A/N: Wow, looks like miracles do happen more often than just once, huh? xD Hello again, dearests! I'm back much sooner than I expected, again. What a surprise, huh? xD
But anyway. Here I am with another chapter. I'm also hoping to post the next one sooner, too, since I already have a big chunk of it done, but as usual, no promises – we all know those don't get fulfilled very often. And I also continue working on my other stories (both already published and still unpublished), even started a new one -_-; Or maybe just finally worked out what I want to do with one of the old and still a bit raw ones and altered it slightly to be able to really start working on it at long last. Either way, I'm still alive and very much into fanfiction. That should be good, right?
As always, thank you all for your favs, alerts and amazing reviews. They are a great inspiration and they always push me to go further. So thank you for that *bows deeply*
Disclaimer, warnings and everything else remain the same. All mistakes are mine as usual.
So now with all that said and out of the way… Please enjoy! :D
Chapter 25: Spreading Cracks
Kaname didn't know how much time had passed or where exactly he was, but the moment he came back to his senses, all he could see, smell and feel…was blood. All around him, all over him – nothing but blood.
Vampire blood.
Foul and disgusting blood of dozens of Level E vampires.
And then there were ashes. They were scattered all over the dark place the pureblood was currently in, dark-red in color now due to the sea of blood they were soaked with.
Kaname blinked slowly before looking around, still a little dazed.
His fingers twitched. His hand went up and his gaze shifted to it. It was covered in blood, too.
Another blink.
The realization did nothing to Kaname's still far from clear mind.
Absently and very fleetingly, the pureblood wondered whether all the blood around and over him really did belong only to Level Es. But that thought didn't stay for long as it was. And the vile smell hanging in the air only prompted it to leave sooner by helping Kaname reach his conclusion.
There was a sigh. Then the pureblood took another still slightly dazed look around.
And he still had no idea where he was – same as before.
Not that it mattered anyway. Wherever he was, he had no business there any longer. And since it seemed like he had calmed down and somewhat returned to his much less dangerous and more rational self…he supposed it was safe to return now.
Kaname drew a deep calming breath, involuntarily cringing at the smell of death in the air. Taking a step forward a moment later, he dissolved into a living black cloud of fluttering bats that circled around the dark room of apparently abandoned house once before flying away into the night.
-o-
"According to Yagari Touga and Cross Kaien, it was an attack by a rogue vampire that led Kiryuu Zero to his current state…" said the Hunter Association President as he made his way to his leather armchair and made himself comfortable there behind his mahogany desk. "Is that true?"
Kaito's already clenched fists tightened further. He couldn't believe those two. "I wasn't there. I can't know for sure."
"None of you were. Otherwise something like that would have never happened," came the President's calm reply. "But I still want to hear your opinion on the matter."
There was a short while of silence before the younger hunter decided to speak. "If Cross and Yagari said Zero was attacked by a 'rogue vampire', then that is what happened. There is no reason to doubt their words."
The President let out a derisive snort before answering, "Of course there is. How blind do you think I am?" It was a rhetorical question, so Kaito made no attempt to reply and just waited for the man before him to continue. Which happened soon enough. "I didn't ask for confirmation of your loyalty, Takamiya-kun. It is your objective opinion on the matter that I want. So…" The President leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk and intertwining his fingers as he rested his chin on top of them. "Let's try this again, shall we? Who attacked Kiryuu Zero?"
That question was followed by another while of silence.
Then, having made up his mind, Kaito voiced his thoughts on the situation at hand.
-o-
Just like proper halves of one whole, they were opposites that reflected each other in pretty much everything they did. It wasn't that distinct – one either had to know them well to really tell the difference, or they had to let the others see that difference by making it more obvious than it normally was.
That said, it didn't mean the two of them fully contradicted each other. Sure, they were two separate beings, but they were also one. They completed each other, expressed all the different, contradicting traits of one whole, complex being that a single person was. That was why they understood each other the way they did. That was also why they didn't really need words to communicate – not because of some freaky magical connection pretty much everyone assumed they had, no. They did feel each other, yes. And they did have a special – very special – connection. But it didn't enable them to 'read' – Ichiru couldn't help snorting internally at the silly notion – their other half's mind. That connection was only there because they understood each other enough to simply accept each other the way they were, to let each other in the way they were, unconditionally.
