relation to a group named the Enders?"
// Enders... they are the people who have Crawford, chibi //
// What do they want with him? //
// He's going to be a test subject, Nagi. They'll break him if he even resists. They're testing a new drug on him that's killed more than we have. //
"That is none of your business, Weiss"
"You will remain here as prisoners if you refuse to answer, and what help will that be to Crawford?" Kudou commented, eyeing Schuldich carefully.
Schuldich silently cursed his slipping mental shields. Kudou now knew Crawford was in trouble, but not what kind.
Nagi weighed the consequences in his head. Not tell Weiss, and wait for them to pass judgment on them while Crawford got tortured or answer the questions and somehow get Weiss to help them. He knew the answer as soon as he saw the choices.
"The Enders have Crawford. They want him so that they could test a new drug on him, a drug that no one has taken and survived for very long. They will break him slowly, eating at his memories until they have nothing but the perfect killing machine left. The drugs are said to alter both physical and mental states. You may not care about Crawford's value to Schwarz, but our loyalty lies with him and we are willing to do whatever is necessary to do to get him back,"
Nagi observed them curiously, judging their reactions to what he had currently stated And he was beginning to doubt whether his confession of loyalty was the right thing to do.
For a moment, he mused on that. It was true, in a weird way. Crawford and Schwarz were like the family Nagi never knew or ever had. He'd be damned if he'd let some loonies destroy another person whom he cared about.
"Are you proposing a truce?" The small blond said, almost ecstatically.
"Yes," Nagi said. I knew we would have trouble convincing Farfarello that "God's Angels" have fallen.
"How do we know that you shall not back stab us once you have Crawford?"
"It will take sometime for Crawford to heal. We are quite sure that right now he is being tested upon by the said drugs. Schwarz will be out of commision for a few months till he is fully recovered..." He said calmly. He could see Tsukiyono's shoulders sag with relief.
"However..." Nagi continued "...the truce will end once we have Crawford and there will be no guarantees that we will not attack you once Schwarz is mobile again,"
This made Weiss tense again. Funny how they laid out their feelings out in the open. Schwarz could easily twist that against them. He remembered one of the lectures he had with Crawford.
*************
He was brought to a small house near the forest. His "friend" told him that he was going to teach him how destroy society little by little. He knew that he would accept it, even if there was no bargain.
He would follow Crawford to the ends of the world.
When they reached the house's small door, Crawford's hand rested on the knob, but he didn't turn it. I wondered why, and for a few second's I felt scared that he regretted bringing me, because I just wasn't good enough. I was never good enough.
He turned to me and he saw the fear on my face. He stared straight into my eyes and said:
"Never show them what you really feel, Nagi. Emotions are weaknesses that can be used against us. That, is your first lesson as Schwarz,"
And I knew that I was never going to be alone anymore.
**************
and for the hate of something indestructible...
Part 2 : Opposites That Are Basically The Same
The others had to literally drag Aya from a grinning Farfarello, who had a knife hidden in his boot and somehow managed to escape his straight jacket. The Irishman was now sporting a bleeding arm thanks to Aya, and the redhead currently had a rather large knife wound on his leg, but other than that, everything was fine. Nagi had helped restrain Farfarello and held him still while Yohji returned with chains from god-knows-where.
"Calm down Aya-kun!" Omi tried to pacify the furious redhead leader, who literally was seeing red. A voice broke through the utter quiet that we didn't break.
"It's Schuldich..."
I turned to Yohji who currently had a thoughtful look on his face, as though he were currently analyzing a problem that he knew the answer to, but evaded him still.
"What's with Schuldich?"
"His barriers aren't fixed right, and some of his thoughts somehow were projected to me,"
Ken seemed thoughtful for a second too. "I think I understand what your saying. I felt an immense anger for somebody and the feeling of utter helplessness. But I didn't know why I was feeling it," he looked at Aya for a second, then at Yohji. "So your saying that Aya over here is reacting to the anger that Schuldich was emanating?"
"Yup, I think so. Farfarello just burst his already growing hate bubble. And know another surprising thing? They were really sincere about what they said about following Crawford. Hell, I think they'd follow him to death if that was what he asked of them,"
Aya, who had managed to gain some semblance of sanity, got direct to the point.
"So what do we do about them?"
Yohji almost smirked at him. He loved this man to pieces , but sometimes, Aya's directness was a little funny. He glanced at his lover.
"Isn't it obvious? We accept their truce. Their loyalty to Crawford will prevent them from turning on us until they are perfectly sure that he is all right, and with their psychic abilities, they'd be a great help to capture the Enders,"
Aya frowned. "I have bad feelings about this,"
"So does Schwarz, but this cannot be helped," Nagi said from the top of the staircase.
"We know for a fact that the Enders have been getting ready for terrorism the last century or so, and they have spies everywhere. It would be best for both teams if we helped each other for some time. A group of four is too small to defeat an army as large as Tokyo. We would be of great help to you," Nagi stated logically.
"So you are speaking for the rest of Schwarz on this matter?" Ken asked quietly, hoping against all hope, that for sometime, there would be no more fighting between them. Aya just looked coldly at the Schwarz hacker as Omi studied him intently. Yohji's eyes questioned him from the couch,
"Schuldich is not in his best mental state right now, and Farfarello is not capable to make these kinds of decisions. So that is a confirmation of your question, Hidaka,"
"Ahh... so that settles it then!" Omi said ecstatically from the his place beside Ken. Yohji sometimes wondered if Omi didn't just live off caffeine and sugar. The boy was like a damn rubber ball, bouncing off some idea or the other.
"Hey, Nagi! You hungry or something? We have ice cream in the fridge today. You want some?" Omi offered, looking at the youngest member of Schwarz. Nagi glared skeptically at Omi, which had the same effect as a pebble has on Godzilla.
"I'm not going to poison you or anything," he laughed as he almost literally dragged Nagi to the kitchen. The other had no other choice but to be pulled along, eyeing Weiss with suspicion. Yohji grinned as he watched Omi try to chat Nagi's ears off. He knew he wouldn't have a problem with those two. They actually seemed to tolerate each other quite nicely.
**************
"So what flavor would you like? Yohji-kun bought Aya-kun two flavors of ice cream, saying that the he needed a little more sweetness in his life. And Aya-kun actually retorted that his teeth were rotting from all the affection Yohji was showering him with," Omi grinned goofily at the memory of his two teammates actions. Who would have believed that Aya the iceberg would actually consider even being in a relationship with Japan's most notorious playboy? And who would have expected them to last for a whole year?
