Ken was almost home when his comset beeped in a frenzy of no particular pattern. He stopped alonside the dark road and peered at it. Manx's face and voice filled the screen, though the blurriness made it very hard to discern her facial features. If Ken didn't know her as well as he did, he probably would not recognize her.
"Siberian, do you read me? You need to hurry, the other…." Her voice was broken with static. It was difficult to hear. "They're in danger…Ken? You need to help…Ken…you have to--" the transmission was broken off. The connection died, and an eerie silence eveloped the dark night air around Ken, closing in like the lining of a coffin.
He shivered, and hopped onto his bike again, a heaviness now resting on his shoulders like a great haversack of rocks. Manx never, ever called them by their first names during a mission. Not ever. This must be something horrible…he knew he shouldn't have left, anyway. But he had told them he'd be on leave for a week…oh why had he done that? Now they were in great danger, probably dying all because of him… [talk about a burden! Poor Ken…]
The three were still in their messy fix. Aya's cell was filled to about five feet, and if he wasn't as tall as he is, then he would've had to swim and would've tired out. The water was freezing, however, and to keep warm sometimes he tread a little water, careful to keep his head dry. If he got sick, he would most surely die in there. At least he wasn't wearing his normal uniform. They had changed into disguises for ease on this particular mission. They hadn't realized how much it would help.
He found a small door latch to the outer grill-door. It was locked, but he would have to find some way to open it. But what he didn't know was the worst was still to come.
Crawford, Farfello, and Nagi were enjoying themselves thoroughly. Farfello took over Yoji's torture schemes when Ken did not seem present, so Schuldrich was loafing around, jabbing instant pains at the remaining three whenever he could. Sure, he was supposed to find Ken, but he didn't bother. After all, that was Farfello's job. It was much too fun persecuting Aya in the "pruning cell".
They would search their memories for scenes they hid from and tried to put far back in their minds. Once they successfully found the weakness, they would create small picture-shows upon the walls. Omi's was giving him his complete and horrid childhood memory, repeatedly, on the walls he was climbing. He lost his balance many times and finally ending in sitting on that black block again.
Yoji began to see Asuka being killed on all the walls, blood dripping off them and forming puddles. Soon it would flood, but in his agony he did not notice. It seemed to him it was on replay. Someone was putting the scene in slow motion, fast forward, rewind, and normal play. Sometimes it would pause just as Asuka was shot and even more "blood" would spurt from the walls. He was beside himself and was going insane.
Aya had a similar scene. He watched two scenes, however. One was his sister being hit by the car, the other her funeral. He hated that one most especially. His rage was building up, though of course he couldn't do anything, considering the situation he was in. But ALL of them saw the scene of the other members being killed, all in different ways by different events and people. [usually Schwarz, of course]
Ken soon arrived at the apartments, and seeing nobody there, he went on to see if anyone was at the flower shop. He knew they wouldn't be there, though, but he wanted to check to make sure.
The flower shop was dark and empty. He sighed, and looked around for any notes or emails that might've been dropped. His mailbox was flooded with "Where are you?"s and "Come back!"s from Omi, with an occassional, "Where the hell are you?" from Yoji. One came from Aya, and it was quite lengthy. At the end, it explained where they were in a code, so Ken went to look. He tried dialing Manx, but of course that didn't work.
"Okay, behind the club…" he muttered to himself. It was very dark and it was quite windy. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and black jeans and boots. He hated these boots; they were so uncomfortable and clumsy. Of course he had his gloves and bugnuks, and he was also wearing his goggles over a black baseball hat pulled down low above his face. He sidestepped along the wall and noticed the door was left hanging open.
He managed to peer in, and at the sight of the criss-crossing laser beams he felt a sense of repugnance and disgust. All of a sudden, a small black cat rubbed against him leg and walked in.
"Wait! Here, kitty, here kitty," he called softly. The cat turned, its greenish eyes glowing. It almost seemed to say: Its all right, come on in! See, I'm not dead, am I? Follow!