It had been there since before he could remember, it was still there and it would always be there. Nothing and no one could ever sever it no matter how hard they tried. Ichiru doubted even he and Zero themselves had any power over it. He was sure they wouldn't be able to break it, too, even if they ever wanted to do such a thing – absolutely unthinkable as the very notion itself was.
And for that Ichiru was grateful – for that invisible connection and for its strength. It had always given him some sense of security, even though he had never deemed it necessary – at least not until some while ago. He still refused to admit that he actually found comfort in that added sense of security, but deep down he knew that he did. And he hated it. He hated the fact that he actually needed to draw comfort from anything at all. But there was nothing he could really do about it, was there? At least not anymore…
So he chose to bury it somewhere in the back of his mind and move on. Not forget – he would never be able to, as it would always be there gnawing at every wall of his consciousness with viciousness and mockery. But he could live with that. So long as his beloved twin was with him, so long as he stayed with him, so long as he chose him and so long as he kept choosing him over everybody else, Ichiru could – he would – live with and through pretty much anything and everything. And he would make sure that Zero would be with him at that, alive and safe and sound and happy. He would never let his other half get hurt.
At least those were his true thoughts and honest intentions – they had always been that and it would never change. It was something Ichiru genuinely believed in and he had always thought that he would – that he could – stay true to them. However…
He had been wrong. And now they both – he and Zero – were paying the price. Zero more so than him, whereas he shouldn't.
He shouldn't…
Because none of this was supposed to happen.
But it had. And now Ichiru had to make everything right again. And for that…
He had to get out of here.
And he had to return to his brother's side.
Which was exactly what he was going to do, no matter how many times he had to try.
"Dammit!"Ichiru cursed angrily when yet another one of his attempts at neutralizing Yagari's spells failed – and not just failed, but also backfired on him. Again.
"Dammit…!" The teen repeated bitterly, hissing as he tightened his grip on his shaking hand. It was burned and bleeding and Ichiru could feel the tips of his fingers go numb.
This had never happened to him before. Sure, hunter spells had affected him in the past, especially when cast on him directly. But he could handle them, just like he could counter them, even render them void in most cases. He knew his own share of hunter charms, and he was good at them – very good, if he might say so himself.
Whereas Zero was great with all kinds of weapons, especially the guns, Ichiru had mastered the art of hunter charms. An outcome that was fairly logical, if one really thought about it.
Being as sickly as he had been since his birth, he had spent most of his childhood in bed with nothing better to do than just lie there uselessly like a breathing corpse waiting for the end to come. Thankfully, Zero had always been there, by his side. He had kept him company, taken care of him, provided him with comfort, warmth and so, so much more…
But Zero couldn't always be with him, regardless of their wishes. Unlike him, his twin's body was healthy and strong enough to take his hunter training, and for that reason Zero often had to leave Ichiru's side.
Those times were the loneliest and dullest to Ichiru, and they were the hardest to get through. He remembered that back then the days seemed endless and the time couldn't pass quickly enough neither for his liking, nor for his sanity. He could do nothing but wait…wait…and wait. Which was frustrating, to say the least, especially if one took into consideration what an impossible task it was for any child to wait.
And in spite of a certain level of maturity Ichiru possessed even in those tender years, it was still unbearable to just stay there, all alone and chained to his bed due to his frustratingly weak body, and wait. So he had to find something to occupy himself with, something that would help him get through each day quicker without worsening his mostly permanently poor physical condition.
That was when he randomly found a book about hunter spells in his hands, which ended up igniting his interest in the subject. And so he immersed himself in reading and studying, practicing in those rare times when he was well and strong enough to do so, regardless of the strain it put on his body.
It took a lot of time, practice, stubbornness and failed attempts on his part, but eventually he managed to get there. He continued to practice at it even as a vampire. Admittedly, he did have difficulties with it at the beginning due to his newly altered physique. But he was able to overcome it, and after some time he actually managed to pretty much master his skills with hunter charms.
Which only added to his frustration now, when those diligently honed skills of his weren't just useless, but were actually working against him.
No matter what he did to try and neutralize Yagari's spells, nothing worked. No matter what method, charm or combination of those he used, every attempt failed. And if that wasn't bad enough, then the fact that each and every one of Ichiru's spells retaliated against him certainly was.