Then he noticed that Nagi was smiling sadly as he listened to the other boy.
"Are you alright, Nagi-kun?"
The younger boy just sighed forlornly, as though he were struggling with some inner problem that was troubling him very much.
"I'm okay. They just remind me of some people. I'm also worried about Crawford,"
Omi's brow furrowed lightly. Crawford, the person who had Schwarz curled in the very palm of his hand, his to control and destroy. A question surged forth from his lips before he could contain it.
"Why?"
Nagi stared incredulously at him. "Why what?"
"Why are you so devoted to Crawford?"
"Why are you devoted to Weiss?" the other returned.
The question instantly prompted an answer from him.
"Because they are the family that I never had..."
Nagi then smirked at him and Omi realized the blindingly obvious. He and Nagi were somehow the same. People without pasts, struggling with the present and reaching for the future.
Black that aspired to the light and white that lived in the darkness. Opposites that were somehow quite the same.
A hand wrapped around his, and Omi understood.
**************
Nagi entered the room Schuldich was placed in. Currently, he was sitting on a chair, orange bangs held back with the usual bandana and shades. However, his frame did not exude the same mischievousness and seduction it usually held. It was droopy, as though it were tired and weary.
// What's up chibi? //
// We must not attack Weiss while under truce Schuldich //
// I know. Tell that to Farfarello. I'm not the one whose gone insane here? //
// Farfarello isn't in love with Crawford... //
Schuldich slowly turned to face Nagi. The boy was the only one who knew about how he really felt for the precog. He knew by accident really. It was one of those times when Schuldich felt his control slipping, and Nagi was the only one who was there...
*************
// Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. //
That stupid nursery rhyme was ringing in Schuldich's head as the stormy weather grew worse. The voices of dozen's of others were also present, tearing slowly at his brain.
// Little children want to play //
Slowly, he knew he was going to his past again. And he didn't even try to stop it. The room faded slowly and was replaced by another room that was an interior decorator's worst nightmare. He was back again. Rosenkreuz.
A boy a little older than him was staring at him from the door frame.
"Come on Schuldich. Herr Masters will not like it if your first day you are late,"
"Who are you?"
"I am your guide for now. Call me Crawford,"
"How'd you know my name,"
"Your not the only one with abilities here,"
Schuldich suddenly felt the room fade again, and soon he was in a metal cell, without windows. A prison.
The metal door slowly swung open and in entered a 22 year old Crawford, in a white turtleneck and white pants. He looked like an angel against all the gray.
"Fool," Crawford gently admonished as he carried a seventeen year old telepath from Rosenkreuz's prison cells.
"You should have never angered the Elders. You know they already dislike you, why give them more ammunition?"
Schuldich only stared at Crawford's eyes. They stared back with patience and an amusement that was not aimed at him. The other continued to speak about how the Elders were now very mad at him and how he was going to be his new partner from now on. They would be Schwarz, the best team the world had ever seen and nobody was going to stop them. They would be invincible.
Crawford carried him to the room they shared and carefully lay him down on the bed. As he was about to leave, a telepathic voice rang lightly in his head.
// Stay with me. Don't leave me now //
And silently, Crawford curled up in the bed with him. Schuldich basked in the heat that the other gave, resting his head near the junction of the other's neck. He didn't want to be alone anymore. Alone always made him cold.
And that was how Schuldich first fell out of simple lust with Crawford.
And came crashing into love with him.
If given the choice, Schuldich would have stayed in the vision forever, stayed asleep in Brad's warmth. But the room was fading again, and soon, he was being shaken awake, blue eyes staring at him while a soft voice pleaded with him.
"Schuldich! Wake up! Please wake up!"
"What happened chibi? Why are you crying?"
"I came into your room because you were banging your bed against the wall. When I came in here, you were shuddering in your bed. I tried to wake you but you wouldn't!"
The boys eyes were staring wildly at him. Schuldich felt his heart soften as he watched him. Crawford's prodigy, who was found in the streets of some orphanage, had the attitude that made him impossibly endearing.
Schuldich smirked at that thought. Who would have ever thought that they's create ties with their teammates? If it had been a few years ago, they could have all killed each other without the slightest regret. They couldn't do that anymore. They were a family of killers, and even killers love.
And he happened to fall in love with the only person that might never lovehim back.
"You were dreaming Schulidich, when saw you. Mumbling Brad's name,"
Schuldich just looked out the window. 'Ahhh..."
"Do you love him Schu?"
The look the German gave him told him everything.
"Don't worry, I wont tell anyone," Nagi said.
Silence wrapped around them first as they comforted each other.
"Hey Schu?"
"Hmm?'
"Can I stay with you tonight?"
"Why Nagikins?"
"I don't want to be alone anymore,"
"... All right chibi, but for tonight,"
*************
"I miss him Nagi..." the statement was barely a whisper but he heardit, even through the rain and thunder.
"I do too," he commented quietly, as he left the room. leaving Schuldich to his own thoughts.
Part 3 : How Perfection Came To Be
the past meets the present who stumbles into the future
Brad sighed as the men stood around him, studying him intently. He was tired, he wanted to go to sleep, the drugs they were injecting him were making his head hurt.
Voices floated dimly to his ears.
"...it's a miracle he got through the tests with these kinds of results,"
"...only 20 of our 100 subjects have gotten to this level,"
"...when will the testing be resumed?"
They entered again, and harsh artificial light flooded the room, blinding him momentarily. When his vision came back again, he saw the doctor holding another monstrously long needle, but this didn't surprise him anymore. They've been injecting substances into him for god knows how long. The only feelings they spurred in him were a vague sickness, because he was terribly sick of the darkness they sent him too once the unidentifiable substances were injected.
"Test Subject # 84209 Brad Alexander Crawford.
Age : 28
Status: Normal
Abilities : Precognition
Test Results : Subjects adaptation to the drug is 99%. "
Crawford just glared at the doctor reciting these things like a grocery list. The needle was lots closer now, hovering at the top of his wrists.
"Now be a good boy and sleep," he said as the fluid was slowly absorbed into his system
Did he even have a choice?
**************
They brought him to a school in the mountains. It was absolutely beautiful to him at first, with trees the size of skyscrapers and clouds that were free of all pollution that he hated so much.
"Looks are always deceiving, Crawford," Damien had said to him.
"Always?"
"Always"
**************
Brad flopped wearily down on his bed. He knew the teachers hated him. Rosenkreuz was hell on earth and he couldn't escape.
