Title: Karmesinrot Rache

Mission: 09 Gift – Poison (Lost of Reason)

Time: Kapitel, AU

Date: 05-27-04

Yohji sat in a diner overlooking a very placid Tokyo Bay. Neu sat before him, dressed in a prim white shirt and black pants. A white hat with a short brim sat on top of her blue hair at a proper angle and she used the short brim to its best to hide her frightened eyes. The area was unfamiliar and Yohji was gazing at her with an odd light in his eyes. She had a cup of cooling coffee in front of her. He ordered it for her, knowing how she liked it with two creams and four sugars.

"Yohji?" Neu said softly, playing with the napkins nervously. "Do you trust me?"

"I don't have any reason not to, Asuka," Yohji said sincerely as he took out enough money to pay the bill. "When you remember who you are, you'll trust me too."

"But Yohji," Neu looked into his eyes earnestly. " I do trust you! Even though I can't remember everything...I want to remember you."

Yohji placed his wallet on the table. "Asuka." Yohji grasped Neu's hands and held them tightly. "Are you saying that you don't want to work for Schreient?"

Asuka flinched at the name. "I don't remember… I know that's something bad. All I know is that I want to be with you, Yohji."

"Isn't that sweet?" Kirei said as her shadow fell over the table. She stood over Yohji and Asuka with a poisonous sneer on her face. Ken had a mixed reaction, embarrassment for interrupting the conversation and disgust for the way Neu was playing Yohji.

"How about you tell us what we need to know before declaring your undying love, Neu?" Kirei asked with a fake smile.

"We need to get out of here, Yohji," said Ken nervously. They were starting to draw the attention of the other patrons. "Villa White's destroyed and we're not staying at the store either."

"Why should I go with you two?" Yohji gave them a cool look. "I still have some things I need to do."

"We're not going back without you," Kirei warned dangerously. "I'm armed and I'm not playing around. Not this time. Tsuu's life is on the line and I'm not going to exchange it for Neu's. So unless you have a death wish, you better come with me."

Yohji got out of his chair slowly and stood up to his full height to glare down at the headstrong girl. Despite the incredible gap, Kirei's hunter green eyes were completely without fear. She would win her fight even if she had to kill Yohji in the process. Yohji, smarter than Jade would ever give him credit for, believed her threats. His left hand went to his watch.

Neu followed the motion with her eyes. "Stop! Yohji!" Neu said fearfully, standing up and wrapping her hands over his watch. "I'm tired. Let's go back with them."

Yohji and Kirei's staring contest was ended by Neu's interruption to Ken's relief. If they chose to fight in this crowded restaurant, the consequences would be disastrous.

"I'm tired too, Asuka," Yohji said, giving Ken and Kirei a dark look to tell them he meant he was getting tired of working with them.

Merache alone knew what happened to Panther last night and who kidnapped her. Karmesinrot Rache would not return to the house after discovering the location was unsafe. Merache followed Viper and Falcon to a store called Koneko No Sume Ie.

Koneko No Sume Ie was a front for Kritiker. Four bachelor men living and working together in a flower shop was every hormonal teenage girl's fantasy. No one was living there anymore by nightfall. The occupants along with Karmesinrot Rache vanished without a trace. "Seito forest," Merache scrolled through the lands he owned as Chimera's public face. He saw Panther on his land. There must be a reason for her to come here. There were no buildings around here. The records listed everything as forest. So that meant the records were lying. An expensive bribe or skilled hacker could remove the records of homeowners. Merache pulled up a plot of land where he suspected Panther visited on her excursion. He would have to manually search the area for roads or buildings.

But why am I doing this? Am I really planning on telling them what happened to Panther?, Merache asked himself as he worked. He owed allegiance to Chimera and the organization. Shouldn't Chimera be contacting Karmesinrot Rache about Panther's abduction? Unless they didn't know about it yet or didn't care. He couldn't decide but did resolve himself to find out where they're staying at least. By the time he located them, maybe Chimera would have made a move.

Hell let an exhausted sigh escape her lips. The number and words were a mess in her uncomprehending mind. For now, she tore her eyes off the diagnostics transmitted by the life support system. Schön went to bed hours ago, ignoring Hell's protests she still needed her help. Hell reminded Schön of their plan but Schön wouldn't have any of it. The sight of Neu lying on the muddy ground scarred her. Schön was faltering now, doubting their success. Tot could not understand the complex plot of sacrificing one of them to lure their enemies into a trap because of her mental state. Hell hated feeling so alone.