It just wasn'tright. Something was not right.
This wasn't supposed to be happening. He wasn't supposed to be this powerless against hunter magic that he had spent years to master. This was just not right…
Letting out a shuddering breath, Ichiru swallowed a nervous lump in his painfully dry throat. Slowly, he got up from the floor and headed for the door on his still slightly shaky legs for the umpteenth time that day. He knew he was in no condition to do it yet, but he couldn't just stay put and wait – his patience was already wearing thin as it was.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then breathed out slowly. His trembling hand rose, about to draw another hunter symbol for yet another hunter spell on the wooden door with his blood that was still dripping from unhealed wounds on his still unpleasantly numb fingers, when…
Ichiru froze, his form tensing. For a few seconds that seemed like painful hours, the teen could neither move, nor breathe. When finally life seeped back into his surroundings, the first thing he felt was his heart racing uncontrollably in his chest, his rapid pulse echoing in his ears as unbidden dread and panic began to settle in.
After one long moment, his lungs resumed functioning more or less properly again, and Ichiru let out a shuddering breath. He knew what that feeling he had gotten overwhelmed with but a few seconds ago was. He knew what it meant, he knew who was the source of it.
'Hunters…' Ichiru thought breathlessly to himself, strangely – and surprisingly – alarmed by the realization. 'A lot of them…'
The only thing he couldn't begin to comprehend was…
Why was it this intense? Why was he so affected by it? Why was he so…frightened...by it – by them…?
Instinctively, Ichiru resumed his attempts at getting out of his temporary prison, this time with urgency.
He didn't know how soon exactly those hunters would arrive, but he knew for sure he had to get away before they did. Same as he knew that…
They were coming for him.
And that could never be good – at least not in his book, not for him. So before it was too late…
He needed to get away.
-o-
Kaname hadn't been himself since returning. And it wasn't only Takuma who had noticed it – everyone had. They had realized it the moment they got close enough to feel his dark, oppressive aura hanging over the academy like plague. In all honestly, Takuma thought it was a wonder all the nobles even found it in themselves to actually proceed past the gates and enter the Moon Dormitory. But an even bigger wonder was the fact that everyone stayed when even Takuma himself couldn't help entertaining the idea of leaving every now and again in spite of his unwavering loyalty to his childhood friend and leader.
Though Takuma supposed he wasn't alone in that regard. He suspected everyone thought – no, dreamed was probably more like it – about running away, only some chose not to do it due to their loyalty, same as him, whereas others were simply too afraid to act on their instincts, knowing such behavior could and most likely would get them in trouble. It always did. Aidou had proven that many times in the past. And unlike the aforementioned individual, they were smart enough to learn from mistakes – both their own and others' with the latter being the most preferable of the two options.
But that could be contemplated at better times. Now, however…
"Kaname-sama…"
If their prince's silent rage and smothering anguish weren't enough…
Now there also were hunters trespassing on their territory. Which was never a good thing – and it certainly wasn't now, of all times.
"I'm sure you can sense them as it is, but…" Takuma started as carefully as he could. "There are hunters at the academy. Maybe…" He paused, swallowing nervously. There really had been too much stress going around lately. "Maybe it would be better if you…" the noble trailed off, unable to finish, too apprehensive to. He seriously should just stop playing a mediator at every given opportunity. It wasn't only extremely stressful, but also dangerous – sometimes bordering on suicidal – with Kaname the way he was now.
"Maybe it would be better if I…do what exactly…?" Kaname asked slowly in a dangerously calm and measured tone.
"Well…" 'Keeping down your killing intent would be a very nice idea for starters,' thought Takuma, but never voiced that exact opinion of his. He knew better than to do something so stupid like that.
No complete answer came from the blond in the end. Tense silence settled over the room. It lasted for some while until, surprisingly, Kaname interrupted it.
Letting out a soft sigh, the pureblood said, "It doesn't matter, Takuma. They are not here for me, so my presence shouldn't concern them. And even if I were their target, I couldn't care less about their perception of me."
That the noble knew. But still…
"…Are they here for Ichiru-kun?"
"I believe so."
"Aren't you going to do anything about it?"
There was an impossibly long minute of tense silence before Kaname decided to reply.
"What do you suppose I should do?"