Slowly, he opened the doors to his room, and looked out of his room. Nobody was out tonight. He stealthily made his way down the hall. His light frame made it quite easy. He snorted at that thought. He was already 16 but he still he hadn't gained much weight.
He opened the doors to Rosenkreuz's vast music room. The institute knew the need to relieve it's students stress was a need so they had this set up. A dome shaped room where every instrument available hung. Guitars, pianos, cellos, flutes and other instruments littered the room. But there was only one instrument Brad was interested in and it lay in the very back of the room. A finely crafted black violin with gold lining sat there, waiting for him. He knew he was the only one who used it because it always lay there in the exact same spot he'd leave it. And that thought comforted him.
He picked it up gently and set it on it's rightful place on his shoulder. He made sure no one was in the room before he started playing. The notes deeply etched in memory resurfaced and the room was filled with the a song from 'Swan Lake'
And while he played, he let the sorrow fly out of him, his anger and his needs. The violin seemed to be saying it for him, all the emotions Rosenkreuz would not have him show.
The notes of Swan Lake slowly died out, and were replaced with the notes of a song Crawford had been working on for the last month.
Have you ever seen me cry?
Did you even ask why?
Have you ever seen me cry?
Did you even ask how?
Would you have me bleed to see my humanity?
Would you have me break to see my destructibility?
I am black in a world of white
I am darkness in this world of light.
Would you still have me this way?
The moon in the blinding radiance of day.
A stray tear escaped his eyes and fell unto the violin. He quickly wiped it away, irritated with himself for his weakness. No matter, the violin would not talk, and it was the only witness to the crack in Brad Crawford's mask.
**************
He was lying on the roof, enjoying the coolness of the night. Nobody ever went up here and this was the only time he could let his mask slip. He closed his eyes and let his face relax.
When he opened his eyes however, he found a pair of green eyes staring back at him. At first, he thought he was just hallucinating but he found them to be very real as they blinked and a mouth grinned at him.
What the hell?!
Crawford's body shot up immediately into a sitting position. Who was this person?
// Glad to see you have at least a functioning brain then //
// Get out of my head. NOW. //
The telepath tsked as he withdrew from the others mind. Crawford instantly slammed his shields on and the mask swept into place.
"Who are you?"
"I am Schuldich,"
"That is not a name,"
"It is now"
"Why did you come here than, Schuldich?"
"You told me you were lonely..."
"I did?!?"
"Yah. Your mind was screaming out loneliness,"
"And so are all the other students out there. Why listen to mine?"
"Because yours was the softest. All the others were loud and pathetic. Yours was barely a whisper. I came here out of curiosity,"
"Curiosity killed the cat,"
"I'm no cat,"
"No shit, sherlock,"
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you,"
"It doesn't suit you either,"
'"What's your name anyways?"
"Your the telepath, right?"
"Bastard..."
"Asshole..."
"Prick!"
"Shut up!"
And Crawford's friendship with Schuldich began from a very fight that they didn't really mean.
**************
Ken sighed mentally as Yohji assigned him to take Farfarello some food while Yohji tried to calm down Aya. The Irishman gave him the creeps, that's for sure, but he knew he'd rather be stuck with a tied up Farfarello than with a furious Aya.
He opened the door to the backroom, inspecting first his surroundings before he entered. There was a rather large hammer in the back, he could use that if Farfarello was acting rabid.
The said Schwarz member was sitting limply on one of the walls, staring at Ken with a blood red eye. "God will scream in pain," he whispered hoarsely.
Ken just shook his head. Then he went on how wondering how he was suppose to feed Farfarello. His hands were bound in the straight jacket, and he was sure as hell not going to untie them.
// You feed him with the spoon, idiot. //
// Get out of my mind, Schuldich //
// But I don't want to //
// Don't you have to sleep or something? //
There was silence for a few moments, and a thought escaped Schuldich's shields.
// Sleeping means dreaming of Crawford... //
And because Ken had a survival instinct, he didn't comment on that one.
*************
One, Two, Three, Four...
Brad bit his lip as the lashes continued to riddle his back with wets. His teacher was speaking to him in the cold voice he usually used during class.
"You must learn that emotions are a weakness you cannot have. Wielded in the right way, they may cripple you more than any injury, and injury is a sign of defect. Defect is intolerable in Rosenkreuz,"
Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty....
"You will not utter one sound in this lesson. You will not cry one tear. You will not." Smack. "Show" Smack. "Any" Smack. "Emotion!" SMACK!
Brad felt his knees buckling under the weight of his body But still he stood, pressing his hands into the wall as if they could give him some consolation to the stinging sensations he felt.
"Rosenkreuz aims to perfect you. Once this lesson is over, very little can hurt you ever again,"
Nobody can hurt me again? Nobody?
"You will surpass them all, then you will crush all those who dare hurt you. You will be invincible. Perfect..."
Invincible... Perfect...
"Harder..."
The teacher stopped for a moment. "What did you say?"
"Do it harder,"
And with each lash, Brad slowly hid. away from the world.
Leaving only Alexander and Crawford.
*************
fate will mock your tears of blood and gold
Nagi peered over curiously over Omi's shoulder. He was typing furiously and nibbling the end of a chocolate pretzel as he read and re-read the data he had collected in the past 24 hours.
"I hate them..." Omi whispered silently. The information on the screen showed various kidnappings of the subjects, ranging from silent run-ins to in-your-face abductions. It showed the pictures of the mutations the subjects developed to the exposure to the drugs. It also showed the end results to the countless other animals they had tested upon. Dogs the size of cars, cats with absolutely white irises, snakes that spat acid... the list was endless and knowing that they were testing this on another human being made Omi want to hurl.
"Have you found the blueprint to the buildings infrastructure?" Nagi gently prodded him from his thoughts. Another second of looking at the damn images made him want to destroy his own computer.
"Yah. It took me an hour to break the code but I got it," he said, plastering the smile on his face to hide his utter disgust for the organization they were about to annihilate.
An image popped onto his laptop and the layout appeared in 3D.
"Good work. Now help me make a decent plan,"
**************
Aya stared at the plan the two had laid out. It was to perfect. Training told him that anything that seemed to good to be true WAS too good to be true. Yohji was the only exception though....
// Aww... aren't your thoughts sweet, Aya-kun //
// Fuck off, Schuldich //
// Wish I could //
Schuldich's mind instantly left his and his next words were more concentrated on the mission.
