Rosenkreuz… sweet Rosenkreuz
Chapter 35: Guinea Pigs
Forging a team out of four individuals, especially when two didn't want to cooperate, was difficult… on a good day. Brad had to admit that Schuldich was trying… He was trying EVERYBODY'S patience most of the time, but he was trying. Farfarello seemed to have settled down a bit, but he was still so unpredictable that they couldn't leave him unobserved when out of his restraints. Nagi… poor Nagi was confused and stressed, trying desperately to keep everyone happy. And Brad was wondering how fast he would develop an ulcer.
They were making progress. They had discovered that oddly enough, Farfarello and Schuldich made the most effective fighting duo. Occasionally they ended up fighting each other… but when they focused on a common target they were quite good. Nagi was working with his telekinesis… the only one that was actively training outside the group. He had graduated from the academic instruction of Rosenkreuz, but the need to have training in the use of his powers was something that they couldn't do effectively. It wasn't impossible to train someone who wasn't your type of psi… but it was difficult, and time consuming and time was a luxury they didn't really have. Of course… he was the only one that knew that… and he wasn't going to tell the others.
Despite what Schuldich might think… he really DIDN'T keep things back to annoy them or prove he had power over them. It was simply that they didn't need to know at this time. It would only cause unneeded distraction… which was something they definitely didn't want right now. It was better for them to focus on the short term goals… and he would worry about the long term ones.
He sighed as Farfarello and Schuldich once again started fighting each other instead of completing the training exercise.
**
Bren groaned… this whole team bonding thing was driving him crazy. The only thing that consoled him was that Braddy was just as frustrated as he was. He figured Nagi was the lucky one… HE didn't have to participate in most of the group training sessions. He looked up as the boy came back to the apartment. Brad was already locked in his room… refusing to speak to anyone till morning. Bren frowned, the kid was really dragging.
/You okay, Brat?/
The boy's midnight eyes lifted to meet his and Bren was struck by the exhaustion in them. "Aa."
The redhead got up from the couch and started into the kitchen. "Sit… I'll get your dinner."
"I'm not hungry."
"You need to eat, Nagi." The boy sighed but went in and sat down. It wasn't a good sign, the kid not wanting to eat. Bren knew what it was like to be so tired you weren't hungry. But the demands the boy's gift put on his body were staggering, especially during the intense training he was going through. Nagi wasn't exactly in an ideal condition to begin with. They, being the researchers in Esset, didn't know why physical psi powers seemed to stress the body more, but there was sufficient evidence to support it. It seemed that the more powerful telekinetics and pyrokinetics had a tendency to run their bodies into the ground. He dished up the soup that was that night's attempt at dinner. Turning he found Nagi slumped in his chair, head pillowed on his arms.
"Come on, Brat… I know you want to sleep… but you have to eat first." He shook the boy's shoulder until the kid sighed and sat up. Reluctantly, Nagi started to eat. Bren got his own dinner; he'd been waiting for the boy to get home. "So… how's training?"
"Tiring."
"I can tell. How is it going though?"
"Alright."
Bren gave up… the boy wasn't in the mood to talk. Or he quite simply didn't have the energy. As he watched the boy nodding off, he figured it was the later. He finished his meal and picked up the dishes. He was strangely reminded of their first night together when he picked Nagi up and carried him into the bedroom.
He set the boy on the bed, then lay out the futon and tucked the boy in. Midnight eyes just barely opened, looking up at him. /Night, Brat./ A ghost of a smile, and the eyes closed.
Bren closed the door behind him, though he doubted anything would wake the kid back up tonight. It would be a good time for him to do a little 'training' of his own. Getting comfortable on the couch… he let his mind wander through the facility… and the minds of those there.
**
It was during one of those private 'training sessions' that Schuldich discovered the source of at least SOME of their resident psycho's problems. He was jumping from mind to mind, much like a college student hopping from bar to bar, when he happened across the mind of one of the research assistants. These people were almost as warped as the doctors Esset employed, though their focus tended to be more on pure science than tormenting their subjects. Most of them anyway. Apparently, there was some debate amongst them whether the pale Irishman's inability to feel pain, was a gift… or a side effect. They were running tests on him when he wasn't in training to try to discover if a) no pain was a previously undiscovered talent, b) if it wasn't did he have a gift, and c) how warped his mind really was.
To answer these questions, they had apparently cracked open the textbooks and journals of the early days of psychological research. Their methods were quite simply, inhumane, cruel, and altogether ineffective. As a result, Farfarello was becoming more vicious and unstable. They couldn't understand why?
Bren's first instinct was to laugh. Well duh?! You're torturing him… of COURSE he's going to react in kind. But then he felt sick. It was no wonder the guy had been acting the way he had lately… and Bren had only been making it worse. Crawford couldn't know what they were doing… he would never allow that type of thing to go on… would he?
He waited till he could get Crawford alone. One afternoon, while Nagi was still at training and Farfarello had become too unstable to work with that day. Brad was seated at the kitchen table, going over files while Bren was supposedly doing the dishes.
"Brad?"
"Don't call me that."
"Why not… I've done it before."
"It's unprofessional."
He sighed… counted to ten… then sighed again. "Crawford..."
"What?"
"Have you given them permission to… well… do research on Farfarello?"
"Research? I authorized them continuing treatment if that's what you mean."
"Treatment?!" He snorted, derisively. "If THAT'S treatment, kill me first, please."
The man set down the file he was going over, his brown eyes looking at Bren curiously. "What do you mean? They are treating him for his mental problems. They are trying out combinations of drugs to try to stabilize him."
"No… actually… they're not."
"What?"
"They are using him as some kind of glorified guinea pig." Crawford just stared at him blankly… a look Bren had come to recognize as surprise. "They aren't stabilizing him… they are making him worse. They're treating him as some type of grand experiment to see if they can discover what keeps him from feeling pain… and barring that… they're twisting his mind to see how far it can go before it totally snaps."
"There's no way they are doing that… he's my…"
"Yeah… he's YOUR subordinate you better get your ass down to the ward and tell them that." Bren stopped ranting and looked down at the sink full of dishes and soapy water. "He's close to breaking completely. If that happens…"
"He'll be like a wild animal. And of no use to anyone. Why the sudden concern?"
Bren shrugged. "You keep touting all that shit about being a team… well he's supposed to be a team member… and the more unstable he is… the bigger my headache."
"Ah… I knew self-preservation was in there somewhere. You are positive they are doing this?"
"Yeah… I can show you their sick minds if you want."
"No… that is quite alright… I'll go look into it."
"Hey, Brat… you're home… crap… what happened to you?" Nagi stood in the doorway, several dark bruises standing out on his face. He wavered slightly… then collapsed.
TBC…
AN: Akasha is going to kill me… and Megami isn't gonna be happy either but it was a struggle just to get this much written before the end of the week and I knew I HAD to get something out. *curses the annoying muse* Hopefully I can get some more done this weekend. We'll see… I discovered today, while trying to determine the birthday of my website (which I missed it was January 3rd -_-; ), Rosenkreuz has been going for a year already… O_o GAAAAH!!!!! The fic that won't end… ^_~