Takuma didn't say anything, unable to muster a word out of himself. It was too terrifying even with Kaname's back turned to him as the pureblood stood by the tall window of his study observing the scenery outside.
But Kaname didn't really need an answer anyway. So he continued.
"Get rid of them? Protect him?"
"…I just think…Zero-kun would have-"
"I know all too well what Zero-kun would have wanted. I always respected his wishes, always complied with them. And now…" Slowly, Kaname turned to look at Takuma for the very first time since the noble joined him in his study. "Now look how well that ended."
The noble's heart hammered in his chest in fear, his form stiff, paralyzed by his leader's cold, dark demeanor. It was unbearable – impossible almost – to breathe, let alone to actually speak, but the noble managed to muster enough strength and courage to do that, albeit not without difficulty.
"Don't do this to yourself, Kaname. It's not your fault this happened. You know that…"
Garnet eyes narrowed. They stayed on the blond for a few more tense seconds before turning back to the view outside the window.
Silence returned, heavier and longer than ever.
"…I should have killed him," Kaname said all of a sudden in a frighteningly calm, unemotional tone. "I should have killedhim the moment he started losing himself."
Emerald eyes widened in horror.
"No… I should have done it the moment his thirst awakened, before he even had the chance to have a taste of blood." Of Zero's blood…
"Stop it, Kaname," Takuma said nervously with a weak attempt at a smile. "You can't mean it, not really."
"Of course I can," the pureblood replied in the same chillingly detached manner. "I domean it. I can still do it, actually. The moment they remove those annoying hunter spells that kept me out of that room the first time-"
"Kaname, stop," Takuma repeated more forcefully as he approached the pureblood and grabbed his arm without even realizing it. Had his mind been clearer, he wouldn't have done something so rash – certainly not with Kaname in his current state. He knew how dangerous the consequences of such actions were.
Takuma literally stopped breathing the moment his leader's coldly burning eyes turned to him, rendering him completely immobile.
"I-…I'm sorry," the noble managed to force out of himself after an impossibly long moment of stillness. Rigidly, he released the pureblood's arm from his hold. Lowering his head as a sign of reverent obedience, he repeated his apology, "Forgive me, Kaname-sama."
Takuma didn't dare to look up at the pureblood, too scared to meet the other's cold, burning with violent crimson eyes. He didn't see them, but he could feel them. It was their dark gaze that filled him with dread and made him tremble uncontrollably with instinctive – and very reasonable – fear for his life.
That trembling didn't stop even when those eyes weren't on him anymore, and he still couldn't bring himself to look up, but at least he could breathe relatively normally again. As discreetly as he could, Takuma stepped away from Kaname the moment his ability to move returned to him. He should really quit doing stuff like this.
"…I should have put an end to it while I could…" Kaname said after some time, his voice painfully distant.
Takuma chose not to argue this time around, quietly hoping for the better, for his friend not to do something he would without a doubt regret later.
Heavy silence reigned anew.
-o-
No matter what one might think of him, Kaito did have his share of doubts and regrets.
And he had them even now, when it had come to Ichiru. He had them about his decision to give the President of the Hunter Association his opinion on what had happened to Zero and the truth about the changes happening to Ichiru lately.
Maybe he was wrong about it. Maybe he was wrong about everything. Maybe Zero was right and Ichiru was stable. Maybe Yagari and Cross were right and it was better not to report anything concerning Ichiru and the Kiryuu twins in general to the Association.
And maybe, just maybe, it wasn't necessarily so wrong that they all were trying to make it work.
Kaito knew he probably would have done the same thing, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. He knew he probably would have tried, too, if it was his brother. Had his brother been stabilized and not fallen to Level E…
Most likely, Kaito would have accepted him just like Zero had accepted Ichiru.
And he would have tried to make it work, too – his whole family would have, probably.
Maybe at some point it would have actually become normal for him that his brother was a…vampire.
At the last bit Kaito cringed in distaste. He couldn't help it – it was just the way he was.
He even didn't completely exclude the very unlikely yet still existing possibility that, perhaps, he would have tried to help his brother stay alive by actually feeding him, same as Zero did for Ichiru.
The hunter couldn't help grimacing at that. The very notion was repulsive, to say the least. He could see why one would do something like that, why Zero would do something like that, but he couldn't relate toit no matter how hard he tried. It was still and probably would always be beyond him.