"So let me get this straight. All of us are paired off with somebody or the other, and are all coming from different directions. You chibi will be coming from the north and main entrance so you can totally destroy it, me and the Farf take the south and slaughter all the guards in their dorms, Kudou and Fujimiya enter through the west end and Tsukiyono and Hidaka got the east end covered. Once were all in position, we close in on the target and tear him apart..." an evil grin appeared on the German's face as he thought of different ways to kill the stupid bastard who even dared hurt Crawford "... and rescue Brad," He looked at Nagi and Omi for any corrections.
"You got it right. We will be communicating through headphones. Nagi will be monitoring all our actions while I will be tampering with the security system," Omi continued, and started to stand before he added something else.
"Guys? Be careful all right? I think they have genetically altered animals surrounding the grounds. We do not know what they are capable off, so don't take them lightly,"
"Whatever you say, Omitchi," Yohji said in response
"So that's all. Get ready by eight, everyone. The mission might take a long time,"
************
Schuldich's determination to get Crawford back was only matched by Farfarello's desire to kill. They fucking painted the whole building red with all the blood they left.
Farfarello was busy playing with their last victim, and Schuldich watched him stab the man with glee, puncturing him like Swiss cheese.
"Finished in the guard rooms, Schuldich?" Nagi's voice said from the headphones.
"They're all rotting in hell kid, don't worry,"
"Then move on to your second position,"
// Come on Farf-man //
// God cries //
// Yes he does. God will scream in agony after the night is through //
// God loves it when Crawford isn't killing //
// And we will change that. We will destroy the angel who took Crawford //
// Destroy gods lovely angels //
*************
Farfarello grinned maniacally at the stupid guard who tried to block their way. Knife in hand, he ran straight into him, plunging the knife into the soft flesh before turning it a little, earning a gasp of pain from his victim. God loves his loyal soldiers. So let them die in pain.
"The others are there already Farfarello. We must hurry so that we can have the pleasure of killing god's angel,"
He almost forgot about god's angel. No matter, he'd make sure the angel was so dead god wouldn't be able to put him back together again.
They almost ran to the middle room, knowing there was nothing alive left in their wake. The air was so still that their mere movement seemed to rivet from the very walls. When they reached the room, they found Nagi and the others already there, waiting for them.
"Schuldich, how many minds do you sense in the room?"
There was a few seconds of silence before the other replied.
"Three. You know I can't read Crawford, but he's there. I know it,"
"All right then. I'm guessing he has one of his damn monsters in there, so three to one of those beasts might be enough. Schuldich, look for Crawford,"
// Your going to kill god's demented little lap dogs, Farf. Do your worst //
// I will kill gods pets //
And without further talk, Nagi burst the door open.
*************
They entered a very well lit room, all in a drab gray color that very much offended Schuldich's eyes. But that was the least of his worries. His eyes were trained solely on the man in the middle of the room.
The man stood in the middle of the room, hair sticking to the side of his head like seaweed. In his arms, he was carrying a very pale and thin Brad Crawford. And by his side were two of the largest... things... he's ever seen. They looked like dogs, but the eyes were a demonic red that glowed like hot coals. Their fangs were about ten inches long and looked like they could bite through somebody's arm with ease.
// You will die you pathetic excuse for a human being // he said to the man who held Crawford.
// If you can get through my pretty's first //
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PM : Did you like? AHHH!!! C&C, R&R and all others. I need the feedback. Flames will be used for my upcoming barbecue party. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Ken: NOOO!!! She's evil! Save us!
PM: *bops Ken* Sorry bout that! Escaped bishounen!
Crawford : Why did _I_ get kidnapped?!?
PM: Cause your my faavoooritte!!!
Schu: Don't worry Crawford! I'll save you!
Crawford: I am in _hell_.
PM: Oh, and Weiss does not belong to me. If they did then Schwarz would be ruling the series by now...
Weiss: HEY!
PM: Errr... gotta go! *runs away from Aya's newly polished katana*
Part 1 : Taking Perfection
for the love of something unattainable...
"Give up now, Oracle. You have no chance of winning this now," the man said coolly, gun trained on Crawford's head, while ten other's where trained on different parts of his body. His visions earlier told him that this was going to happen, but he let it anyway, knowing full well that they would get him eventually.
"All right,"
**************
"NOOO!!!"
Schuldich almost leaped up in his bed as he heard the flashes of conversation flash through their minds. He felt their smugness that they captured Rosenkreuz's Oracle, Schwarz's Leader...
Perfection.
Crawford, no. This can't be happening. Is that why you left all of us today? You said you were going to a fucking meeting! You did this so what? We wouldn't get killed?
Schuldich punched the wall in his room as he hurriedly pulled on his pants. A sick anger was burning in Schuldich's gut as he heard one of them men commenting in their head how pretty Crawford was.
Over my dead and rotting body, assholes!
He nearly knocked the door down in his hurry to get out of the apartment. If he was thinking rationally, he would have noticed that the other's doors were open, and they didn't have a sound coming out of them. If he was thinking logically, he would have felt the presence of four other people who were definitely NOT Schwarz. But he wasn't, so it was no surprise that a dart laced with tranquilizer hit him right in the neck, making him fall to the floor as unconsciousness slowly crept through his body.
"No..... Crawford... please.... don't leave.... me," he uttered as he fell into sleep.
**************
The next thing he knew, he was strapped to a table, half-naked, and faced with instruments that could have put a Hollywood horror film to shame. Needles, scalpels and knives lined his bedside as unrecognizable items hovered inches above his face.
"So, you are awake,"
He turned his head slightly to the side, and found a white haired man looking at him from a desk. He was mixing and switching different colored fluids into a small little test tube.
"Why am I here?"
The "mad doctor" smiled at him, as though pitying him for being an ignorant student caught daydreaming.
"Rosenkreuz called you Volkommenheit in their files, are you aware of that? The perfect student that came only once every ten thousand years. They knew they'd never find another mind quite like yours, so they trained you to become better than the best, even more than that. And still, you surpassed their expectations. You were their finest creation, and they gave you to the highest bidder at that time, Esset. And they gave you away for more money than you can ever imagine Crawford. So many wanted the best that the best could give. Your skills became legend in Esset, something the others aspired to. You were invincible then. Perfect..."
Crawford just watched him, eyes following his every movement. He didn't know why they wanted him, his visions only told him that they were out to get him.
"And so our group, Enders, decided to claim you..."
Crawford's eyebrow arched. Claim him? He was no mere object.
"... and use you for a test subject, with your permission or without,"
Slowly, things cleared in Crawford's hazy mind. He was going to play dummy to Mr. Frankenstein. No way.
"How do you know that I am what you are looking for?"