"It's your brother's fault," Hell spat hatefully to the silent girl in the room with her. "Your brother should have died the first time! If he did, I wouldn't need to keep you alive." The entrance of Schwarz tested Hell's last nerve. "What is it?" Hell demanded at the sight of Crawford, Schuldig, and Nagi. "We have the girl and you already made sure of that. What more do you want from us?"

"Eszet will perform the Kundalini experiment on the night of the next new moon," Brad informed the leader of Schreient. "They will want to see the girl for themselves before they start the ceremony. She needs to be purified."

"You can't take her now!" Hell shouted angrily. "I just got her settled into the system!"

"We're not taking her yet." Schuldig smirked with a hint of condescension. "We're just here to let you know you can't keep her forever."

"I don't want to keep her forever!" Hell shot a loathing look at the sleeping girl. "I want to kill this bitch as soon as possible," Hell stated with disgust. "Once Masufumi is returned to me, Eszet can have her."

Crawford looked at Hell grimly. "Eszet will return Mr. Takatori's son when the time is right."

"You're not taking this girl unless I have Masufumi," Hell threatened. "If you try, I'll kill her."

"Then Masufumi will die," Nagi argued rationally. "And so will you."

"There's no life without Masufumi," Hell responded darkly. "You can tell Eszet that if they lie, Schreient will kill the sacrifice and themselves."

"You can't force Tot to do that!" Nagi barely refrained from shouting, starting forward but Schuldig's arm stopped his advance. "You don't speak for her!"

Hell glared down at the young naïve boy. He was the one with a crush on their precious Tot. Nagi had been a distraction to the cause. "What do you know about Tot? Did she tell you anything about herself? Or do you like how she looks? Tot's not an idiot to fall in love with you. She loves Masufumi first and foremost! You're just an afterthought!"

Nagi's face twisted jealousy. Schuldig could sense Nagi's gathering telekinesis. Nagi, it's not time yet, Schuldig interceded.

"Schwarz will take our leave now," Crawford said over Nagi's fuming. "We will pass on your message."

"That's the smartest thing you've said since I met you." Hell sneered at Schwarz's leader fearlessly.

Schuldig scoffed at her, the noise stirring Nagi's anger. You're not smart at all. Eszet will reply with an answer, all right. Get ready to kill yourselves. Schuldig guided Nagi towards the door so he wouldn't see the haughty look Hell threw at them. He continued speaking to draw Nagi's attention solely to him, "We should find Farfarello. He wasn't home today."

Schuldig and Nagi left first, Crawford following with a preoccupied air. Hell's daring proclamation made him suspicious. Schreient had never been that bold towards Schwarz before. They might have the Kundalini sacrifice at their disposal but there was something more going on.

"Crawford, are you getting any visions of Farfarello?" Schuldig asked him. He had his arm thrown over Nagi's thin shoulders. The close contact of his cool attitude aided Nagi in forgetting Hell's snubs. "Nagi and I don't know where he is. The reports of dead church members stopped."

"Farfarello should return soon. He knows our schedule."

"Maybe he's in the shack," Nagi suggested helpfully, his sense of duty returned.

"Shack?" Schuldig repeated, thinking of the dilapidated structure. "Near the pond?"

"Yes," Nagi replied with a nod. "Farfarello might be in here."

"It's worth a try," shrugged Schuldig, releasing Nagi as they got into Crawford's car. "I'll go over there when we get home."

Nagi turned towards Schreient's house and thought he could see Tot staring at him from behind her curtains as they pulled away from the back gate. Schuldig glanced over at Nagi and sighed inwardly. He could tell he was longing for Tot without trying to read Nagi's mind. It was all over his face. Mein Gott, Nagi needs a real girlfriend. Schuldig turned to see Crawford staring at the road. Crawford wouldn't let those two be together. It would ruin his perfect plans. But no plan is ever perfect. Nagi, I'm going to help you hook up with Tot. Just to see what happens. It'll be fun. Schuldig settled himself in the seat and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"Schuldig," Crawford warned him in a low voice. Schuldig rolled his eyes and placed them back into his pocket.

Aya gingerly thumbed through Martin Heidegger's Being and Time in the middle of the night. The moonlight did not make it through the massing nighttime clouds so the desk lamp gave him its warmth and light to read. Aya wouldn't sleep in the strange bed. Sleeping was betrayal and losing to Naitsuusha's melancholy home. Everyone else was in their room but he sought his sanctuary here. The library was divided in sections and each shelf on the bookcase was labeled for the appropriate genre.