Regardless, Kaito could understand where the twins were coming from – where Zero was coming from. And it was that which made him doubt himself when it came to Ichiru. And those doubts, in turn, brought about secret and very much denied regrets over his thoughts, words and actions towards the said teen.
All of those had been with him throughout his entire conversation with the President. Then, after it, he couldn't stop thinking that maybe he shouldn't have said anything, that maybe he should have said less, that maybe he should have given Ichiru another chance…
But all those doubtful thoughts disappeared the moment he opened the door to Zero's room in the Hunter Association Hospital and laid his eyes on the older Kiryuu twin.
It had been days and Zero still hadn't woken up even once. Granted, he was alive, but that still didn't change anything. Ichiru had drained him to the point where his body just shut down and went into a coma, unable to function properly on its own.
It wasn't a game anymore. Ichiru had almost killed his own flesh and blood – consciously or not. Kaito knew it hadn't been his intention to do so. He knew Ichiru would never purposefully hurt Zero – it was the only person the younger twin truly cared for, after all. But even so, the bloodthirsty beast in him turned out to be stronger. After years of being deceitfully docile, it had shown its sharp teeth and vicious nature and completely taken over. For no longer than a few minutes, but it had. And those pathetic few minutes turned out to be more than enough to cause this…
Zero was lucky to be alive – he was lucky Cross had gotten there in time to keep him alive. But luck was a cruel thing with fickle nature. It never stayed for very long, and it could easily abandon one on a mere whim at any given moment.
Next time they might not be as fortunate. Next time one of them might actually die – if not all of them. Next time…
...should never happen.
So he tried to make sure it wouldn't.
"They're probably on their way to the academy already…" Kaito stated in a calm, detached manner, heedless of two gazes focused on him – one angry, one terrified, both shocked with hints of unconcealed hurt in them. "I don't suppose they're going to kill him, but we all know how Ichiru is. Maybe it would bebetter for him and everyone else if one of you was there to keep the situation under control…"
Cross exhaled a shuddering breath. It was only then that Kaito noticed how pale the man had turned, how tired he looked, how badly his hands were trembling.
"Kaito-" Yagari started in a low, cold tone, all but growling out his name.
Kaito interrupted him before the senior hunter could continue. "I won't apologize for what I did. And I won't make any excuses," he said firmly, holding Yagari's furious gaze evenly. "I did what needed to be done, because the two of you refused to face the reality, and this happened. So don't go reprimanding me for my actions when you know I'm right."
Kaito's words were met with a heavy silence. It lasted for a while, briefly interrupted only once when Yagari muttered a curse under his breath before leaving the room in a hurry.
-o-
"It looks like he will live another day, after all, Takuma…" Kaname said in his unchanging chillingly detached manner Takuma was starting to slowly get used to – disturbingly. "At least for now…"
Cautiously, the noble looked up at his leader briefly before automatically shifting his attention outside the window, even though he could hardly see anything with his view obscured by the academy's thick forest. Frowning, Takuma extended his senses in an attempt to feel what the pureblood meant by his words.
Emerald eyes widened in realization after a few seconds of searching.
Never in his life had Takuma been so happy to sense the Hunter Association's number one hunter's intimidating presence. He couldn't help breathing a small sigh of relief.
That didn't go unnoticed by Kaname.
"Why is it that you are so…concerned about Ichiru-kun's well-being, Takuma? I don't exactly recall you two being such good friends…"
Tensing anew, the noble took a sharp breath. Every bit of relief he had previously felt disappeared, replaced by nervous fear once again.
"It is not his well-being I am so concerned about, Kaname-sama." At least not primarily. First and foremost, the noble was worried for his dear friend and leader, for his state of mind, which he believed hadn't been the best recently. And that disturbed him, to say the least.
"I see… And you suppose my well-being is related to his…how exactly?"
Takuma hesitated before replying quietly, "…Zero-kun."
The noble didn't miss his friend's form tensing ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly, nor the way he drew in a barely audible shuddering breath.
It was at that moment Takuma knew Kaname had more or less returned to his usual self. It was then he could breathe relatively freely again. So he resumed his attempts from before. "You know I'm right, Kaname-sama," he said slowly, softly. "You know how…" He had to pause to take another breath before continuing. "You know how much they mean to each other, you know and understand it better than anyone..."