"Our recent test subjects never made it through the experiments. They became defects. We think that what Rosenkreuz calls Perfection will amount to much more,"
The liquid he had been stirring now became colorless, very much like water, but he knew that if it got injected into him somehow, he'd never be the same again.
He struggled vainly against his bonds, but they had him tied with chains dammit! Even he couldn't break it.
The man just sighed. "Why do you struggle? It'll be better for you once you live through it, don't worry," and the man pulled out a piece of cloth and stuck it over his nose. Chloroform, oh shit.
The world was starting to blur and he couldn't stop it. He last caught sight of the sickeningly long needle before he became unconscious.
**************
Brad was always alone. He was an orphan, left by his mother on the steps of an orphanage that screamed "Poverty!" They said the woman left a letter in his hands, stating "Brad Alexander Crawford. Born April 5," It hurt at first to realize that your mother left you in a dump, that she didn't want you, that maybe, nobody would want you.
It continued to be that way until he was three. When in the back way alleyways of the streets, he sat, crying as to why everyone hated him because he Saw what was going to happen. He learned very early that he was the only one who could do this, and he was beaten every time he told a soul about what he Saw. This was one of those times, painful welts adorning his back like the wounds they said God received when he was scourged. Interesting, that thought
"Hey kid..." a voice said from behind me.
Brad slowly turned around and found a pair of the greenest eyes on the face of the planet staring back at me. They belonged to a brown haired man, and he seemed to be about 20 or so.
"What are you crying about?" he talked again in a strangely comforting voice, soft and low, as though he where whispering to the most precious thing in the world. He handed Brad a white handkerchief, like his suit.
Brad just shook my head.
"I don't want to be alone anymore..." Brad said to the man before him.
"You won't be. I'll take you to a faraway place where they will teach you how to be Perfect,"
"Perfect...?"
"Yup, Perfect. I see great things await you kid. I have the same ability that you do,'
"Really, Mister?"
"Call me, Damien. What's your name kid?"
"Brad. Brad Alexander Crawford,"
"Brad... that names too vulnerable for someone Perfect. Alexander is too flashy, the Elder's will never approve. You'll have take Crawford from now on,"
"Crawford... yes. I will be Crawford,"
And that was how Brad Crawford was recruited by Rosenkreuz.
**************
Nagi opened his eyes slowly, and a slight frown appeared on his face as he registered the room. The window was on the wrong side of the wall and it was a whole different color. Hell, this wasn't even his house!
Then the events of the past few hours returned to him.
Weiss.
He tried to stand up and kill those worthless people who knocked HIM up when he found out that his legs were tied. So were his arms. He cursed while he surveyed his situation.
Schuldich was still passed out on the otherside of the room. Farfie was awake and in his straightjacket, mumbling again. Slowly with his telekinesis, he shook Schuldich awake.
//Brad ? //
// It's me, Nagi. //
// They've got Brad, Nagi. They're going to hurt him //
// Don't worry Schu. We'll get him back //
Nagi knew he had to calm Schuldich down. The telepath was dangerous when mad, and even now he could feel the anger collecting in the room. If Weiss should show up when Schuldich was fully healed, they'd all be dead.
And speak of the devil.
The redhead called Aya entered the room first, glaring at Schuldich. Schuldich just smirked back, but he could feel the hate again, and it was rising. The blond, Yohji followed next, as did Ken and Omi. They could feel Schuldich's hate, the other was too weak to construct his mental barriers properly, and his feeling were leaking out.
"Where is Crawford?"
Schuldich almost charged when Aya mentioned Crawford's name.
"Why would you care Weiss?" I said coolly, staring at Aya.
"What is his relation to a group named the Enders?"
// Enders... they are the people who have Crawford, chibi //
// What do they want with him? //
// He's going to be a test subject, Nagi. They'll break him if he even resists. They're testing a new drug on him that's killed more than we have. //
"That is none of your business, Weiss"
"You will remain here as prisoners if you refuse to answer, and what help will that be to Crawford?" Kudou commented, eyeing Schuldich carefully.
Schuldich silently cursed his slipping mental shields. Kudou now knew Crawford was in trouble, but not what kind.
Nagi weighed the consequences in his head. Not tell Weiss, and wait for them to pass judgment on them while Crawford got tortured or answer the questions and somehow get Weiss to help them. He knew the answer as soon as he saw the choices.
"The Enders have Crawford. They want him so that they could test a new drug on him, a drug that no one has taken and survived for very long. They will break him slowly, eating at his memories until they have nothing but the perfect killing machine left. The drugs are said to alter both physical and mental states. You may not care about Crawford's value to Schwarz, but our loyalty lies with him and we are willing to do whatever is necessary to do to get him back,"
Nagi observed them curiously, judging their reactions to what he had currently stated And he was beginning to doubt whether his confession of loyalty was the right thing to do.
For a moment, he mused on that. It was true, in a weird way. Crawford and Schwarz were like the family Nagi never knew or ever had. He'd be damned if he'd let some loonies destroy another person whom he cared about.
"Are you proposing a truce?" The small blond said, almost ecstatically.
"Yes," Nagi said. I knew we would have trouble convincing Farfarello that "God's Angels" have fallen.
"How do we know that you shall not back stab us once you have Crawford?"
"It will take sometime for Crawford to heal. We are quite sure that right now he is being tested upon by the said drugs. Schwarz will be out of commision for a few months till he is fully recovered..." He said calmly. He could see Tsukiyono's shoulders sag with relief.
"However..." Nagi continued "...the truce will end once we have Crawford and there will be no guarantees that we will not attack you once Schwarz is mobile again,"
This made Weiss tense again. Funny how they laid out their feelings out in the open. Schwarz could easily twist that against them. He remembered one of the lectures he had with Crawford.
*************
He was brought to a small house near the forest. His "friend" told him that he was going to teach him how destroy society little by little. He knew that he would accept it, even if there was no bargain.
He would follow Crawford to the ends of the world.
When they reached the house's small door, Crawford's hand rested on the knob, but he didn't turn it. I wondered why, and for a few second's I felt scared that he regretted bringing me, because I just wasn't good enough. I was never good enough.
He turned to me and he saw the fear on my face. He stared straight into my eyes and said:
"Never show them what you really feel, Nagi. Emotions are weaknesses that can be used against us. That, is your first lesson as Schwarz,"
And I knew that I was never going to be alone anymore.
**************
and for the hate of something indestructible...
Part 2 : Opposites That Are Basically The Same
The others had to literally drag Aya from a grinning Farfarello, who had a knife hidden in his boot and somehow managed to escape his straight jacket. The Irishman was now sporting a bleeding arm thanks to Aya, and the redhead currently had a rather large knife wound on his leg, but other than that, everything was fine. Nagi had helped restrain Farfarello and held him still while Yohji returned with chains from god-knows-where.