Heidegger's Being and Time came from the philosophy section into his hands because Aya's curiosity was stirred from its dormant sleep. His boredom decreased when he stepped into the dark library, drinking in the sight of all the literature. Aya flipped past the first few pages, ignoring the table of contents until he got the introduction. He found himself to be neutral towards the writer's views. He assumed he would have to finish the entire book to make a decision. He closed the book and fingered the worn spine. Whoever had owned it must have read it many times. Aya turned the book so it faced him again and he opened it to read the short dedication.

"I pray this book becomes your favorite like it has become mine. With love, Gabriel." Aya's eyes narrowed as he dropped the book on the table with a soft grunt of anger. I shouldn't have taken it off the shelf, Aya thought morosely as he shoved the book back in the bookcase. As Aya tried to slide it into its proper place, the corner of the book caught the shelf and fell from his grasp. It landed on the floor with a muffled thump, opening to a highlighted page. Aya reclaimed the book to read the writing in the margins of the book, wondering if it was Gabriel or Naitsuusha's handwriting.

"Now I'm being nosy," Aya said in disgust to the silent room. He left the library with a troubled mind and a stolen philosophy book. He was in a strange house full of secrets and memories. It was haunting and bittersweet like a bed of dead flowers whose scent still lingered in a misty cloud. He paused outside the shared bedroom of Yohji and Neu.

His anger flared skywards and he gripped the doorknob with a shaking hand. His sister's face filled his eyes. Aya grappled with his emotions in the darkness of the hallway where no one could see his stony demeanor broken. He released the knob with difficulty. He bypassed his room to enter the home office like he was being called there.

Naitsuusha's computer sat on the desk. Omi and Kayla worked for hours, customizing the security system for their benefit. But they hadn't been to access all the rooms. They were unable to determine the complex series of passwords to unlock the secrets of this house.

"Anderson-san," said Omi a little hesitatingly to be speaking of Naitsuusha's dead brother over their plain dinner, "installed the system himself."

Aya's fingers rested on the keys and started to type words that entered his mind. None of them were the correct series of passwords but he kept trying. Would the passwords be related to each other or different? Aya mulled over the personality of Fushiro Naitsuusha. She wore two different masks and he had seen them both. What did Aya know about her that would aid in his quest? He stared at the screen, his violet eyes threatening to bore a hole through plastic and metal as he concentrated on the facts he knew. The two younger girls of Karmesinrot Rache weren't able to bypass the system. That would mean that they didn't know Naitsuusha as well as they thought. The girl did like to hide her secrets...like her books.

Aya's gaze dropped to the book. Martin Heidegger's Being and Time was a hefty work, clearly not for light reading. Aya slowly worked his way through the pages, marking each page with writing in the margins. One by one, Aya entered the passwords after reading the underlined or highlighted sentences. The ink color varied but the handwriting was consistent. One by one, the rooms unlocked as he entered the override codes.

Now it is time to see who Fushiro Naitsuusha really is. The doorknob to Naitsuusha's old room turned freely as a result of Aya's success. Aya paused in pushing open the door. He shouldn't be snooping into her business. But he had gone too far to stop.

Aya held his conviction and turned on the lights, not knowing if he expected more alarms or otherworldly demons. What he did get was an ordinary room with light blue wallpaper tacked over with so many framed photographs of a happy family like a giant photo album. Her past and present were so different. What had made her forget her name was Naitsuusha? What made her call her body Nanami until her past became buried under the lies?

Aya inspected the small vanity table beside the bed. The oval mirror reflected the desk behind him. A desk calendar was marked up. Aya leaned closer to read the childish handwriting. June and July stood side by side. June 21st was marked as Naitsuusha's thirteenth birthday. Aya followed the paper trail of captured time towards the closet. The only piece of clothing in the closet, in the entire household before their arrival, was a dark blue kimono with a black obi folded across the same hanger. Aya peered closer at the fabric, recognizing something and not wanting to believe it. But the awful truth prevailed. He reeled from the bloodstained gown, its joyous essence drowned out by tears and blood.

Whose blood is that? Aya wondered, reaching for the material carefully. Naitsuusha hadn't tried to wash it out. The stains were completely dried, dying the silk reddish purple. He pulled the stiff kimono off the hanger and checked to see if it was whole. The cloth was unharmed, only stained. It hadn't been Naitsuusha's blood. The amount of blood on the cloth indicated a fatal wound.