He would have to try, he guessed, and stepped gingerly into the first threshold, bugnuks out as well as a mini flashlight. He grimly took note of the tiny cameras watching the entrance and set to work to disable them.
Unfortunately for Ken, Schuldrich was watching the monitors at that exact moment, having nothing else to do. He spotted the figure almost immediately, though of course he didn't recognize him in his black garb.
"Intruder," Schuldrich calmly told Crawford, who was busily trying to get the grate-grill in Aya's cell to close, but luckily his efforts were futile. He didn't really pay any attention to Schuldrich, but he heard him.
"Hmm? Intruder? Manipulate him into the fourth chamber," he said absentmindedly, hitting all the buttons on the keypad, becoming frustrated.
Schuldrich glanced at him, a little dubious. Then he went about setting the lasers to the second chamber, which was meant for Ken. The figure weaved in and out with practiced skill, stepping around the booby-trapped floor and walls. Schuldrich breathed out at the ease in which this person went through the sure-death course.
Ken, on the other hand, was extremely nervous and felt as though he was walking on a tightrope above a pit of fire. If not for the cat that seemed to know the way, he probably would be toast by now. Suddenly, the little cat turned a sharp corner and disappeared from his sight. He hastened to follow when the floor gave way and he fell into interminable depths.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" he screamed, flailing to grab something, anything at all. He fingers found a small ledge, gripping impulsively. It was covered with small little pricks, and if not for his thick leather gloves, he would have bloody mincemeat for hands. He dangled perilously over the endless pit, dark and ominous.
"Mrreeeoooww," came the cat's sentence of doom. Or at least, that was what Ken thought it to be. The cat was standing on the very ledge he was holding! The green eyes glittered, making Ken shiver and wish he had never been born.
"Ha! I've got him!" Schuldrich crowed happily. Crawford glanced at the screen and saw the figure hanging, waiting for death to arrive. Knowing that it had to be Ken, they soon switched all the horrid scenes the other three were watching to the real-time live version of Ken's persecution.
Nagi looked on, and watched Ken and Omi. Something was bothering him about Ken, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Something in his mind, his past memories, something in the past was being triggered by the actions of Ken. You could hear him plainly, apologizing to Aya, Yoji, Omi, Sachiko, Misato, oh, everyone. Sachiko? Nagi shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. That name rang a bell, deep within him. What was it?
Schuldrich did not notice Nagi; no one ever noticed quiet little Nagi. He began to have the floor raised in the "bottomless" "mincing" chamber.
Suddenly, Nagi remembered, and screamed out loud. "STOP!!!!!" He impetuously gripped at Schuldrich's shirt, trying to get him to stop before it was too late. When he saw that Schuldrich stopped it, he muttered something about being right back, don't lift the floor, and disappeared.
He kept scolding himself, reprimanding himself. How could he have forgotten? While still a little one, he had met Sachiko. She had been the only kind person to him, ever in his entire life. In Schwarz, he was always ordered around. She had almost been like a mother to him in the short while he spent at her lodgings. Her husband, however, was pure evil. What was he doing? He was repeating exactly after the man he felt so horrid! Oh, what had he done?
As he went on, reminiscing the olden days, he came upon the chamber door and climbed some stairs to a platform opposite Ken. He called out.
"Ken! Ken!"
Ken was so shocked he almost fell off. "Nagi?" he asked increduously, not really meaning to say the boy's name out loud.
"Yes! How is Sachiko? Is she faring well?" he cried out, unable to keep his worries to himself any longer.
Ken was even more astonished. How had Nagi known about Sachiko, anyway? "She is fine, although she's--"
"WHAT? What?!?! What's wrong!?" Nagi screamed in agony. He was being butchered by his own memories, much as Omi had always had.
"I said, she's fine!" Ken yelled across, trying to calm the hysterical young teenager. "She's running short on money, that's all. And she's worried about her son. She's afraid for him. She's fine!" he called over to Nagi.
"Her son," Nagi murmured. She didn't have a son, just a daughter. He buried his face in his hands and fled out of the chamber and down the corridors. He was extremely distraught and very hysterical.