"Calm down Aya-kun!" Omi tried to pacify the furious redhead leader, who literally was seeing red. A voice broke through the utter quiet that we didn't break.
"It's Schuldich..."
I turned to Yohji who currently had a thoughtful look on his face, as though he were currently analyzing a problem that he knew the answer to, but evaded him still.
"What's with Schuldich?"
"His barriers aren't fixed right, and some of his thoughts somehow were projected to me,"
Ken seemed thoughtful for a second too. "I think I understand what your saying. I felt an immense anger for somebody and the feeling of utter helplessness. But I didn't know why I was feeling it," he looked at Aya for a second, then at Yohji. "So your saying that Aya over here is reacting to the anger that Schuldich was emanating?"
"Yup, I think so. Farfarello just burst his already growing hate bubble. And know another surprising thing? They were really sincere about what they said about following Crawford. Hell, I think they'd follow him to death if that was what he asked of them,"
Aya, who had managed to gain some semblance of sanity, got direct to the point.
"So what do we do about them?"
Yohji almost smirked at him. He loved this man to pieces , but sometimes, Aya's directness was a little funny. He glanced at his lover.
"Isn't it obvious? We accept their truce. Their loyalty to Crawford will prevent them from turning on us until they are perfectly sure that he is all right, and with their psychic abilities, they'd be a great help to capture the Enders,"
Aya frowned. "I have bad feelings about this,"
"So does Schwarz, but this cannot be helped," Nagi said from the top of the staircase.
"We know for a fact that the Enders have been getting ready for terrorism the last century or so, and they have spies everywhere. It would be best for both teams if we helped each other for some time. A group of four is too small to defeat an army as large as Tokyo. We would be of great help to you," Nagi stated logically.
"So you are speaking for the rest of Schwarz on this matter?" Ken asked quietly, hoping against all hope, that for sometime, there would be no more fighting between them. Aya just looked coldly at the Schwarz hacker as Omi studied him intently. Yohji's eyes questioned him from the couch,
"Schuldich is not in his best mental state right now, and Farfarello is not capable to make these kinds of decisions. So that is a confirmation of your question, Hidaka,"
"Ahh... so that settles it then!" Omi said ecstatically from the his place beside Ken. Yohji sometimes wondered if Omi didn't just live off caffeine and sugar. The boy was like a damn rubber ball, bouncing off some idea or the other.
"Hey, Nagi! You hungry or something? We have ice cream in the fridge today. You want some?" Omi offered, looking at the youngest member of Schwarz. Nagi glared skeptically at Omi, which had the same effect as a pebble has on Godzilla.
"I'm not going to poison you or anything," he laughed as he almost literally dragged Nagi to the kitchen. The other had no other choice but to be pulled along, eyeing Weiss with suspicion. Yohji grinned as he watched Omi try to chat Nagi's ears off. He knew he wouldn't have a problem with those two. They actually seemed to tolerate each other quite nicely.
**************
"So what flavor would you like? Yohji-kun bought Aya-kun two flavors of ice cream, saying that the he needed a little more sweetness in his life. And Aya-kun actually retorted that his teeth were rotting from all the affection Yohji was showering him with," Omi grinned goofily at the memory of his two teammates actions. Who would have believed that Aya the iceberg would actually consider even being in a relationship with Japan's most notorious playboy? And who would have expected them to last for a whole year?
Then he noticed that Nagi was smiling sadly as he listened to the other boy.
"Are you alright, Nagi-kun?"
The younger boy just sighed forlornly, as though he were struggling with some inner problem that was troubling him very much.
"I'm okay. They just remind me of some people. I'm also worried about Crawford,"
Omi's brow furrowed lightly. Crawford, the person who had Schwarz curled in the very palm of his hand, his to control and destroy. A question surged forth from his lips before he could contain it.
"Why?"
Nagi stared incredulously at him. "Why what?"
"Why are you so devoted to Crawford?"
"Why are you devoted to Weiss?" the other returned.
The question instantly prompted an answer from him.
"Because they are the family that I never had..."
Nagi then smirked at him and Omi realized the blindingly obvious. He and Nagi were somehow the same. People without pasts, struggling with the present and reaching for the future.
Black that aspired to the light and white that lived in the darkness. Opposites that were somehow quite the same.
A hand wrapped around his, and Omi understood.
**************
Nagi entered the room Schuldich was placed in. Currently, he was sitting on a chair, orange bangs held back with the usual bandana and shades. However, his frame did not exude the same mischievousness and seduction it usually held. It was droopy, as though it were tired and weary.
// What's up chibi? //
// We must not attack Weiss while under truce Schuldich //
// I know. Tell that to Farfarello. I'm not the one whose gone insane here? //
// Farfarello isn't in love with Crawford... //
Schuldich slowly turned to face Nagi. The boy was the only one who knew about how he really felt for the precog. He knew by accident really. It was one of those times when Schuldich felt his control slipping, and Nagi was the only one who was there...
*************
// Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. //
That stupid nursery rhyme was ringing in Schuldich's head as the stormy weather grew worse. The voices of dozen's of others were also present, tearing slowly at his brain.
// Little children want to play //
Slowly, he knew he was going to his past again. And he didn't even try to stop it. The room faded slowly and was replaced by another room that was an interior decorator's worst nightmare. He was back again. Rosenkreuz.
A boy a little older than him was staring at him from the door frame.
"Come on Schuldich. Herr Masters will not like it if your first day you are late,"
"Who are you?"
"I am your guide for now. Call me Crawford,"
"How'd you know my name,"
"Your not the only one with abilities here,"
Schuldich suddenly felt the room fade again, and soon he was in a metal cell, without windows. A prison.
The metal door slowly swung open and in entered a 22 year old Crawford, in a white turtleneck and white pants. He looked like an angel against all the gray.
"Fool," Crawford gently admonished as he carried a seventeen year old telepath from Rosenkreuz's prison cells.
"You should have never angered the Elders. You know they already dislike you, why give them more ammunition?"
Schuldich only stared at Crawford's eyes. They stared back with patience and an amusement that was not aimed at him. The other continued to speak about how the Elders were now very mad at him and how he was going to be his new partner from now on. They would be Schwarz, the best team the world had ever seen and nobody was going to stop them. They would be invincible.
Crawford carried him to the room they shared and carefully lay him down on the bed. As he was about to leave, a telepathic voice rang lightly in his head.