Then Aya remembered. Naitsuusha's memories were as violent as his own. Gabriel Anderson died. This was his blood. Aya placed the kimono hurriedly back into the closet after a sacrilegious feeling tormented him for touching the object. He closed the door guiltily. Aya left the room, closing the doors behind him. What had he done? Aya closed his eyes against his own fears of people breaking apart his world. He realized too late how the personal trespass would be received by its room's owner. But her past plagued him until he surrendered to the things he learned.

Yohji perched on the edge on his bed, anxiety and encouragement on his face. Neu was the on verge of telling him the information Karmesinrot Rache and Weiß desperately needed to know. "Asuka?" Yohji gripped Neu's arms in his hands, holding her still as she struggled with the name. "Who?"

"Tokizo," Neu recalled the last person she worked for. She fought tooth and nail to bring forth a memory. "Tokizo Masaya."

"Is the person holding Naitsuusha or Aya-chan?" Yohji demanded in a rush.

"I don't know!" Neu cried out. "Tokizo Masaya. I. . . I worked for him. Someone made Schreient work for him."

"Tokizo Masaya," said Yohji again. He got on the ground on his knees and gripped Neu's shaking body. With his presence alone, he forced her to meet his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Neu said truthfully. Her will wilted and the change came over her eyes first. "My head hurts…every time I think that name."

"Is there anything else you can tell me about Schreient?" Yohji begged her. This was his chance to prove to the others Neu was innocent. But Neu passed out from the effort of overcoming the mental block Harrison placed on her.

Schuldig sauntered into the living room with Crawford and Nagi behind him. Farfarello calmly read a magazine in front of the television. It was turned on to a game show but Farfarello wasn't paying attention to it.

"Kill anybody lately?" Schuldig asked carelessly as he flopped down beside him.

"Sixteen people," Farfarello answered emotionlessly without looking up from his literature.

"Sounds fun, Farfarello," Schuldig replied with a short laugh. "It only took you three days."

"My time was well worth it." Farfarello looked up from his magazine to grin at Schwarz. "God will notice the company I sent him," he declared with malice.

"Where were you?" Nagi asked sullenly, short form looming over their heads. "You were supposed to be home two days ago."

Farfarello wondered if Nagi noticed his computer was accessed. Farfarello could tell after a moment of observation. Nagi didn't notice anything, Farfarello thought with a trace of satisfaction. He didn't tell Crawford about Karmesinrot Rache's house. Is he still trying to find where Chimera is?

"Confession," Farfarello replied shortly with a proud glint in his eyes. "I told God I sinned. I made sure he knew."

"Schreient is getting on my nerves, Farfarello," Schuldig said abruptly. "I think they don't fear us anymore."

"They don't need to fear us," said Crawford, finally joining the conversation. "They just need to do their job as Eszet ordered."

"What about Schwarz?" Farfarello asked with amusement, golden gaze falling on his leader. "Are you doing our job as Eszet ordered?"

"We already killed Weiß and Karmesinrot Rache," Crawford replied evenly. "Eszet does not have any problems doubting our loyalty."

Farfarello gave a low chuckle and rose from his seat, dropping the magazine on Schuldig's lap. Drink the crimson up, Farfarello's mind whispered into his. He walked out from the room and went to the attic. There was a woman there who needed his undivided attention. Farfarello climbed the stairs slowly, letting his anticipation make the next few hours bliss for him. He unlocked the door to the attic. She gave him a fearful look. Her entire body was bounded. Muffled words escaped from the cloth stuffed into her mouth. He turned towards his altar. He smiled at the bloody crucifix of Christ and bowed to it with a sadistic smile. He lifted the bloody knife off the altar and turned towards his victim. He wanted days with her.

How many days passed? Naitsuusha didn't know. She was alone in a warm tank of fetid liquid getting more unpleasant by the hour. The hallucinations started without warning. Reality met with fiction as the mind merged the voices in her head with the voices outside. She couldn't tell anymore. Her mind sank into itself. She was being urged onwards. Gabriel called her.

Hell rested her hand on the cold coffin of dreams and ambitions. Harrison paid them a second visit to their personal base after Schwarz left their medical facility. From Eszet's decades of research, the organization concocted a serum translucent white in color. Harrison did not know the components or the proportions when he presented Hell with the vial. He knew just enough to know it would turn Raven's memories against her with the proper combination of hypnosis and verbal coaxing.

Hell used to be with the Japanese Self Defense Force. Years in that forsaken prestigious academy did not teach her the art of manipulation. Life had, with a bitter coldhearted professor majoring in pain. Slowly, she brought Raven's mind into the open. Their enemies had Neu. Schreient had Raven. Nei was just the first trap. Hell would transform Raven into the second when Weiß and Karmesinrot Rache came to rescue her.