Ken was completely lost in this little scene of emotions. He wondered if it was a trick to see if he had been there. But he thought otherwise. Nagi never EVER acted like that before. Not ever.
"Siberian, do you read me? You need to hurry, the other…." Her voice was broken with static. It was difficult to hear. "They're in danger…Ken? You need to help…Ken…you have to--" the transmission was broken off. The connection died, and an eerie silence eveloped the dark night air around Ken, closing in like the lining of a coffin.
He shivered, and hopped onto his bike again, a heaviness now resting on his shoulders like a great haversack of rocks. Manx never, ever called them by their first names during a mission. Not ever. This must be something horrible…he knew he shouldn't have left, anyway. But he had told them he'd be on leave for a week…oh why had he done that? Now they were in great danger, probably dying all because of him… [talk about a burden! Poor Ken…]
The three were still in their messy fix. Aya's cell was filled to about five feet, and if he wasn't as tall as he is, then he would've had to swim and would've tired out. The water was freezing, however, and to keep warm sometimes he tread a little water, careful to keep his head dry. If he got sick, he would most surely die in there. At least he wasn't wearing his normal uniform. They had changed into disguises for ease on this particular mission. They hadn't realized how much it would help.
He found a small door latch to the outer grill-door. It was locked, but he would have to find some way to open it. But what he didn't know was the worst was still to come.
Crawford, Farfello, and Nagi were enjoying themselves thoroughly. Farfello took over Yoji's torture schemes when Ken did not seem present, so Schuldrich was loafing around, jabbing instant pains at the remaining three whenever he could. Sure, he was supposed to find Ken, but he didn't bother. After all, that was Farfello's job. It was much too fun persecuting Aya in the "pruning cell".
They would search their memories for scenes they hid from and tried to put far back in their minds. Once they successfully found the weakness, they would create small picture-shows upon the walls. Omi's was giving him his complete and horrid childhood memory, repeatedly, on the walls he was climbing. He lost his balance many times and finally ending in sitting on that black block again.
Yoji began to see Asuka being killed on all the walls, blood dripping off them and forming puddles. Soon it would flood, but in his agony he did not notice. It seemed to him it was on replay. Someone was putting the scene in slow motion, fast forward, rewind, and normal play. Sometimes it would pause just as Asuka was shot and even more "blood" would spurt from the walls. He was beside himself and was going insane.
Aya had a similar scene. He watched two scenes, however. One was his sister being hit by the car, the other her funeral. He hated that one most especially. His rage was building up, though of course he couldn't do anything, considering the situation he was in. But ALL of them saw the scene of the other members being killed, all in different ways by different events and people. [usually Schwarz, of course]
Ken soon arrived at the apartments, and seeing nobody there, he went on to see if anyone was at the flower shop. He knew they wouldn't be there, though, but he wanted to check to make sure.
The flower shop was dark and empty. He sighed, and looked around for any notes or emails that might've been dropped. His mailbox was flooded with "Where are you?"s and "Come back!"s from Omi, with an occassional, "Where the hell are you?" from Yoji. One came from Aya, and it was quite lengthy. At the end, it explained where they were in a code, so Ken went to look. He tried dialing Manx, but of course that didn't work.
"Okay, behind the club…" he muttered to himself. It was very dark and it was quite windy. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and black jeans and boots. He hated these boots; they were so uncomfortable and clumsy. Of course he had his gloves and bugnuks, and he was also wearing his goggles over a black baseball hat pulled down low above his face. He sidestepped along the wall and noticed the door was left hanging open.
He managed to peer in, and at the sight of the criss-crossing laser beams he felt a sense of repugnance and disgust. All of a sudden, a small black cat rubbed against him leg and walked in.
"Wait! Here, kitty, here kitty," he called softly. The cat turned, its greenish eyes glowing. It almost seemed to say: Its all right, come on in! See, I'm not dead, am I? Follow!
He would have to try, he guessed, and stepped gingerly into the first threshold, bugnuks out as well as a mini flashlight. He grimly took note of the tiny cameras watching the entrance and set to work to disable them.