Of course Kaname did. How could he not? He had spent years watching the twins, quietly amazed by their special bond and secretly jealous of it. He could relate to it, too, but only to an extent, as he knew he would never be able to fully grasp it in its true depth.
"…That is what makes it all so frustrating," the pureblood said after a while, more to himself than to his loyal friend.
That was what made it all so unbearable…
Another long minute of silence passed.
Kaname breathed a long, weary sigh.
"You are dismissed, Takuma," the pureblood said at last, turning away from the window and heading for the door leading to his bedroom. "Make sure everything is in order and don't let anyone disturb me."
Takuma bowed respectfully. "Understood," he said quietly, following Kaname's retreating form with his still worried eyes.
-o-
A clank of chains resounded in a dark prison cell on the basement level of the Hunter Association building.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Ichiru said with a bitter chuckle and a wry smile. "The one who got me here…"
There was a long moment of silence. Then Ichiru got an answer to his rhetorical question.
"The only reason you're here is you, Ichiru. You have become unstable, and it has to be dealt with," Kaito stated matter-of-factly. "But if it's easier for you to see it that way…then yes, I was the one who reported you to the Association. Just like I should have done a very long time ago…"
Ichiru snorted. "Just like you wanted to do since a very long time ago, you mean. You've been waiting for the opportunity to either kill or report me since the day your hunter senses first told you I was a vampire. Or so it always seemed to me…at least until now."
Kaito's brows drew together briefly in a puzzled frown. "Oh? And what made you change your opinion?"
The chains of the handcuffs binding Ichiru to the stone floor made a soft clinking sound as he shifted slightly, leaning back against the cold wall behind him as he replied with a small knowing smirk, "You did."
A dark eyebrow arched. Crossing his arms over his chest, Kaito rested his back against the wall as well as he asked next, "How so?"
Ichiru's smirk widened. He savored a pause before replying, "Just look at yourself. Coming here looking all guilty even through your usual impenetrable façade of a tough hunter… What a sight you are, Kaito."
Brown eyes narrowed, hardening. "You're delusional."
"Am I really?"
"You are, if you actually believe the bullshit you just said is true."
"I know it's true."
"Then you just proved that my decision was right, and here is exactly where you belong," Kaito concluded, uncrossing his arms and pushing himself off the wall to leave.
But Ichiru's next words stopped him before he could reach the door.
"They won't get to put me down, Kaito," the silver-haired teen said evenly in a tone devoid of any mocking amusement that had been there only moments ago. "So you don't have to feel so guilty about it, whether that useless sentiment is directed towards nii-san or even me."
Kaito looked over his shoulder and half turned around to focus his gaze on Ichiru anew. Wordlessly, he waited for the teen to continue.
And Ichiru did. "They don't get to decide whether I live or not, not anymore. So if you really want to eliminate the threat that you believe I am…you better do it now while you can, because you won't get another chance."
"…That's not for me to do," Kaito answered after regarding Ichiru thoughtfully for a long minute. "Not my decision to make."
Ichiru snorted. "Then this is as far as you will ever get."
Kaito didn't say anything in response. His lips pressed together into a thin line, the hunter turned away and headed for the door anew. His fingers were already on the handle when Ichiru's voice stopped him once again.
"How is he...?" Ichiru asked quietly next, all traces of smug condescendence gone from his tone. Kaito actually thought there was an apprehensive quiver in the other's voice, no matter how well concealed. "How is nii-san?"
There was a sigh. "He is…stable," Kaito replied, looking over his shoulder once more. "At least for now. Still hasn't regained consciousness though."
There was a hint of quiet relief that passed over Ichiru's features. And there were worry and guilt that Kaito knew couldn't be more genuine.
Violet eyes lowered, lost in thought. "I see…"
Kaito let his gaze linger on Ichiru for another long moment, then turned away, pushed the door of the cell open and left.
Silence that settled after that was deafening.
For a very long while, Ichiru just sat there motionless, staring unblinkingly into nowhere.
Then, closing his eyes and bowing his head a bit, he let out a long shaky breath as he tried to clear his head and truly calm down at long last.
Once again, he needed to think. And he needed to think really hard to get himself – to get them – out of this mess.