Schuldig lost his grip on his can of soda. It fell from his slackened hands, creating a brown pool at his feet and over the formerly stain-free carpet. Schuldig ignored the mess. His focus was shattered by the sensations pounding against his head with the force of a tsunami. The pain filled thoughts were continuous. The sufferer had been tortured endlessly in mind, body, and soul.

Whose thoughts? They are screaming at me! Schuldig pulled his shields higher and layered them on but he could still sense her soundless voice.

Jei! She called again and again. Jei! Please! Jei!

"A nun?" Schuldig's voice was strained as the realization slammed against his shields.

Jei! Stop it! She begged wordlessly with her eyes and mind. Listen to me, Jei!

"Farfarello?" the German whispered in the same pleading voice as the unknown prisoner took hold of his personality. An angel tapestry?, he thought indignantly. That piece of crap was what set Farfarello off?! Finally, it became too much to bear.

"My fucking God, Farfarello, can you kill her already?" Schuldig stormed up to the attic. Farfarello gagged his victim to prevent her from screaming so Crawford wouldn't know Farfarello was living in his torture chamber but Schuldig needed sanity too.

Schuldig burst into the attic and gave both a hate-filled glare for disturbing his peace of mind. The fat woman was bleeding sluggishly from multiple stab wounds in her vital areas before her torturer painted acid across her face, disfiguring her horribly. "Farfarello, you're making a mess," Schuldig snapped irritably after he regained his composure at the gruesome display of mangled flesh. "I'm telling Crawford if you don't get this woman out of here."

"She's mine," growled Farfarello, pausing. Knives appeared in his hands like magic. "She dies when I say so."

Schuldig scowled and pulled out his gun swiftly. He aimed it between the woman's eyes. "Kill her or I will," he stated flatly.

Farfarello sneered at Schuldig but yanked out the gag in his victim's mouth.

"Jei, stop this," begged the woman. "You have to listen to me."

"Who the hell is this?" Schuldig asked, leaning back against the wall and placing his gun back inside his jacket. Schuldig entered the woman's mind, learning about her past. Ruth, an ex-nun, is the mother of Farfarello. His jaw dropped open at the thoughts. "Farfarello! She's your mother!"

"Jei, you need to know the truth!" Ruth begged him frantically.

"I don't need to hear your lies," Farfarello declared coldly. "You speak for God." A sneer filled the pale, taunt face.

"No, you're wrong!" she begged. "That day you thought a robber killed your family."

"I killed them," said Farfarello softly as he met Ruth's eyes. Ruth's mouth fell open at the calmness of which he uttered what she wanted to tell him for over ten years. "I already know. God...couldn't help me then. He couldn't stop me from killing them. God couldn't save you either." Farfarello plunged the knife through the woman's chest and lifted her body to drop her into the large trough of acid.

Schuldig gaped at Farfarello's efficient brutality but quickly closed his mouth with a snap. He retched, turning for the stairs to escape the rotten fumes.

"Drink the crimson up." Farfarello stalked out of the room.

"Farfarello!" Schuldig was grateful the window was open so the smell could drift out and Crawford wasn't home. If Crawford smelled this, he would strap Farfarello in his restraints and hang him upside down for a week. "Where are you going?" Schuldig asked Farfarello's back. He ran to keep up with Farfarello's lead. Farfarello walk determinedly out of the house towards the small pond half a mile from the mansion. A small wooden shack seemed to be the target of Farfarello's sudden migration.

"The cat needs to be fed," Farfarello replied viciously without looking back. Farfarello's hair glowed in ethereal silver strands in the moonlight. He carried another weapon in his right hand. The long sheath was black and purple, housing a deadly sword.

"Cat?" Schuldig repeated but the mental image of an upside down Jade hanging in the shack in Farfarello's customary straightjacket caused him to stumble. "Panther's alive!"

Farfarello gave a short bark of laughter. He turned around to face Schuldig's shock. "She's hungry but she doesn't want to eat. She's mad, growling at me for three days now."

"How can this be possible?" Schuldig hastened his steps to match Farfarello. "We killed them!"

"Cats have nine lives," Farfarello stated simply. "All of Weiß and Karmesinrot Rache are alive."

"Bu-but!" Schuldig faltered in step again. The foundation of the planet is broken. "It was Crawford's plan! Crawford's! His plans never fail!"