Unfortunately for Ken, Schuldrich was watching the monitors at that exact moment, having nothing else to do. He spotted the figure almost immediately, though of course he didn't recognize him in his black garb.
"Intruder," Schuldrich calmly told Crawford, who was busily trying to get the grate-grill in Aya's cell to close, but luckily his efforts were futile. He didn't really pay any attention to Schuldrich, but he heard him.
"Hmm? Intruder? Manipulate him into the fourth chamber," he said absentmindedly, hitting all the buttons on the keypad, becoming frustrated.
Schuldrich glanced at him, a little dubious. Then he went about setting the lasers to the second chamber, which was meant for Ken. The figure weaved in and out with practiced skill, stepping around the booby-trapped floor and walls. Schuldrich breathed out at the ease in which this person went through the sure-death course.
Ken, on the other hand, was extremely nervous and felt as though he was walking on a tightrope above a pit of fire. If not for the cat that seemed to know the way, he probably would be toast by now. Suddenly, the little cat turned a sharp corner and disappeared from his sight. He hastened to follow when the floor gave way and he fell into interminable depths.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" he screamed, flailing to grab something, anything at all. He fingers found a small ledge, gripping impulsively. It was covered with small little pricks, and if not for his thick leather gloves, he would have bloody mincemeat for hands. He dangled perilously over the endless pit, dark and ominous.
"Mrreeeoooww," came the cat's sentence of doom. Or at least, that was what Ken thought it to be. The cat was standing on the very ledge he was holding! The green eyes glittered, making Ken shiver and wish he had never been born.
"Ha! I've got him!" Schuldrich crowed happily. Crawford glanced at the screen and saw the figure hanging, waiting for death to arrive. Knowing that it had to be Ken, they soon switched all the horrid scenes the other three were watching to the real-time live version of Ken's persecution.
Nagi looked on, and watched Ken and Omi. Something was bothering him about Ken, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Something in his mind, his past memories, something in the past was being triggered by the actions of Ken. You could hear him plainly, apologizing to Aya, Yoji, Omi, Sachiko, Misato, oh, everyone. Sachiko? Nagi shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. That name rang a bell, deep within him. What was it?
Schuldrich did not notice Nagi; no one ever noticed quiet little Nagi. He began to have the floor raised in the "bottomless" "mincing" chamber.
Suddenly, Nagi remembered, and screamed out loud. "STOP!!!!!" He impetuously gripped at Schuldrich's shirt, trying to get him to stop before it was too late. When he saw that Schuldrich stopped it, he muttered something about being right back, don't lift the floor, and disappeared.
He kept scolding himself, reprimanding himself. How could he have forgotten? While still a little one, he had met Sachiko. She had been the only kind person to him, ever in his entire life. In Schwarz, he was always ordered around. She had almost been like a mother to him in the short while he spent at her lodgings. Her husband, however, was pure evil. What was he doing? He was repeating exactly after the man he felt so horrid! Oh, what had he done?
As he went on, reminiscing the olden days, he came upon the chamber door and climbed some stairs to a platform opposite Ken. He called out.
"Ken! Ken!"
Ken was so shocked he almost fell off. "Nagi?" he asked increduously, not really meaning to say the boy's name out loud.
"Yes! How is Sachiko? Is she faring well?" he cried out, unable to keep his worries to himself any longer.
Ken was even more astonished. How had Nagi known about Sachiko, anyway? "She is fine, although she's--"
"WHAT? What?!?! What's wrong!?" Nagi screamed in agony. He was being butchered by his own memories, much as Omi had always had.
"I said, she's fine!" Ken yelled across, trying to calm the hysterical young teenager. "She's running short on money, that's all. And she's worried about her son. She's afraid for him. She's fine!" he called over to Nagi.
"Her son," Nagi murmured. She didn't have a son, just a daughter. He buried his face in his hands and fled out of the chamber and down the corridors. He was extremely distraught and very hysterical.
Ken was completely lost in this little scene of emotions. He wondered if it was a trick to see if he had been there. But he thought otherwise. Nagi never EVER acted like that before. Not ever.