// Stay with me. Don't leave me now //
And silently, Crawford curled up in the bed with him. Schuldich basked in the heat that the other gave, resting his head near the junction of the other's neck. He didn't want to be alone anymore. Alone always made him cold.
And that was how Schuldich first fell out of simple lust with Crawford.
And came crashing into love with him.
If given the choice, Schuldich would have stayed in the vision forever, stayed asleep in Brad's warmth. But the room was fading again, and soon, he was being shaken awake, blue eyes staring at him while a soft voice pleaded with him.
"Schuldich! Wake up! Please wake up!"
"What happened chibi? Why are you crying?"
"I came into your room because you were banging your bed against the wall. When I came in here, you were shuddering in your bed. I tried to wake you but you wouldn't!"
The boys eyes were staring wildly at him. Schuldich felt his heart soften as he watched him. Crawford's prodigy, who was found in the streets of some orphanage, had the attitude that made him impossibly endearing.
Schuldich smirked at that thought. Who would have ever thought that they's create ties with their teammates? If it had been a few years ago, they could have all killed each other without the slightest regret. They couldn't do that anymore. They were a family of killers, and even killers love.
And he happened to fall in love with the only person that might never lovehim back.
"You were dreaming Schulidich, when saw you. Mumbling Brad's name,"
Schuldich just looked out the window. 'Ahhh..."
"Do you love him Schu?"
The look the German gave him told him everything.
"Don't worry, I wont tell anyone," Nagi said.
Silence wrapped around them first as they comforted each other.
"Hey Schu?"
"Hmm?'
"Can I stay with you tonight?"
"Why Nagikins?"
"I don't want to be alone anymore,"
"... All right chibi, but for tonight,"
*************
"I miss him Nagi..." the statement was barely a whisper but he heardit, even through the rain and thunder.
"I do too," he commented quietly, as he left the room. leaving Schuldich to his own thoughts.
Part 3 : How Perfection Came To Be
the past meets the present who stumbles into the future
Brad sighed as the men stood around him, studying him intently. He was tired, he wanted to go to sleep, the drugs they were injecting him were making his head hurt.
Voices floated dimly to his ears.
"...it's a miracle he got through the tests with these kinds of results,"
"...only 20 of our 100 subjects have gotten to this level,"
"...when will the testing be resumed?"
They entered again, and harsh artificial light flooded the room, blinding him momentarily. When his vision came back again, he saw the doctor holding another monstrously long needle, but this didn't surprise him anymore. They've been injecting substances into him for god knows how long. The only feelings they spurred in him were a vague sickness, because he was terribly sick of the darkness they sent him too once the unidentifiable substances were injected.
"Test Subject # 84209 Brad Alexander Crawford.
Age : 28
Status: Normal
Abilities : Precognition
Test Results : Subjects adaptation to the drug is 99%. "
Crawford just glared at the doctor reciting these things like a grocery list. The needle was lots closer now, hovering at the top of his wrists.
"Now be a good boy and sleep," he said as the fluid was slowly absorbed into his system
Did he even have a choice?
**************
They brought him to a school in the mountains. It was absolutely beautiful to him at first, with trees the size of skyscrapers and clouds that were free of all pollution that he hated so much.
"Looks are always deceiving, Crawford," Damien had said to him.
"Always?"
"Always"
**************
Brad flopped wearily down on his bed. He knew the teachers hated him. Rosenkreuz was hell on earth and he couldn't escape.
Slowly, he opened the doors to his room, and looked out of his room. Nobody was out tonight. He stealthily made his way down the hall. His light frame made it quite easy. He snorted at that thought. He was already 16 but he still he hadn't gained much weight.
He opened the doors to Rosenkreuz's vast music room. The institute knew the need to relieve it's students stress was a need so they had this set up. A dome shaped room where every instrument available hung. Guitars, pianos, cellos, flutes and other instruments littered the room. But there was only one instrument Brad was interested in and it lay in the very back of the room. A finely crafted black violin with gold lining sat there, waiting for him. He knew he was the only one who used it because it always lay there in the exact same spot he'd leave it. And that thought comforted him.
He picked it up gently and set it on it's rightful place on his shoulder. He made sure no one was in the room before he started playing. The notes deeply etched in memory resurfaced and the room was filled with the a song from 'Swan Lake'
And while he played, he let the sorrow fly out of him, his anger and his needs. The violin seemed to be saying it for him, all the emotions Rosenkreuz would not have him show.
The notes of Swan Lake slowly died out, and were replaced with the notes of a song Crawford had been working on for the last month.
Have you ever seen me cry?
Did you even ask why?
Have you ever seen me cry?
Did you even ask how?
Would you have me bleed to see my humanity?
Would you have me break to see my destructibility?
I am black in a world of white
I am darkness in this world of light.
Would you still have me this way?
The moon in the blinding radiance of day.
A stray tear escaped his eyes and fell unto the violin. He quickly wiped it away, irritated with himself for his weakness. No matter, the violin would not talk, and it was the only witness to the crack in Brad Crawford's mask.
**************
He was lying on the roof, enjoying the coolness of the night. Nobody ever went up here and this was the only time he could let his mask slip. He closed his eyes and let his face relax.
When he opened his eyes however, he found a pair of green eyes staring back at him. At first, he thought he was just hallucinating but he found them to be very real as they blinked and a mouth grinned at him.
What the hell?!
Crawford's body shot up immediately into a sitting position. Who was this person?
// Glad to see you have at least a functioning brain then //
// Get out of my head. NOW. //
The telepath tsked as he withdrew from the others mind. Crawford instantly slammed his shields on and the mask swept into place.
"Who are you?"
"I am Schuldich,"
"That is not a name,"
"It is now"
"Why did you come here than, Schuldich?"
"You told me you were lonely..."
"I did?!?"
"Yah. Your mind was screaming out loneliness,"
"And so are all the other students out there. Why listen to mine?"
"Because yours was the softest. All the others were loud and pathetic. Yours was barely a whisper. I came here out of curiosity,"
"Curiosity killed the cat,"
"I'm no cat,"
"No shit, sherlock,"
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you,"
"It doesn't suit you either,"
'"What's your name anyways?"
"Your the telepath, right?"
"Bastard..."
"Asshole..."
"Prick!"
"Shut up!"
And Crawford's friendship with Schuldich began from a very fight that they didn't really mean.
**************
Ken sighed mentally as Yohji assigned him to take Farfarello some food while Yohji tried to calm down Aya. The Irishman gave him the creeps, that's for sure, but he knew he'd rather be stuck with a tied up Farfarello than with a furious Aya.