"Crawford was wrong," Farfarello said, smugness creeping into his voice, as he unlocked the heavy chain that kept the windowless shack from being opened from the inside. Despite its age, the wood was still sturdy and there was no rot in the boards.

"Does Crawford know about this?" Schuldig asked. Farfarello pulled the chain off the door and slung it over his bare shoulder.

"No," Farfarello grunted, pulling open the heavy doors. Farfarello and Schuldig stepped onto the dirty wooden floor. Farfarello closed the door behind them. Schuldig listened to the seething thoughts of Jade while Farfarello went to light a lantern. When the lantern's glow filled the room, Schuldig saw the female assassin suspended in the far corner of the shack. Her face was carved thin since they last met but she still held her icy fire.

"Fuckers," Jade snarled after Farfarello ripped the tape from her mouth. Farfarello removed Jade's sunglasses from her face and clipped them on his vest possessively. Jade growled at him, twisting her body upwards to free herself. But it was no use. "Fuckers!" she resorted to meaningful curses.

"Kätzchen, kätzchen, your manners are still horrible," Schuldig teased from the door. He cast his eyes around the room. Farfarello removed almost everything from the shack before he hung up his prize.

"Let's trade places and see how good your manners are," Jade snarled, glaring at the men. Farfarello sat down on the floor in front of her with his legs crossed.

"Did you hear her screams?" Farfarello asked Jade in a malicious voice.

"Fuck you!" Jade said, feeling sick at the thought. She heard. She couldn't stop herself. To make matters worse, Farfarello came in after every torture session to graphically describe what he did.

"You killed her today." Jade glared at Schuldig. It was Schuldig who told Farfarello to speed up the process.

"I did," Farfarello corrected with a cold calmness, drawing her violet eyes to his feral body. "I threw her body into the acid." An afterthought was added with an almost playful smile, "She formed bubbles."

"She was your mother," Jade said darkly. Farfarello's mood swings and manners were most disconcerting. "She wanted to love you."

"I'm aware of that," Farfarello replied as he placed Jade's no dachi across his crossed legs. "She wanted for me to love her too."

"You're psychotic," Jade stated flatly.

Farfarello tilted his head to one side and smiled up at her. While holding her eyes with his, he pulled the sword free of the sheath and brought it up to her throat. Farfarello searched her face carefully, searching for the fear that was like icing on cake. If there was even a speck of fear, Farfarello would ruthlessly slash her throat. Farfarello laughed harshly, pressing the blade against the pale skin of Jade's neck. Schuldig watched, tensed at the sight of Farfarello holding the deadly weapon. Farfarello always had a knack for blades. Seconds seemed to pass like hours before Farfarello pulled away and placed the sword back into its sheath. A sense of satisfaction permeated his being.

"Do you want to read my mind?" Farfarello asked her. "Why don't you control me like Schuldig control his toys?"

"That's cheating," Jade replied coolly. "I kill the old-fashioned way."

"Kill me," Farfarello egged her on.

"Gladly, Jei. Once I get free, that sword in your hand is going be rammed down your throat."

"They're not going to save you," Schuldig said smugly, "I would know if they are. I can hear them. I can hear you."

"You didn't hear me for the past seventy two hours," Jade scoffed as Farfarello stood up to move away. "You call yourself a telepath?"

"I didn't expect you to be alive." Schuldig walked closer and kneeled down so he was eye-level. He ran his calloused fingertips over her jaw line. Jade was definitely a beauty despite the state she was in. "But now I know Karmesinrot Rache and Weiß is still alive, I'll tell Crawford and we'll kill them all again."

Jade shouted a challenge as Schuldig stood. Jade jerked her body and caught Schuldig fully in the groin with a head butt. Schuldig staggered across the floor, cursing in German as fire ran through the area. Jade laughed evilly at the sight of him. "Mach es dir selber, arschloch!" Jade shouted triumphantly in German.

Farfarello grabbed her throat with both hands, cutting off her laugh. On the edge of passing out, she felt the pressure released. She reflexively choked on the air that filled her lungs. She regained enough moisture in her mouth to spit. Farfarello didn't flinch when it landed on him.

Schuldig recovered by the door. He turned to face her. "Verdammt ficken ziege!" Schuldig scowled at her before he exited.

"Ach…Hol dich der Teufel!" Jade laughed contemptuously, enjoying the sight at Schuldig's pain.

Farfarello shook his head at Jade who slowly stopped laughing after Schuldig's hasty departure. The woman is crazy, he thought, impressed.