He opened the door to the backroom, inspecting first his surroundings before he entered. There was a rather large hammer in the back, he could use that if Farfarello was acting rabid.
The said Schwarz member was sitting limply on one of the walls, staring at Ken with a blood red eye. "God will scream in pain," he whispered hoarsely.
Ken just shook his head. Then he went on how wondering how he was suppose to feed Farfarello. His hands were bound in the straight jacket, and he was sure as hell not going to untie them.
// You feed him with the spoon, idiot. //
// Get out of my mind, Schuldich //
// But I don't want to //
// Don't you have to sleep or something? //
There was silence for a few moments, and a thought escaped Schuldich's shields.
// Sleeping means dreaming of Crawford... //
And because Ken had a survival instinct, he didn't comment on that one.
*************
One, Two, Three, Four...
Brad bit his lip as the lashes continued to riddle his back with wets. His teacher was speaking to him in the cold voice he usually used during class.
"You must learn that emotions are a weakness you cannot have. Wielded in the right way, they may cripple you more than any injury, and injury is a sign of defect. Defect is intolerable in Rosenkreuz,"
Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty....
"You will not utter one sound in this lesson. You will not cry one tear. You will not." Smack. "Show" Smack. "Any" Smack. "Emotion!" SMACK!
Brad felt his knees buckling under the weight of his body But still he stood, pressing his hands into the wall as if they could give him some consolation to the stinging sensations he felt.
"Rosenkreuz aims to perfect you. Once this lesson is over, very little can hurt you ever again,"
Nobody can hurt me again? Nobody?
"You will surpass them all, then you will crush all those who dare hurt you. You will be invincible. Perfect..."
Invincible... Perfect...
"Harder..."
The teacher stopped for a moment. "What did you say?"
"Do it harder,"
And with each lash, Brad slowly hid. away from the world.
Leaving only Alexander and Crawford.
*************
fate will mock your tears of blood and gold
Nagi peered over curiously over Omi's shoulder. He was typing furiously and nibbling the end of a chocolate pretzel as he read and re-read the data he had collected in the past 24 hours.
"I hate them..." Omi whispered silently. The information on the screen showed various kidnappings of the subjects, ranging from silent run-ins to in-your-face abductions. It showed the pictures of the mutations the subjects developed to the exposure to the drugs. It also showed the end results to the countless other animals they had tested upon. Dogs the size of cars, cats with absolutely white irises, snakes that spat acid... the list was endless and knowing that they were testing this on another human being made Omi want to hurl.
"Have you found the blueprint to the buildings infrastructure?" Nagi gently prodded him from his thoughts. Another second of looking at the damn images made him want to destroy his own computer.
"Yah. It took me an hour to break the code but I got it," he said, plastering the smile on his face to hide his utter disgust for the organization they were about to annihilate.
An image popped onto his laptop and the layout appeared in 3D.
"Good work. Now help me make a decent plan,"
**************
Aya stared at the plan the two had laid out. It was to perfect. Training told him that anything that seemed to good to be true WAS too good to be true. Yohji was the only exception though....
// Aww... aren't your thoughts sweet, Aya-kun //
// Fuck off, Schuldich //
// Wish I could //
Schuldich's mind instantly left his and his next words were more concentrated on the mission.
"So let me get this straight. All of us are paired off with somebody or the other, and are all coming from different directions. You chibi will be coming from the north and main entrance so you can totally destroy it, me and the Farf take the south and slaughter all the guards in their dorms, Kudou and Fujimiya enter through the west end and Tsukiyono and Hidaka got the east end covered. Once were all in position, we close in on the target and tear him apart..." an evil grin appeared on the German's face as he thought of different ways to kill the stupid bastard who even dared hurt Crawford "... and rescue Brad," He looked at Nagi and Omi for any corrections.
"You got it right. We will be communicating through headphones. Nagi will be monitoring all our actions while I will be tampering with the security system," Omi continued, and started to stand before he added something else.
"Guys? Be careful all right? I think they have genetically altered animals surrounding the grounds. We do not know what they are capable off, so don't take them lightly,"
"Whatever you say, Omitchi," Yohji said in response
"So that's all. Get ready by eight, everyone. The mission might take a long time,"
************
Schuldich's determination to get Crawford back was only matched by Farfarello's desire to kill. They fucking painted the whole building red with all the blood they left.
Farfarello was busy playing with their last victim, and Schuldich watched him stab the man with glee, puncturing him like Swiss cheese.
"Finished in the guard rooms, Schuldich?" Nagi's voice said from the headphones.
"They're all rotting in hell kid, don't worry,"
"Then move on to your second position,"
// Come on Farf-man //
// God cries //
// Yes he does. God will scream in agony after the night is through //
// God loves it when Crawford isn't killing //
// And we will change that. We will destroy the angel who took Crawford //
// Destroy gods lovely angels //
*************
Farfarello grinned maniacally at the stupid guard who tried to block their way. Knife in hand, he ran straight into him, plunging the knife into the soft flesh before turning it a little, earning a gasp of pain from his victim. God loves his loyal soldiers. So let them die in pain.
"The others are there already Farfarello. We must hurry so that we can have the pleasure of killing god's angel,"
He almost forgot about god's angel. No matter, he'd make sure the angel was so dead god wouldn't be able to put him back together again.
They almost ran to the middle room, knowing there was nothing alive left in their wake. The air was so still that their mere movement seemed to rivet from the very walls. When they reached the room, they found Nagi and the others already there, waiting for them.
"Schuldich, how many minds do you sense in the room?"
There was a few seconds of silence before the other replied.
"Three. You know I can't read Crawford, but he's there. I know it,"
"All right then. I'm guessing he has one of his damn monsters in there, so three to one of those beasts might be enough. Schuldich, look for Crawford,"
// Your going to kill god's demented little lap dogs, Farf. Do your worst //
// I will kill gods pets //
And without further talk, Nagi burst the door open.
*************
They entered a very well lit room, all in a drab gray color that very much offended Schuldich's eyes. But that was the least of his worries. His eyes were trained solely on the man in the middle of the room.
The man stood in the middle of the room, hair sticking to the side of his head like seaweed. In his arms, he was carrying a very pale and thin Brad Crawford. And by his side were two of the largest... things... he's ever seen. They looked like dogs, but the eyes were a demonic red that glowed like hot coals. Their fangs were about ten inches long and looked like they could bite through somebody's arm with ease.
// You will die you pathetic excuse for a human being // he said to the man who held Crawford.
// If you can get through my pretty's first //
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